32: Mahou Shoujo

HOGWARTS, FOURTH EARTH

Rarity was briefed on all Hermione had said about Draco; she knew the situation was complicated. And she had every intention of leaving well enough alone until she came back to the Common Room after class to sort out her books. Upon entry, she sighed disappointedly. The Slytherin students proper were sending a message, loud and clear. Flora, Hestia, Stevie, and a large group of other students sat together, reading and doing homework, in one group of couches turned to face each other. Draco sat at the extreme opposite of the room, engrossed in his own book, completely isolated. Or perhaps, Rarity thought, it was he who was sending the others a message.

She approached the main group. "Ahem," she said softly. "Might I ask what the meaning is of this particular seating arrangement?"

"No one wants to talk to the new guy," Stevie whispered back. "Apparently he betrayed us or something?"

"That he did," Flora insisted. "Didn't you hear? Years ago, he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle! He nearly killed the old headmaster, and he was there to watch his death! He's the one who gave all of Slytherin a bad name!"

"The very name," Hestia concluded, "that we have been trying to overwrite."

"And that sounds pretty bad," Stevie agreed. "So we're not talking to him."

"But things changed," Rarity replied. "I thought I heard his family became informants that got rid of the rest of Voldemort's followers."

"I refuse to believe things have changed," Hestia hissed. "He was born a traitor and he'll always be one."

Rarity very nearly told Hestia how hypocritical that was, given the judgments people made about her based on her lineage. She stopped herself just in time. The two really weren't a good comparison, and it would only have hurt Hestia's feelings. "I just think," she said at last, "that if he's going to be in our company, somepony should give him half a chance. If he wastes it, well, that's his problem."

"OH, YOU ARE ALL A BUNCH OF FUCKING POSERS!" Ebony yelled as she stormed down from the bedchambers. Every eye in the room was fixed on her. "Are none of you SERIOUSLY going to…well, more for me!"

The throng of Slytherins watched as Ebony rushed toward Draco, leaning over him so he shied away, disgusted. "Draco Malfoy," Ebony said, "you are, like, sooooooo hot. I'm pretty sure I love you. Will you have sex with me?"

Stevie nearly burst into laughter, catching herself after an audible snort.

"You're just so dark and gothic and sexy," Ebony continued. "I would love you to take me to the Forbidden Forest, pin me up against a tree, and—"

"Leave. Me. ALONE," Draco snapped, visibly frightened at that point.

"Are you serious?" Ebony replied. Her eyes widened and her lip quivered. "Are you in love with…someone else?"

"What are you, eleven? Go AWAY! NOW!"

In tears, Ebony joined the main Slytherin grouping. Stevie still struggled to hold in her laughter.

"YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS!" Ebony screamed. "ALL OF YOU PREPS ARE JEALOUS!"

"Jealous that you got shot down, Enoby?" Stevie retorted. Flora and Hestia just rolled their eyes in synchrony.

With a sigh, Rarity left the main group, walking toward Draco. "Excuse me," she said, announcing her presence. "Might I have a word?"

"Please tell me," Draco said sternly without looking up from his book, "that you are not going to ask me to have sex with you."

"Oh, no, no!" Rarity said hastily. "Nothing of the sort! I had a…less disturbing conversational topic in mind."

Draco's eyes shifted from the book to her. He regarded her with interest.

"It's just that you seem to be alone," Rarity said. "Now, I've heard a lot of things. I'm not one to say, really, what's true and what isn't. All I know is that you were a Slytherin once, you've come back to the Common Room for a reason, and I find it unreasonable that there shouldn't be at least one fellow Slytherin to welcome you. So, on behalf of Slytherin house, I do want to say it's good to have you here, and if you did want company, I'm currently free. I don't have to be down at the library for another hour. Then again, if you'd rather be alone, that's also all right."

First, there was silence. Then, cautiously, Draco remarked, "I've never heard of a centaur being hospitable to a wizard."

"Well, you are seeing it now," Rarity said. "Take it or leave it."

After another pause, Draco asked, "Is there anything you want to talk about? My 'hallucinations' of Death Eaters? What my family's done for Voldemort?"

"Nothing like that. Really, I haven't heard anything about you beyond that, and I'd like to know more of the basics. What were your talents here at Hogwarts? Ooh, what's your preference between sweater vests and cardigans? And seeing as I technically am a first-year, are there any professors you'd recommend I watch out for?"

Another pause. Then he replied: "Do you know what a hippogriff is?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

"Don't taunt them. It never ends well."

"Duly noted."

"You can…sit, if you want."

"Why, thank you. I—"

Rarity nearly settled herself on a nearby couch, but her attention, as Draco's, was diverted by the scene across the room:

"WELL, EAT THIS, YOU BITCH!"

A howl of anguish in reply, followed by, "What did you DO?"

"Erm…I seem to be needed," Rarity said, rushing back to the other side of the room. She was horrified at the sight that awaited her. Stevie's left arm was somehow…broken. It hung limply at her side. Stevie prodded it with her right index finger; the arm wobbled in ways that shouldn't have been physically possible with a normal human skeleton.

"What did you DO to me?" Stevie repeated. "You just GOT RID OF MY ARM BONES!"

"That's what you get for being a bitch!" Ebony yelled. "I know a lot more dark curses, and I'm not afraid to use them!" She pointed her wand at Stevie a second time. "CROOKSHANKS!"

Nothing happened. "Er…why are you yelling the name of Hermione's cat?" Rarity asked.

"It's supposed to be the curse that puts you in unbearable pain and stuff!" Ebony whined.

Hestia stood. "Stevie, come with me. We'll go to the infirmary and get that fixed. As for you, Ebony…that's thirty points from Slytherin."

Hestia and Stevie rushed forth from the room. Rarity retreated to Draco's corner to see if they could pick up where they left off. "That was…rather awkward," Rarity began.

"What is her problem?" Draco asked. "Not the hurt one. The one that tried to assault me."

"Well, the way I see it, she thinks she's above everypony else, she doesn't want to play by the rules, and she doesn't have a firm grasp on reality," Rarity analyzed. "She is only a first-year. Perhaps she'll grow out of it. I know I was like that once upon a time. Well, not so distanced from reality, and not so foul-mouthed. But I had a certain feeling of entitlement."

"So did I," Draco replied. "That's probably something else they've told you."

"It is, but I guess I can't judge. I've had my moments. I am willing to listen, if you want to clarify things."

"They're not wrong. I come from a long line of pure-blooded wizards, unlike a large part of the student body."

"And so you…think you deserve more."

