Ponn

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

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It was at Valkyrie’s home. A proper little house, apparently, located somewhere in Penrose. Valkyrie had left to the Overcity for a time, but allowed Deni and Eli to settle down inside her home to ensure it wasn’t unoccupied during her absence. Which made it a great, completely free house of residence for the two to live within and form new memories! They’d invited new friends, so the two were taking the time to make a lemon curd tart to serve to their friends! Deni had taken to baking during her stay in Penrose since she came back, and Eli was more than happy to help out! They were probably doing that, when…

“Umm, R-Ronin?” a hesitant voice called out after a brief knock on the door. “I-It’s us, C-Connie and Mia! M-May we c-come in?”

Deni smiled, nodded to Eli who stayed in the kitchen, and then skipped towards the door. She was still transformed, because being seen untransformed could cause a problem, yet, she didn’t look like she had the previous time they’d met. ‘Absolutely! Come on in! I warn, I look a little different, but it’s still me!’ she said, opening the door for them and letting them see her new look. It was still asian-inspired, but she was now 11 instead of 7, and the attire was shorter and blue instead. The effects of a Red Coin, she briefly wondered if her friends knew of those.

“O-Oh, wow!” Connie exclaimed at how her friend had changed. “W-Were you j-just disguised b-before, a-and this is how you r-really look?” she asked.

“Whatever the case, you look good!” Mia complemented. “I love the new color palette.”

Deni smirked at Connie’s exclamation. Right, time to be Ronin. ‘Thanks! But, nope! This is how I look now. You know what a Red Coin is? Well, I used one! I had a special reason to!’ she said, skipping back. ‘C’mon, let’s go to the kitchen!’

“Uh, n-no, I-I’ve n-never heard of R-Red Coins before,” Connie admitted. “B-But if e-everything’s all right, t-then I g-guess it’s f-fine?” she added, still a little unsure of why her friend would need to make use of such a thing.

“Yeah, we were kinda worried when you didn’t come through the portal to Dan’s place with us,” Mia added. “Did ya get everything sorted out?”

Ronin smirked. ‘Yeah, I did.’ She kept her sentence short, because she knew she had more to explain later.

“I-Is t-this your home, Ronin?” Connie asked as their friend led them to the kitchen. “I-It’s r-really nice.”

‘It actually belongs to a friend of mine called Valkyrie. She’s off in the Overcity right now, but she’s letting me borrow it!’ Ronin said, and then they turned and entered the kitchen, where…

Someone had been baking for them. Specifically, a rather large lemon curd tart had been prepared, and someone who looked a lot like Ronin was placing it on the table with a couple plates, wearing a red longer attire, giving them a smile as they came in. ‘Welcome, Mia, Connie. Make yourselves at home,’ she said, just smiling for now, and Ronin kept a close look at the reactions of her friends.

Upon catching sight of Eli, Connie gave a small gasp of surprise, not expecting anyone else to be here. “Oh! Umm, h-hello,” Connie told her, while holding up her hand and giving a shaky wave. “A-And t-thank you,” she added with a smile as she sat down.

“Yeah, thanks for havin’ us!” Mia said with a grin. “So, I guess you're one of Ronin’s friends, huh? Or maybe a relative?” she added thoughtfully, after noting the strong resemblance between the two.

‘I am. I’m her sister. You may… call me Miko. I apologize about not using our real names, there’s some people that’d hunt us down if they knew our real names, so we want to keep those under as much wraps as possible,’ the apparently newly named Miko said.

‘Haha, didn’t you say that Miko didn’t fit because you had no spirit specialization?’ Ronin asked, chuckling a bit.

‘Eh, it’s short and sweet,’ Miko said, shrugging. Ronin skipped to beside Miko.

‘So, we’d like to extend our thanks that you came to help me try to save Mariette. I… didn’t tell you, but I was also on a quest to save my sister. I’m sorry about that. But now, I am in your debt! Thank you… so much!’ Ronin said, bowing down deeply.

‘It’s partly thanks to you that I’m free now. Not only that, but we managed to remove Mariette’s brainwashing. We want that to be kept a secret, too, don’t go telling people about that. But now, Mariette can escape on her own when she wants to. You helped with that, too. Thank you, so much for helping my sister!’ Miko bowed to them too, both sisters bowing to them with gratitude.

“I-It’s v-very nice to m-meet you,” Connie told Miko after the later had introduced herself.

“Likewise,” Mia grinned, glad to see that her suspicions of a family resemblance had been proven correct. “And don’t worry about the name thing,” she added. “It’s totally understandable. I mean, I usually don’t go around advertising my true identity when I’m out doing magical girl stuff, either. Heck, some people even go so far as to adopt a whole new personality, though I can see why you might not wanna take things that far.”

Then the two sisters thanked them for their help, and Connie felt a blush color her cheeks. “O-Oh! U-Umm, y-you’re v-very welcome! A-And I’m s-so glad to hear that!” she added, giving the twins a big smile.

“Yeah,” Mia agreed. “We’re just happy we could help. Seein’ you two together like this is all the thanks we need.”

