Fate is a Funny Old Thing

"So, this is it, huh?" the ordinary magician Marisa Kirisame observed, looking over the large town, and it's white, hay-roofed buildings. She adjusted her footing on the hill. "We got shafted big time, eh?"

"Look," Reimu Haukrei replied, putting her hand on Marisa's shoulder and looking out to the cloudy afternoon sky. "I don't know why Yukari took Eirin's drugs, or why the Moriya Shrine got involved...or why the shrine then exploded."

"Flandre. And magic or something."

"Alright, Flandre Scarlet escaped..." Reimu remembered as best she could, rubbing her chin. "So then Yukari ripped gaps all over the place."

"We fell in," Marisa muttered, turning around. "And then we met this guy."

Marisa pointed towards the man in a flight suit. His visor obscured his eyes, he had strange emblems on his arms and he was trying to eat a chocolate bar through a rubber mask covering his face.

"His suit says 'Mobius One' on it. Until he speaks, I'm just callin' him that," Marisa commented. Mobius One did not protest.

"So, now we're trapped here..." Reimu said, looking out over the town's unusual style - These were not Gensokyan buildings. She estimated that it was around late afternoon, and unlike Gensokyo, the season was Autumn. "Looks peaceful enough."

"Yeah...We just gotta hold tight for when Yukari realises her screw up and brings us back, right?" Marisa stated, brushing some petals from her white apron.

"Not likely. She sleeps a lot...imagine how long she's sleeping after those drugs..."

"Damn," Marisa sighed. She pointed behind herself at Mobius. "You think he's housetrained?"

"Marisa, don't be stupid."

Mobius One put up his hand and waved it.

"I think he's saying 'no offence taken.'" Marisa translated. Mobius One nodded.

"Well, that's good then," Reimu replied. "Well...there's nothing left to do but see if the local inhabitants are friendly. I'm not in the mood for a fight today."

"I guess," Marisa said. She whistled three times rapidly and beckoned. "Come on, Mobius."

"He's not a dog, Marisa."

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity cried out, lunging for the filly. "Don't touch that fabric!"

"Why?"

"I had it imported from a country that doesn't exist any more! It's extremely rare!"

"Okay, sis," Sweetie replied, before running from the beautiful boutique. Rarity smiled as her troublesome little sister ran outside to play with her friends.

Rarity stood at her hoof-powered sewing machine. Using her telekinesis, she levitated a mug of coffee to her lips and took a large mouthful of the strong, bitter drink. She faced the medium-sized window and took some time to look out. She could see only a flower-filled rolling hill, the darkening blue sky, petals flying into the sky, the biped in a large witches' hat...

Rarity double-took.

There was another being. One wearing red and white clothes, with a neat, dark brown mane, which supported a large red bow. Rarity noticed that its clothing was broken up - her sleeves were detached from her dress, and her legs ended in very clunky brown shoes. It appeared to be arguing furiously with the black and white one, who wore an oversized dress which ended mere inches from the floor, uncovered arms and she had a waist-length, extremely messy mane.

Rarity dropped the fine purple thread and the black coffee, completely unsure quite what she was seeing.

"Have I gone mad!?" Rarity whispered to herself. "What are those? They walk like minotaurs, but they have the figure of...something I've never seen."

There was a third now. It was different. It had no face, and most of it was covered in navy blue clothing. It wore a helmet Rarity only saw Wonderbolts wearing in war movies, and it had no mouth, just a black mask.

Rarity could hear their conversation even through the window. How were they speaking her language?!

"...All I'm saying is that if these guys aren't friendly, then we'll have to blast them!" the black-white explained. Rarity noted her animated movements - Her way of exaggerating her words with her hands and arms. Her facial expressions were just as animated, and she moved very fast, despite her clothing.

"That's not the point! You're saying that we hunt them down and shoot them...and I don't want to do that because that takes time!" the red-white said. She seemed more calm and collected. Unaffected. Completely apathetic to how close the black-white's movements came to striking her. Her movements were more calculated. Refined.

"Ugh. Mobius, what do you think?"

The being looked towards the two female-sounding alien creatures, before pointing towards the black-white female. Rarity backed away slowly, shaking her head.

