A Tale of Sparkles and Black Magic

All along the streets of Canterlot, hundreds of ponies, many of whom dazed and confused but all of whom otherwise healthy, sat on the cobblestone being tended to by dozens of guards and maids from the castle staff. Green Gale and her crew fervently traveled to and fro, interviewing ponies and other creatures who were well enough to speak. A week had passed since Dio’s death, and all the Crystalvisions throughout the country remained tuned in to the aftermath. That every single one of Dio’s victims was revived by magicians from another world filled everyone with both immense relief and intrigue.

“How are ya feelin’, Trix?” Rainbow Dash asked from her spot on the street, rubbing a sore spot on her head. Apparently, she was one of the last ponies to be revived. That was weird but totally cool. She vaguely remembered Dio stomping her head in, but after that, nothing. Nothing but a total blank spot in her memory.

“She is feeling fine, thank you for asking,” Trixie replied from her spot next to Rainbow. The haphazard manner in which she was splayed out suggested otherwise, but Rainbow kept silent. “How about you, Zecora?”

The zebra said nothing. A closer look revealed she was sleeping. Amusingly, a sizable snot bubble had formed from one nostril, growing smaller and bigger as she breathed in and out, respectively.

“Better than us,” Trixie said, putting her head back on the ground. A sorrowful look crossed her face. “I can’t believe I almost killed Twilight.”

“Hey, hey,” Rainbow attempted to soothe her, “it’s not your fault. That jerk had you under his mind control. Don’t feel bad for something you had no control over.”

“Trixie appreciates your counseling, but it doesn’t make the pain go away.” She turned her head to smile at Rainbow. “Trixie wishes she had your stubborn heart.”

“Hey!” Rainbow said, giving her a sharp glare.

Trixie retained her smile. A second later, they burst into shared laughter.

“What do you think is happening up in the castle?” Rainbow asked once they settled down.

Trixie turned her head to look up at the castle. The hole Dio had made was currently undergoing repairs, while his dusty remains were being brought by boat to a remote area of the South Luna Ocean, far away from any civilization, to be scattered; with his extraordinary penchant for escaping death, no chances would be taken. Black Magician and Black Magician Girl had been invited to the royal chamber once they were finished reviving everypony. No reporters were allowed inside, hence, why Green Gale was currently scrambling for interviews.

“Trixie has little doubt they are receiving the utmost praise,” she replied. “After everything they have done for us, they deserve it all.”

Royal guards lined the carpet leading to the thrones, saluting for the otherworldly magicians as they walked between them along with Princess Twilight Sparkle. Music wasn’t added upon request of the magicians, more specifically, Black Magician, owing to a desire to keep the pomp to a minimum. A little flair wasn’t something that Black Magician Girl minded, indeed, feeling like royalty wasn’t something she could ever not want. But she was content to simply smile brightly for everypony and wave. Better still, she was wearing the nighttime-themed dress Rarity had made for her, much to her mentor’s visible confusion when he’d laid eyes upon it, but raised no objections. Her normal clothes and the green dress Rarity had made had been sent to her living quarters back home.

The stained-glass windows they passed were of particular interest to her. They depicted heroic deeds from Equestria’s past, both ancient and recent, according to Twilight, who appeared in several of them along with her friends. The very last window, the most recent one, caught both hers and Black Magician’s attention as they passed. Basic depictions of them both stood tall and proud over a similar depiction of Dio Brando, holding their staves together with magic crackling between them, Celestia’s sun emblem set in the background. The idea that they were now a part of this world’s history forever after almost brought a tear to Black Magician Girl’s eye.

They stepped to the base of the steps leading up to the twin thrones, Princesses Celestia and Luna staring down at them with warm smiles. All the guards on either side bowed while the princesses stood up, spreading their wings wide.

“Black Magician. Black Magician Girl,” Celestia addressed them individually. “For your combined effort in bringing down Dio Brando, as well as undoing all the death and tragedy caused in his wake, please accept our eternal thanks.”

“We don’t know how much interest you two have in visiting our world more regularly,” Luna picked up after her sister. “But, should you wish it, we would be honored to grant you two official citizenship status.”

“That sounds pretty nice,” Black Magician Girl said. “It might be nice to build a second life here, away from all that stuffy royal stuff. What do you think, my teacher?”