"I did. It's a bit complicated now. The idea of pure-blood privilege was something Voldemort championed, and all he ended up doing was killing. One of my own best friends died in the battle last year. I would have, too, if Potter hadn't risked his neck to save mine."

"So what did you think of him after that?" Rarity asked.

"It's not as though I'm going to worship the ground he walks on," Draco replied. "He hated me for a good six years, and I hated him. Him and Weasley and Granger. Maybe I deserved it. I don't know."

"Perhaps 'deserved' isn't right," Rarity suggested. "You were both young. From what you've told me, maybe it was a…change in perspective you needed. I apologize if that's too critical."

"I'm not offended."

"What did you think of Luna Lovegood, by the way?"

"She was never really anything I thought about. She's been trying to get me to talk things out with Granger and Weasley's sister. Which I guess just proves that she's as loony as everyone says."

"I know I'm opening a can of worms here, but why can't the four of you get along?"

"Because they see me as a Death Eater…and I see them as idiots."

"Well, they certainly aren't idiots," Rarity said. "They're three of the best and most understanding friends we found at this school. 'We' being myself and the other Kentaurides, of course. They're also three of the brightest. Well, Luna does have a tendency to believe in things that apparently don't exist, but she gets good marks, and perhaps we'll find out one day that she was right about everything all along."

"I've noticed all that," Draco said coldly.

"If you were interested," Rarity said, "which you don't have to be at all, it looks to me like all four of you just need to put your walls down. If you'll pardon my analysis, it seems that you do have walls up. I'm guessing that last year left you not knowing quite what to believe or who to trust."

"You could say that."

"That is difficult. I'm quite sorry. While I can't exactly understand, myself, why you subscribed to Voldemort in the first place, I do understand that the realization that his faction wasn't where you belonged in the gravest sense was quite painful. Especially if you had to…lose a friend to figure that out. I'm…I'm very sorry that you did."

After another silence, Draco announced, "This is another thing."

"What is?"

"This conversation. I wouldn't have expected it of your kind—I'm sorry." He did look sincerely embarrassed. "What I mean—"

"I know what you mean," Rarity sighed. "You either thought centaurs were mean or stupid. Because they weren't of full human wizarding blood."

"And you don't seem like either."

"I'd like to think I'm not, though I can be petty on occasion. But really, you have to realize that we're mostly the same. Wizards, witches, half-Muggles, house-elves, centaurs, even Muggles."

"It's a thought that hasn't stopped bothering me," Draco admitted.

"And it's hard to get your mind around, since it goes against everything you were taught," Rarity guessed.

"It isn't as if it matters," Draco replied gruffly. "Even if I did know where to stand, no one here will listen. You've seen…this." He looked over toward the couches where the majority of the Slytherins sat. At this, Flora ducked her head downward, trying not to betray that she'd been spying. Ebony made no attempt to conceal that she'd been watching, alternating between a loving gaze at Draco and an envious glare of daggers at Rarity.

"They'll come around," Rarity said. "I know them quite well. They have legitimate reasons for not wanting to be around you right now, but things will settle down. Which brings me back to my other hypothetical situation. Seeing as Hermione, Ginny, and Luna seem to be three of the most open-minded of people here, I keep wondering if there isn't a way you can connect to them. First, you take down your wall of seeing them as idiots because of how you've seen them for years. Then they have to take down their wall of seeing you as despicable because…well, because…"

"Because of how I've seen them for years," Draco filled in.

"I didn't want to say it outright…"

"If they did want to talk to me," Draco suggested, "I suppose I could listen to them and see if what they said was worth listening to."

"It is. Trust me. And I think it could be the key to you not being alone here anymore. That's really what the killer is for me. That you're alone. If it doesn't work out, well, there is me."

"And you did all this just because you didn't want me to be alone, even after everything you heard?"

"Even if you were a villain of the highest order," Rarity said, "even the 'bad guys' need companionship. This is something I learned firsthand, and in a roundabout way, it saved my own life."

"Then…I suppose I should thank you," Draco said sincerely. "…thank you."

"It isn't any trouble whatsoever."

---

"No, no, no," Twilight said at the study table in the library. "You're thinking of Uric the Oddball. Emeric the Evil was the terror of Southern England."

"Even I still can't get those two right," Ginny sighed.

"It's rather like you and the Soap Blizzard," Hermione said. "This talk of dark wizards being terrors is all a bit too…familiar for me, given the recent events."

"So let's talk about something else," Applejack said, closing her book. "After all, we're gettin' close to the Christmas break. No more studying for a while."

"Um…has anypony else wondered where Rarity is?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"She's probably on her way," Rainbow Dash said.

"So where are you goin' for the break?" Applejack asked Hermione, Ginny, and Luna.

"We're all going to the same place," Ginny said. "I'm going back home to the Burrow. That's the Weasley family house. We have a great celebration every Christmas. It shouldn't be a surprise that we've invited Hermione and Luna to join us this year…as well as Harry and Neville."

"Sounds like a real party!" Pinkie squealed. "I bet you just can't wait to catch up on everything!"

"I am quite excited," Hermione admitted.

"Me too," said Luna. "What are you planning to do for the break?"

"Just hang around here," Applejack said. "Y'all know we don't have anywhere to go unless we wanted to load up the Starlight and set out, and since we can show up at home whatever time we want anyway, we thought it'd just be easier to stay on this world 'till the school year ends. At least this first year. Maybe we'll do some traveling over break once we figure out the ropes."

"Won't it look suspicious if you don't go to the Forbidden Forest?" Luna asked.

"Not really," Twilight explained. "We want to experience human culture. So, naturally, we want to stay in the castle and learn as much as we can."

"Speaking of the Forbidden Forest," Hermione asked, "did anyone there ever explain what a Fire Lord was?"

"Apparently, there was this world where there are only four types of magic, relating to the four primary elements of nature," Twilight answered. "The masters of each type of magic were divided into different tribes. There was an entire nation that was just wizards and witches—well, sort of—that only did magic with fire. A Fire Lord is whoever's in charge of that nation. Moshu was the last generation of Fire Lord that did business with this school before everything closed off. After that, no one really knows what happened on that world, or even how much time passed in their timeline compared to this one."

"That's very strange," Ginny commented. "So they could basically only cast Incendio? That seems—WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?"

Ginny stood in a rage; Pince shushed her loudly all the way from her desk. She'd spotted the missing Rarity, headed toward the usual table with none other than Draco Malfoy at her side.

"Hello," Rarity said as the pair approached; she tried to act calm and nonchalant.