"See, Mobius agrees with me!"

"Okay, fine. But don't just think that anyone here is just going to turn around and shoot us. They'd shoot you first."

There was a knock on the door. Rarity's heart pounded. She decided there was only one thing to do.

She was going to give them a proper pony welcome.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Rarity heard the black-white's voice say. "Reimu, nobody's home."

"The sign says 'open for business,' Marisa," the second female, Reimu replied. Rarity padded forward, locking her face into a service smile.

"Hello!" Rarity greeted. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique!"

"Hello." Reimu said. Rarity was surprised at the casual tone of the red-white's voice.

"What the hell is this?" Marisa stated flatly. Mobius wasn't reacting at all.

"Marisa, shush," Reimu snapped. She began slowly approaching Rarity. "So, where are we?"

"You're from out of town?"

"We could easily be from out of anything. It's a long story, Miss..?"

"Oh! My manners!" Rarity smiled at the being, whose expression remained completely neutral - Almost unimpressed. Rarity! You have to step it up if you're going to impress her!. "My name is Rarity, master dressmaker. Is there anything at all I can help you with?"

Marisa still watched silent, not entirely sure how to act.

"So, Rarity," Reimu pointed at Rarity. "What is this place?"

"Ponyville," Rarity answered. "Do you need any directions?"

"Not right now," Reimu answered. "But we need answers."

"Like what?"

"Where are we?"

Rarity dropped the smile and dropped her 'service accent.' "Ponyville, District of Canterlot, Equestria."

"That narrows it down to..." Reimu wondered, hand over mouth, deep in thought. "Nowhere I know. So not only has Yukari dumped us in a strange place, we're in a strange place we know absolutely nothing about, with a species I've never seen before, and with a silent guy and Marisa for company."

"Well, that's absolutely frickin' fantastic!" Marisa boomed, throwing her arms up into the air.

"Yukari?" Rarity asked.

"Uh, long story." Reimu replied quickly. Might not be a good idea to mention the boundary ripping Youkai yet.

"Okay..." Rarity responded. She decided it wasn't worth pursuing the subject yet.

"Is there anywhere we can stay where we won't cause a problem?" Reimu asked. "If there's any problems, it never ends well for the people we face."

"Yeah. Threaten her life. That will help," Marisa jeered.

"First warning," Reimu growled, deploying her gohei from her left sleeve.

"Well...actually..." Rarity said, staring at Reimu's gohei nervously. "I think my home is the only place you can stay. The town would explode in panic if you were to be seen."

"Makes sense," Marisa whispered to herself.

"So, is there a guest bedroom anywhere?" Reimu asked.

"I do have a guest bedroom...but there is only one bed," Rarity answered, her eyes switching to the tall human admiring one of her dresses on display. He had said absolutely nothing during the entire conversation.

"I call dibs on the bed!" Marisa declared loudly, putting her arm in the air and jumping.

"I wanted the bed!" Reimu retorted.

"Fine. We'll share it."

"What?!" Reimu cried in disbelief.

"I'm fine with it," Marisa suggested, smiling mischievously. "Eh, we'll cross the bridge when we come to it."

"What about Mobius?" Reimu asked, turning to the pilot.

"Yeah, where's he gonna go?"

Mobius looked around, before pointing to the floor.

"You'll sleep on the floor?" Rarity asked. Mobius nodded. "No no no! I can't have that!"

Mobius waved his hand. Rarity stared at his fingers, fascinated. She had seen fingers before, on minotaurs like that washed-up action star-turned-motivational speaker Iron Will. They weren't alien to her by any means, but the fingers on these beings were certainly unusual.

"I think that means he's fine with it," Marisa translated for the voiceless man.

"How do you know?" Reimu interrogated, crossing her arms.

"If he weren't, he wouldn't be on the floor right now."

The two girls looked at Mobius One, now curled up on the floor.

Reimu, Rarity and Marisa looked at each other awkwardly.

"I take back the dog comment." Reimu whispered quietly. She turned to Rarity. "Thanks."

"It's no problem at all, dear," Rarity said. "I'm glad to help. How long will you be staying?"

