Are you a Weapon or a Meister?

"Forty-two, forty-two, five sixty four, whenever you wanna knock on Death's door." Maka muttered quickly, breathing on the window and writing the said numbers. She wrote so quickly her numbers were sloppy, and you could only realize what they were if you stared at them for a few concentrating seconds. Despite her untidy handwriting, the window made alien-like beeping noises as blue lines rolled across it's surface. Soon, it shined so brilliantly the entire window was now blank-white.

"Lord Death! Are you there? I'm sorry I called you late!" Maka tried to slow her words to sound more professional.  "Maka and Soul reporting!" Soul stuffed his hands in his pockets and ambled to his anxious Meister.

The window dimmed down, and there stood a tall figure. He was black and spiky - especially on the shoulders and hips. He only seemed to be supporting himself on one pole, which zig-zagged in a pile of black spikes. He owned no visible arms, but his forehead was cylinder-shaped and tall. Having a zig-zag line on top of this, he also wore the same, white skull shape that was seen all across Death City as a mask.

"Why, hello, Maka! Good evening! Or, rather, good night. You too, Soul. So, how did it go? Did you catch the kishin egg?" His voice was surprisingly goofy-sounding.

Maka nodded quickly. "Yes, we did."

"Why did it take you so long, though? I was too busy at the time to watch you, so please fill me in on the details." He narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't too hard to defeat, was it?"

Maka winced. "No, it, uh..." She rubbed the back of her head, looking away nervously. "We defeated it an hour earlier, actually..."

Death tilted his head. "What distracted you?"

"Soul and I were on our way to contact you, but then we sa-"

"Woah! You look really, really creepy! You also look funny, too!" Pinkie tilted into the view of the window at an angle, giggling and smiling wide as she always did. Maka gasped and tried to shove her away, but she struggled and managed to stay where she was.

Death blinked and stared at the cheery female. "Who is this, Maka?"

Maka sighed and ceased trying to push her away. "Like I was saying, when Soul and I were trying to find a window, something near us made a loud noise. We looked down an alleyway and saw an unconscious girl, so we tried to help her. Then another girl attacked Soul, but soon she led us to a whole other group of women who said they were living in that dead-end alleyway for two days. I just now remembered to call you a few seconds ago."

Death was quiet for a moment as he looked deep in thought. He was staring at Pinkie with narrowed eyes, but hints of concern and confusion were visible as well. "Who is she?" He repeated. "While your explanation told me where she came from, it didn't tell me who she is."

"This is Pinkie Pie. She was one of the girls along with Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Spark."

"Sparkle." Pinkie corrected with a grin. "Her name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Right, right. That's what I meant."

"Those sure are exotic names. You aren't from around here, are you?" Death resumed his normal expression.

"Nope! We're from a town called Ponyville!" She laughed and stepped in front of Maka, sticking her face inches away from the window. "This town is much more darker than where we're from. Did you see the moon, by the way? It has a creepy face!"

"You get used to it. It's not even that scary, in my opinion."

"Hey, why are you guys talking to a-!" Rainbow let out a choking gasp, widening her eyes in amazement and being accompanied by a few gasps coming from the other girls (minus Twilight) who had followed her. They all stood behind Soul and Maka, staring at Death; except Pinkie, of course.

Death backed away a little; he started to feel a bit uncomfortable with all of them gaping at him like that. Turning to Maka, he asked, "Are these the rest of the girls?"

Maka nodded slowly, shoving Pinkie behind her and flipping her head over her shoulder swiftly to glare at the women before looking back at him with a neutral expression. "Yes. This is Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Twilight is back there." She pointed with her thumb to each girl respectively.

"Where are you going to let them stay?"

"With Soul and I, at our apartment." She huffed. She quickly glanced at Soul, who returned the look.

"Alright, but remember that that's your choice and your choice only. Are you going to help them find a job to help pay the bills? With all of them now staying with you, I'm sure it'll cause the bills to raise their amount."

Maka shook her head. "No. I was actually planning on letting them join the DWMA. Is that alright?"

Death shrugged. "Do you know what they are yet?" The young Meister quickly understood what he was referring to and lowered her head in embarrassment.

"No. I still have to find that out."