"What," Ginny repeated, in a low seethe, "is he doing here?"

"It was her idea," Draco replied calmly.

All eyes turned to Rarity. "Uh, Rarity?" Applejack said. "You sure this is the best—"

"Yes, I am," Rarity said. "The way I understand it, the four of you were schoolmates here, and you left a lot of baggage on the table between you."

"We made a deal to cover that," Hermione stated. "A pact to leave each other alone."

"I didn't really like the idea in the first place," Luna said quietly.

"So, for the final time," Ginny asked, "why…are YOU…" The question was now directed at Draco himself. "Here?"

"Because I'm not happy with the idea anymore either," he stated. "Apparently, the entire school took the same oath to leave me alone."

"And well you deserve it," Ginny growled.

"Hey," Twilight said sternly. "Can we all just hear each other out?"

"It's crossed my mind," Draco said, "that I do deserve to be left alone. I don't want to be, but I deserve to be. After all, what I've done can hardly be erased, can it? Particularly to Albus Dumbledore."

"But you didn't kill him," Luna pointed out. "You couldn't have."

"How do you know that?" Ginny hissed to her.

"Um, Ginny?" Fluttershy said. "You seem to be really angry."

"I am angry," Ginny hissed. "For years, this brat stormed around the school with his holier-than-thou attitude, and my family got the worst of it all. Not even being of full-blooded heritage can protect you from the elitists if you're a Weasley. His family's old money. Mine's hand-me-downs. But I'm damn proud of my family, and I won't just sit back and let anyone talk rubbish about my brothers, my father, my mother, my house, or what have you."

"Then you and I have more in common than either of us would like to admit," Draco told Ginny.

"Don't say that."

"I don't want anyone talking rubbish about my family either. It's occurred to me that I haven't been fair about it at all. And I want to apologize."

It took Ginny a while to process that. "You…want…what?"

"To apologize for things said and done because you were a Weasley," Draco clarified. "Our parents' fight isn't our fight. And Granger. I have to admit that you are actually quite intelligent. Whatever your bloodline."

"What happened to you," Ginny asked, "and where's the real Malfoy?"

"Rarity happened," Draco answered. "She convinced me to take down my wall."

"And I was hoping you would take down yours," Rarity added.

"You don't have anything to apologize for to me," Luna said, though no one had asked.

"Well…" Hermione looked to Ginny, then Luna, then Twilight, then Rarity, then Draco. "I suppose we can't really refute that. I'm sorry for not letting you have your say in full earlier."

"It wouldn't have gone like that," Draco told her.

"I'm sorry for nothing," Ginny said, "but thank you for apologizing to me."

"So were you two hoping to get in on studying?" Twilight asked. "We can bring in another chair. Hang on. I'll go get one." She rose to find another chair and bring it to the table."

"We weren't exactly studying," Luna admitted. "We were talking about what we were going to do over Christmas vacation."

Twilight returned with the chair, and Draco took it gingerly while Rarity sat at her usual seat.

"I still don't understand," Ginny said incredulously. "So are you trying to tell me that all your brattiness and pettiness and general hatred of everything is gone now?"

"I wouldn't say that," Draco replied. "I can think of someone I hate right now. Someone who ruined my life. And if he really is back somehow, or even if there are just people acting in his name…when I come across them, they'll all pay." He cracked sort of a grin. "I can't really rat them to my father on this one, can I? We all saw how well that went."

"Believe me," Hermione said, "we feel the same."

"Lucky for us, vanquishing evil is old territory," Rainbow Dash boasted. "But we can let you in on a piece of the action if you're looking for revenge."

"Here's to common enemies?" Ginny proposed.

"To common enemies," Draco replied.

"I really think we should get back to studying now," Twilight said sternly. "It might be close to break, but there's still class until then, and we can't afford to slack off!"

At this, Draco snorted and went into fits of silent laughter.

"What's funny?" Twilight asked.

"And I thought one Hermione was all this school could handle," he replied.

The others, barring Twilight and Hermione, all giggled at that. Eventually, Twilight directed the group back around to actual studying.

---

The end of the semester came with a rush of snow and several goodbyes. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna wished their friends farewell, headed to the Burrow for the Weasley family Christmas; the six Equestrians watched the three of them leave together, chatting as though they were sisters. Flora and Hestia left to spend Christmas with their aunt, and this cheered both of them greatly. Ebony and Stevie returned to their respective families; Stevie's bones had grown back in a process she described as "wicked painful," and she couldn't help but get in one last dig at how "I don't see how Enoby can have a family that actually WANTS her back."

As the six Equestrians, select members of staff, and the Malfoys watched the castle empty out from within, two others watched from without. Across the lake, Discord took his opera glasses down from his eyes. "And that's all of them," he said. "You'll just have to catch the six of them alone. Then it's hook, line, and sinker!"

"Of course," Kyubey replied. The small catlike creature began his walk toward the castle.

"As for me," Discord said to himself, "I've got other matters to take care of…ELSEWHERE." He turned and walked away, chuckling as he thought on his plans. It was time for a reunion.

---

"SNOW FIIIIIGHT!"

"GAAAH!" Twilight put her hands up in front of her face as Rainbow Dash pelted her with snowballs. "Why did I agree to leave the library for this?"

"Because it's fun," Rainbow Dash argued. "And we weren't going to spend all our free time in the library being quiet."

"I've got you, Twilight!" Rarity cried, levitating a wave of snow to shower Rainbow Dash.

The six frolicked about in the snowy plains of the grounds. Fluttershy had tried to stay hidden behind a well-crafted snow fort, but after being hit with some well-aimed snowballs, she had responded with a rage and a shower of snowballs in return. Somehow, Pinkie Pie had managed to craft a snow-Celestia even while taking part in the fight.

"Are you having fun?" a voice none of them had ever heard before asked.

They stopped, looking around for the source. Fluttershy was the first to see him, white on white snow. "Oh, hello," she said. "Who are you?"

The others gradually noticed the small creature with his jewel-red eyes and strange ears. "My name is Kyubey," he replied in a high voice.

"He's soooooo adorable!" Pinkie squealed.

"You don't simply say someone's adorable to their face," Rarity reminded her.

"No, it's all right," Kyubey said. "I'm not offended." He looked before the young women in front of him. Though he'd been shown pictures of ponies, and these were most definitely Kentaurides, he knew they were the very ones Discord wanted. He could also tell that they had more than enough potential to serve his cause. Discord hadn't steered him wrong. "You are all very special," he said.

