Equestria's Kishin

Chapters

1. Stein's Portal
2. A Shocking Transformation
3. The Unicorn and the Lizard
4. Weapons at Sweet Apple Acres
5. Flying Lessons
6. Fluttershy's Cottage
7. Attacked in the Everfree Forest
9. Rarity to the Rescue
8. Sugar Cube Corner

1. Stein's Portal

Maka stepped into the headmaster’s office with a serious expression on her face. Her black coat trailed behind her, and her red plaid skirt ruffled as she stepped. Her dirty blonde hair was bound tightly into ponytails on the sides of her head, and hung down on her shoulders. Soul followed closely behind her, slouching slightly, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his yellow and black hoodie. His messy white hair was all over the place, and a white headband with his name on it was bound around his forehead. Maka spoke. “Lord Death, you called for us?”

“Hey hey hey! Wazzup Maka? How ya doin’ Soul? How is your soul collecting coming along?”

“It’s coming along pretty well, Sir. Soul will become a Death Scythe in no time!” Maka’s green eyes glistened as her and her weapon partner exchanged grins.

“That’s excellent to hear! You’re just like your mother, Maka!” Maka blushed slightly at the thought of being like her mother. Although she hadn’t seen her mother in a long time, she still looked up to her, and the idea of being like her made her feel proud. Her mother did turn her father into a Death Scythe, after all.

“So, uh, why did you call for Soul and me, Lord Death?”

“Ah, yes. I have some good news, and some bad news. About the Kishin.”

Maka and Soul froze for a moment. Recently, the Kishin, an evil soul that spread madness throughout the world, had escaped from its prison under the Death Weapon Meister Academy. Lord Death had tied himself to Death City last time he battled the Kishin, and he had sealed it away under the school. But now, even though the Kishin had escaped, Lord Death couldn’t leave. This of course, was a huge problem, and Lord Death had previously alerted all the students as well as Death Scythes around the globe.

“What about it, Sir?”

“Well, let’s see, the good news is that it has left our world as we know it. We cannot locate any of its madness wavelenghts anymore.”

“That’s excellent to hear!”

Soul spoke up. “Wait a minute, if it left our world, what world did it go to?”

Lord Death’s voice took on a lower tone, and became more serious. “You see, that’s the bad news. It gained enough power to transport itself in time and space, and it has traveled to another universe that we have never seen before. I do not know what the name of this place is, nor do I know what powers it may possess. We have never traveled to another world before.” Maka and Soul both looked very confused.

“Traveled to another universe? Another world?” How is that even possible!? And what are Soul and I supposed to do about it?” Maka’s head started flowing with questions.

Soul spoke again. “Hold on, so if the Kishin traveled to another world, what do you expect us to do? Build some sort of magical portal thingy?”

“Calm down, both of you. I have been consulting with the staff about this issue.” At that moment, another figure entered the office. The light bounced off of his round glasses, concealing his eyes. Although he appeared fairly young, he had gray, stringy hair that hung in his face and over his ears. A long white lab coat was draped over his shoulders, and it accented his height and leanness. There were stitches all over his clothing and skin, as if something had torn him apart and he had been sewn back together. “Ah, Dr. Stein, come in!” Lord Death spoke cheerily. “What brings you here?”

The professor spoke with a low and eerie voice. ”Lord Death,” he uttered quietly. “It’s finished.”

Lord Death returned to the same serious tone he had undertaken a few minutes ago when he was talking about the Kishin. “Good,” he replied. “Soul, Maka, follow me.” The two students obediently followed their headmaster through many winding hallways, and it seemed the maze of the school would never end. Finally, however, Dr. Stein and Lord Death halted at a black door with a sign marked “Do Not Enter—School Administration Only.”

Stein pulled out a small copper key from his lab coat pocket and inserted it into the keyhole in the doorknob. The door creaked as it opened slowly, and it was very dark in the room that it revealed. Dr. Stein turned to the wall on the left side and flipped a light switch, and a dim bulb that hung from the ceiling flickered, then lit up. The two students saw a doorframe on the other side of the room. They silently continued to follow Dr. Stein as he led them towards the frame, when they discovered it wasn’t at all a simple doorframe, but an intricate machine that took the form of a rectangle.

“Professor Stein,” Maka quietly inquired, “what is that thing?”

“This, my friend, is a portal.”

“No way,” muttered Soul, “that’s impossible. These kinds of thing only exist in stories and sci-fi movies and stuff.”

“I’m afraid you’re wrong about that, Soul,” piped in Lord Death quietly, “this is very real, thanks to the incredible intellect of your teacher, Stein, here.”

“But, how exactly does this portal work? Is it even safe? Can you come back from the other side of wherever it takes you?” Maka began her nervous questioning again.

Dr. Stein began to explain. “Well, essentially, this machine has the ability to harness the madness wavelengths of the Kishin from the other universe it has traveled to. Using the madness, we can create a power that the Kishin possesses, the power to rip open space, and appear in a separate dimension. I have not tested it myself, and although I have sent objects through the portal, I have no way yet of knowing if they can return. However, I can guarantee that I am still able to track these objects, meaning that they are still in one piece. Using this data, I can reasonably conclude that it’s probably safe enough for human travel.”

“But professor,” Soul responded, “if you’re using Kishin wavelengths to harness the power to travel through space, wouldn’t the portal have some madness effect on the traveler?”

“Indeed, Soul. That is why it is important that the machine only be operated when necessary. For a brief amount of time, the portal can be opened without having any effect on the user. If one were to linger in the space between dimensions, the Kishin’s madness would most definitely affect them. “

“What about coming back? I’m pretty sure the people on the other side of this portal won’t have thought of building the exact same machine to travel back here. If someone traveled to that other world, they’d have no way of returning,” Soul replied with a concerned tone of voice.

“You are correct. It is highly unlikely that the residents in this alternate universe have developed the same methods of travel that we have. Like I mentioned earlier, I have no way of knowing whether traveling back to our dimension is possible yet. This is why I have organized my data of building this machine. It serves as a sort of blueprint, so anyone who travels there has a way to develop their means of return.”

“How do we know this portal will transport the user between these two dimensions only? I’d hate to end up stuck somewhere in the middle of a random universe I know nothing about.” There was a hint of doubt in Soul’s voice.

“Since the machine uses the Kishin wavelengths to power up, it can only find places that the Kishin is in or has been in. It would be impossible for the portal to spit you out in the middle of nowhere if there are no madness wavelengths to energize the machine.”

“Just one more question, Lord Death,” Maka piped in, “I still don’t understand why you called Soul and me to show us this.”

“I called you here because,” Lord Death paused mid-sentence, then continued,”I want you to find the Kishin.”

2. A Shocking Transformation

“So, let me get this straight,” said Black Star. He sat on the steps outside the school, his elbows on his knees, and his hands supporting his face. He had a puzzled expression in his green eyes, and his bright blue hair was just as messy as Soul’s, but it stood up more. “Lord Death wants us seven students to go through some shady magic door to another dimension that we know nothing about to stop the greatest force of madness and evil known to man?”

Maka responded hesitantly. “Well, when you put it like th—“

“Count me in!” Black Star interrupted, standing up and pointing a thumb to his chest proudly. “I can totally take on anything Lord Death wants me to do! That Kishin is as good as dead! After all, I am going to surpass God!”

Tsubaki, Black Star’s weapon partner, tugged at his arm. “Black Star, calm down!” However, Black Star continued to jump around, boasting and laughing boisterously. Tsubaki sighed hopelessly and slumped back down onto the steps, her long black ponytail lying against her back. Her violet eyes looked back up at Maka and Soul. “I guess we don’t exactly have choice, do we?”

“I’m still a bit concerened,” spoke Death the Kid. He took a moment as he stood up to brush off the black suit he wore, and he adjusted the skull rings on his fingers to make sure they were symmetrical. His eyes peered seriously through his black hair, which had three stripes on the left side of his head. “We don’t have a guaranteed return from this mission. I trust my father, but I’m not sure if I trust this portal.”

“Tsubaki’s right though, Kid, what choice do we have? Sure the Kishin is gone here, but think of all the poor people on the other side of that portal. And who says the Kishin won’t come back to our world?” Liz pointed out. Liz was one of Death the Kid’s two weapon partners. The reason he had two was because Death the Kid was obsessed with symmetry. He couldn’t possibly fight with only one weapon, because that would make him appear asymmetrical. His other weapon was Liz’s sister, Patty. Patty was shorter and younger than Liz, with short yellow hair, and she wasn’t exactly the brightest tool in the shed. However, in weapon form, the sisters were identical pistols.

