Puella Magi Maredoka Magica

by pinkamcna

Little Sparkle's First Hunt (Part 3)

It wasn't long after Fluttershy introduced herself that the ribbon encasing Twilight vanished. "Sorry, but I had to get you out of there so I could take care of things." Twilight scanned the girl's demeanor for any signs of deception, afraid that she might be hiding something. However, Shy really did appear to be as honest as she seemed.

"I-It's fine. Thanks for saving me," she managed to stutter out, though between the fear she still felt and the shock of almost dying, it probably wasn't that comprehensible. She got to her feet and returned her gaze and thoughts to Fluttershy, and that's when she realized it.

It's... It's another one of the girls from my dream! The paralyzing shock she had felt when meeting Dash for the first time wasn't there, but was instead replaced with a feeling of relief as well as encouragement. At least she seems like she'd be more open to the idea of working together then Rainbow does. Fluttershy extended her arm to shake Twilight's hand in greeting, to which she quickly obliged.

The happy feeling of support quickly faded as Fluttershy gazed around with alert, focused eyes. "Come on. We still haven't killed the Familiar; it's lurking close." Twilight swiftly nodded her head, and the two were off, with Fluttershy leading her as if a mentor.

They didn't get too many steps in before they noticed a single marshmallow floating just a few feet above them. "Twilight, would you like to take this one?" She searched for any sign of doubt in Fluttershy's voice, but surprisingly heard only encouragement.

"S-sure," she maintained a look of confidence as she summoned her bow, but her quivering hands and stuttering voice betrayed the mask of calm she attempted to portray. She steadied her bow, aiming for the wing of her target, and fired. It strayed a bit, barely grazing its wing, instead only enraging it and not inflicting any of the damage she had hoped.

Fluttershy bit her lip in worry as the marshmallow bat flew rapidly toward Twilight, but allowed none of that fear to show as she commanded the rookie. "Stay calm! If you let fear take over, it'll only make matters worse." Her lively blue eyes examined the situation, gauging how much of a chance Twilight had to pull this off. "It's coming in too fast and its wings are flapping too much for you to get a good wingshot. Aim for its forehead; that should do it."

With her mentor's reassurance, she steadied again. Luckily it seemed that the shaking of her hands had ceased, and she was able to focus. Inhaling slowly and then taking a long breath out, she fired. She had aimed for right in between its eyes, the closest bet she had. The arrow hit its mark and the marshmallow disappeared in an indigo light.

"Great job! You did well under pressure," Fluttershy remarked, a smile on her face, "now come on. You probably won't be able to handle the Familiar alone even with my guidance, so we'll do it together." Twilight nodded and they were off once again, but only after her bow vanished.

That left her. Rainbow Dash stood transformed a mere ten or so feet behind them, as there wasn't much room to hide or conceal oneself in this sort of labrynth. "It is her..." she whispered under her breath, clenching her fists as she did so. "I don't like Twilight in my territory as much as the next magical girl, but..." the last part was so faint she could barely hear herself say it. "...Not even she deserves to go out like that."

*~*~*~*~*

Fluttershy and Twilight stood at the opening to the heart of the labrynth, determined looks on their faces and weapons at the ready. "So here's the plan. I'd love to have you on the front lines with me, but that's way too risky. I want you to stay back here and fire arrows when you think it's neccesary, all right?"

Part of Twilight wished to assist her closer, to be by her side to ensure nothing happened to her. Although, she does have a point. I'm in more danger here then she is, and I'd just get in the way... She sighed and nodded, ensuring that she'd stick to the plan.

"Great." She examined the door to the heart of the labrynth, which appeared to be made out of chocolate squares. She summoned one of her shotguns and blasted through it, the fragile door breaking apart easily. The gun vanished as quickly as it had appeared and without a glance back at Twilight, she leaped through.