"Um…thanks?" Twilight said with suspicion.

"I know about where you come from," Kyubey said. "I'm not from this world either. I travel a lot of worlds, in fact. I look for people who are special like you. And now I found you."

"Okay," Rainbow Dash said, "you'd better explain what's going on right now."

"Do you know about the conflicts in the universe between light and darkness and between chaos and harmony?" Kyubey said. "These are very expansive conflicts that bridge all worlds. Sooner or later, you're going to be involved. I know that you are the current bearers of the Elements of Harmony in your timeline. So things will catch up to you. I'm involved in the conflicts right now. I think it might be wise if we made an alliance, or if you at least let me help you. You are able to defeat evil with the powers of magic, honesty, loyalty, kindness, laughter, and generosity, right?"

"That's right!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

"But how do you know all that?" Fluttershy asked.

"Because I have been traveling the multiverse for years and years, and I keep track of everything that goes on in it," Kyubey said. "I am from a planet where we are able to watch everything unfold, like we're in a theater. Do you want to see?"

"You can show us?" Pinkie Pie replied.

"Yes," Kyubey said. "Watch."

Suddenly, the seven of them floated in space. They grew nearer and nearer to one planet in particular, drawing close to a city at what would have been a deadly speed had the entire thing not been a giant projection, a detailed illusion depicting Kyubey's memories. The city was built of strange architecture, which none of the six would be able to adequately describe later—suffice to say, none of it was based on Euclidean geometry. Many of the same creature as Kyubey walked the streets, chatting with each other.

"Did you hear about what happened on All-World?" one asked.

"The same thing that happens with every cycle," another said. "It will never change."

"I am back," said a third, walking up to these two. This one was Kyubey, as he saw himself in his memory.

"Did you make the contract?" his fellow asked.

"Yes," the memory Kyubey said. "Now there is another Mahou Shoujo to help us."

"That is what I wanted to talk about," the real Kyubey said. "I specialize in helping girls with magical potential to realize it in full and become Mahou Shoujo."

"I've heard those words," Twilight said. "What do they mean?"

"I will show you," Kyubey said.

The illusion changed. Now the seven were surrounded by darkness, punctuated by a strange pileup of items—test tubes, syringes, other things reminiscent of a hospital, alternated with lollipops and other giant candiesm. The landscape changed, moving around the viewers instead of the viewers moving through it. A great clearing, a giant room, opened up, and a blonde girl wearing a flouncy yellow dress was seen battling a monstrous creature. She summoned white rifles from thin air, using them to shoot at the creature before discarding them; she did not appear ruffled or fazed, but confident.

"That is a Mahou Shoujo," Kyubey said. "A magical girl. She is using the extra burst of power that was given to her when we made the contract. As you can see, she is using it to fight evil."

The illusion changed again. Now all was darkness but for two figures: another memory version of Kyubey, and a girl with blue hair.

"I transform the girls into Mahou Shoujo by making contracts with them," the real Kyubey said. "Watch."

"I have made my choice," said the blue-haired girl. "I wish for him to heal."

Beside this spectacle appeared another: a boy lying in a hospital bed with a damaged hand. Twilight in particular winced. Simultaneously, the boy sat up and flexed his fingers, surprised at their mobility, as twin beams of light emitted from Kyubey's ears, reaching inside the girl with blue hair and pulling out of her a ball of pure light that was fabricated into a blue jewel. Then it all changed again, and the blue-haired girl was seen sporting an ensemble as flouncy as the blonde's, but with a definite blue theme to it. She rushed another creature at impossible speed, brandishing a katana.

"The Mahou Shoujo are warriors in the great conflicts of the multiverse," Kyubey said, and immediately, the illusion changed to show girl after girl, some human, some ponies, some neither at all, all wearing elaborate clothing, drawing weapons from nowhere, and using magic of all sorts—elemental, plasma, transfiguration—against strange and twisted creatures. "As you can see, they are very powerful. Right now, you all have the potential to be that powerful. On your own, you could grow that power. But it would take years and years. I can help you realize your power in a simple contract. And then it would grow from there." The images faded, and Kyubey sat before six Kentaurides in a snowy field.

"Was all that true?" Applejack asked.

"It was," Twilight said. "What we saw were Kyubey's memories, exactly."

"I see you have a lot of power over memory already," Kyubey observed.

"I studied it a lot," Twilight admitted. "It came in handy in some tough spots. So…those were Mahou Shoujo. Kyubey…"

"Yes?"

"I read somewhere that Mahou Shoujo were…a kind of witch," Twilight said, thinking back to Joseph's journal.

"Indeed," Kyubey said. "That is what I wanted to tell you. I know that two of you are fully witches because you are unicorns. The rest of you only have some magical power. That is because of your Mahou Shoujo potential. If I realize your full Mahou Shoujo potential, you will be able to summon great amounts of magic for the times when you come into conflict with the most evil. But a 'magical girl' is only the larva stage of a magical woman, or a witch. When your powers grow, you will all become witches and have a full spectrum of magic. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack: you would be able to do the same magic as Twilight and Rarity without being unicorns. And Twilight and Rarity, you would be able to do bigger and better magic than ever before once you matured into the sort of witch that grows from a Magical Girl."

"Would we lose some of the powers we have already if we became Magical Girls?" Rarity asked.

"No," Kyubey said. "The transformation never regresses you in power. And there is one more thing I forgot to say. The contracts are made by making a wish. It can be a big wish, or a small. You saw Sayaka Miki wish for her friend to be healed, and it happened. I can make whatever you wish for happen."

"Sounds like a win-win!" Pinkie said excitedly. "We can have whatever wish we want, AND new powers!"

"Something still feels suspicious about this," Applejack said. "It can't just be win-win for us. Somethin's gotta be a catch."

"A lot of girls are afraid to become witches because witches are so persecuted," Kyubey said. "Maybe not on this world, but on others. And it does benefit me because it means I have more warriors in this multiverse to do battle. I would not have come to you if I did not consider this an important matter. We all have our missions to carry out, and this will help us to achieve all of them. That is why I want to ask: will you make contracts with me and become Mahou Shoujo?"

"I'm in!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly. "Did you see that? I want to be like that! Charging into battle against the bad guys, showing off my powers, getting a cool weapon…that's part of the deal, right? Wait. Hang on. Do I have to wear one of those frilly outfits? Is that part of the deal too?"

"Traditionally, Mahou Shoujo gain certain clothing in their transformations, but it tends to conform to what the wearer likes," Kyubey said. "The ability to summon the weapons will be part of your powers. When you are not in your transformed mode, the weapons will be stored in your personal Hammerspace, and you may call or dismiss them as you like. They are manifestations of your power and your soul."