‘You followed me into a death-trap of a mansion to help. You can tell me that’s all you need, but I am going to be forever willing to jump into the fire for you if you ever need me to!’ Ronin raised her head to say, grinning widely.

‘The Magical Dream Princess, too. You all helped us. Please, if you ever do need anything, don’t hesitate to talk to us. We will always be ready,’ Miko said, raising her head and looking happy.

‘Buuuut, since you don’t seem like the kind to send us into sudden danger just yet, I did the next best thing and let you experience the fruit of my labour! I made a lemon curd tart!’ Ronin said, skipping and smiling as she gestured towards the not-entirely-professional-quality pastry available.

‘Emphasis on “lemon”. She put way too much lemon in it,’ Miko said, giggling a bit.

‘Eeeeeeeh, it’s probably still good! Have some cream!’ Ronin said, skipping over to grab a bowl of cream to bring over to the table.

“I-It looks d-delicious!” Connie told them happily after Ronin presented her culinary creation.

“Don’t mind if I do!” Mia added when the excitable samurai girl offered them some cream.

“Y-You k-know,” Connie said after a moment, while reaching into a coat pocket. “T-There actually is someplace w-we’d like to i-invite you to,” she explained, producing two colorful slips of paper. “D-Dan the D-Dolphin is hosting a b-big Christmas Party at his b-beach dimension. I-It s-sounds like it’ll be a l-lot of f-fun, s-so we’d be r-really h-happy if you s-said you'd come!”

“And those invitations are magical,” Mia added. “Just think about wanting more, and they’ll duplicate as many times as you’d like.”

‘Ooooh, a party! Thank you!’ Ronin said, reaching over and grabbing the papers. She then excitably looked over at Miko. ‘We going?’

‘We going,’ Miko shrugged with a smirk.

‘We going!’ Ronin cheered, before handing the pie-cutter over to the guests.

Then they ate away the evening, taking part in Ronin’s newly developed exceedingly sour but still kinda good lemon curd tart. It was a good time.

---

It was a regular night of patrol for the Ascendancy, as FanFan jumped from rooftop to rooftop, surveying the scene.
“Hmm, it’s become rather quiet after the whole shebacle in that other dimension,” she mused to herself, when she came to the fairgrounds at the city harbor. The place has been closed for winter, and so wasn’t hit as hard by the destructive events that had happened afterwards. This gave FanFan an idea. “I’ll go check this place out and go down the harbor,” she informed her comrades-in-arms. “See ya in 30 minutes at the bank~”. She then went down to the fairgrounds, and decided to take a stroll. “Ah, such a nice place, beautiful even when closed down...”

Perhaps unsurprisingly for such a whimsical girl, MDP had the exact same idea, seeing the fairgrounds as a perfect place to play around and test out her magic. Upon catching sight of the elegant Ascendancy girl, she gave a squeal of delight. “Wowie zowie~! (giggle!) Like, you’re that pretty witty person werson with the metal wetal armsie warmsies that Magical Dream Princess, like, totally wotally forgot the namey wamey of~!” the cheerful girl exclaimed. “Super sorries about that…” she added in a more sullen tone. “She wanted to talk with you super duper bad, but, like, since she didn’t remember wember your namey wamey, she didn’t know if she’d ever wever be able to find you again, but, like, Magical Dream Princess was super duper lucky enough to find you heresie weresie, so, like everythingie wingie is okie doki nowie~! (giggle!)”

After finishing her rambling explanation, the bubbly girl gave FanFan a big hug. “Like, heresie~!” she added after they’d separated, while producing a colorful piece of paper. “Magical Dream Princess wanted to invite you to a super duper fun Christmas Wistmas Party~! (giggle!) All her friendy wendies will be there, and one of them is this super duper adorable worable dolly wolly person werson, who just wuvs tea parties, and Magical Dream Princess would absolutelylutely wuv if you could come, and then we could have a super duper cute tea party together wether~! (giggle!)”

FanFan lightly gasped in surprise with her hands on her cheeks as MDP greeted her. “Magical Dream Princess! Oh, it is absolutely delightful to meet you again~” She didn’t seem upset at all about her name being forgotten, and politely hugged MDP back with the help of her metal arms, showing a surprising tenderness to them. “No need to be sorry. FanFan is a foreign name, so it can be difficult to remember at first~”.
Then MDP gave her an invitation, to which the Ascendancy girl looked astonished.
“For me? Oh, you shouldn’t have! I would love to join you, thank you!” She opened the invitation and read it, and a curious expression came to her.. “Dan the Dolphin? Is this the same dolphin I saw in the other dimension? Are you friends with them, MDP?”

“Yeperoonie~! (giggle!)” MDP replied. “She, like, totally wotally is~! Danny Wanny is, like, sooo super duper nicey wicey, and sooo totally wotally adorable worable that Magical Dream Princess can’t imagine wagine anybodywody not being friendy wendies with him~! (giggle!)” she added, smiling at the thought of the whimsical dolphin.

FanFan seemed to first stare at MDP, before she let out a curt giggle. “Oh, that’s good to hear. I must admit, I was a bit worried that he might be a familiar or demon that Mariette conjured up, but it seems I was misguided~”. She went over to a carousel, and petted one of the wooden horses. “Ah, this reminds me of when I was young.”