Twilight summoned her bow and squinted, not drawing back an arrow but holding her bow in place should her swift assistance be needed. She doubted it. "Fluttershy's obviously a professional. But I'll still back her up in any way that I'm able. After all..." She watched as Fluttershy came face to face with a creature that looked identical to the marshmallow bats they'd fought earlier but much, much larger. "...My wish hasn't come true."

A smile crept up on Shy's face as she gazed over her target. "Easy enough to take out," she whispered, then remembering that Twilight was backing her up, "but I probably shouldn't just blast it to smithereens. She needs this practice."

With a sigh, she began to run. Dashing first to the left as the bat swooped one of its wings at her, she proceeded to roll until she was safe enough a distance to take a few moments to recover and get back on her feet. As she rolled, she felt some of the dirt get into her mouth. She prepared herself for a foul, earthy taste, but was instead met with a rich and powdery flavor.

She took a moment to examine it. "Chocolate powder? Interesting," she noted before leaping back up to avoid a wing to the face. I could easily get behind it to finish it off, but that would destroy the point of having Twilight kill it. However, she probably wouldn't feel accomplished if I just let her take it. Mentally rolling her eyes, she began to circle the Familiar while both avoiding its wings and formulating a plan.

The only way she could think that this would work is if she could fake a slip-up and shout to Twilight for help. Otherwise she'd end up doing it herself and leaving her 'student' disappointed. She circled around to the front and leaped up, summoning a shotgun as she did. As planned, the summon was just a bit too slow and the bat swatted her to the ground like a fly. The pink light that had been materializing into Shy's weapon ceased and vanished.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight screeched out, fear in her voice. She could get back up from a hit like that... right?

Fluttershy coughed weakly to add effect. "Twilight, take it."

Her eyes went wide and she practically froze. Fluttershy lay unmoving, and if one of them didn't act fast, Fluttershy was in serious danger. However, her lack of experience caused Twilight to stand there in her shock. That is, until a familiar voice called from beside her.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Twilight gasped and turned to face none other than Rainbow Dash. To her surprise, the girl had no weapon at the ready. She walked past Twilight, barely acknowledging her, and instead leaped down to land beside Fluttershy. "...I should have known you'd do this again."

Fluttershy got up into a sort of awkward kneeling position. "You were watching, and you knew she would have died if I hadn't helped her."

"Helped her? Oh, is that what you call it? Is that what you called it when you let her die?" Dash's voice was both frantic and menacing.

Twilight stepped forward, listening in on the conversation with heightened curiosity, but the fear still lingered. The longer they stood there bickering, the more danger they were essentially getting themselves into. She pondered shooting it, but couldn't. Even as she readied an arrow, she couldn't.

The magenta-accented black spear that Dash had used in her strife against Twilight materialized in her hand. Is she going to strike Fluttershy!? Her thoughts were answered, as if Dash had read her mind. "Whatever. I'll kill this thing so you don't have to keep up that pathetic ruse."

She walked over so she was facing the bat head-on, then backed up so she was against one of the candy-constructed walls. Dash then swiftly rushed forward with speed that didn't betray her name, and used her spear to catapult her up above the marshmallow bat and land on its head. Hey! I know that move... she used it on me during our fight! But... ruse? What'd she mean by that?

Dash rose her spear and brought it down forcefully onto the Familiar's head, causing it to vanish in a stunning magenta light. The labyrinth quickly faded soon after, and that left the three of them back on solid ground.

The three of them transformed back to normal almost instantaneously. The moon illuminated them and the surrounding areas, the faintest trickle of dawn peaking out over the horizon. Fluttershy got to her feet, Twilight rushing to her side and putting a hand on her shoulder as she did.

"Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm perfectly fine, Twilight, thank you." She turned her gaze to Rainbow Dash, who was relentlessly glaring at her.

The awkward and somewhat malicious loom of silence continued on for quite some time before Twilight broke it with one simple yet effective question.

"Do you two know each other?"

Author's Note:

I'm looking for any proofreaders and/or editors if anyone's interested in that. I doubt my own skills and having someone else's would be a grand help.