“Lord Death wants the seven of us to go through this portal and stop the Kishin. He wouldn’t send us if he didn’t think we were capable of succeeding. It’s our duty as students of the DWMA to stop the Kishin,” Maka said confidently. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Three days later, the seven of them were sitting in Stein’s class, except Stein had arranged for a substitute teacher that day. There was an announcement on the speakers. “Will the following students please report to Lord Death’s office. Maka Albarn, Soul Evans, Black Star, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, Death the Kid, Liz Thompson, and Patty Thompson.” The seven of them looked at one another around the room, and slowly left their seats, quietly making their way to the door so not to interrupt the class.

“I wonder what’s going on,” mentioned Tsubaki.

“I think it’s time,” replied Maka. Tsubaki looked at her, and nodded to show that she understood. Soul and Black Star were walking ahead of the group, joking and being silly together as usual. Patty was daydreaming in her head and giggling while Liz quietly was following Black Star. Together they all made their way down the hallway to Lord Death’s office.

“Good, good, you’re all here!” exclaimed Lord Death excitedly. “I hope you all know why, if Maka passed on the information like I asked her to.”

“I did, Sir,” Maka assured him.

“Then let’s get going! Follow me everyone!” He led them all through the same winding hallways that he had brought Maka and Soul a few days ago, back to the same black door with the “Do Not Enter—School Administration Only” sign. The door was already unlocked, and Lord Death entered, followed by the seven students.

Stein was sitting in his desk chair, and he turned to face the students. “I hope you’re all prepared,” he said. The students collectively nodded confidently, and approached the portal. Stein handed Maka a folded sheet of paper. “Here are the instructions for reconstructing the portal on the other side. I’m sure with the combined intelligence of you, Tsubaki, and Kid, you will be successful. Good luck.

“Thank you, professor,” replied Maka. She turned to Lord Death. “You can count on us, Sir. We’ll return as soon as we’re done.”

Spirit, Maka’s father and Stein’s former weapon partner, ran to Maka and squeezed her tightly. “My little girl! She’s grown up so much!” Although Maka was practically a young woman now, her father still babied her, and it drove her crazy, especially since her mother was granted custody of her. Her parents had recently been divorced, and it was her father’s fault for cheating. She basically hated him.

“You’re not my dad.” Maka said firmly as she pushed him away. Spirit went to go sulk and sob in the corner, but this happened so often that nobody paid notice to him.

“Good luck all of you!” chimed Lord Death cheerily. “I know you’ll do great!”

Stein reached for a large metal switch on the side of the contraption, and, gathering his strength together, pushed it up into place. The machine started making a loud whirring noise, and a shadowy essence formed in the rectangular frame. It seemed three dimensional, even though there was a wall behind the portal. Maka turned back to Lord Death.

“Will I still be able to call you in the alternate universe? You know, through windows and mirrors?”

“I don’t know, but as long as you remember the number, it never hurts to give it a shot!” Lord Death responded optimistically.

Maka thought to herself, 42, 42, 564. With that, she and her companions all slowly made their way through the portal door.

There were a few seconds in time where she felt empty, like she didn’t exist, or that her atoms were all separate and rearranging. Nobody knew what travel between dimensions was like before then, so nobody knew what to expect to feel like when traveling. The sensation soon ended as they continued to walk forward, then everything went black.

Maka woke up in the middle of a cobblestone road. It was the middle of the night, so nobody was outside. She stood up, and looked around for her friends. When she turned around, she saw a group of six horses lying in the middle of the road. It was dark, so she couldn’t identify their colors. She walked towards them. A couple of them began to stir, and they blinked their eyes tiredly as they stood.

“Did we make it?” one of them asked.

Maka jumped back. Talking horses!? Not only were they talking horses, but that voice sounded strangely familiar… it sounded like Liz! What was going on?

“I think so,” another voice replied, a voice that resembled that of Death the Kid.

“Yayyy that horsey sounds like my big sister!” laughed the voice of Patty.

“I am your big sister you idiot! And who are you calling a hors—“ Liz stopped abruptly and let out an ear piercing scream.

Maka finally spoke. “Wait, Patty, that’s you? And Kid? You’re all…ponies!?”

“Take a look at yourself, weirdo,” muttered Soul’s voice as he shook himself a bit. She looked down at her feet, but they weren’t feet at all! They were hooves! She turned her head around, and saw that she had two more hooves, and a tail. Reaching one hoof up to her face, she felt ears and a muzzle instead of a nose. She also felt one more thing on her face, and long horn coming out the center of her forehead.

“Maka, you’re not just a pony!” shouted Black Star. You’re a unicorn! AHAHAHAHA!” Black Star was rolling on the ground laughing obnoxiously.

“Shut up, Black Star, your wings are no cooler than her horn,” Soul threw at him. Horrified, Black Star turned to see he was a pegasus.

“You have wings too, Soul,” uttered Kid. Soul’s eyes opened in surprise as he turned to view the feathered wings attached to his back.

“Not cool,” he muttered under his breath as he turned back to face Maka.

Tsubaki was the last to awaken. She stood, and shook herself a bit before coming to completely. “Black Star, be quiet, it’s clearly nighttime—wait, you’re a…flying horse?”

“Tsubaki, you’re a pony too! This is hilarious! AHAHAHAHAHA!” Black Star fell on the ground laughing again. It seemed he had forgotten altogether that he had undergone the same transformation as his friends. Tsubaki let out a short squeak of surprise as she examined her new form, then turned to Maka. “And Kid, you’re a unicorn! A UNICORN! BAHAHAHAHA!” Death the Kid, looking slightly insulted, shifted his eyes to the horn on his forehead to make sure it was perfectly in the center of his face. Good, he thought. At least I’m still symmetrical.

“This must be some sick prank that Lord Death and Stein wanted to play on us,” Soul complained.

“Soul, remember, Professor Stein and Lord Death had no idea where this portal would take us! This means that in this universe, it’s normal to be a pony instead of human, and nothing more than that,” Maka told him.

“Still not cool,” Soul whispered to himself.

“Okay everyone, we need to stop worrying about what we’ve become. My guess is since it’s a part of this universe to be a pony instead of a human, it’s only temporary as long as we’re here. Right now, we need to figure out where we’re going to stay while we’re here, and where the Kishin is hiding,” Kid said intelligently, as if he was taking charge.

Tsubaki, Maka, and Liz nodded in agreement. Patty was admiring her wings, for she and Liz had become pegasi as well, and Black Star and Soul were simply pouting about becoming ponies.

“Come one, everybody. Follow me,” Kid ordered.

3. The Unicorn and the Lizard

The seven had spent the night in a library they had found. It was seemingly empty, and at least it was some shelter before they could find more long-term sleeping arrangements. Maka hadn’t slept at all—she was too busy worrying about everything. She was less worried about the fact that they all had transformed into ponies, and more worried about finding the Kishin. How would they find it, and how would they defeat it once it was found? She and Soul had their soul resonance Witch Hunter move up their sleeve, as well as Tsubaki’s Enchanted Sword form and Liz and Patty’s Death Cannon, but would it be enough? If their human forms changed into ponies, had their weapon forms changed too? Maka’s train of thought led her to realize that they hadn’t tried changing into weapon form since they arrived in Horse World (or whatever it was called). Her thinking was soon interrupted by a surprised yelp.

“Ah!”

She quickly turned her head around to find a small, rather plump purple lizard with green spines standing at the top of the staircase, looking shocked. “What are you doing here? When did you get here?” it asked. Without thinking, Maka found herself speaking.

“First talking ponies, then talking lizards? What is wrong with this place?”

The lizard responded. “For your information, I happen to be a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon! Lizard, psh! What an insult! Second of all, what do you mean ‘talking ponies’? All ponies talk! Third, you didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were a dragon. I’ve never seen a dragon before, I didn’t think they existed. Also, I’m not exactly used to talking horses from where I’m from.”

“You didn’t know dragons existed!? Haven’t you ever seen the dragon migration? You’re making no sense! Hmm… you didn’t get much sleep last night, huh. Your thoughts seem a tad loopy.” Before Maka could respond, a female voice was heard from upstairs.

“Spike, what’s with all that noise? Who are you talking to?” A purple unicorn with a pink stripe in her mane and wings made her way down the stairs. She had obviously just woken up, and was just as surprised as Spike was when she saw seven ponies in the downstairs library.

“Whoah, when did they get here? They look exhausted.”

Maka spoke up again. “Please, allow me to explain. My friends and I just traveled here from Death City, and—“

Spike interrupted her. “Death City? There’s no Death City in Equestria, is there Twilight? That’s a pretty creepy name for a city.”

“Spike, let her finish please. You know how rude it is to interrupt,” Twilight scolded. “Please, continue.”