"Until someone realizes we're here and corrects her mistakes," Reimu replied. She swung her gohei into her other hand, with enough force to make a soft smack noise. It grew in intensity as she swung more and more, eventually leaving a red mark on her palm.

"And that somebody is getting danmaku to the face..." Marisa grumbled under her breath, her arms folded.

"So, how long will that be?" Rarity questioned. "It's just that I normally use the guest room for storage, not to mention the fact that I must also conceal your existence until I am able to soften the town to the news."

"Shouldn't be any longer than a week. Even if Yukari doesn't realize in time, somebody will tell her eventually."

"So, let's go see what this guest bedroom is like," Marisa stated, closing the front door.

"So what do you think?" Rarity asked, hoping for the humans' approval.

"I like it," Reimu observed, hands on hips, looking around the light pink wallpapered room, checking the bed, the bookcase and the carpeting. "It's very cozy. The ceiling is a bit low, but I can deal with that."

"Was this bed made for children?!" Marisa complained, sizing up the small single bed.

"Well...it wasn't made for somepony your height..."

"Oh. Guess that makes sense," Marisa realized, lying down on the bed, her legs awkwardly hanging from the edge. "Hey, this bed's pretty nice."

"Thanks..." Rarity answered. "Finest griffon feather."

"Again, we will only be here for a short time. Trust me when I say I don't wish to be here."

"It's alright. I think I can hide you long enough," Rarity replied, walking backwards out of the room. "Well, make yourselves at home."

With that, Rarity left the room, closing the door. Reimu sat on the floor, and held her head in her hands.

"This isn't a good situation," Reimu mumbled.

"Yeah?" Marisa replied, her hat now resting on the floor. "Any other news?"

"Yukari's gotta realize her mistake soon..." Reimu moaned, looking at the witch. "I mean, somebody's going to notice that I'm missing, right? Suika, maybe...and Alice is going to notice you're gone."

"She'll only notice when she signs, like, ten parcels for me and realizes that I haven't collected any of them," Marisa said. "We got a mail-share thing going."

"So..." Reimu uttered, biting her lip. "How is the bed situation going to work?"

"I thought about having it on a timeshare," Marisa articulated, running her fingers through her hair. "I'll flip a coin, and whoever wins gets the bed tonight."

"Have you got a coin?"

Marisa got up and reached behind Reimu's ear, before producing a bit. "I do now."

"Heads or tails?" Reimu asked.

"Heads," Marisa said confidently. She flipped the coin in the air before grabbing it, and placing it flat on the top of her wrist. She uncovered the golden coin.

The picture of a sun and moon was face up, as opposed to the pony head the opposite side.

"Best out of three?" Marisa offered.

"Nope. Have fun on the floor with Mobius," Reimu replied, pushing past Marisa and jumping up onto the bed.

"Come on, Reimu!" Marisa whined.

"Maybe you can use that giant hat as a blanket," Reimu joked, smiling.

"Hey!"

"Oh come on, I'm only messing with you..." Reimu responded.

"So, what am I going to do?"

"You could kinda snuggle up to Mobius and leech his body heat."

"No thanks."

"Alright..." Reimu said. She looked around the room. "I'm bored."

"Me too. Let's see if there's a pack of cards anywhere..." Marisa wondered out loud, looking through a small bookcase the opposite side of the room. "I hope Mobius knows how to play."

Almost on cue, Mobius One entered the room, and sat down next to Reimu.

"Hey, Moby. You know how to play blackjack?" Marisa questioned, eventually finding a deck. "Sweet. Rarity has cards."

Mobius One nodded, before putting two fingers up, before lowering one, and then giving a thumbs up.

"Uhh..." Marisa stuttered, sitting down opposite Mobius and Reimu. "Good, I guess."

Marisa dealt out the cards, and smiled. She was the absolute best at cards.

Marisa held her head and frowned. She was the absolute worst at cards.

She looked over at the piles of books they were using as betting money - There were thirty-five total in the shelf. Marisa had three, Reimu had seven, and Mobius had twenty-five.

"How are you winning!?" Marisa finally blurted out at Mobius. "Tell me your secrets!"

Mobius simply continued staring at his cards. He offered five books.