“Like, Danny Wanny’s nothing wothing like that~! (giggle!)” MDP replied after FanFan had voiced her concerns about the dolphin’s nature. “Danny Wanny’s a Lesser Wesser Forcey Worcey~! At least, that's what he said when Magical Dream Princess asked~! (giggle!)”

FanFan then proceeded to admire the horses of a nearby carousel, which caused MDP to bounce over while giggling with glee.

“Like, those are such pretty witty horsesie worsesies~! (giggle!) Magical Dream Princess always wanted to come heresy weresie and ride them, but Daddy Waddy wouldn’t let her!” the childish girl explained with a cute pout. “But, like, now that Magical Dream Princess is a magical wagical girl, she can come visit wisit the horsesie worsesies anywany timey wimey she wants~! (giggle!) Like, did FanFany WanWany’s mommy and daddy let her come to this placey wacey and ride the horsesie worsesies~?!” she asked excitedly. “That must have been, like, sooo super duper fun~! (giggle!)”

FanFan nodded. “Yes...It was a long time ago, but I vividly remember when dear mother took me to the fair. It was something we did every year, in fact.” She looked out towards the ocean, reminiscing. “I remember how we would first take a tour around all the attractions, basking in that excitement, followed by some cotton candy. Then we’d buy souvenirs, and I’d always get one of those little pendants. They were like lucky charms to me.”
Her tone changed.
“However, it was one day when my fortune was reversed...That was when I lost my parents to the demons.”

MDP listened to FanFan with a happy smile, until the Ascendancy girl mentioned losing her parents. To demons…

“Golly wolly!” the whimsical girl exclaimed, her eyes tearing up and her hands covering her mouth in horror. “That’s, like, super duper awful waful! Magical Dream Princess is, like, sooo super duper sorry you had to go through something so terrible werrible!” MDP told FanFan, while giving the elegantly attired girl a big hug. “Magical Dream Princess lost her mommy wommy, too,” the childish girl confided. “She got super duper sicky wicky when Magical Dream Princess was very wery little wittle, but Magical Dream Princess still remember wembers how nicey wicey she was, and she still misses her lots and lots…”

“Oh, my condolences for your loss. I’m sure your mother would be proud of you. After all, you’re a magical girl blessed with the power to bring justice to this world.”She seemed to brighten up afterwards as a smile came to her face. “Shall we go look at the pier now?”

“The pier~?” MDP asked after FanFan seemed to cheer back up. “Magical Dream Princess guesses wesses we could~ She always wanted to walk along the pier, especially wecially this close to Christmas Wistmas, when it’s decorated with all those pretty witty lights~!” the cheerful girl explained. “But she doesn’t thinky winky we’ll see any wany of those tonight…” she added, looking around the darkened fairgrounds.

FanFan and MDP went to the pier, and just as MDP assumed, there were no decorations this year. She seemed to be deep in thought, until an idea came to her. “Oh, I know! If you want to see lights, I’m sure the carousel will illuminate brilliantly.” They went back to the carousel, where FanFan gracefully opened the door to the control station, using her Metal magic to remove the lock, turning it into a tiny statue of a nutcracker soldier in her hands.
“These are traditionally made of wood, but nonetheless, I would like you to have this~”

“Wowie zowie~! For Magical Dream Princess~?!” the whimsical girl exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with delight as she beheld the small figure. “Like, super duper thankie wankies~! (giggle!) Magical Dream Princess, like, totally wotally wuvs it~! (giggle!)” she added, giving FanFan a big hug.

FanFan graciously accepted the hug again. "You're welcome. Now, are you ready?" She pressed the switch on, and the carousel lighted up; numerous colors now surrounded the ride, placed into the central pillar as well as into the collars of the toy horses that now began to move. Cheerful music accompanied the whimsical sight.
"Ah, how nostalgic~" FanFan mused.

“Yaaay~! (giggle!)” MDP cheered, jumping up and down, while clapping her hands with glee. “FanFany WanWany woke up the merry werry go round~! (giggle!) It’s, like, sooo pretty witty~!” she added, while staring at the spinning collection of lights in childish wonderment. “Magical Dream Princess never ever got to see one of these thingie wingies in person werson, beforsie~! It’s even better than she imagined wagined~! (giggle!) Like, does FanFany WanWany wanna ride on the horsie worsies~?!” she asked excitedly. “Cause, like, Magical Dream Princess would totally wotally wuv it if we could ride them together wether~! (giggle!)”

“I would love to~” FanFan clapped her hands together with a sweet smile, and then proceeded to ride one of the toy horses. As they rode, FanFan seemed to be thinking.
“Magical Dream Princess, you are truly a wonder upon the world of magical girls. You know, we could use someone like you over on Beacon; someone who can dazzle the world with such many colors.”

“Beacon Weacon~?” MDP asked, tilting her head. “That namey wamey sounds familiar wiliar…” she added thoughtfully, while tapping a finger against her cheek.