Maka hesitated. She wasn’t sure if they would believe her about a strange, powerful, evil force that had torn through dimensions of space to hide in an alternate universe. However, she remembered she had turned into a unicorn and was talking to a lizard—dragon—so she decided her story probably wouldn’t sound too strange. “Well, there’s this evil…thing…where I’m from, and it escaped its prison. My friends and I were sent here to find it. It spreads chaos and madness wherever it goes, so we need to stop it before it causes any harm to anybody your world.”

Twilight looked at Maka with extreme curiosity. “Well, I’m sure we can find something about it in my books! I have plenty of books about strange magical creatu—Wait a minute, what do you mean by our world? And you didn’t say ‘anypony’, you said ‘anybody’! You’re not even from Equestria, are you? Ooh, this is so exciting! So what kind of creatures are you in your world? And how did you get here? Is it like the portal in Celestia’s castle that goes to the Canterlot High world?”

Maka was a bit overwhelmed by all the questions being asked. Twilight suddenly stopped herself, and started over. “My apologies. I just get very excited with new discoveries, especially one like this! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant Spike. He’s a baby dragon. What’s your name?”

“I’m Maka, Maka Albarn.”

All the conversation had woken Maka’s friends, who had all gotten a good night’s sleep. “Let me introduce to you my friends. This here is Soul, he’s my partner. That over there is Black Star, and his partner Tsubaki. These three are Death the Kid, and his partners Liz and Patty.” The six ponies who had just woken up looked curiously at Twilight, who re-introduced herself so they knew who she was as well.

“Hi everypony, I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Spike,” Twilight repeated gingerly, pleased to introduce herself to new friends.

“Twilight Sparkle? What kind of name is that? That sounds like a name a three-year-old came up with! AHAHAHAHAHA!” Whack! Tsubaki had smacked Black Star in the head with her hoof. He fell like a stone statue to the wooden floor.

“Honestly, Black Star, You know better than that! Don’t act like such a child,” Tsubaki said. Black Star, who was now on the ground, only half conscious and a bit dazed, nodded. “I’m sorry about my partner, Twilight, he’s just a bit…well…a bit of an idiot sometimes.”

“No worries, it’s alright. So by partner, do you mean like…a special somepony? Isn’t it a bit… strange…that your friend over there has two special someponies?” Twilight’s face wrinkled a bit, slightly confused and thoroughly disgusted. Kid and Liz raised their eyebrows and looked at each other, horrified by the fact that she was implying they were all together. Patty was the first to speak, however, and said

“Yep! Kid’s our special partner! He never goes anywhere unless he’s got both of us with him! We practically do everything together!” Liz and Kid slapped their hooves to their forehead, embarrassed to let Patty speak. Twlilight took a step back, grossed out by this new discovery of the ponies who were in her house. Maka quickly swooped in to explain what “partner” meant in their context.

“You see, Twilight, we all go to the Death Weapon Meister Academy. Each meister has at least one, and in Kid’s case two, weapon partners. These weapon partners transform into weapons for the meister to use, and in this way we collect souls that have become evil. Once a partnership collects 100, the last one being a witch soul, then the weapon becomes the headmaster’s personal weapon, the Death Scythe.”

Twilight was puzzled. “That sounds a bit…violent…” said Twilight unsurely. “Then again, we don’t exactly get any ‘evil souls’ around here. That is, until the evil thing from your world came here, whatever it is.”

“I had a question about that by the way,” asked Maka. “Earlier you mentioned something about a portal in a castle. How did you get this portal? How do you power it?”

Twilight replied, happy that she had useful information for these new ponies. “You see, the portal is a mirror located in Princess Celestia’s castle. Celestia is the ruler of Equestria, along with her sister, Princess Luna. The portal is a gateway into a human world, and I have friends who go to a high school there called Canterlot High School. If you’re wondering what a human is, it’s kind like a—“

Maka couldn’t believe her ears. “Wait, a gateway to the human world? We’re from a human world!”

Twilight gasped. “No way! Except, I don’t think the Canterlot High School human world has issues with evil souls or whatever, though they have had issues with sirens and she-demons.” Twilight laughed as she reminisced about her adventures with her CHS friends.

Death the Kid responded, “But if you already have the power to create a portal to another dimension, it means we potentially have a way to return home once we defeat the Kishin. What do you use to power this portal?”

Twilight waved her horn proudly. “Duh! Magic!”

Soul slapped his hoof to his face. “This is getting weirder by the second, Maka.”

“Soul, we have to stay focused.” Then she remembered what she was thinking about this morning before Spike came into the room. Did being transformed into ponies change their ability to become weapons? “Soul, I want to do a test really quick. Turn into a scythe.”

Twilight was a bit nervous. “Uh, I don’t think you should be doing that in here. It’s pretty crowded.”

“Do you know a place where we could practice?”

“Yes! my friend Applejack has plenty of land at Sweet Apple Acres. I’m sure she’d be happy to let you use the space, as long as you don’t cut down any of her apple trees. How about I get you guys some breakfast first? You must be starving!” Soul and Black Star perked up at the mention of food. “Let’s see, we can make grasscakes, hay waffles, oatmeal,” she began to list the various foods that ponies normally eat for breakfast, none of which sounded appetizing besides possibly the oatmeal. “Oh, that’s right, you guys probably don’t ever eat anything that ponies do. Ooh! What about fruit salad!”

Maka’s stomach growled. “That would be great! Thank you very much.” Soul and Black Star started to follow Twilight Sparkle into the kitchen, desperate for food. Maka grabbed a book off of the shelf and whacked them both on the head to remind them about manners. Chop!

4. Weapons at Sweet Apple Acres

After breakfast, Twilight led the seven ponies to Sweet Apple Acres. She knocked on the door to Applejack’s house, and the door was answered. “Howdy, Twi! What brings you here?” She noticed the group of ponies following Twilight. “Why, that’s a mighty large party of ponies you got with ya! I don’t think I ever seen any of them ‘round before!” The seven introduced themselves one by one, and Applejack eagerly shook all of their hooves. “Well now, what can I do for ya today?”

“My friends were wondering if they could use some of your land. They have something they need to practice, you see, but they need a lot of open space to do it. Would you mind letting them use the open space on your farm for a while?”

“Not a problem, Twi! Anythin’ for new friends! I’m so glad I can help y’all.”

“Thank you so much, Applejack.” Twilight smiled.

“Y’all can use that big space right over there!” Applejack pointed to a large clearing with her hoof. The seven ponies thanked Appplejack, then followed Maka over to the space.

“What exactly are we doing, Maka?” Black Star asked with a rather rude tone of voice.

“I want to know if our weapon forms work in this world, as well as our soul resonance forms. I’m worried that us being transformed into ponies somehow messed with our abilities as weapons and meisters.”

The six others exchanged nervous glances. They hadn’t considered that traveling through the portal might have affected their weapon transformations. What if it didn’t work? How would they be able to defeat the Kishin if they couldn’t use weapons?

“Well, here goes,” said Soul. He, Tsubaki, Liz and Patty all prepared for transformation. A few moments passed, and suddenly, a bright flash came from Soul’s direction. Maka sighed in relief to see that her partner had transformed into a scythe, Tsubaki into a chain scythe, and Liz and Patty into pistols. She jumped with joy, but as her friends turned back into ponies, she suddenly stopped and sulked.

“What’s up, Maka? Our transformations still work,” said Soul as he walked towards his partner.

“Well,” she replied, ”if you haven’t noticed, I haven’t exactly got hands anymore. I can’t grip a handle with hooves. Death the Kid frowned, and Black Star moaned with annoyance.

“Ughhh why did we have to become ponies? Out of all the animals we could have been, it had to be an animal not only without apposable thumbs, but NO FINGERS AT ALL.” Black Star sat on his rear and huffed angrily. Twilight soon came galloping up towards them.

“That was amazing! You didn’t even have to use magic!” She smiled with delight, eager to uncover the mysteries of this new phenomenon. “This is so exciting!” Applejack trotted closely behind her.

“Whooowee! That sure was somethin’!”

“One problem,” Maka spoke, “we don’t exactly have hands anymore to work with our weapons.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem at all,” laughed Twilight. “Look at the horn on your head! It’s very common for unicorns to use their magic to handle lots of things that we can’t pick up with our hooves.” Maka and Kid looked at their horns, a bit freaked out.

“What about me!?” shouted Black Star. “I won’t be able to use magic, all I have are these stupid wings!”

“RD wouldn’t be happy to hear you say that,” Applejack smirked as she replied.

“Hey, that’s it!” exclaimed Twilight. “Rainbow Dash could probably help Black Star figure out how to use his weapon! She is a pegasus after all.”

“Well there’s an idea,” Applejack replied. “I’m sure she’ll be able to come up with somethin’.” As the group made their way back towards the entrance to the farm, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane gently flew towards them.

“Howdy, Fluttershy!”