"What's Hammerspace?" Fluttershy asked.

"A small pocket dimension relative to each living being where those who know how to use it can carry large inventories," Kyubey explained.

"Oh, I know all about that!" Pinkie stated. "Where do you think I keep my party cannon?" She produced the cannon from thin air to demonstrate.

"I always did wonder about that," Twilight said, shaking her head.

"You must remember that there is a great turning point coming up," Kyubey said. "You have seen it in the stars just as I have. I do not know if you can afford not to have the power."

"This still sounds a little suspicious," Applejack said. "But…if Twilight's sure it's all right…"

"All I can say for sure is that the memories we did see were real," Twilight said. "I don't know if it's 'all right' for sure. But at the same time…" She recalled the skirmish in Corona against Maleficent. "I think Kyubey's right. We can't afford to pass up that kind of power."

"It looks frightening," Fluttershy said softly. "Does it…hurt?"

"The transformation is painless," Kyubey said. "The battles will come to you either way."

"I say we do it," Rainbow Dash said.

"Me too," Twilight agreed. "Girls?"

"Well…okay," Fluttershy said. "Actually, I'm more happy to make the wish. I think there's a lot of good we can do with it."

"Sign me up too!" Pinkie cried.

"I wouldn't mind," Rarity said.

Finally, after a pause, Applejack sighed. "Okay. I'll do it too."

"You don't have to," Fluttershy told her. "If you really don't want to, five is a lot of wishes and a lot of Mahou Shoujo to do the fighting."

"Yeah," Applejack said, "but I don't feel like it's right for five of us to go and do it and one not to. After everything Celestia said about the Elements, it probably ain't a good idea to have 'em in an inbalance. Besides…there's a wish I want to make."

"Who will be first?" Kyubey asked.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "I will!"

"What do you want to wish for?" Kyubey inquired.

"Well…" Rainbow Dash thought it over.

"I wouldn't try anything too…you know…anything that might break the multiverse and cause a paradox," Twilight warned. "Wishing for all the evil in existence to go away, for example. That's probably too big."

"I wouldn't really want that anyway," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "I'd prefer to have a chance to do some of the fighting! I think that's what I'm going to wish for. To beat the bad guys!"

"Do you want to leave it that vague?" Kyubey asked.

"Well…if this is a trick," Rainbow Dash mused, "which I'm pretty sure it's not, but you never know…no offense…I don't want that wish to hang over every single battle I do. So…I know that eventually, some sort of villain is going to show up at Hogwarts. We're not really sure who it is, if it's Voldemort back from the dead or not. You probably know, don't you?"

"In the interest of not creating a paradox," Kyubey said calmly, "I cannot tell you."

"Man, the rules of the multiverse are complicated…anyway, whoever ends up being behind whatever happened to the Malfoys? When they turn up and try to ruin Hogwarts, I want to beat them."

"That is your final wish?"

"You betcha!"

"Then it shall be done." The shine of Rainbow Dash's amulet, the bright red lightning bolt, caught Kyubey's eye. "Is that the amulet that manifests the Element of Loyalty?"

"Yeah."

"Normally, when a Mahou Shoujo signs a contract, a Soul Gem is created," Kyubey explained. "It facilitates the transfer of power. However, because you keep those amulets within you always, I think I can transfer the necessary essence into those gems instead of creating new. Just remember not to lose them. They are very important!"

"Just hit me with the transformation already!" Rainbow Dash complained.

"It is done."

As soon as Kyubey said that, rays of light poured from his ears, forming into beams that twisted in the air like snakes before diving into Rainbow Dash's chest. Fluttershy gasped in horror. The beams of light pulled; out of Rainbow Dash's body they came, with a glimmering ball of red light held between them. Kyubey maneuvered the beams so that they overlaid the ball of light with the gem in Rainbow Dash's amulet; the gem accepted the light, glowing brightly. Once the essence was placed, the beams of light retracted into Kyubey's ears. "You are now fully a Mahou Shoujo," he said, "and whenever you choose, you may manifest your new powers. However, I would not transform too much. Every time you use your powers, it drains from the energy of your gem."

"You could have told us that before you transformed one of us," Twilight said. "Is there any way to replace the energy?"

"There is," Kyubey said, "but the only thing that can purify such a gem is a by-product created when certain creatures of darkness are killed. And they are not Echthroi. They are fully formed, with consciousnesses. If I recall, you are opposed to such killing."

"Again, something you could have told us before the transformation," Twilight growled.

"Hey, it's okay, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said. "When I run out, I run out. And I won't be able to use that power. I'll still be able to grow into a witch, right, Kyubey?"

"Yes," Kyubey said, "and it is possible to become a witch without ever purifying your gem. In fact, one hundred percent of Mahou Shoujo who use up the energy of their gems are able to successfully mature into powerful witches."

"So I'll just hold off on using my power until I really need it," Rainbow Dash assured Twilight. "Well…I do kinda wanna test it out to see how this works. How do I do it?"

"Just find the will within you," Kyubey said. "It is like casting a spell, but with no incantation."

"All right, then. Let's do this!"

When Rainbow Dash tapped into the will, which was not as difficult as she thought, the world went dark around her. She took a cautious step forward. Instantly, she felt a change. Her school robes and winter cloak disappeared, leaving her only in upper undergarments. With a twinkle of light, a fitted shirt featuring a rainbow gradient appeared on the human half of her body, the back of it draping across her equine back like a cape, and a glimmering belt of rainbow scales cinched it at the waist. A fedora covered in rainbow sequins perched atop Rainbow Dash's head in another flash, and a gold chainmail epaulet draped from her neck over her right shoulder. Silver earrings shaped like tiny wings appeared on her earlobes in another flash. Then came a set of shining golden shorts over her rear. Rainbow-colored sleeves appeared on each of Rainbow Dash's four legs, and on each hoof, a shimmering lace-up shoe whose blue and purple pattern reminded her of midnight. When all this was done, the darkness cleared.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie had not seen the transformation happen step-by-step, or experienced the darkness Rainbow Dash had been plunged into; they merely knew that before, she had been wearing her school robes, and in a flash, she had changed into this new ensemble.

"It's…gorgeous!" Rarity gasped.

Rainbow Dash flexed her wings. "Not bad at all," she said. "And I feel sort of…tingly!"

"It doesn't hurt?" Fluttershy asked.