FanFan out a hand over her mouth, visibly surprised. "Oh, you haven't heard of us? Beacon's an organization of magical girls who have united over the cause of bringing the light of peace and prosperity to the world. Together, we fight monsters, rescue civilians, and make sure the day is saved, as it were~" She stood up on her toy horse, easily balancing on it as it continued spinning around the carousel. "And we could have a spot of tea every day. Doesn't that sound lovely?"

“Wowie zowie~! Like, that soundy woundies super duper wuvly~! (giggle!)” MDP exclaimed cheerfully, her eyes glittering with wondrous excitement. “But, umm, Magical Dream Princess already has a Patron Watron person werson…” she explained, sounding a little apologetic. Brightening a bit, she added, “But, like, even if she can’t join Beacon Weacon, Magical Dream Princess would still really really wuv to work together wether with FanFany WanWany and all her other friendy wendies~! (giggle!) Would that be okie dokie~?” she asked, her face taking on a hopeful expression.

FanFan pouted, and crossed her arms. "I suppose...But it really would be a great opportunity. How about you one day come and visit our headquarters here in Penrose?" She jumped off the carousel. "Once you get to meet some of my sisters in battle, I'm sure you'd understand better."

“Like, Magical Dream Princess thinks that soundy woundies like super duper fun~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl replied. “Like, making new friendy wendies is, like, the super duper besty westiest~! (giggle!) And, like, that remindy windies her of something womething~!” she added, her eyes glittering with joy. “That invitation wation thingie wingie Magical Dream Princess gave you is totally wotally magical wagical, so it can, like, duplicaty watey, so you can give one to everybodywody at Beacon Weacon~! (giggle!)”

FanFan blinked, and one of her metallic arms picked the invitation from a pocket.
“Oh, is that so? In that case I’m sure to bring in a plus one~”
The carousel slowed down to a stop, and FanFan offered her hand to MDP as she got off the ride. “When would you like to come visit, then? Next Saturday, perhaps?”

“Like, Magical Dream Princess has to check her schedule wedule thingie, but she thinky winkies that might work~! (giggle!)” she told FanFan as the Ascendancy girl helped her off the carousel. “And, like, if FanFany WanWany wants to keep in touchy wouchy, Magical Dream Princess can give you her phoney woney number wumber~! (giggle!) Ta daaa~!” she announced as she produced a bright pink phone, covered in stickers and glitter. “Like, this is Magical Dream Princess’s special wecial magical wagical girl phoney woney~! (giggle!) She decorated it aaaall by her selfy welfy~! (giggle!) Like, she added all these super duper cute thingie wingies to it, like hearts, and stars, and rainbows, and unicorns, and kitty witties…” she continued to ramble, pointing to each item like an excited child at show and tell. “And, like, the very best part is that her number wumber is right heresie as soon as she presses wesses this button wutton thingie~! (giggle!)” the hyperactive magical girl finally concluded with a big smile. “Like, she had to do that as her normal wormal selfey welfy, so that she could find it when she was Magical Dream Princess, cause, like, otherwise she’d totally wotally forget how to do it~! (giggle!)”

“Ooh, fashionable~” FanFan commented with restrained glee upon seeing MDP’s phone. “Mine isn’t as pretty as yours, but it serves its job well enough.” She had a smartphone made with a sleek, white design. “But I would love to try decorating mine too. Perhaps you’d know of some good keychains for it.” She shared her phone number with MDP. “I’m not really supposed to give this number to any non-Beacon members, but I trust that you’ll keep it a secret. Pinky promise?”
She asked, holding her pinky out.

“Pinky winky promise~! (giggle!)” MDP declared with an exuberant smile, while linking her own pinky with FanFan’s. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess would just wuv to helpy welpy FanFany WanWany decorate her phoney woney, too~! (giggle!)” she added, giving FanFan a playful wink. “Like, Magical Dream Princess is gonna write herselfy welfy a note right nowie, so she doesn’t forget~!”

“Alrighty~” FanFan giggled. “Goodbye for now then. See you soon!” She waved to the magical girl, and then left, using her metallic arms to swing under lightpoles like a mechanical monkey.

“Okie dokie~! (giggle!) Bye bye for nowie~!” she called, waving excitedly as FanFan departed. Giggling happily, she jumped on a newly-conjured unicorn pegasus and flew off into the winter skies in search of more nightmares to banish.

---

&

A girl stood, focused on the pins ahead of her. There was an alley. Ten pins. The ball in her hand. She took a deep breath, and… she rolled the bowling ball with a dramatic swing, releasing her grip of it just as her hand left the lowest part! The bowling ball took off at a dramatic speed, smashing straight into the pins! In a dramatic fashion, the pins flew in all directions, taking down all of them in one fell swoop!

‘YES! GOT THEM!’ the untransformed Mayra yelled out happily as she skipped on the spot, just about time for her invited friends to arrive at the abandoned bowling alley that Mayra had her technical friends hack to make functional for her.

“M-Mayra…?” a timid voice called out. “A-Are y-you in h-here?”

A moment later, a transformed Connie would emerge into view, followed by Gaia, close behind. The masked girl and her verdant friend had been patrolling the city, when Mayra had texted them, asking to meet up.

“Bowling, hmm?” Gaia observed with an approving smile. “That might be rather enjoyable.”