“Oh, hello Applejack. I hate to be a bother, I was just wondering if I could have some apples for my Angel. He’s a very picky eater, and—“ Fluttershy noticed all the ponies that were following Applejack, and her wings snapped to her sides as she suddenly fell from the air, and tilted her head so that her hair covered her face. Twilight, although aware that Fluttershy was very timid when it came to meeting new ponies, figured it would be rude not to introduce them to each other.

“Fluttershy, I’d like you to meet my new friends. They come from another world, and they need our help to defeat some evil creature that escaped here.”

“E-evil c-cr-creature?” Fluttershy whimpered, and it was evident that talk of the Kishin was scaring her more.

“Aaanyway,” Twilight continued so not to frighten her further, “this is Black Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Death the Kid, Maka, and Soul.”

“Hey,” said Soul, “there’s no need to be afraid of us. We’re cool.” Fluttershy had only left a slip between her thick pink mane to see the figures of the ponies she was being introduced to. The one that had just spoken to her had a low, gentle voice. They looked pretty friendly, and Twilight obviously trusted them, and she trusted Twilight, so she decided that it was okay to trust these new ponies.

“O-o-okay,” she replied timidly as Soul approached her.

“Here, let me help you up,” said Soul. He extended a hoof to the frightened pegasus, who hesitated. After a moment or two, she reached out her hoof in return, and as she looked up at Soul her mane fell out of her face so she could see him clearly. She stumbled once he helped her to stand, then blushed faintly as she regained her balance and hid her face behind her mane again.

“What’s your name again?” Kid asked.

Fluttershy whispered her name so quietly that none of them could hear her.

“I think you should speak up,” urged Twilight.

“My name is- is- F-Fluttershy,” she whispered.

“That’s a cool name,” said Soul.

“Really?” she asked, surprised at this compliment.

“Yeah,” he replied, smiling a bit.

“It’s really not,” muttered Black Star, and Tsubaki shot him a frustrated look. “Just kidding, haha, that’s a… it’s a… great name, uh, Shudderfly.”

“Fluttershy,” Soul corrected.

“Yeah, that,” Black Star grumbled.

Twilight took lead of the conversation again. “Alright guys, I’m guessing that Maka and Kid don’t know how to use magic yet, do you?” The two unicorns shook their heads.”Alright, everyone follow me back to the library. I’m going to give you lessons in magic. Oooh, this is going be so much fun! I can be the teacher and all of you can take organized notes! Yay!” Twilight clapped her front hooves together excitedly. Black Star and Soul rolled their eyes at the idea of taking notes about magic.

The seven said their goodbyes to Fluttershy and Applejack, and followed Twilight to the library again. They received a few strange looks from some of the Ponyville locals, who did not recognize them. Soon enough, however, they made it back to the library. “Spike, can you set up some stools? I’m going to be teaching our new friends about magic!” Spike obliged eagerly, happy to be Twilight’s number one assistant. Twilight rolled out her chalkboard, and used her magic to write with the white chalk.

“First things first, there are three kinds of ponies in Equestria, as you have observed. The three categories are called earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. Earth ponies usually tend to the land and have special talents that are more natural based, like farming, athleticism, cooking and such. The pegasi are in charge of weather, and they usually have sky-based talents. Finally, there are unicorns, who usually have various talents. My special talent is magic, but most unicorns use their magic to help them with their talent, like a bonus. Now, as you may have noticed, I have wings like a pegasus, and a horn like a unicorn. This is called an alicorn, but only princesses are alicorns. Before I earned my royal title, I was just a—Hey!”

Twilight had noticed that half of her class had fallen asleep. Only Maka, Death the Kid, and Tsubaki were awake. Maka reached for a book on the shelf, and was about to hit Black Star and Soul before Twilight levitated the book away and placed it back on the shelf. “It’s okay, I guess they don’t really need to listen to this part yet. I’ll let you know when they need to wake up.” She sighed, then continued. “ Anyway, before I became and alicorn I was just a unicorn. Now, the important part is coming up, so Maka and Death the Kid, you two should listen carefully.”

Twilight explained to the two unicorns that unicorns have to practice magic, and although it comes naturally, it needs exercise to become more powerful and controlled. Maka and Kid’s hearts sank when they were told that it usually takes years of practice for unicorns to master magic.

“Luckily,” Twilight continued, “I only need to teach you two a basic spell. Levitation. I may need to spend extra time teaching you to control your abilities so you can handle your weapons with precision, but essentially, the spell itself is simple to learn. Concentration is key.”

5. Flying Lessons

Twilight explained how to use their horn to control objects, and she began to demonstrate the levitation spell to the two unicorns with a book.

"So...it's kind of like using your mind to move things?" inquired Maka.

"Sort of," replied Twilight. "I guess that's the best way to explain it to you since there isn't really magic where you come from. Want to give it a try?"

Maka and Death the Kid nodded. They both stood up, and each of them focused on a book on the shelf.

"Do you both have your selected target of levitation?" asked Twilight. They nodded in reply. "Alright, go ahead and give it a shot then!" She smiled as she said this. The only thing Twilight loved more than learning was helping others to learn.

The two unicorns focused on their books, and their eyes squinted as they concentrated on channeling their magic. For a few moments, nothing happened. Moments turned to minutes, ten minutes they tried, but nothing happened still.

"That's okay you guys, I didn't expect you to master it on your first try. Why don't we take a break and try again in ten minutes, okay?"

"Good idea," said Kid. Suddenly the door to the library opened, and a yellow figure with a pink mane peeped inside.

"Oh, I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything, I'll go home and get out of your way," she muttered timidly.

"No, you weren't interrupting anything, Fluttershy," Twilight assured her. "Come on in."

"Okay, well, um, you were talking at Sweet Apple Acres earlier to help your new friend learn how to control his weapon as a pegasus, and you said Rainbow Dash could help, so I thought I would bring her over to help."

"That's fantastic, thank you so much Fluttershy," Twilight said. "Uh...where is she?"

"Right here!" A rainbow blur flashed into the room, and posed in the center of the room to reveal herself as the pony who had just spoken. "Now which of you needs help from the best flyer in Equestria?" She waited, but nobody responded to her question. It was then when she realized half of them were asleep and had missed her grand entrance. Rainbow Dash grumbled in annoyance and she landed on the ground. "Hey!" she yelled, waking up all the ponies who had dozed off.

"Ugh...there's more of them?" complained Black Star.

Twilight began to introduce her. "Everypony, this is Rainbow Dash." She then pointed to each of the seven ponies as she introduced them to Rainbow. "Rainbow, this is Maka, Death the Kid, Soul, Tsubaki, Black Star, Liz, and Patty."

"Well, now, which of you four pegasi needs my help?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, only Black Star. The others turn into weapons, so they don't need to know how to hold anything or fly. Black Star is the weapon meister, so he has to learn how to control his weapon, Tsubaki, without magic." Twilight explained.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up Twilight. What do you mean turn into weapons?"

"Well, it's better if they show you," replied Twilight. "Shall we go outside?" The ponies all made their way outside. Luckily, Ponyville wasn't very busy that day, so they wouldn't draw too much attention to themselves. Rainbow, Twilight, and Fluttershy watched as half of their new friends took on their weapon form in a flash of light. Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, and Fluttershy, who hadn't seen them transform at Sweet Apple Acres, jumped back in surprise. As they walked back towards the library door, Rainbow Dash flew in a circle around them.

"That. Was. AWESOME!!!" she exclaimed. "Where did you learn to do that? You can't have used magic! Who are you guys?!" As they all found their seats on the floor of the library, Twilight explained.

"Rainbow, do you remember when I went through the portal to CHS?" Rainbow nodded. "Well, these ponies are also from a human world. But, they're not from the same one as my Canterlot High friends. In their world, as I understand, humans work together to fight evil beings. To do so, some humans possess the power to transform into a weapon, and their partner uses that weapon to collect the evil souls."

Rainbow Dash replied excitedly, "This is getting more awesome by the second!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, and continued. "However, they ended up here because an evil creature from their world escaped to hide here in Equestria. Since they don't have hands, they can't hold their weapons. I've been teaching Maka and Death the Kid how to use their magic to control their weapons, but since Black Star isn't a unicorn, he needs to find a different method. That's where you come in, Rainbow Dash. You're such a skilled pegasus, we thought you could help Black Star figure out a way to control his weapon without magic. Do you think you can do that?"

Rainbow Dash grew a confident smile on her face. "I know I can!"

"Great! Maka, Death the Kid, and I will keep working on magic. Black Star and Tsubaki, can you please follow Rainbow?" Tsubaki obliged, and began to follow Rainbow Dash out of the library. Black Star complained more.

"No way am I going to take lessons from a pegasus. I can figure it out on my own." Lucky for him, Rainbow Dash didn't hear his mumbling. Tsubaki did.