Black Magician shrugged. “I don’t mind. But my duties as a magician come before everything else.”

“What is your wish now?” Luna asked. “Normally, we would prepare a banquet and festivities for any hero of Equestria, but it is my understanding, Black Magician, that you came here to retrieve your pupil?”

“Indeed.” He glared sharply at Black Magician Girl, to which she wilted under his gaze. He eased up after a moment, however, returning his attention to the princesses. “But I can arrange for an official visit to your world at the earliest convenience. It’s only fair that my pupil is allowed to enjoy her newfound fame.”

“Thank you, my teacher!” She threw her arms around his waist, nuzzling her face into his side.

“Please remain dignified,” he whispered harshly.

The ponies all shared a round of laughter before Celestia instructed Twilight to escort the two of them back to the Window.

“Thanks for everything,” Twilight said along the way. “I’m so glad you came along when you did, otherwise, we might not have been able to defend ourselves.”

“Fate was on your side, that’s for sure,” Black Magician Girl said. She pondered for a moment. “That’s kinda interesting, that fate between two completely separate universes might be intertwined. What do you think, my teacher?”

Black Magician shrugged. “My first inclination is to believe that it was divine intervention, but who can say?”

A giggle escaped Twilight, drawing Black Magician Girl’s attention back to her. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

“Nothing, nothing,” Twilight said, waving her off. She looked to Black Magician. “So, what would you say about allowing me to visit your world sometime? This Royal Magical Library sounds amazing!”

“I would certainly not be opposed to playing host to a foreign dignitary,” Black Magician replied, showing no real excitement or annoyance. As usual.

Boring.

Twilight eventually brought them before the door leading to the Window, guarded by the same two guards as when Black Magician Girl first arrived. She thought, at least; the guards looked way too similar to each other.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye for now,” Twilight said, smiling wistfully. “Gotta say, I never would’ve thought back during the Convergence that Yugi’s most cherished monsters would end up visiting Equestria on their own.” She blushed. “I’m sorry to say that I didn’t think much of you two back when I saw you.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Black Magician Girl said cheerily. “I thought you were cute. And still do.” She reached down and booped Twilight, causing Twilight’s blush to deepen.

Black Magician rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “Let’s just go,” he said.

Twilight waved them goodbye as they stepped through the Window, disappearing out of sight within the Singularity. From there, it was a simple matter to ask the nearest Guide to summon the Window leading to the Duel Monster Spirit World. A posse of guards met the two magicians as they stepped through the Window back into the Royal Magical Library, relaxing their spears once Black Magician assured them that everything was alright, that they weren’t afflicted with any magical maladies.

“Now then,” he said once they’d dispersed, all except for two who took their places on either side of the door leading to the Window. “Time to put you back to your studies.”

“Can I study more advanced magic?” she asked, hopeful.

“No, you’re going to finish what you were doing before you ran off.”

“B-b-b-but you let me learn Resurrection of the Dead!”

“Yes, and now you’ll finish the basics once again before you get to learn anything in between or greater.” He turned down the hallway. “Run off again and you’ll be cleaning the library for a hundred moons.”

“Oh, come on!” Black Magician Girl wailed.

Her teacher’s footsteps rounded a corner, quickly disappearing elsewhere in the library. She spent the next several minutes despairing silently to herself before, with a great sigh, she dragged her feet through the castle towards the reading room she’d been in over a week ago. The book she’d been reading was right where she left it, devoid of any dust, meaning that her teacher made someone clean it off while she was gone. She wasn’t sure whether to be more impressed or annoyed by that. She sat down and began perusing the page she’d left on, once again, too bored to really pay attention to the contents she’d read countless times before and perfectly memorized. Eventually, her focus deteriorated to the point that she laid her head on the table, closing her eyes.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, or whether she’d dozed off, but the sounds of approaching footsteps brought her back to attention. Turning towards the door, a spike of joyous energy shot through her at the sight of Magician’s Valkyria!

“It’s time you returned my favor,” she said before Black Magician Girl could get a word out. A slight blush colored her cheeks. “Warrior Dai Grepher is in town.”

Black Magician Girl immediately stood up from her chair, ran over, and saluted her best friend. “Matchmaker Magician Girl is at your service!”

Cleaning the library for a hundred moons was a small price to pay for helping a good friend.