‘Oh, yes! I’m here, I’m here!’ Mayra replied, skipping over to where Connie and Mia was coming in. She waved at them with both hands. ‘Yepp, it’s me! Just got my disguise on! It’s just SO much more satisfying when I succeed without using my normal dragon strength…!’ she said, laughing a bit about it. ‘You like it, too? It’s really kinda fun! Perfect accuracy, needed over and over, except I can do it on varying angles and spins, and, haha!’ Mayra laughed a bit over Gaia’s apparent interest in it

‘Anyways!’ Mayra’s gaze sharpened towards Connie. ‘Are we ready!?’ she asked, eyes positively sparkling.

Connie couldn’t help but giggle at Mayra’s excited ramblings, but her amused expression dissolved into a slight frown a moment later.

“U-Uhh… R-Ready for w-what?” the masked girl asked, more than a little confused.

‘We were going to give me a nightmare, right!?’ Mayra asked, eyes still shining.

“O-Oh! U-Uhh, I g-guess we c-could d-do that n-now…” Connie conceded somewhat hesitantly. She really didn’t like the idea of giving one of her friends nightmares, but Mayra did seem very enthusiastic about it…

“Are you certain about this, Mayra?” Gaia asked, slightly concerned. “The nightmares my dearest Connie creates draw upon your deepest fears and have the potential to be highly unpleasant.”

Mayra grinned eagerly at Connie’s acceptance, and then turned her head to grin at Gaia when she asked if she was sure. ‘I couldn’t tell you what my deepest fears are. I’m REALLY curious, what’s my nightmare? Can I beat it? What effect will it have on me? What will break first? Oooooh, I get tingly just thinking about it-!’ she said, clutching her fists, her eyes still sparkling. She looked back to Connie. ‘Should I be my normal self? I was thinking maybe I should be human-me to not endanger you while I’m in the dream? Or maybe that’d make the dream worse? How about it!?’ Mayra asked, highly enthusiastic.

“Umm, I d-don’t think it r-really m-matters,” Connie would tell her. “I-I was g-gonna p-place you in a N-Nightmare B-Barrier,” the masked girl went on to explain. “S-So, uh, t-that should p-prevent you f-from h-hurting us, or a-anything else h-here…” She was still worried, not so much for herself, but for Mayra. “I-If y-you’re sure t-this is w-what you r-really want, t-then I g-guess w-we can s-start now…”

Raising a hand towards Mayra, Connie conjured a Nightmare Barrier, centered on the dragon girl. Sickly tendrils of dark energy swirled out of the masked girl’s hand to coalesce into an obsidian dome. Harsh flashes of amethyst lightening briefly illuminated that dreadful pocket dimension, revealing the shadowy forms of twisted tentacles, wicked spikes, clusters of unblinking eyes, and various warped faces frozen in horrific torment. Whether or not any of this bothered Mayra in the slightest was rendered immaterial a moment later, when Connie charged the barrier with a massive, focused Nightmare Pulse, after which, the dragon girl would suddenly find herself someplace altogether different…

‘Okay!’ Mayra said, and as the dark tendrils swirled out from Connie, Mayra released her human disguise and then briefly flexed her muscles in her dragon form, tail swinging a bit as she excitedly focused forward. Mayra was inherently unfazed by most things that Connie first showed her, but then-

Mayra suddenly found herself randomly in a normal living room. There was a table for eating, a TV on the side, a couch, shelves, windows, a door, etc. There’s a garden outside the window. She looked around in confusion. She’d really expected something that she was going to fight against. Immediately bored of this environment, the dragon girl walked over to the door, gripped the handle and pulled. Not only did it not open, it didn’t even budge. Somewhat irked, Mayra punched a fireball into it, expecting it to be blasted off its hinges. The fire impacted and dispersed, and… nothing... happened? The door stood entirely unharmed.

Realizing she was trapped, Mayra went around and kicked and slamed into every surface of the room, trying to find a way out. Nothing. The furniture inside the room were easy enough to destroy, but it brought her no pleasure because she still couldn’t get out. Worse, destroying that furniture made the room even more featureless, making Mayra want to leave even more. The garden outside the windows remained unchanged and free, but Mayra couldn’t get there. She struck at the window trying to force her way outside, but the unbreakable window just wouldn’t let her.

She felt time pass. Seconds were minutes were hours were days, an ungodly amount of time. She felt alone and scared, two feelings she had to contemplate the fact she could feel at all. Even if she hadn't actually been experiencing this for too long, she felt like she's been here forever. And... it feels like the room is getting smaller. Mayra had a startling realization. The room was getting smaller, very slowly, over an exceptionally long amount of time…

Grabbed by a panic unlike what she had ever felt before, she slammed herself against the window, blazing up an inferno using all her fire-powers and punched as hard as she could into the window, managing only to hurt herself. After enough punching and kicks, her hands and knees were bleeding, and the window wasn’t even singed. She screamed at the window as she slammed her head into it, but once again, she only succeeded in making her forehead bleed. She stumbled back, gasping a bit and would have fallen over, but the room was now so small she couldn't even fall backwards. Her back just hit the wall. She’d been trying to break the window for that long.