"Black Star, you really need to stop being so rude! These ponies are trying to help us, the least you can do is accept their assistance without complaining every minute."

"Fiiiine" huffed Black Star. He followed Tsubaki out of the library. Rainbow Dash led the two through Ponyville, and out to a large patch of grass just outside of the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, and waited for Black Star to follow. He kicked his hooves off the gorund, and his wings began flapping in a very sloppy fashion, resulting in him tumbling and tripping through the air. In other words, he was about as graceful as a bug bear. Rainbow Dash subtly cringed at the lack of experience in flying this pegasus had.

"Okay...that was...good...but maybe before we get to handling objects in mid-flight, you should practice flying a little more. You're not quite there yet." Black Star was frustrated, and humiliated that he found something he wasn't very good at. Especially when someone was better than him. "Hey," Rainbow continued, "I'm happy to help give you flying lessons. No offense, but you kind of need all the help you can get, especially if you want to fight this evil chaos guy."

"No!" he shouted in reply, startling Rainbow Dash. "I don't need your help! I'm Black Star! I'm the biggest guy around! I'm going to surpass God someday, and I don't need your stupid flying lessons to help me!" This, of course, insulted Rainbow Dash. Boasting was HER job, not this loser's. And he called her lessons stupid! She was the best flyer in Equestria, and this guy thinks he's better than her when he can hardly lift his hooves off the ground.

"We'll see about that," Rainbow whispered out loud as she watched Black Star storm off into the Everfree Forest. Tsubaki was still standing on the ground, urging Black Star to come back and apologize, but he was already far into the forest. Rainbow Dash flew down to join her.

"What an idiot," Tsubaki sighed. "I'm sorry for his behavior Rainbow Dash. He's got his head in the clouds all the time, and sometimes it's hard for him to admit when he needs help."

"Hey, if anyone understands what it's like to get their head stuck in the clouds, it's me," Rainbow laughed. "He's a numskull alright, but I'll go talk to him. Maybe knock some sense into that spiky-maned head of his."

Tsubaki sighed once more. "I'm afraid that's going to take more effort than it's worth. When Black Star decides he's going to do something on his own, there's really no changing his mind."

6. Fluttershy's Cottage

Fluttershy sat quietly on the floor of the Golden Oak library. Liz, Patty, and Soul were all watching as Twilight was instructing Maka and Death the Kid on how to wield their weapons. "How long do you think this is gonna take?" whispered Soul in Liz's ear.

"Beats me. They've been at it for hours already, and all they've been able to do is make their horns glow," she replied. Soul nodded in agreement. Patty was in the corner happily coloring a picture of a cat, probably unaware of how long they had been there in the library. Soul let out a long, loud yawn. It had been a long day, and although it was for the most part uneventful, he was exhausted, and very hungry because Twilight was so caught up in teaching levitation that they forgot lunch. He noticed that Fluttershy had stayed all day, too, ever since she arrived with Rainbow Dash. He figured she must either be very polite for staying all day to watch Maka and Death the Kid practice magic, or she had nothing better to do.

"Alright you two, you look pretty tired. I think that's enough practice for today. You may not have achieved levitation yet, but you did learn the illumination spell. It's good to start somewhere!" Despite the fact that she had been lecturing them about magic all day, Twilight appeared more awake than anyone in the room, except maybe Patty, who was still coloring. Maka thanked Twilight for her time, and began to walk towards Soul, looking pleased with herself for a long day's work.

"Excuse me, Twilight, but do you have any ideas for our sleeping arrangements while we stay here?" Death the Kid asked. "We're not entirely sure how long we may need to stay here, and it would be nice to have more a more permanent place to stay." Twilight thought for a moment. It was obvious that the library wasn't terribly comfortable, so she would need to help them. She turned to Fluttershy, who was surprisingly still there.

"Fluttershy, you have an extra room at your cottage, don't you?" Twilight asked, remembering the time when Fluttershy offered to babysit the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Fluttershy responded softly.

"You're all welcome, but it's only one room, and the bed isn't very big. It's probably not very comfortable. You shouldn't bother." She hid her face behind her mane.

"I'm sure it's fine," responded Maka politely. "We'll take it."

"Great! That's settled then," exclaimed Twilight. "I hope you all don't mind animals. Fluttershy is an animal caretaker, it's her special talent." Fluttershy blushed as Twilight boasted about her talent with animals.

"That's pretty cool," said Soul. "What kinds of animals do you take care of?" Fluttershy lightened up a bit. She often came out of her shell a little more when the topic of animals was brought up.

"Oh, all kinds of animals, from hummingbirds to squirrels and bunnies, and I even have a bear at my house. Don't worry, he's a friendly bear."

"That's quite a lot of animals," Maka said, now unsure about staying at Fluttershy's cottage.

"Don't worry, They won't bother you at all," Fluttershy replied with a sweet smile. Shy as she was, she was always pleased to host guests and demonstrate her hospitality skills.

"Hey, guys, has anyone seen Tsubaki and Black Star?" Liz inquired. It had occured to her that they had been gone all day. It was at that moment when Rainbow Dash flew in the door, followed by a tired-looking Tsubaki. Black Star was nowhere to be seen.

"There you are," said Twilight. "Where's Black Star? Please tell me he's with you guys." Rainbow and Tsubaki shook their heads in response to Twilights question.

"The guy took off into the Everfree Forest," said Rainbow. "He didn't want my help, so he got all angry and ran off."

"Typical Black Star," sighed Liz. "Always too proud." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Maka. "We should go find him. Soul, Liz, Patty, you should go check out the cottage where we're staying tonight, make sure everyone has a good place to sleep. Kid and I will find Black Star. Twilight, could you direct us to the forest?"

Twilight obliged happily. "Follow me!" The three left the library at a brisk trot, and the sound of their hoofsteps faded off as they grew further away. Soul and Liz turned to Fluttershy.

"Okay, everypony, I'll go show you my cottage." Patty was still in the corner coloring, so Liz came over to direct her attention towards Fluttershy, who flew gracefully out the door, followed by the three other pegasi. Unfortunately, they were about as good at flying as Black Star, so they decided to stick to trotting along behind her. It was around 4 in the afternoon, and Ponyville was bright and sunny. Soul admired all the old-fashioned architecture of all the buildings, and how it complimented the cobblestone streets. The sky was perfectly blue, with not a cloud to be seen, and the townspeople all seemed merry in going about their lives. The air smelled faintly of cinnamon, and he turned his head to see a couple set a tray of freshly baked goods to cool on the windowsill of a building that looked like a gingerbread house. It was nothing like Death City. There were no dark alleyways, and the sun wasn't flashing a creepy smile. It was almost too happy and perfect to seem real. Soon, he found himself following the others down a dirt path through a meadow, with tall, healthy trees and beautifully grown flowers.

At the end of this path there was a two-story cottage. It emitted a very warm, friendly vibe. Fluttershy opened the door, and allowed all of her guests in. The inside of the cottage was as pleasant and inviting as the outside. The warm tones of light brown and green brought a very home-like feel to the place, and what seemed to tie it all together were the animals.

"Hello, my little friends," spoke Fluttershy softly. "I have some new friends for you to meet. They're going to be staying with us for a bit, so make sure to be extra hospitable to our guests." The animals began to flock around her, eager to meet Soul, Liz, and Patty. There were little chipmunks, a hummingbird and a blue jay, a ferret, a bunny or two, a large brown bear, and many more.

"They're so cute!" exclaimed Patty excitedly.

"There are so many of them," Liz muttered.

"Alright, my little friends, this is Liz, Patty, and Soul. They're from another world, and they have a very special mission here in Equestria. It's up to us to make them feel at home as possible." The animals all chattered excitedly, and scurried towards the three pegasi to say hello. "Oh look, they like you!" exclaimed Fluttershy, still maintaining her naturally soft tone of voice. Soul smiled to see Fluttershy so happy about her animals. "Angel bunny, would you like to show our guests where their room is?" Angel obliged, and hopped upstairs. Liz, Patty, and Soul followed him into a room with a large bed against the wall. There was a window next to the bed, and a small shelf above.

"I'm sorry that there's only one bed, but I do have plenty of warm blankets and pillows for you to cuddle up in, as well as a couch downstairs."

"Thanks Fluttershy, this is perfect," said Soul. "I call dibs on the couch, guys!"

7. Attacked in the Everfree Forest

It was getting dark, and Maka was getting worried. They had been wandering in the Everfree Forest for hours, and the dimming light was making it harder to find Black Star. In addition, Twilight insisted that the group remain quiet so not to disturb any of the dangerous creatures that dwelt there, so they couldn't call out his name.

"I sure hope he wasn't attacked by anything," whispered Twilight.

"Black Star is tougher than he looks, he'll be fine," Maka responded.