"None of it," Rainbow Dash assured. "Hmm…let's see what I can do."

She thought about weaponry, about swords. She reached up, gripping her hand around empty air; suddenly, a great sword whose silver blade, a foot wide and just over three feet long, shone in many colors and whose hilt was etched with patterns of wind swirls and lightning bolts appeared out of Hammerspace, cutting downward through the chilling winter wind. Rainbow Dash gave it a few swipes; each stroke of the sword emitted a wave of rainbow-colored energy that reminded her of a smaller version of the Sonic Rainboom. "NICE!"

"You should probably put that all away," Twilight suggested. "All of it's draining on your gem. Even the sword."

"All right, all right." Rainbow Dash dismissed the transformation, and away it went. She once more wore her school robes. "But you have all GOT to try this. It feels…well, epic! I KNOW I can beat evil with that kind of power! Did you see the rainbowy stuff that came off the sword?"

"I did," Twilight replied. "It looked like a greater concentration of the energy I use in battle. And I mean a MUCH greater concentration. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of it. I bet you could even learn to warp it for other purposes."

"Though…you should take a look at your amulet," Rarity pointed out.

Rainbow Dash removed her amulet to get a look. At first, she wasn't sure what was wrong. It looked fine. Then she noticed that it was just the slightest bit duller. That must have been the drain. It really wasn't much, though, so she figured that it depleted at a reasonable rate. She fastened the amulet around her neck once again. "But seriously," she said. "You HAVE to try it! It feels great!"

"Well, with that ringing endorsement, I guess I should go next," Twilight said. "Kyubey…do the wishes have to be for ourselves, or can they be to help other people?"

"That is a question I am often asked," Kyubey said. "You must make very sure that it is not a wish for you in secret, or it will not bring you happiness, only despair. It is better if you wish for yourself."

"But I know what I want," Twilight said. "And…it's…well…"

"Embarrassing?"

"That isn't really the word I was going for." She looked back at her friends. "Just…don't judge me, okay?"

"Whatever you want," Fluttershy said, "we won't judge you." The others nodded assent.

"Are you sure it is what you want?" Kyubey asked Twilight.

"Yes," Twilight said, nervous to state it outright. "The thing is, there's someone I know who's…in danger. And he knows it. He put himself there. But because of it, he's probably going to die pretty young. No one knows how soon. He might have a while longer, or…it might be tomorrow. In fact…he might already be gone in his timeline. There's no way for me to know."

"She doesn't mean—" Rarity gasped before Applejack elbowed her in the side, hard.

"We promised not to judge her," Applejack hissed.

"I want to buy him a few more years, if I can," Twilight said.

"How many years?" Kyubey asked.

"Well, not immortality. That'd just be a curse. What about…just one hundred?"

"Remember that they are his years to do with as he wants. Am I correct that he is using some sort of magical conduit that is feeding upon his life as a fuel source?"

"Yes."

"Then depending on how he uses it," Kyubey pointed out, "he might turn one hundred years into only fifty, or one thousand into one hundred. It all depends on how much life force his magic requires and how much he uses it. In an overdrive, he may spend it all at once."

"I still have to try, don't I? One hundred years. No matter what, it will be more time than he has."

"And what is his name?"

"…Mozenrath. The Lord of the Black Sands."

"In the Seven Deserts?" Kyubey said. "I have heard of him. He does indeed pay a heavy price for his magic. And he does not use it for virtuous causes."

"I know, I know, okay?" Twilight groaned in frustration. "I've thought it over a lot. And that's how I know this isn't a wish for me. Because even if he uses those years to destroy everything and hurt everypony, I still won't regret giving them to him. I'll make my wish and then move on. I'll do what I have to, and he'll do what he wants. I don't even want him to know it was me. At all. I just…can't stand to think that he doesn't have much time left."

"The good news is, he is at a point in his timeline where he can be given those years," Kyubey informed Twilight. "Like Rainbow Dash said, the laws of the multiverse are complicated. You could not give extra years to the father of Harry Potter, for example, even though you could go back in time to meet him. I could not allow you to make that wish. It would cause a paradox too great, and the butterfly effect would either spawn a new timeline entirely, rewriting this world or leaving the timeline where James is dead intact, or it would destroy the timeline. It is almost arbitrary, what can stand as a new timeline, what can rewrite history, and what can collapse. But where Mozenrath is now, his life can be extended without consequence. If that is your wish."

"Yes," Twilight said. "It is."

"Then I shall grant it."

Her friends watched as the process used on Rainbow Dash was repeated on her. A glowing pink light settled into the amulet gem. Twilight breathed in and out slowly.

"Do you wish to test your new powers?" Kyubey asked her.

"No," Twilight said. "I want to save them up and not run my gem out."

"You will not be disappointed when you see what you can become. It will amplify your magical ability by quite a great margin."

"Thank you."

"Who is next?" Kyubey asked.

"Ooh!" Pinkie cried. "Me! Me me me!"

"What is your wish?" Kyubey inquired.

"Hmmmmm…" Pinkie thought it over. "I want…a cake!"

There was a silence, and Kyubey experienced something that was almost like what those with emotions called being "stunned." "A cake?" he reiterated.

"I don't need much," Pinkie replied. "Things are what they are, and I'm pretty happy with that! Unless anypony wants me to wish something special for her…" She looked around at her friends.

"We'll take care of what we need with our wishes, sugar cube," Applejack replied with a nod. "You just take care of what you want."

"I do want a cake, though," Pinkie said. "I'm hungry."

"Then…if that is what you truly want, you shall have a cake," Kyubey answered. "What kind of cake?"

"There was a kind that we made back at Sugar Cube Corner," Pinkie gushed, "and it was the best ever! It was called the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness! But we just called it the MMMM for short. Because that's the sound you make when you eat it! Mmmm!"

"Then I will give you one," Kyubey said.

This time, as the blue essence settled into the amulet where Kyubey transported it, a shape materialized before Pinkie, sitting on the snow. First came a delicate porcelain plate decorated with a complex floral design. Atop that sat a small round cake, the perfect size for a single serving, frosted in yellow with red flowers. Finally, a silver fork appeared on the plate beside the cake.

"Goody!" Pinkie cried, picking up the cake and beginning to eat immediately. "It tastes just like Mr. and Mrs. Cake make it!" she announced joyously.

"It is good that you are happy," Kyubey said. "Who is next?"

"That will be me," Rarity said. "And I know exactly what it is I'm wishing for. Now, I'm not going to put a deadline on it. You can't rush such things. But if it isn't too much trouble, I would like to meet the one I am destined to fall in love with sometime before I die."

