Izurich
Majoraa
FaithfulMuse
Crimson Flame
Otakuforreal
Shin Ghost Note
Blade17
Nyahahameha
BrokenPromise
Ariamis
Predictably, MDP was completely oblivious to the various little dramas playing out around her, and so she happily skipped over to Mayra without a care in the world and grabbed her by the hand. “Like, come on, Mayra Wayra~! (giggle!)” MDP said as she dragged the dragon girl over to where her other friends were standing. “There are some people weple over heresie that Magical Dream Princess would just totally wotally wuv to introduce you to~! (giggle!)” Once they arrived, the energetic magical girl began pointing to each girl in turn. “This is Pastel-chan~! But her actual wactual namey waymy is Amanda Wanda~! She’s, like, Magical Dream Princess’s most super duper best friend in the whole wide worldsie~! (giggle!) And this is Connie Wonnie, and her best friend in the whole wide worldsie, Gaia Waia~! (giggle!) And, like, this is Magical Dream Princess’s newest friendy wendy, Mayra Wayra~!” she added, gesturing to the girl in question. “She’s that super duper cool dragony wagony person worsen Magical Dream Princess was telling you about~! (giggle!)”
“H-Hello,” Connie said, waving meekly. “I-It’s n-nice to m-meet you.” She was a little nervous about the fact that MDP’s newest friend was a member of Mariette’s forces, but the draconic girl seemed nice enough. At least, if her big smile was anything to go by.
“It is my pleasure to meet you as well,” Gaia added with a tranquil smile of her own.
"Er, h-hi." Amanda waved, hugging herself when she realized her dress had changed. "Don't worry about them. They're pretty harmless." She told Mayra (and most of Mariette's friends, in fact.), refering to the other three.
Perhaps very oddly, the dragon-girl looked a lot more human right now because beach dimension had transformed her into something more easy on the eyes and a pretty tiny swimsuit, but regardless, she grinned pretty happily as MDP got her to come over. ‘Hiiiii~!’ Mayra waved at them,
She looked over at Amanda with a raised eyebrow at that statement... ‘Harmless, eh? she asked, and then leaned forward to stare at Connie's face for a bit. From probably a bit too close.
‘We got a warning about you. Something about you driving away a whole horde of collobs with a single spell and that we should be wary if you can do that to us, too. Interesting. What can you do that's so harmless~?’ Mayra asked, grinning a bit. She then looked directly over at Gaia.
‘Haha, another plant-girl! But you seem pretty alive compared to Esther's dead-tree thing~’ Mayra commented, then looked super-excited. ‘Ooooh, can you make apples out of nothing!? It'd be really cool if you could!’
“O-Oh, umm…” Connie mumbled as Mayra got a bit too close for her liking and began telling her how she’d been warned about her magic. “T-That’s b-because I-I u-use n-n-nightmare m-magic,” Connie explained. “B-But, I r-really h-hate it!” she hastened to add. “I-It’s s-so m-mean and s-scary… I-I w-wish I could u-use d-dream m-magic like A-Amanda and MDP…”
“It seems like such a cruel trick that my dearest Connie has been forced to make use of such a horrible specialization,” Gaia agreed, placing a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder and giving it a gentle massage. “And yes,” she added with a melodious giggle. “I can certainly make some apples for you, although not exactly out of nothing,” she clarified, as she conjured some seeds in her palm. Green energy swirled around them as she infused the seeds with her magic, and soon the seeds had been transformed into five delicious-looking apples, with a large leafy plant serving as a basket. “Here you go,” she said, offering the botanical basket to Mayra. “Please enjoy them.”
“Aww, Mayra Wayra shouldn’t worry~! Magical Dream Princess’s friendy wendies are, like, total wotal super duper sweethearts~! (giggle!)” MDP told her, while striking a cute pose and making a heart with her hands. “They wouldn’t hurt anybodywody, as long as nobodywody tried to hurt them~!” Then MDP gasped as she suddenly remembered something. “Golly wolly~! Magical Dream Princess totally wotally forgot about Samurai-chan~! But, like, Magical Dream Princess doesn’t see her anywheresie…” Her cute voice trailed off as she began looking around for the diminutive samurai. “Magical Dream Princess was, like, super duper sure she saw her go through the portal wortal…”
“G-Gosh, y-you’re right!” Connie said as she, too, noticed that Ronin was nowhere to be found. “I h-hope s-she’s okay…”
"She probably had another way to escape. Overcity shift, perhaps?" Amanda suggested. Knowing how much of a risk it was for Ronin to be near Mariette, the magician assumed she'd have an alternative escape. "But yeah, Connie isn't as bad as she may seem. Her patron's a bit of an a- Er, a jerk though." she explained, grabbing an apple while watching everyone else enter. Amanda grimaced seeing those unfortunately injured.
