Boundary of Friendship and Magic

Since the arrival of Yukari, to Celestia’s surprise, nothing really major had occurred. He and her sister’s horns had returned after a week’s time, but Yukari was still nowhere to be found. Celestia paced back and forth in front of her sister’s chambers, where within, the lunar princess’ angered screams and blasts of magic could be heard. Celestia sighed and walked away, allowing her sister to vent as she turned her attention to another present matter. “So…you mean to tell me you deal with these…’yokai’ all the time, Miss…?”

“Reimu, your highness,” replied the earth pony standing before the princess. Her coat was tan, her mane and tail brown and tied with red and white ribbons and a bow, and her cutie mark was a red-white yin-yang orb. “Reimu Hakurei, yokai exterminator of Gensokyo. I followed Yukari through the border, but I was too late to pull her back through. She’s locked herself to Equestria via the other Gensokyians she’s sent through, meaning unless all of them are returned, Yukari has free reign to do what she pleases here.”

“And the Countrywide Equestrian Census Count increasing by around one hundred would be those yokai you spoke of, correct?” the princess asked.

“That’s probably them,” Reimu said with a nod. “Of course, some of them aren’t exactly yokai. A few of them were humans like me. Still, at least ninety percent of the people I knew from Gensokyo are troublemakers, through and through…including some of my allies.”

“This is a bit difficult to wrap my mind around,” Celestia mused aloud, clearly very puzzled. “Humans…spirits…spell cards…it is all very…different than what we are used to here. Only unicorns can really cast ‘magic’ here, but you said those ‘spell cards’ of yours allow you to bypass the need for actual magic?”

“Sort of,” Reimu replied. “For some Gensokyians, it is actual magic or sorcery of some kind, but most yokai are born with natural abilities, and when I established the Spell Card System in Gensokyo, they adapted those powers to said spell cards.”

“And you created this system because…”

“It was to give the yokai a fighting chance against the Hakurei Shrine Maiden,” Reimu replied. “Even weak yokai and humans need to be given a fair chance to fight back.”

“Your entire world puzzles me so,” Celestia said, pressing a hoof to her forehead. “But…I must know if I can trust your strength. Give me an example of what you’re capable of. Aim at me, if you must.”

“Are you sure?” Reimu asked. “You want me to just…throw a spell card at you?”

Celestia nodded and generated a powerful prismatic shield before her. “Hit this with the strongest spell you have.”

“That’s asking quite a lot, but…here goes!” Reimu jumped up into the air, floating without wings, as she called a single card to her front hoof. “The powers that lie within the Hakurei…release!” The card shattered as a spiral of colorful orbs formed around her body. “Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal!”

The magic spheres made contact with Celestia’s barrier one by one, and each put somewhat of a strain on the sun princess, but not enough to break the shield. Still, the force alone was enough to make her stagger backwards ever so slightly. After the final orb dissipated, Celestia lowered her shield and chuckled. “Well, that certainly answers my question. I know you are strong enough to help us. Now, I want you to meet with my personal student Twilight Sparkle. You’ll find her at the library in Ponyville. She is one of Equestria’s brightest minds, and although she can always learn more, her magic capabilities are equivalent to mine.”

“Equal to yours, huh?” Reimu nodded. “All right, I’ll go meet with her.” The shrine maiden began walking out of the throne room. “Oh, and princess?” inquired Reimu. “I should probably tell you…Fantasy Seal is not my most powerful spell. I only used it at its own strongest manifested level. I don’t like to use my real strongest spells…not against allies.”

Celestia froze in thought for a moment, and then smiled. “That kindness is rare, particularly from an outsider who knows nothing of our world. Perhaps there could be a place for you in Equestria should you be unable to return home.”

“Perhaps,” Reimu thought aloud. “But I’d much prefer to return home. Home just…feels right. You can understand that, yeah?”

The sun princess nodded. “I believe I can, Miss Hakurei.”

=GIRLS ARE PREPARING, PLEASE WAIT WARMLY=

“Oh, damn it…my uniform is ruined again.”

A white-maned earth pony trotted through the town square, simply minding her own business and fussing about the fact that the maid outfit she’d been wearing had taken more than its toll of damage since she’d arrived in Equestria. “There has to be somewhere around here I can go to get it fixed…ah, this looks like the right place.”

The maid chief found herself standing before a tall, elegant building with several stunning dresses visible in the windows. “Now, if this person can’t help me fix my uniform, I doubt anyone in this world can.” She pushed the door open, ringing the bell and alerting the owner of her presence.

“Just a minute!” cried a voice from within. The maid waited patiently for the shop owner to come forth, and soon enough, the pure white unicorn stepped out of the back room. “Ah, welcome to Carousel Boutique! My name is Rarity. Is there something I can help you with?”

“I hope so, Miss Rarity,” the maid replied. “My name is Sakuya Izayoi. I’m the chief maid at my mistress’ mansion, and my uniform, well…” Sakuya turned full circle to show the various tears, shreds and smudges covering the dress. “It has seen much better days, I can assure you.”

“Oh, dear, what a mess!” Rarity exclaimed. “I suppose you’d like for me to patch it up for you?”

“Actually, I was wondering if I could simply purchase a sewing kit and fix it back up at home,” Sakuya replied. “Not that I doubt your skill or anything…it’s just that this uniform has some sentimental value to me, and I’d rather repair it myself.”