"That can be arranged," Kyubey replied.

Purple essence settled into the diamond-shaped gem over Rarity's collarbone.

"Um…I think I want to try," Fluttershy said softly. "If it's all right with you…I'd like to be able to help all the people I meet that I feel bad for."

"Another wish made for someone else," Kyubey replied. "You must be very careful that it is what you really want."

"Oh, it is," Fluttershy insisted. "I especially want to be able to give emotional support. I hate it when others suffer."

"If you are sure."

"I am."

The soft pink butterfly-shaped gem glimmered as the matching pink essence settled into it.

"And you?" Kyubey asked Applejack. "Have you changed your mind?"

Applejack sighed. "No…I still wanna do it. Especially 'cause…well, there's somethin' important I gotta wish for."

"What is your wish?"

"I still get worried, sometimes, about my family workin' back on Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack admitted. "I hope they're holdin' up. That they can keep the business runnin' but still have time to take care of themselves. So…if you could, help my family take care of the farm."

"So many wishes made for others," Kyubey remarked. "They have a high chance of causing sorrow."

"I don't care. Please."

"Then it will be done."

The final gem was set into place, a bright orange aura settling into the orange apple.

"You are now all official Mahou Shoujo," Kyubey announced. "Use your powers wisely. I do not have much more time I can spend here. I must make other contracts and assist in the great battles. But we will see each other again. I will come to visit you."

"Thank you!" Pinkie Pie cried loudly as Kyubey turned his back to walk away.

"Well, that's kind of rude," Twilight remarked. "He just showed up, gave us vague information, handed us our powers, and then left. We might have had questions!"

But questions were what Kyubey wanted to avoid. This wasn't a normal process. He had, to Discord's specifications, swapped around what he usually told the girls. His routine was so set in stone, it was difficult for him to figure out what more he could do by staying there. They had all signed the contract much more quickly than most, however. That was for sure. And at least five of them would yield incredible bursts of energy when they came into full bloom.

If only, Kyubey thought, the sixth hadn't wished for a cake.

---

"You shouldn't have done that."

The six Equestrians had returned to the castle, to the warmth of the indoors. There, they had found their way to the library, and to one of the few other people on campus who was not staff—that is to say, Draco. He and his parents had spent the majority of the day together, but he had broken off to head to the library, and out of a desire for companionship, joined the six when he found them at the usual table. They asked him how his day had gone, and he replied in kind, leading to them confiding in him about Kyubey's visit—he knew so much already. His response was not one of approval.

"How do you think Voldemort got so many people on his side?" he hissed. "He promised them power, and he tried to grant their wishes as best he could. That's how he convinced my parents. You would be surprised what you could convince people to do with the promise of power."

"But we're not going to use our powers to hurt innocents," Fluttershy said. "In fact, I'm hoping we can use them in a way that hurts evil people as little as possible."

"Sure," Rainbow Dash said in response, somewhat nervously. As much as she wanted to have clean hooves, in her mind, evil was evil and she wanted a chance to try her new sword.

"And some of us made our wishes to protect others," Twilight said, earning herself an awkward silence as her friends remembered her wish in particular.

"It's a kinder version of Voldemort's favorite threat," Draco pointed out. "If you didn't submit to him, your loved ones would be harmed or killed outright."

"Well, we can't take back the contract," Rarity said, "and we need the power. Not to mention our wishes! What would happen if we hadn't made them?"

"What did you wish for that was so special?" Draco challenged her.

"Well…I may have wished to meet my true love sometime before I die…" Rarity admitted.

"You're right in that there's no taking it back," Draco sighed. "But if I were you, I'd watch out next time that Kyubey comes back around here. Make sure that what he's doing is really as good as you think it is."

"I think we can trust him," Pinkie said plainly. "He's been through a lot of the same travels as us!"

"And everything he showed us was the truth," Rainbow Dash added. "Twilight ran a scan on the memories he showed us."

"All the same," Draco said, "I'd be careful. There's a saying that Voldemort told us all once. An old one among wizards: 'All magic comes at a price.'"

---

GRIMMAULD PLACE, FOURTH EARTH

Ron Weasley sighed, looking over the array that was spread out before him on his bed. On one side were the plain shirts. On the other were the Christmas sweaters from years past. "So," he asked, "how badly do I want to make Mum feel appreciated?" He held up one of the sweaters, a positively abominable creation of maroon.

"I'd wear at least one," Neville Longbottom suggested. "Your mum's nice. She'd like to see you wear one of them."

"I guess you're right," Ron sighed, dropping the maroon sweater into his trunk, not bothering to fold it.

"Let's look on the bright side," Harry Potter suggested. "This is going to be our first Christmas together since the war."

He'd inherited the rather gloomy manor of number 12 Grimmauld Place upon his graduation from Hogwarts, thanks to the untimely death of its previous owner, Sirius Black, his godfather. Number 12 had, in the past, served as a hideout for the Order of the Phoenix—a gathering of those who vowed to fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters—and had been kept secret from public knowledge for that reason. However, with the war done and Harry's inheritance at hand, knowledge of number 12 was revealed to the wizarding public, and rent was placed upon the upkeep of the building. Due to its vast size, it was a hefty cost. But the building's size also offered a solution: it had enough bedrooms to house several tenants, and there a few recent graduates from Hogwarts who were quite close to Harry—like family, in fact—and needed a place to go.

That was how Harry, Ron, and Neville ended up as roommates. All three had internships at the Ministry, studying to be Aurors. Hermione Granger had also moved in with them and was planning to begin her internship as soon as she completed her official seventh year at Hogwarts. The invitation was extended to Ginny and Luna as well, and it was decided that when Neville and Luna found significant others, those two could move in as well—unless, of course, the happy couples wanted to find their own housing. Either way, number 12 was large enough to hold a great many tenants.

Currently, all those tenants were invited to the Weasley family Christmas at the Burrow, and thus, excitement was centered around packing for the several-day stay. Having helped Ron select the proper ugly sweater for the occasion, Neville and Harry returned to their own rooms, packing their own trunks.

Harry found himself caught up in daydreams of seeing Ginny; those were rudely interrupted when Ron screamed "Bloody HELL!"

Neville and Harry rushed back to Ron's room. The window was cracked open—it hadn't been when they'd left. Ron's trunk was haphazardly packed with necessities; had Hermione been there, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist organizing it into neat piles. That, however, was relatively unremarkable. An owl rested on the bedpost, looking tall and proud. And Ron held in his hands a parchment letter, one the owl had obviously brought and that he had just finished reading.