But then there was Valerie, who walked off a reasonable hole below her ribcage.
‘Nightmare magic?’ ... Mayra's eyes suddenly shone up. ‘ME! ME! I WANT A NIGHTMARE! I WANT A NIGHTMARE SO I CAN SHOW IT WHO'S BOSS!’ she sounded, raising a hand up high with her face the sheer manifestation of excited curiosity. Clearly, MDP or Amanda didn't exactly need to worry about Mayra worrying.
Then Gaia was able to make apples out of almost nothing with an excited Mayra. ‘Free snacks anytime! You, are, a, GIFT!’ Mayra said and snatched the basket and then leaped forward to hug around Gaia quite excitedly, possibly dropping one of the apples in the basket just because of the speed of that.
Then there was this discussion about Samurai-chan... ‘Ah, the one I saved Mariette from! She was, like, thiiiis close to getting to her, then I snatched her up! Talk about right on time!’ Mayra said, chuckling, not realizing the implications of that. ‘Oh, she was a friend of yours? Eeeh, she's probably fiiine, if she was able to get THAT close to top girl then she's probably strong enough to get away, haha.’
‘So, you use dream magic, too? Like her?’ Mayra asked Amanda, gesturing back at MDP when she did.
Connie was a bit taken aback by Mayra’s sheer enthusiasm about her magic, so it took her a moment to respond to the draconic girl’s request. “R-Really…? Y-You a-actually w-want me to g-give you a n-nightmare…?” she asked with disbelief. “I-I g-guess I c-could, b-but, umm, I d-don’t think I can d-do it h-here…” she told Mayra as she looked at the tropical paradise surrounding them. “S-So, um, m-maybe l-later?”
“Why thank you so very much,” a blushing Gaia told Mayra with a giggle after the monster girl had called her a gift and wrapped her up in a big hug. “And you are more than welcome to partake of Mother Earth’s bounty any time.”
When Mayra addressed Amanda, the magician's brows rose. "Oh, yes! But my magic isn't exactly as extravagant as Dreamy's." She said, taking a bite out of the apple in her hand.
“Awww~! Pastel-chan is, like, sooo super duper modest wodest~! (giggle!)” MDP gushed. “And she’s, like, a super duper smarty warty, too~!” the whimsical magical girl added. “She’s, like, waaaay more focused wocused than Magical Dream Princess~! (giggle!)”
"W-Well of course I have to be focused! If I'm gonna be a mediary of dreams, I must stay vigilant!" Amanda turned to MDP, blushing slightly from the compliments.
‘Later it is!’ Mayra said with a little grin towards Connie. There was an excited nod to what Gaia said as well.
‘Sooooo, we got dreams, nightmares and dreams, plus the girl that can make apples that can totally put people to sleep,’ she claimed, with absolutely no evidence to the last assumption. ‘That's a pretty amusing team, haha,’ Mayra commented, definitely looking amused.
“I suppose when you put it that way, it is somewhat amusing,” Gaia conceded. “And what of your team, Mayra? Do your magical specializations share any thematic elements as well?”
‘Eeeeeeh, nah, we're pretty varied. I mean, our patron specifically picked us across dimensions to accomplish very different goals that he intended for us, we're just all here because Mariette's his darling and she needed protection~’ Mayra said with a grin, taking amusement knowing how angry Lea would have been if she heard that.
‘... Oh, wait! We do have a theme!’ she suddenly realized, slapping a fist into a palm. ‘We all have specific weaknesses! We all share a weakness to lit candles, you knew that already,’ since they'd come with a bunch, ‘but we all also have unique weaknesses that harm us WAY more! Like, Lea's is fire,’ now, anyway, it was iron before but her weakness had to be switched to explain how she could take such a ridiculous amount of damage from what was supposed to be her less damaging bane, ‘and mine is-’
‘SURE! GO AHEAD AND TELL OUR ENEMIES HOW TO DEFEAT US! WE DON'T MIND~!’ Suzette called from a bit of a distance over there, apparently having been listening in. Mayra took the cue, smirked, and... ‘... and yeah! That's a theme!’