"Well, once you do, tell me. As long as they're okay with it, they can sign up. They have my permission." Two long, black lines with small, white tips sprouted out of his shoulders. The tips enlarged into over-sized hands, which he clapped together and gave two thumbs up. Then, he saluted to her with an ending wave of his hand. "I'm very proud of you for helping these women, either way. I will see you later, Maka! Goodbye!" The window flashed a bright light before it darkened and returned to normal glass.

The girls were silent, still staring at the window in pure awe and their mouths agape (although Rarity covered her mouth with her hands). Maka clenched her fists together; she could feel an angry rant coming on for barging in like that. Doing that was almost like making a lot of noise when someone is on the phone. Yet, she thought, them barging in did settle the issue of whether they were allowed to come to the DWMA. Due to this, she released the tension and sighed. She felt refreshed, as if all her anger had exited through her exhale and she breathed in a wave of peace - or, rather, a forced peace.

"Now then," She turned quickly on her heel and started walking in the direction of the streets. Soul stayed a few seconds until he went back to Twilight's area and picked her up bridal-style. Then, he followed in Maka's direction as he kept his trademark lazy look. The unconscious bookworm's arms dropped and swayed beneath her as he walked. "It's almost midnight. I have classes tomorrow, and you girls need some deserved sleep after, what I'm assuming is, a very uncomfortable night." When she looked back and saw they hadn't moved from their spot, she was sure she felt a vein in her neck pop from frustration. Pausing, she took a breath of air.

"GIRLS!" She snapped, making them all turn their heads and causing Soul to flinch. "Let's go."

With the uneasy females about fifteen feet behind her, the large group hurried to Soul and Maka's apartment. Some people on the other side of the street stared at them suspiciously, but after Maka sent a terrifying glare their way, they quickly looked away and whistled a cheery tune.

"Gosh, that girl seems a bit on edge, don't 'cha think?" Applejack whispered to her friends, careful not to allow her tone to go any higher in case Maka heard. They all nodded.

"I don't see why she needs to be so infuriated. Do you think she regrets letting us stay with her? I heard she lives in an apartment complex. Maybe it's too crowded for all of us." Rarity speculated quietly.

"I'm not sure." Fluttershy muttered in her normal tone. "I don't think I'm looking forward to being that close to her, though. She scares me... her voice is too loud and demanding for my standards. I just want to be back with Angel and my other animals back in Ponyville..."

"Me too." They all agreed, and sighed as they absorbed their surroundings.

Maka, on the other hand, had heard all of it. They had, despite her attempt to hide it, seen her annoyance with them. She felt slightly heartbroken, but she quickly pushed the emotion away. Even though I didn't mean to offend or hurt them, I shouldn't cry over it. I'll just apologize and try to act nicer from now on. She thought. Soul noticed her mental struggle and nudged her with his shoulder. She shook her head slightly and looked up at him.

"Something bothering you?" He questioned.

"No." Maka looked back ahead of herself. "I'm fine."

Soul chuckled. "Don't lie to me, Maka. You know you're horrible at it."

"I'm not lying. Get off my back, will you?"

"You are lying. Is it those girls? I bet it is. Just for the record, I heard what they said, too." He looked ahead, a smug grin visible on his face. "They just misunderstood you. They'll soon see you're not as bad as you look... er, sound."

Maka softened the tension in her expression. "I guess you're right... hopefully, at least." She laughed a bit and became more excited when she saw their apartment up ahead. She started to jog instead of trudge; the group behind her noticed this extreme change with interest as the building came closer.

"We're here!" Maka exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. Applejack blinked once they caught up with her.

"Er..." She tilted her head slightly. "She's suddenly happy?" Maka suddenly stepped aside to the left, waving to the entrance with one hand as the other rested behind her back. Soul stood right next to her, looking at the wall with a bored look. Twilight was still in his arms as her chest rose and fell peacefully.

"Guests first!" She grinned widely. Now, she did have a smudge of anger still residing in her core, yet with the relief of arriving home safely and her recent encouragement, the glee heavily outweighed the hostility.

The said guests, unsure whether Maka was calm or not, continued anyway and strided into the building to avoid the cold night air.