"What is it?" Harry inquired.

"It's from Hogwarts," Ron replied, looking shaken. "You aren't going to believe this. They want us to go back."

"To finish our seventh year?" Neville asked. "But I thought—"

"It isn't that," Ron dismissed. "It's…something else. You…you have to read this for yourselves."

Harry and Neville took the letter, reading it between the two of them.

Dear Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Longbottom,

I regret to inform you that something rather grave has occurred as of late. The Malfoy family recently suffered an attack led by two wizards bearing the faces and names of deceased Death Eaters. It is unsure if they are merely using those likenesses or if there is something far more sinister afoot.

I realize that you have had your fill of Death Eater activity, and you have every right to disregard this message. However, because of your intimate experiences with the situation and your knowledge of ways to defend oneself against the Dark Arts in particular, I beg you to at least consider returning to Hogwarts. Not to study, of course, but to discuss the event at hand and make preparations.

I seem to recall, in the past, a certain extracurricular organization known as "Dumbledore's Army" that was devoted to Defense Against the Dark Arts. It would interest you to know that this group has not reformed since your departure, and also, that our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Ermond Ricksmith, is quite fascinated by tales of your doings in the war. I had wondered if the three of you would not wish to perhaps assist in the teaching of the subject and coach the students, should the need arise.

I suggest you take Christmas vacation to think this over. Please do not take this lightly—whatever threat is at our doorstep is very real, no matter its connection to Lord Voldemort (and unfortunately, despite what you might wish to believe, evidence has surfaced that it is indeed possible for certain of those Death Eaters presumed dead to have returned—but that is better explained in person). However, I do not wish for you to reopen wounds. Enjoy your Christmas at the Burrow, and each of you should only respond in the most honest manner.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress

P.S. It would interest you to know that there are certain students enrolled at Hogwarts who have also had extensive dealings with battling evil forces. They are a little unconventional, but I believe you would all get along quite well. If you do not choose to return to Hogwarts, it might be within your interest to meet them outside these circumstances. I can help to arrange such a meeting if you wish.

"It can't be," Neville said, stunned, as he sat down on Ron's bed. "It was over…right? It was over!"

"Well, whatever's going on, I know I've already made my decision," Harry said forcefully, rolling up the parchment. "You two can do whatever you like."

"You're going back, aren't you?" Ron sighed. "You really do have a 'saving people' problem."

"I don't really believe Voldemort is back from the dead," Harry offered. "It's probably a hoax by some fringe followers. But all the same, if Hogwarts is in danger…if McGonagall, Flitwick, and Hagrid are in danger…and ESPECIALLY if Ginny, Luna, and Hermione are in danger, I'm not going to just sit back and do nothing."

"Then you can count me in," Ron replied.

"And me," Neville added.

---

Chapter 32:

· More My Immortal jokes. Ebony and Draco are the first couple in MI (Ebony ends up sleeping with everyone else at least once), and she's obsessed with him to a stalker level even there. So I decided to have her torment Draco a little bit. I was originally going to quote more lines from the sex scene (which are hilarious because it's the least sexy thing ever), but decided now wasn't the time to go that sexual.

· Ophira and I were having a discussion about the bone-removal curse Lockhart used on Harry in Chamber of Secrets and how many times that one got cast by asshole students. So, I figured, why not?

· And in My Immortal, Ebony actually does mix up "Crucio" with "Crookshanks."

· Canon: students always confuse Uric the Oddball and Emeric the Evil.

· So Kyubey met up with the Mane Six! Here is something very important to note: I took care to make sure that everything he said and showed was technically true. He, at no point, lied. However, keep in mind that things can be misrepresented if taken out of context. Misdirection. Omission. Just because he told the truth doesn't mean it's on the up-and-up!

· All-World is a reference to Stephen King's Dark Tower.

· The memory of the blonde is of Mami Tomoe from PMMM. Right down to the syringes and candy being part of the labyrinth where her big battle went down in canon. And again: Kyubey showed something canon. That does not mean he showed all the important parts.

· The contract he showed taking place is also canon—Sayaka Miki wishing to heal her friend/crush Kyosuke.

· By the way, if this whole chapter just reads like "And then there was a big confusing anime concept," don't worry. The consequences will turn up in a more show-don't-tell way. I've been setting this up for a while. You don't have to have understood the whole thing right away. If you ARE a PMMM fan, then you're in the loop, and that's cool too.

· I'm expanding Kyubey's role in honor of a crossover universe. In canon, he only deals with Earth girls, but here, I've given him more territory. He's even recruited fillies from the Equestrias!

· So I made Hammerspace a thing. Which sacrifices the "where does the party cannon come from" joke, but allows me to explain how characters can carry around huge weapon arsenals. Like Rainbow's new sword.

· Okay, so in a crossover universe, it's tough to consistently treat mucking with the time stream. In J.J. Abrams' Star Trek and PMMM, it spawns new timelines. In Back to the Future and the Ray Bradbury story canon, it changes history. In one quite infamous episode of Doctor Who, it causes the entire timeline to be eaten up by dragon-things. So the rules are arbitrary.

· Soul Gems are a canon thing from PMMM. It's probably breaking the rules not to have them be generated freshly, given what they are…but the amulets were already there, so I used them.

· Pardon me, but I have to do the outfits again. You know I can't resist the fashion description at this point. I apologize in advance for all the NOPONY CARES WHAT THEY'RE WEARING. Oh, and I'm pretty sure giving RD pants as a Mahou Shoujo outfit makes up for me putting her in a skirt in Corona.

· There was actually a joke in PMMM where Madoka wondered what would happen if she wished for a cake. Everyone else warned her not to waste a wish on that. So, putting Pinkie in the same situation…I absolutely HAD to go for it!

· The MMMM is a canon cake from the ep "MMMystery on the Friendship Express."

· So I totally stole "All magic comes at a price" from Once Upon a Time, but I've heard it used in other stuff too, and the CONCEPT seems nearly universal, so I figured, why not?

· And now we see the future I conjured up for the main characters. It's canon that Harry inherited number 12. And I couldn't resist having everyone else move in as roomies. Even Neville. It pays the bills and it's my happy little fantasy of how they all lived together as a big family.

· YES. I'M BRINGING THEM BACK TO HOGWARTS! You KNEW they had to join the party! Also, it's canon that the DADA prof after the series ended liked to have Harry give lectures to the class. And you should also have known right away that Harry's saving-people complex wouldn't allow him to turn it down.