"Techically not who you should worry about but okay!!" Amanda yelled back to Suzette. Then her eyes widened and brows furrowed. "And I was just here to make sure everyone escaped safely!!!" She explained, in case she was being concidered an enemy too.
‘NOT YOU, THE OTHER THREE! NOT THAT I HAVE A CLUE WHO YOU ARE!’ Suzette called back, also amused right now.
"Name's Amanda! NICE TO MEET YOU!" The magician replied with a thumbs up. Then looked back to the other four. "Uh...too much?"
“Not at all,” Gaia replied with a melodious giggle. “AND WE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMIES EITHER,” she called to Suzette. “WE ONLY CAME HERE TO HELP SAVE MISS MARIETTE!”
‘AND I'M SUZETTE! HI!’ Suzette yelled back from a bit of a distance, clearly refusing to get closer. Still, then Gaia said her thing... ‘ARE YOU ENTIRELY SURE!? LOOKED AN AWFUL LOT LIKE JOINING THE RAIDING PARTY INTENDED TO KILL HER TO ME!’
‘... Uh,’ Mayra mentally prepared herself to possibly act.
Gaia took a deep breath. This was going to be tricky. She had to convince them that they weren’t enemies, but at the same time, she couldn’t reveal too much about Ronin’s plans. How to proceed? As it happened, she never got the chance to figure that out…
“Like, that’s because we were super duper undercoverwover~! (giggle!)” MDP chirped, while skipping over to Suzette. “Like, Samurai-chan asked us to help her save Mariettey Wetty, but, like, she had to spy on that meanie weanie vampire wampire lady wady, so, like we all had to pretendy wendy to be on her sidey widey~! (giggle!) Oh~! And it’s, like, super duper nice to meet you, Suzettey Wetty~! (giggle!)” she added happily. “Magical Dream Princess’s namey wamey is Magical Dream Princess~! She really hopes we can be super duper good friends~! (giggle!)”
‘... What, you were on our side all along?’ Suzette asked, her eyebrows raised. She then laughed out loud, bending her neck back and laughing out into the air. ‘Whelp, then, sorry about the tentacle monster. And the kobolds and other monsters sent to kill you. And the lava and sonic traps. And all of us unloading our collective magical firepower on you in that ambush. And the-’ she proceeded to have to hold over her stomach as she laughed some more. ‘We really got to plan this better...!’
‘You were all on our side...?’ Ronja asked, tilting her head, the spider-monster girl coming over because she's never far from Suzette. ‘Then, why would Lily, mid-battle, attack our mistress and throw her at the samurai? If it had simply been to kill her then Lily's powerful enough to do that herself, without question, but there was intent in that throw. But if the samurai, too, was one of our allies...?’ Ronja asked, frowning a bit as she considered.
"I don't think it was to kill her." Amanda walked over to Ronja and Suzette. "From what I could tell watching you guys, she was trying to stun Mariette long enough for...uh...'Samurai-Chan' to step in and get her to safety. Both Beacon and Justine wanted her dead, after all." She frowned.
‘Hm, perhaps. I think I'll go ask her myself,’ Ronja told, and has the full intention of walking over towards Lily, wherever she might be at this moment.
“Like, bye bye for nowie, miss spider wider person werson~!” MDP called after Ronja. “And, like, super duper thankie wankies, Pastel-chan~!” she told Amanda while giving her a happy smile. “You’re, like, super duper good at explainy wayning thingie wingies~! (giggle!) Like, if Magical Dream Princess had tried, she would have probably wobably said something she really shouldn’t have by mistakey wakey…”
“Yes, thank you for resolving that so smoothly, Amanda,” Gaia concurred serenely. “Although I imagine such a task was merely second nature for a mediator of dreams such as yourself.”
"Aw, you guys!" Amanda scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. "I just didn't want them to see you as enemies. And you're my friends! Of course I'd back you up!"