"I hope you're right, because manticores and chimeras are nothing to sneeze at," Twilight said nervously. They continued to quietly make their way through the brush and leaves.

Black Star was curled up on a tree branch. After running into the forest, he practiced his flying for a while, and once he achieved a decent method of flying, he decided to take a break. Needless to say he was still upset that Rainbow Zoom (or whatever her name was) insulted his flying. He was a good flyer, and besides, she had no right to make him feel small since he was still adjusting to his new form, and new wings. That dumb blue pony thinks she's better than me, he thought as he let out an irritated huff. Well, I'll show her who's the biggest guy around here. He then heard voices from below him.

"Look, there he is!" exclaimed Maka.

"Thank goodness, "Tsubaki said, relieved. "Black Star, we've been looking for you forever. Why did you stay here all afternoon? We were all getting worried." He turned his head when he heard Tsubaki's voice, and responded.

"Cuz I'm the biggest guy around here! I can do what I want." His voice still sounded as frustrated as he was earlier.

"Black Star, we get it, you're mad, but we have to go back to Ponyville now," stated Death the Kid. "You never know what kind of predators you can find here at this time of night."

"Actually, I do know," Twilight said as she turned to face Death the Kid. "There's the manticore, cockatrice, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, parasprites,--"

"We get the idea," Rainbow interrupted. "But Twilight's point was," she directed her speech at Black Star, "we don't want to run into any trouble on the way home. Are you seriously still upset because I told you that you needed a little flying practice?"

"For your information, I can fly perfectly fine!" yelled Black Star, as he flew straight down from the tree to prove it. His nose was pressed against Rainbow's and he angrily glared into her eyes. "I don't need some dumb rainbow pegasus to tell me what I'm good at or not!"

"Black Star, keep your voice down!" Tsubaki whispered to him cautiously. "Please, we don't want to encounter anything dangerous!"

Rainbow glared straight back at Black Star. "Who are you calling dumb, loser?"

"Please, you two, you need to stop fighting!" Twilight said, panicking. Their foreheads were pressed together hard, each trying to push the other off of their hooves.

"You think you're so great?! You're nothing but a girl with an ego that's too big for her weak little talents!" Rainbow Dash was more furious than ever before. He face was almost bright red, and there was steam coming out of her nose with each breath.

"That's it!" she yelled as she swung her front hoof at his jaw. Before it could make impact with his face, Twilight had pulled them apart with her magic. No matter how desperately they struggled to throw a punch at the other, Twilight's levitation spell was too powerful.

"You two, cut it out! Your yelling could awaken dangerous animals! Did you two ever consider how your actions could be threatening the safety of everypony else around you?" Rainbow relaxed, and hung her head low.

"You're right Twilight. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorr--" her speech was interrupted by a loud, menacing screech. The trees around them shook, and Twilight accidentally dropped both Rainbow Dash and Black Star. The ground shuddered violently.

"What is that?!" exclaimed Maka.

"I...I don't know!" Twilight began to panick. "I thought I knew about all the creatures in the Everfree Forest! But I've never heard anything like that in here before! Oh, what do we do?" She had collapsed to the ground and held her hooves over her head.

"Whatever it is, it sounds like we don't want to run into it." Death the Kid seemingly took charge, since Twilight was panicking on the ground. Being more familiar with encountering threatening beings, Kid was a little more calm than Twilight. "Let's go! Hurry!" he exclaimed. Maka helped Twilight back on her hooves, and the group took off back towards Ponyville at full gallop, except for Rainbow Dash and Black Star, who were flying. They ran for a few minutes, but hadn't heard any more sounds, or seen anything at all.

"Is it gone?" Tsubaki asked.

"It would appear so," Death the Kid replied. "A bit strange that we were able to lose such a large creature so easily, though." He paused for a few moments, as if taking in his surroundings to check for any more danger. "Come on," he finally said after a minute of silence. "Let's head home." He began to walk casually forward.

Screeeeeeech! A large, worm-like monster sprung up from the dirt path just inches in front of where Death the Kid was walking, causing him to jump backwards.

"The tatzlwurm?!" Twilight shrieked. She recognized the beast from the end of Equestria, where Discord had once led her and Cadance to retrieve a magical flower. "But, what is it doing in the Everfree Forest?!"

"Ugh, where's Soul when I need him?" Maka yelled. Tsubaki was frantically looking around for Black Star, who had flown ahead with Rainbow Dash. Neither of the two pegasi were anywhere to be seen. Maka, Kid, and Tsubaki were partnerless. The snake-like beast that squirmed before them screeched again and bore its tentacles from its mouth, which seemed to open in three sections, and it dove towards the group of ponies. Twilight, seeing her friends in danger, leaped in front of the monster and emitted a beam of pink energy from her horn straight into its open mouth. The tatzlwurm writhed in agony from the shock of Twilight's magic. Twilight turned her head back towards her friends.

"Go!" she yelled at them. "Get out of here! I think I can take it!" She flew up high, and shot another two beams down on the monster's neck and head. She had battled the tatzlwurm before, but she had Cadance to help her last time. Twilight was alone with her magic, especially since Maka and Death the Kid hadn't developed their magic enough to cause any significant damage. She could feel herself growing tired with every beam she shot at the beast, and the exhaustion grew as she dodged its attacks every moment. Her bones were weak, her muscles were sore. She pushed herself harder, flying stronger and gathering every bit of energy left that she possessed for magic. I have to save my friends, she thought. Twilight's beams were becoming mere spurts of pink sparks, and her wings were giving out. No no no no! This can't be happening! Her body collapsed with exhaustion, and she began to fall from the air. Her panicking only made it worse, and her wings snapped to her sides. As she braced herself for impact with the hard ground, she felt herself suddenly change direction.

She wasn't falling down, but moving forward again! Twilight looked below her to see Rainbow Dash, flying her to safety.

"Gotcha!" Rainbow exclaimed. She set her down on the grass beside the path, a safe distance away from the monster. Before Twilight could say anything in protest, Rainbow Dash was flying at full speed towards the tatzlwurm

"Take...that!" she yelled as she threw her hoof at the monster's head, resulting in an agonized screech from the beast. Another pegasus flew to the other side of the tatzlwurm and kicked it hard with his back hoof. Rainbow Dash and Black Star were punching and kicking at the beast with all of their might, releasing from their lungs passionate battle cries. The two pegasi, whom, minutes ago, were quarreling with each other in despise for one another, were now fighting together to take down a ferocious tatzlwurm. Twilight was so amazed to see them fighting together that she almost didn't see the beast retreat into the hole it had sprung from, covered in bruises and hoofprints from all the hits it had taken. Rainbow Dash flew straight up above the hole, almost until she touched the clouds. She paused to change direction, the dove downwards, one hoof out in front of her, her velocity increasing dramatically. Twilight covered her ears, preparing for impact.

Boom! The ground shook, and as she turned around to see the damage done, there was a rainbow mushroom cloud above where the impact had happened. As the dust from the dirt was carried away by a faint breeze, Rainbow Dash emerged, looking prouder than ever. She approached Twilight.

"Now, that is how you defeat a giant raging worm monster!" Rainbow laughed with pride. "Come on, Twilight, let's go back to Ponyville."

Black Star flew over to join them, wearing the same boastful look that Rainbow wore.

9. Rarity to the Rescue

Maka found that she slept very well, because she couldn't remember anything happening after they went to bed the night before besides slumping down on a fluffy blanket. She woke up, and the sun was shining brightly through the window. She laid in the center of a patch of sunlight, and it warmed her coat. Maka hadn't felt this calm in ages. She stretched her hooves in front of and behind her to relax her muscles, and rolled her head on her neck. Her lungs filled up with air as she took in a deep breath through her nose, and the air smelled faintly of pine trees. She opened her eyes fully, now that she felt completely awake, and looked around the room to see her friends still in deep sleep. Opening the bedroom door, she quietly walked down the staircase to the living room. Soul was sprawled out on the couch, snoring obnoxiously. Maka soon discovered that Flutterhsy was already awake, and busy in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Maka!" she said merrily. "I hope you all are hungry, because I thought I would make a nice yummy breakfast for all of you."

Wow, she's probably the nicest pony in the world, thought Maka. There was a huge spread on the table, complete with scrambled eggs, mixed fruit, and pancakes with butter and syrup. "We better go wake up everypony," said Fluttershy as she grabbed a bell in her mouth and walked into the living room. The bell rang, and its sound was soft and beautiful, but loud enough to wake someone up. One by one, the group came downstairs, first Patty and Tsubaki, followed by a sleepy-looking Black Star, then Death the Kid and Liz. Soul, on the other hand, remained asleep.

"We better leave him be," Maka told Fluttershy. "He loves his sleep more than anything." She laughed as she and everyone else walked into the kitchen, spirits rising to see all the delicious food Fluttershy had prepared.