The room was so small she couldn’t strike the window properly. Unable to give up, she still tried to strike the window, which still showed the unchanged vision of freedom just outside. Mayra screamed and filled the tiny room with fire as her panic continued, and she once again felt like she was stuck in there for far, faaaar longer than she actually was, trapped in a tiny pocket all alone and unable to get away...

Mayra woke up. She winced, gasping for air, strings of smoke and fire flowing off her scaly body within the barrier. She sat up, taking deep breaths, contemplating what she had just experienced with wide eyes. Okay, seemed like she could have nightmares, after all. She straightened her back, growling and stretched out her limbs, relieved to be able to stretch them out again, relaxing with closed eyes, not saying a word to the ones who put her in the nightmare for now…

… Then Mayra grinned widely, opening a determined pair of eyes at Connie, bringing her dragon hands together and cracked her knuckles loudly.

‘Again.’

Having dispersed the Nightmare Barrier shortly after Mayra had woken up, Connie was stunned when the draconic girl asked to go through the whole thing again. Connie had watched Mayra’s experience via her mystic artifact, or at least the beginnings of it, and was horrified by what she’d seen. Greatly distressed by how her friend was suffering, she had wanted to end the nightmare herself, but Gaia had persuaded her that such an action would be a great disservice to their friend. Mayra had asked for this, and it was only right to allow the monster girl to see it through to the end. Even so, Connie’s gentle heart couldn’t bear to put her friend through further suffering.

“A-Again…?” Connie asked, her mask displaying an incredibly concerned visage as she knelt down in front of Mayra, her trembling hands clasped over her heart. “B-But w-why?!” she asked, black tears streaming down the cheeks of her mask. She was utterly unable to comprehend why anyone would want to voluntarily suffer such torment.

Mayra smiled, facing Connie’s disbelief straight on. She looked intently at her. ‘It was unlike any challenge I have ever faced before. It wasn’t a challenge of strength, it was a challenge of the mind. I didn’t even know there were things I was afraid of. All my strength was useless against the power you command. You are amazing, Connie,’ the dragon girl said, meaning every word.

‘… But I haven’t given up yet! I lost this first round, but I want to go at it again! I’ll find some way to win! I’ll defeat your nightmare, and become even stronger for it! That’s why, that’s why I want to experience that again! I can confront my fears, and your magic at the same time! A challenge like no other! I… I’m so excited!’ Mayra said, breathing out a slight puff of flame extending only a decimeter from her mouth.

‘Will you please let me try again!?’ Mayra asked, clutching her fists, her expression one of eagerness. She did recognize that Connie wasn’t comfortable with it, but at the same time, this was just so… glorious…!

As Connie listened to Mayra’s words, she began to understand where her friend was coming from. The dragon girl wanted to conquer her fears, just like Connie herself did. Because of that, the masked girl reluctantly decided to grant her friend’s request.

“A-All right…” she conceded with a sigh of resignation. “W-We can d-do it again. B-But I s-still feel like I’m b-being a bad friend…”

Mayra grinned so happily. ‘I think you’re being awesome! You’re facing your own fears to let me challenge mine! That makes you the best of friends! Thanks, Connie!’ she said, exceedingly excited.

“O-Oh! U-Umm, y-you’re v-very welcome, Mayra,” Connie said with a smile as the cheeks of her mask turned a bright red. “H-Hearing you s-say that m-means a l-lot.”

‘Alright! With that covered, let’s do this again!’ Mayra said, stepping back from Connie again and taking a pose as if she was going to actually fight the nightmare, albeit armed with additional knowledge this time.

Once again, the Nightmare Barrier was conjured, and once again, Mayra would find herself in the same small, outwardly unthreatening room.

Inside the room again, Mayra grinned. She knew what she had to do. This wasn’t a challenge she could overcome with raw power! It was one of those “master your mind” kind of things! So, with determined moves, the dragon girl sank down onto crossed legs to sit, putting her hands on her legs, closed her eyes, and focused. She just had to not break down. If she didn’t break down, she’d have won. As simple as that.

…

…

…

…

…

So, uh. Just how long did she have to sit here?

She tightened her grip on her legs, blinking a little at the realization that nothing was changing. The imposing walls still closed in around her over an unbelievably long time and the teasing unbreakable window still promised freedom just out of her reach. It was thoroughly against her nature to sit still like this. Was it even helping? What was she even doing? Mayra shook her head, trying to get those thoughts out of her head, yet her heart-rate was increasing, her limbs starting to shake. It was taking so long. The walls were even closer now.

Mayra grunted, hanging her head, itching her eyes shut, clenching her fists. No, she wouldn’t let it! She wouldn’t break just by this! She was stronger than this! She gave an unintended whimper as some flames were coming off her body, from the stress she was feeling. She wasn’t built to stay still. Time was still passing, at an unbelievable pace, making her aware of how alone and trapped she was. The walls were closing in. Her whole body was shaking somewhat now. She was telling her body to cooperate, this wasn’t so bad, she knew what was really going on, and-

A piece of the approaching wall touched her foot. In sheer instinct, Mayra kicked at the wall with the full force of her leg, but the only thing she managed was to break her foot. With the pain surging through her, she lost any chance of staying still. She screamed, fire overtook the room once again, and she flailed in panic…

…

‘W-well darn, that didn’t work…!’ a panting Mayra eventually said, back in the real world, a hand on her heavily beating heart and eyes wide in alarm, her body all tense and breathing rapidly from the settling panic. Yet, her tone was weirdly cheerful for what she was commenting on, and her face still bore this wide smile of someone who was kinda amused by all of this. ‘R-right, maybe I should consider my tactics before I go again, haha,’ she chuckled, also stammering a little for maybe the first time in her life. … Though then she smirked a little wider at Connie. ‘… Or maybe I should just ram my head at it until it no longer scares me? That kinda sounds fun. Hahaha!’ she laughed some more, entertaining the idea.