‘... RIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH SERIOUSNESS AND GRATITUDE!’ Mayra suddenly shouted out, skipping in right into the middle of the group. ‘This place is an AMAZING playground! You can play volleyball, build sandcastles, have drinks, OH, AND KEIJO!’ Mayra announced quite excitedly. ‘Come on! Let me show you! Let's go!’ she called, quite intending on grabbing hold of as many arms as she could to pull off to the beach resort.
“Magical Dream Princess would, like, totally wotally wuv to~! (giggle!)” the whimsical magical girl cheered, before swiftly sobering as something occurred to her. “But, um, actually wactually, Magical Dream Princess would kinda winda like to have a private wivate talky walky with Connie Wonnie right nowie… I-If that’s okie dokie with her…”
“O-Oh! Umm… O-Okay…” Connie replied, somewhat unsure of what MDP was planning to talk with her about. “L-Lead the w-way!” she added, giving MDP what she hoped was a happy smile.
“Goody woody~! (giggle!)” MDP cheered as she grabbed Connie’s hand and began to drag her away. “Like, after we’re finished winished, we’ll come backy wacky and have all kinds of funsie wunsie together wether~! (giggle!)” she called to the others as she departed.
“Well then, I suppose it’s just us for the time being,” Gaia observed. “What do you say to getting some refreshments while we wait? We can also plan out what our first activity shall be.”
I just hope their chat does not take too long... Gaia thought to herself as she eyed the overly enthusiastic Mayra. I do not think Amanda and I have the energy to keep up with Mayra without MDP around to take some of the edge off...
After MDP had dragged her outside, the whimsical magical girl had led Connie to a relatively secluded spot, tucked away amongst the colorful tropical foliage. Once they arrived, both girls took a seat on a small bench.
“Sooo, like, Magical Dream Princess is kinda winda nervous about doing this,” MDP began, her trepidation clear in her voice, “but she really can’t talky walky with you about these thingie wingies when she’s Magical Dream Princess, so, she’s, like, gonna have to trust you with her secret wecret identity wentity, okie dokie?”
“O-Okay,” Connie replied in a stunned whisper, surprised, and a bit honored, that she was being entrusted with something so important. “I-I p-promise I w-won’t let a-anyone know!”
“Like, thankie wankie, Connie Wonnie~! (giggle!)” MDP told her happily. “Magical Dream Princess knows she can trust you, because Connie Wonnie is a super duper sweetie weetie pie~! (giggle!)” she added, giving Connie a big hug. After releasing her, the cheerful magical girl took a deep breath. “Okie dokie~! Magical Dream Princess is gonna go back to normal wormal nowie~!”
There was a bright flash, and the next thing Connie knew, a completely different girl was sitting next to her, one who seemed like the total opposite of the childish and hyperactive MDP.
“You… probably don’t know who I am,” the girl said, blushing slightly, “but you gave my father a series of nightmares over the course of several nights. It was my desire to stop those nightmares, and confront the person responsible, that ultimately led to me becoming Magical Dream Princess.”
“O-Oh m-my g-gosh…” Connie gasped, her body trembling. “I-I’m s-so s-sorry…!”
“It is alright,” Violet told her calmly, while placing a reassuring hand on the frighted girl’s shoulder. “I now realize that it was not your intention to cause harm. You were simply being forced to do it by that horrific Patron of yours. If anything, you are just as much a victim as my father, although I am still perplexed by why the Lord of Nightmares chose to target him.”
“B-But t-that’s n-not t-t-true…” Connie said softly, her tone filled with plaintive remorse. “T-The L-Lord o-of N-N-Nightmares d-doesn’t c-care w-who I g-give n-nightmares to…”
“Then why single my father out?” Violet asked, clearly puzzled by this revelation. “I’ve looked into who you’ve been giving nightmares to, and I found that there was definitely some sort of pattern. Upon learning of your Patron, I simply assumed that it was the one responsible for choosing your targets, but now you mean to tell me that you chose these targets yourself?” the heiress inquired, while casting a skeptical gaze over the still-trembling Connie. “Forgive me, but I have great difficulty believing that someone as kind and timid as you would ever do such a thing.”
“That is because she was not the one who selected your father,” a new voice interrupted. “I did.”
“Mia!” Connie gasped at the sound of her friend’s voice.
“You!” Violet exclaimed as Gaia approached them. “I should have known you would be responsible for all this! I had initially intended to give you the benefit of the doubt, but with a name like yours, I was foolish to think you would have been anything other than another one of those insane ecoterrorists that have been plaguing my father’s company for years!”
