Equestria's Kishin

“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.