"Wow, Fluttershy, you really outdid yourself," said Liz. "This looks amazing!" Black Star had already dug his face into a stack of pancakes, and Tsubaki and Kid graciously thanked Flutterhsy before sitting down to enjoy breakfast. Fluttershy gathered food on a separate plate complete with fruit, three pancakes, a large spoonful of eggs, and a glass of orange juice. She fluttered out to the living room, and set the plate on the small table near the couch where Soul was sleeping. Then, she came back into the kitchen to eat her own breakfast. While Maka was eating, her thoughts concerning the Tatzlwurm attack the previous night returned. She couldn't shake the feeling it had something to do with the Kishin. After everyone finished their meal, Maka made an announcement.

"Guys, let's go to the living room. There's something I want to talk about." Her face was very serious looking. Most of them got up from the table and followed her to the living room, which seemed to be like a designated meeting place now. Black Star shoved a few more pancakes into his mouth before leaving the breakfast table. Soul had woken up, and he was enjoying his breakfast that Fluttershy had left out for him from the comfort of his couch bed. Maka began to speak. "Remember how I mentioned how strange the Tatzlwurm attack was last night?" The rest of them nodded silently, recalling what she had said before they all went to sleep the night before. "Well, Twilight mentioned during the attack how strange it was to find that particular monster in the Everfree Forest. Now, this may be jumping to conclusions, but what if it has to do with the Kishin? It seems things like monster attacks almost never happen in this world."

"That's kind of a long shot, Maka," muffled Soul through a mouthful of food.

"She could have a point, though," said Death the Kid. "The wavelengths could very well cause anomalies in the behavior of creatures in this world."

"I'm sure weird things happen from time to time anyway, Kishin or no Kishin," said Liz.

"You could be right," said Maka. "But we should keep our eyes and ears peeled, just in case."

"Indeed," Kid responded. Soon after he spoke, there was a knock on the door.

"Fluttershyy!" called a voice from outside. "Are you in there, darling?" Fluttershy heard the voice, and came to open the door.

"Good morning, Rarity! Here to drop off Opalescence?"

"Indeed. Would you take care of her for the afternoon while I work?"

"Of course! I'm always happy to help." Fluttershy smiled. Rarity looked past Fluttershy to see seven other ponies gathered in her living room.

"Good heavens, darling," she said as she walked into the house. "Who are all these ponies? What are they doing in your house?"

"These are my new friends. They're not from here, but they have an important mission here in Equestria. They're all staying at my house while they're here. Everypony, this is my friend, Rarity."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Rarity said, bowing slightly to demonstrate her manners. "Now, what are all your names?"

"This is Maka, Soul, Death the Kid, Liz--"

"Oh my! What an exquisite mane you have, darling!" Rarity interrupted Fluttershy while she stepped forward to admire the stripes in Death the Kid's hair. "Wherever did you get it done? It's so...edgy!" Kid stepped backwards as Rarity leaned forwards in admiration. Not of Kid, but of his hair. He collapsed on the floor.

"It's so asymmetrical! I'm hideous!" he cried.

"Oh, not at all darling, it looks smashing," Rarity assured him.

"Who cares how it looks if it can't be perfect?" Death the Kid was practically sobbing.

"Well, we can't let an imperfection like asymmetry ruin such a beautiful mane," Rarity announced. "Follow me!" She began to dramatically dash out the door, and paused in front of the house when she realized he wasn't following her. "What are you waiting for darling? We're going to even out those stripes in your mane!"

"Are you really going to--" Maka didn't even finish her sentence before Kid was out the door following Rarity, still crying about his asymmetrical hair.

"Well, there he goes," muttered Maka.

"I think we found Death the Kid's soulmate," joked Liz sarcastically. Black Star and Soul chuckled.

"We should probably head back to the library. Twilight will want me to practice magic again today," said Maka. "And Black Star could work with Rainbow Dash again. Do you think you two could get along today, Black Star?"

He shrugged, trying to act casual. "That pony is almost as cool as me. I can put up with her for a little bit."

"Try not to be rude today, okay Black Star?" Tsubaki told him. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

Tsubaki smiled at him, thankful that he at least acknowledged her instructions.

"What are Liz, Patty, and I supposed to do while you guys are busy?" Soul whined. "Yesterday was pretty boring just waiting all day for you to finish magic lessons."

"We could go watch Kid get his hair done," laughed Liz. Patty giggled as well. "It might be interesting."

"Eh, I've got nothing better to do," Soul said, implying that he agreed to go with them. "You wanna come, Tsubaki?"

"No thanks, guys. I think I'll stay here and help Fluttershy clean up from breakfast." She smiled pleasantly at them.

"Suit yourself," said Liz as she turned to walk out the door, followed by a bouncing Patty and a sluggish Soul.

8. Sugar Cube Corner

After showing the three guests their room that they were to stay in, Angel bunny hopped back downstairs. He found Fluttershy relaxing on the couch, and he cuddled up next to her. Soul, Liz, and Patty all came downstairs after Angel.

"So, what do we do while we wait for the others to come back with Black Star?" Liz asked.

"We could nap," said Soul as he yawned. He was becoming gradually sleepier as the day moved forward.

"Well, there are lots of things to do in Ponyville," Fluttershy chimed in. "I could show you around, i--if you want, that is."

"Yay! Pony town tour!" shouted Patty happily.

"Well, we've got nothing better to do," said Liz. "Why not?"

"I guess my nap will have to wait," uttered Soul. Fluttershy hopped off of the couch, and walked towards the door. She opened it and politely allowed her guests out first, then turned to Angel.

"Don't worry, Angel bunny. I'll be back to feed you dinner in no time," she told him as she followed the three pegasi through the door, which she carefully closed behind her. They walked through the meadow, across an arched bridge, and arrived in the main part of Ponyville. Fluttershy took them through the market where she usually bought all her foods, and around the center of town. She made sure to point out all the significant buildings and attractions of Ponyville, such as the Town Hall, the Bowling Alley, the Ponyville Tower, and the Spa.

"I saved the best place for last," Fluttershy said with a smile as she stopped the tour in front of the Sugar Cube Corner Bakery. Soul recognized the building from when they walked through Ponyville on the way to Fluttershy's cottage earlier. It certainly did look like a gingerbread house, with white paint swirled on the roof to look like icing, and a cupcake-like tower on top. The whole building seemed as though it had come out of a story book.

"They make the best pastries here, from cakes to pies and everything in between," Fluttershy continued. "Would you like to try something?" she asked. Patty licked her lips, and happily bounced towards the door. Liz pulled her back.

"Hold on, Patty. We want to be polite," she said. "Thank you, Fluttershy, but we'd hate to make you pay for all three of us."

"It's not a problem, really. I'd be happy to treat you guys to something sweet." She smiled sweetly at the three pegasi.

"You sure?" asked Soul.

"Certainly," Fluttershy responded. "Go ahead everypony, pick something out." It made her happy to treat her new friends, and her heart fluttered with joy. She also planned on introducing them to Pinkie Pie, who was always laughing and smiling, and always loved new friends. Patty, Liz, and Soul walked through the door. Their jaws immediately dropped as they took a look around the bakery. There were shelves of colorful, beautifully decorated cakes, and glass display cases with flavorful cupcakes, creamy cheesecakes, and scrumptious pies. Mrs. Cake trotted out to greet her customers.

"Oh, hello dearies! What can I do for you today?" Fluttershy followed her friends through the door. "Fluttershy! Are these your new friends, dear?"

"Yes they are, Mrs. Cake,"she replied merrily. "I've decided to treat them to a little something today. Is Pinkie Pie here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, but Pinkie Pie is out gathering ingredients right now. She's planning on trying a new recipe she invented. I'll let her know you stopped by though," said Mrs. Cake.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cake," Fluttershy repsonded. "Alright , everypony, choose a treat!" The three of them walked up to the counter. It was a difficult decison of course, since there were so many delicious looking sweets to choose from.

"I think I'll have the chocolate strawberry cupcake," said Soul.

"I'm gonna try a slice of the raspberry swirl cheesecake, please," Liz ordered.

"Blueberry scone! Blueberry scone!" said Patty excitedly.

"Right away, dears," said Mrs.Cake as she pulled the pastries out of the display case, and placed them into individual boxes for each of them. "Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you very much Mrs. Cake," said Fluttershy sweetly as she dropped six bits onto the counter.

"Have a good day, Fluttershy, and Flutterhsy's friends!" she called after them as they made their way out the door. They trotted happily down the street as they each carried their boxed treat in their mouth. Fluttershy flew gracefully behind them, pleased to make her friends smile. They all headed back to Fluttershy's cottage, a road which was now becoming familiar, and they sat down at her dining table to enjoy their treats.