For a moment, Connie just stared at her friend. She felt so bad that she was the one responsible for putting the dragon girl through this horrible ordeal and her body trembled at seeing the condition Mayra was in. But, somehow, the monster girl still seemed to want more…

“U-Ummm, i-if you t-think that will w-work…” Connie said hesitantly, still unsure if Mayra’s new plan would be at all viable. “J-Just don’t h-hurt yourself, o-okay?” she added, placing a concerned hand on the dragon girl’s shoulder.

Mayra blinked a little in surprise at Connie placing a hand on her shoulder. From the touch, Mayra calmed down a bit, smiling. ‘Heh, to make you worry so about me, I must have been worse for wear,’ she said, and then her gaze flashed up with newfound determination, her fists clenching with incredible guts. ‘Don’t worry! I’ll show that dream who’s boss! With this boost in confidence of you caring about me, there’s no way I’ll lose! Count on it! Send me in again!’

~Ten minutes later~

‘THE DREAM’S GOT TO BE CHEATING! I’m calming down, just as I have to, but the dream keeps, like, injecting despair into my head, IT’S GOT TO BE CHEATING! I wouldn’t panic that easily…!’ a somewhat alarmed Mayra complained with wide, frowning eyes, sitting shaking somewhat on the floor, some flames leaking out between her scales as she tried going over what went wrong in her head over and over, unconvinced at the result. ‘Grrr! Again!’ she requested, fists clenched.

~Twenty minutes later~

‘Could you like, I don’t know, make your nightmare not do that? Wait, right, that’d be pointless, I have to beat the nightmare as it is, or it won’t count!’ Mayra said, pacing back and forth over a bowling alley, frowning and walking with the pace of someone somewhat upset and really just had to move. ‘Maybe if I took some calming medication…? No, wait, that’d be cheating, too!’ she grunted, crossing her arms, stomping a bit with her foot. ‘Ooogh, thinking was never my strong suit! Get me in there again, I’ll figure something out!’ she requested, spinning around to Connie…!

~Thirty minutes later~

‘What am I doing wrong? I’m focusing all I have to try to accept the scene as it is. What am I so afraid of? It’s just a room! I don’t… I don’t get it,’ Mayra asked, kind of curled up to the side for a bit, bouncing with her legs somewhat. ‘I just… need to sit still for a long period of time. I just literally have to do nothing. Why is that so hard? Why do I always panic? I don’t get it. But even if I don’t get it, I won’t give up,’ she said, and turned over towards Connie, frowning. ‘Please, again!’

~??? minutes later~

Mayra was lying prone on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, panting a bit. There was a decent amount of disbelief in her eyes, and her body was also completely exhausted.

‘I… I think… that’ll do it for today. Thank you, Connie. You win. Hahaha…’ she said, her voice kind of weak compared to earlier, yet she still chuckles, even when utterly floored. Looks like they were done with nightmares for now.

This was probably for the best, as, a moment later, a swirling, multi-colored vortex appeared above them and deposited a giggling young woman with pink hair. The speed of her descent was such that it caused her skirt to fly up, revealing frilly panties covered with smiling flowers.

“Ta-daaa~!” the whimsical girl announced in a cheery voice as she struck a cute pose. “Magical Dream Princess is here to make all the nasty wasty nightmares go bye bye, nowie~! (giggle!) Huh~?” she added after she’d focused enough to fully take stock of the situation. “Like, it was just you, Connie Wonnie~!” she exclaimed, her eyes brightening as a big smile spread across her face. “And, like, Gaia Waia’s also heresie, and Mayra Wayra, too~! (giggle!) Magical Dream Princess is, like, so super duper happy to see you girls~! She sensed some super duper strong nightmare wightmare magic wagic, so she totally wotally thought she’d have to fight some meanie weanie heads, but now she gets to play with her friendy wendies instead~! (giggle!)” she cheered, bouncing up and down, while gleefully clapping her hands.

‘… Hey, it’s the pink princess…!’ Mayra said, grinning and waving to her, still lying where she was on the floor. ‘Connie’s got some awesome magic at her disposal. I insisted she use it on me until I beat it, but I haven’t been able to yet!’ she said, chuckling a bit at the end.

“I-I’m just g-glad I didn’t h-hurt you too b-badly….” A still concerned Connie told the dragon girl as she knelt down beside her.

“You wanted to have nightmare wightmares on purpose wurpose~?” MDP asked Mayra, tilting her head in obvious confusion. “That’s, like, totally wotally crazy wazy!” she exclaimed, her expression one of complete shock.