“I completely understand, darling,” replied Rarity. “Hold on just a moment, I’ll be right out with a kit.”

Sakuya nodded. “Thank you, Miss Rarity.”

Rarity walked over to the back room door once again. “Now, you said your name was ‘Sakuya’, correct? That doesn’t sound quite like an ordinary pony name. I take it you’re not from around here.”

“That’s right,” Sakuya replied. “I come from Gensokyo.”

Rarity fell silent for a moment. “Oh…I see. Well, I’ll be right out with your order.”

“Again, thank you very-“

A blue gemstone went flying into the room and grazed Sakuya’s mane. “What in the-“

“I should have guessed you were trouble the moment you set foot in my shop!” Rarity declared, an assortment of gems gripped by her magic circling her. “And now that I know what you are, I’m going to deal with you myself before you cause any destruction!”

“Miss Rarity, you’ve got me mistaken with the yokai, I’m not-“

Rarity launched another barrage of crystals at Sakuya, who swiftly bolted out of the way. “Can we not discuss this like civilized-“Another gemstone shard grazed her, leaving another tear in her uniform. “Oh, come on!”

“Sorry about the fashion faux-pas, darling, but I cannot allow you to devastate this world the same way your fairy friend did.”

“Wait, hold up a minute,” Sakuya shouted, holding up a hoof. “Cirno is no friend of anyone from Gensokyo! She’s just some idiot who lives out on the lake next to the mansion!”

“I won’t have any more of your lies! Take this!” Rarity tossed the remainder of her gems at Sakuya, who closed her eyes for a second as if waiting for the end. Then, she opened them, revealing blood-red irises. The gems stopped in their tracks, and from Rarity’s perspective, Sakuya had moved right past them.

“Very well then…if I must, then I will use my full power.”

“B-but…how did you…I mean, you couldn’t possibly…” Rarity stammered, attempting to get a grip on what just happened.

“Oh, did I not mention? I can control the flow of time…stop it and start it again, slow it down and speed it up by a little bit. It isn’t much, but…” Sakuya’s hoof reached into the lining of her uniform and pulled forth a triad of kitchen knives. “It works for what I need it.”

“How…how are you holding those?” Rarity asked.

“To be completely honest, I have absolutely no idea,” Sakuya replied. “These awkward hooves shouldn’t be able to hold anything, but they are. So…” Sakuya quickly hopped up and tossed the three blades in Rarity’s direction. The alabaster mare barely managed to leap out of the way, only having a few strands of her mane sliced off in the process.

Rarity shrieked, “MY MANE! How dare you commit such a crime against fabulosity!? I’ll have to punish you even more now!”

“Try me, princess,” Sakuya mocked, readying another cluster of knives at the tips of her hooves.

Rarity called forth two chests, one each to her left and right. She popped the locks open and raised several clusters of sharp, pointed jewels. “These refined gems were meant specifically for my newest project, but I suppose if I’m going to clash with your knives, I’ll need to match their luster. I suppose you could say my jewels are quite cutting edge.”

Sakuya deadpanned midair. “Puns…really? Are you actually that desperate that you’d-“

Rarity launched a wave of her jewels, forcing Sakuya to toss her own knives in retaliation. The blades and gems met with a ‘CLANG’ and clattered to the floor. No longer holding back, Rarity began to fire wave after wave of her gems, which Sakuya was forced to dance through. Though the chief maid was used to enemies who fought with speed, Rarity’s technique was different than what she’d ever seen before. It had more of a pattern to it, and yet it was still able to baffle her. ‘I suppose Marisa’s stupid book was right,’ Sakuya thought. ‘It’s the most beautiful Danmaku that wins a fight.’

Lost in thought, Sakuya barely managed to freeze time as a series of gem points were inches away from her eyes. She descended to the floor and set up a circle of blades around Rarity, unfreezing the world around her soon after and allowing the blades to hover for a few seconds. “Now…I believe this battle is quite finished, Miss Rarity.”

“You’re quite right, darling,” Rarity replied. “It is over.”

Sakuya felt a slight poke at her back and turned to see a tidal wave-sized wall of gems ready to crash down upon her. The maid chuckled a bit. “Well…it would seem we’re both quite the tricksters.”

“That’s a little quirk I managed to pick up from some dear friends of mine,” Rarity replied.

“As have I,” said Sakuya. “So…what did you think of my performance?”

“As elegant as I hope mine was dearie.”

“Indeed it was, Miss Rarity. Would you care to discuss this like rational individuals over a cup of tea, perhaps? I always keep a few packs of my mistress’ favorite, earl grey.”

“Ah, that sounds delightful Miss Izayoi. And I do apologize for launching my merchandise at you. I never thought that anyone from the same place as that horrid ice fairy could be so…graceful.”

“I suppose we were both wrong about each other,” Sakuya added. “Now, if you’d kindly guide me to where your teapot is, I’ll start brewing.”

“Oh, please don’t trouble yourself, my dear,” Rarity replied. “I’m perfectly capable of brewing tea myself.”

“But I feel as if I owe you for all the trouble I’ve caused,” said Sakuya.

“I’m the one who caused you trouble, darling! Making the tea is the least I could do.”

“What do you say we do it together?” inquired the chief maid. “You fill the pot and Ill prepare the brew.”

Rarity nodded and smiled. “Now, that sounds like a lovely plan.”