"Oh screw it. I'm done with this game," Marisa snapped, putting her final three books in.

"Yeah, me too," Reimu agreed, putting her seven books in.

Mobius nodded, and put the rest of his books in. The three humans stared each other down as Marisa dealt the cards. Reimu looked at her cards - ten and eight. Marisa stared at hers - three and two.

Mobius blankly stared at his cards - ace, and five. He tapped the floor, and Marisa handed him another card - Another five.

Reimu held her hand up. "Hold."

Marisa gave herself another card. She looked at it, and added the numbers up in her head. Eleven, three and two. That's sixteen.

She gave herself another card.

Sixteen plus nine equals...DAMMIT.

"Bust!" Marisa declared, throwing her cards to the floor.

"I've got eighteen," Reimu stated, flipping her cards face up.

Both girls turned to look at Mobius One, and were sure of one thing:

Under that mask, he was grinning. And in his hands were three cards that added up to twenty-one.

Marisa's expression fell, while Reimu clapped slowly.

"Damn!" Marisa shouted, standing up. "How'd you do that!?"

Mobius mentally snickered to himself. Under his mask, he flashed a conservative smile. These wingmen are good.

"Well, good game," Reimu smiled, standing up herself, and looking out the window. The sky was beginning to darken. "I think we easily killed two hours."

"Good..." Marisa groaned, watching Mobius clean up the cards and books. She wiped her brow, and turned to her fellow resolver. "You reckon Mobius has anybody missing him?"

"Everybody will be missed by somebody," Reimu whispered, leaning on the window. "The point is, will anybody miss us enough?"

"Sure they will!" Marisa shouted. "There's most likely thousands of people looking for us right now!"

"Sure there is, Marisa," Reimu replied, putting her hand on Marisa's shoulder. "Sure there is."

Marisa turned around, to see Mobius' glove on her other shoulder. She looked up at the fighter pilot. He gave a thumbs up in his other hand.

"Yeah. I bet we won't even be here the night!" Marisa declared. She knew however, that it was not likely.

Remilia Scarlet stared at her tea. Normally, she would be pleased to have it...but recent events had spoiled her appetite for red tea. She flapped her batlike wings twice, and shifted uneasily on her throne. She stared at the large oak doors in front of her, engraved with the Scarlet family insignia, and held her head in her hands.

"How could there have been a massive lapse of security!?" she shouted at nobody in particular, slamming the table next to her hard enough to flip it over and send the red tea all over the dull brown carpeting. She looked up again, to see the chief maid before her.

"What's the news?" Remilia asked. She looked behind the maid. "Please tell me...that you found her."

The maid tugged her collar nervously. "Mistress...we couldn't find Flandre."

Remilia watched the maid flinch in expectation of physical punishment, before she realized it was not forthcoming. "So, she's missing, presumed destroying everything everywhere." Remilia whispered, images of that bloody, dreadful night five hundred years ago replaying in her mind. The spectral sounds of the screams, the explosions, and of Flandre's innocent laughter punctuating the air as danmaku flew through the skies played through the vampire's mind. It made Remilia shudder, despite herself.

"I am afraid so, Mistress."

"Has the shrine maiden responded, Ms. Izayoi?" Remilia questioned, rubbing her temples.

"She has gone missing too. The black-white witch was also not home, and her neighbor did not know of her whereabouts," Sakuya stated, looking at her shoes. "I believe that after the Class One Incident last night, they were unfortunate victims of the Gap Abductions. Many are missing, including the contingent of guards we sent out to subdue Flandre. If they have not been disappeared, they should be resurrected by now."

"How many did we lose?"

"At least one hundred and twenty fairies were sent out..." Sakuya answered. "A head count afterwards confirmed that at least seventy fairies have not returned yet."

"...Sakuya, use everything you have. I don't care what you must do - Engage in the darkest arts, commit the most devilish sins. Just bring my sister home," Remilia ordered, attempting to mask the fear she felt for her little sister. "And I do not even have to tell you to be careful."

"Yes, my mistress. It will be done," Sakuya answered, before standing to attention and marching away.

Remilia stared at the stained carpet and shook her head slowly. "Such a waste of perfectly good tea..."