“Violet Covington…” Gaia noted cooly. “I must admit, you are perhaps the very last person I would have expected to see here. And your father is responsible for untold pain and suffering. It is only right he be made to suffer the consequences in turn. If you could only feel the agony he inflicts on Mother Earth as I do, I am certain you would agree.”
“Superstitious nonsense!” Violet snapped. ]“And tricking such a gentle girl as Connie into aiding your fanatical vendetta… Have you no shame at all?! I thought she was supposed to be your friend!”
“She is my friend,” Gaia replied pointedly. “My dearest Connie means more to me than anything else in the universe! I would never do anything that wasn’t for her benefit! Do you know what happens when she doesn’t give enough people nightmares?” the verdant magical girl asked, voice filled with venom. “Her accursed Patron tortures her! It tears my heart to shreds when I see her after that happens… And so, to keep it from happening, I had Connie give nightmares to those who were deserving of them, horrible people who have done horrible things to others. People like your father. Tell me, Miss Covington, do you truly believe your father has done nothing to harm others? Do you, of all people, after all you’ve seen, after where you are right now, do you truly believe what I am saying is merely ‘superstitious nonsense’?”
Violet was silent for a moment. As much as she hated to admit it, Gaia was right. She had indeed seen enough in her short time as a magical girl to know that there was far more to reality than what could be seen with mundane eyes. She also knew, deep down, that her father had regrettably been involved with many things that she had wished he hadn’t, things that, as Magical Dream Princess, she could never condone. The young heiress was about to say as much, when she heard the sound of crying.
“I-I’m s-s-sorry…” Connie whimpered as tears streamed down her cheeks. “P-Please d-don’t f-fight…” she implored plaintively. “T-This is a-all b-because of m-me… I-If I had n-never g-gotten t-these p-powers, n-none of t-this w-would have h-happened…”
“No, Connie,” Violet told her, gently taking one of the girl’s trembling hands into both of her own. “None of this is your fault, please believe that.”
“She is right, little sister,” Gaia agreed, while placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You have done nothing wrong, so there is no need for you to apologize for anything.”
“I… I should be the one to apologize…” Violet said after a moment. “What your friend said is correct. My father has done some truly awful things, and I have always chosen to ignore it, or find some way to justify it… Because I loved him, because I admired him, and… and because I wanted him to love and admire me. But I was wrong. I should have acted with greater integrity. I should have said something, should have done something… I’ve been such a shameful coward,” she added softly as she stared at the ground. “But that changes now. As the current head of Covington Industries, I shall see to it that my father’s great failings are corrected. Henceforth, CI shall be a force for positive change in the world. You both have my word on that.”
Both Connie and Gaia were taken aback by the conviction displayed by the heiress’s voice and countenance.
“I believe you,” Gaia said after a moment, a smile beginning to spread across her face. “And you have my thanks, as well as those of Mother Earth.”
“A-And t-thank y-you for b-being so n-nice to me, M-Miss C-Covington,” Connie whispered shakily.
It was clear to see that the poor girl was still very nervous, and Violet gave her a warm smile in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable. “Connie,” she chided gently. “We are friends. There is no need to be so formal. Simply call me Violet.”
“O-Oh…! U-Umm, o-okay, V-Violet!” Connie replied, while doing her best to muster up a smile of her own.
“I believe we have lingered here long enough,” the young heiress observed as she helped Connie to her feet. “What do you say to having some fun?”
“I-I’d r-really l-like t-that!” Connie told her happily.
“Wonderful. In that case… Hearts, Candy, Sparkles, and Balloons~! Sunshine, Glitter, Unicorns, and Rainbows~! Taaa daaa~! Magical Girl Super Cute Pretty Pretty Magical Dream Princess is here~! (giggle!)”
“Like, come on, Connie Wonnie~! (giggle!)” MDP cheered as she grabbed Connie’s hand and pulled her along. “Let’s go find Mayra Wayra and Pastel-chan, and build some super duper pretty witty sand castle wastles~! (giggle!)”
Connie couldn’t help but laugh as well as she once again found herself being pulled along by the excitable magical girl, with an amused Gaia following close behind. Now that all the tension had been peacefully resolved, she felt so happy and content. She only hoped that things would remain that way…