"Thanks a bunch, Fluttershy," said Liz through a mouthful of cheesecake. Patty and Soul followed up with an "Mhm!"

"You're all very welcome. Please excuse me, everypony, I have to go feed my animals," said Fluttershy. She opened a pantry door in her kitchen, pulled out a large sack of mixed chow for animals, and headed to the living room where all her animals were. Liz waited for Fluttershy to leave the room, then spoke.

"Is it just me, guys, or is she like, the nicest person ever?"

"Pony," corrected Soul. "But I guess she's nicer than any people we've ever met, too." It was true. Out of all the people they had encountered in the human world, Fluttershy beat every nice person by a landslide in the kindness competition. She even gave Tsubaki a run for her money, which was impressive considering Tsubaki's tolerance for Black Star. Soul took a large bite out of the cupcake he ordered. The fruity strawberry flavor and creamy chocolate blended together in perfect harmony in his mouth. The frosting was smooth and rich, and the cake was fluffy and moist. This cupcake was far better than any kishin egg souls he had consumed in the human world. He ate the rest of the cupcake in one bite. After he finished, he looked out the window. It was getting dark, and the others still hadn't returned yet. Soul began to worry that something happened to them. Was Maka okay?

"Hey, guys, is anyone else getting a bit worried that the others haven't come back yet?" asked Soul.

"You know, now that you mention it, I am a bit worried," Liz responded. Soul stood up from the table and walked towards the door.

"I'm gonna go to the Forest. I shouldn't be too long," he announced.

"Wait!" cried Fluttershy softly. "The Everfree Forest is too dangerous! You never know what you could find out there!" She looked up at Soul with frightened eyes.

"Don't worry about me," he assured her. "I'll be fine."

"What if something happens to you? What if you get eaten? It's not safe!" Her hooves were covering her face and she was cowering on the floor.

"Fluttershy," he said, and she uncovered her face and looked up at him. "I promise you, I'll be okay. Trust me." He gave her a warm smile, then headed towards the door and walked out. Not five seconds after he left the house did he see Maka, Tsubaki, and Black Star all running out of the forest. He ran towards them.

"Maka!" he yelled as he approached his friends. "Where's Black Star? And the other ponies you were with?"

The three of them were panting. Maka was the first to speak, her words interrupted with heavy breathing. "We...found...Black Star...then... there--"

Boom! Soul jumped. The house shook. The many animals that were previously gathered around Fluttershy all scampered and fled into hiding spots around the house--under the couch, in a bird house, in a mouse hole, in the corner. Fluttershy panicked. "Oh no!" she cried as she fled upstairs to hide under the bed and cry.

"What...was...that?!" exclaimed Liz. "Just when we think this place the happiest most pleasant land on Earth, BAM! An explosion happens!"

Soul, who was still outside talking to Maka, wanted to take immediate action. The sound had come from the Everfree Forest, and he couldn't help but think it had something to do with Black Star and the other two who were still in there, Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

"Maka, I'm going into the Forest. We need to know they're okay."

"Don't think I'm not coming with you, Soul," she responded, and they galloped off in the direction of the explosion. Death the Kid and Tsubaki decided to go into the house to see Liz and Patty. They found them at the dining table, half-eaten pastries in front of them.

"Tsubaki! Kid! Where have you been all day? What was that explosion?" Liz immediately began asking questions after not seeing her friends all day.

"Well, we were out in the Everfree Forest looking for Black Star, then once we found him Rainbow Dash and Black Star began fighting," Tsubaki began.

"Their voices woke up an underground monster, and by then they had taken off in this direction. Twilight told Maka, Tsubaki, and I to run since we were defenseless, and that's how we ended up here," Kid continued

"Is Black Star here yet?" Tsubaki asked worriedly.

"No, we hadn't seen anyone, so Soul went looking for you guys," Liz told her.

"He just went with Maka into the forest. Are you and Patty alone here in the house?" asked Kid

"Jeez, I hope those two are okay. And no, Fluttershy is upstairs hiding. The explosion must have scared her."

"Fluttershy got us food!" Patty chimed in.

"Poor thing," Tsubaki stated sympathetically. "The ponies here probably aren't used to a whole lot of action like we are." She left the room, and began to make her way upstairs to go comfort Fluttershy. "Hey, it's me, Tsubaki, Fluttershy." She found the frightened pegasus shaking under the bed in the upstairs bedroom. "Are you okay?"

"I--I'm just---I'm very scared," Fluttershy managed to stutter. "What i--if somepony g--got hurt?" There were small tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't you worry," Tsubaki said to her. "If I know my friends, they'll be just fine."

"R--really?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Mhm," Tsubaki responded as she nodded her head.

Maka and Soul were moving quickly, although they refrained from calling anyone's name to avoid another monster encounter. It was still very dark out, and the superfluous amount of trees blocked nearly any moonlight that may have otherwise lit their path. The only thing they knew to do was keep running forward.

Oof! They hadn't run very far when Maka ran into something, and she was knocked off of her hooves.

"Ah!" a voice exclaimed in surprise. As it turned out, the something that Maka had run into was Twilight.

"Twilight! Is everything okay?" asked Maka as she stood up and dusted herself off.

"We heard an explosion after we left the forest, so we came looking for you guys," said Soul.

"Everyone is really worried," Maka continued. Rainbow Dash, who had been flying alongside Black Star above Twilight's head, began to laugh.

"Everything's fine guys. That explosion was just the sound of my awesomeness," she boasted. Maka and Soul tilted their heads in confusion.

"Let's get out of the forest guys. I'll explain everything when we meet up with the others back at Fluttershy's place." The four others nodded in agreement, and they found their way out of the Everfree Forest. Soul could feel his sleepiness returning now that all the excitement was finally over for the day. It had to be around 9 or 10 at night, and he was ready to go to sleep. Alongside Maka and Twilight, he felt his way around the grass and brush, carefully placing each hoof until he found the dirt road that led to the exit. He could see the moonlight shining on the meadow through the opening at the end of the path.

He walked up to the door to Fluttershy's cottage and saw Patty and Liz sitting casually on the couch together, and Death the Kid was pacing in the middle of the room. This house...it's so...asymmetrical... he thought to himself, and continued pacing to try to calm down his nerves from his OCD. He was relieved to see Soul and the others come through the door so he could distract himself from the hideous architecture of the cottage he was in.

"Hey, everybody," said Soul.

"That was quick," stated Liz. "What happened? Did you find out what exploded?"

"That was me!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew into the house. She never grew tired of boasting of her accomplishments, especially when they ended in cool explosions.

"Where's Tsubaki?" asked Maka.

"She's upstairs with Fluttershy," responded Liz. "I think that poor pegasus got scared to death after the explosion sounded," she said. Soul felt his stomach turn thinking about Fluttershy being even more scared than she was before he left.

"Hey, everypony, I'd love to stay, but it's getting pretty late. I really need to get back to the library," Twilight announced. "That was quite the adventure we had today. Oh, and Rainbow and Black Star, thanks for saving me," she smiled as she talked to the two pegasi. "See you tomorrow, eveypony!" She trotted out the door.

"I'm with Twilight," said Rainbow as she let out a long, loud yawn. "See ya!" she said as she flew away. Maka watched them leave.

"You guys, I think we should talk about something," she said to her friends. She called Tsubaki, who was still upstairs. They all made their way into the living room where she was standing. "While we were in the Everfree Forest, and the worm monster attacked us, Twilight said, 'What is it doing here?' Now I may be wrong, but something tells me they aren't used to monster attacks in this world."

"Probably not," said Liz, and she let out a long yawn. "But can we talk about it in the morning? It's pretty late, and I'm getting tired."

"Mhm," everyone else said collectively.

"Alright. Let's get some sleep then," said Maka. "Is Fluttershy still upstairs, Tsubaki?"

"Yeah, the poor thing was shaking. She would be happy to know that you all made it back safely though," she said.

"Hey Fluttershy!" Soul called her name so she could hear him from upstairs. There was a pause, and then a yellow figure flew down the stairs, and ran straight into Soul. Fluttershy clung to him for a moment, and he stepped backwards in surprise. "You okay, there?" he asked as he looked down at her. Her mane mostly covered her face, and her eyes were shut tightly. She then relaxed, and stepped back from him, her cheeks a light shade of pink.

"I guess I'm just glad you're okay," she whispered softly, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Okay, guys, lets get some sleep," said Liz.

"I put some blankets out for all of you." Fluttershy's voice returned to a normal volume, and she lifted her head so her hair fell out from in front of her eyes.

"Thanks a lot for letting us stay here, Fluttershy," said Maka.

"It's not a problem at all," Fluttershy said as she smiled at her guests. "Goodnight, everypony." She disappeared into her bedroom.