‘But, if I beat the nightmare wightmare, that’d be totally wotally awesome sauceome, wouldn’t it?’ Mayra asked, grinning and copying MDP’s speech for a bit. ‘In any case, I’m totally fine! Connie’s really nice to me, haha,’ Mayra said, holding up a thumbs up, but because she was looking back at MDP, she was probably holding the thumb upside down and pointing down at the floor.

“Magical Dream Princess guesses wesses it could be…” the whimsical girl conceded, while seemingly thinking over her draconic friend’s words. “But, like, you made poor Connie Wonnie super duper uncomfortable womfortable!” MDP admonished, while wagging her finger in a scolding motion. “And that’s, like, totally wotally not okie dokie! Bad Mayra Wayra!”

“I-It’s o-okay…!” Connie spoke up, hoping to calm MDP’s indignation. “M-Mayra j-just w-wanted to o-overcome her f-fears,” the masked girl explained. “A-And, as s-someone who w-wants to do the s-same, I was h-happy to help in a-any way I c-could!”

“Yes, you did a very good thing, little sister,” Gaia concurred, kneeling down next to Connie and gently massaging the timid girl’s shoulders. Turning to address MDP, she added, “And remember what I said at the beach dimension? About what happens when Connie doesn’t give enough nightmares? Well,” she continued while giving both Connie and Mayra a warm smile. “I don’t think her Patron will have anything to complain about, after tonight.”

“Sooo, Mayra Wayra and Connie Wonnie helpy welpied each other wother~?” MDP asked, before smiling with her characteristic joyful exuberance. “Like, that makes Magical Dream Princess sooo super duper happy wappy~! (giggle!) Super duper sorries, Mayra Wayra…” she added. “Magical Dream Princess didn’t understandy wandy everythingie wingie… But, like, Magical Dream Princess just noticed woticed~! This is a bowling woling placey wacey, isn’t it~?! Magical Dream Princess has never gone bowling woling beforsie, but she’d, like, totally wotally wuv to try it out nowie~! (giggle!) Can she~?!” the hyperactive girl asked excitedly. “Can she~?! Can she~?! Can she~?!”

Mayra totally had her own excuse prepared, but seemed like Gaia had it covered, so Mayra just grinned. ‘Wait, dreamie can sense nightmares? So, if Connie’s ever in trouble, can she just give herself a nightmare and you could sense it and come running?’ Mayra asked, curious if that’d work.

Then, upon bowling being reached. ‘Oh, yes!’ she called, suddenly flying back onto her feet like the earlier exhaustion was all in her head. It was, mental exhaustion, anyway! ‘Let’s do it! Let’s bowl together!’ she called, and then disguised herself as a human again to limit her incredible strength to show her capability in the art of bowling.

“Yaaay~!” MDP cheered. “Bowling woling time~! Bowling woling time~! (giggle!) And, like, Magical Dream Princess can to totally wotally sense those nasty wasty nightmare wightmares~!” the whimsical girl added, answering Mayra’s earlier question. “Like, she wouldn’t be able to stoppy woppy them if she couldn’t findy windy them~! (giggle!)” she noted with a playful wink. “But, like, she’d never ever wever want Connie Wonnie to give herselfy welfy a nightmare wightmare, cause that would be, like, super duper mean to poor Connie Wonnie! And, like, if Connie Wonnie’s ever in trouble wouble, she has Gaia Waia to keep her safey wafey~! (giggle!) They are super duper best friendy wendies in the whole wide worldsie, after allsie~! (giggle!)”

“W-We s-sure are!” Connie added, smiling as she gave her verdant friend a hug. “B-But I’m s-so happy I was a-able to m-make so many n-new friends, too!” she added. “I-I’ve n-never been able to d-do anything like this b-before, so I’m r-really looking forward to it!”

“As am I, little sister,” Gaia agreed. “Now then,” she added, picking up a green bowling ball and spinning it between her fingers. “Shall we begin?”

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

---

Dana awoke just in time for dinner, and, having worked up quite an appetite, the cheerful girl eagerly set about piling her tray with food the moment she entered the cafeteria. Her characteristic energy having been fully restored, she listened intently as her fellow newly-minted Ars Magi described their experiences. As the conversation went on, it seemed as though Dana’s team had not been alone in having to face an “unforeseen” threat. In one particularly extreme case, the “surprise Void” had even managed to blast a hole in the side of the team’s observation tower. Dana thought that was pretty crazy, but it was Penny who voiced a concern about a possible ulterior motive behind the sheer number of “accidents” that had occurred during the various tests. A bit on the naive side to consider such potentially sinister conspiracy theories herself, Dana simply stared in wide eyed surprise at what her bespectacled roommate had suggested.

“Woah… Ya really think they might’ve planned this?” she whispered, clearly shocked by the implications of that train of thought. “That’s kinda dark, Penny,” she added, before brightening as a grin spread across her face. “Still, no matter what the case, I’m sure we’ve got nothin’ to worry about as long as you're on our side!” Giggling, she wrapped an arm around her lightning-wielding friend and gave her a playful squeeze. “You were totally AMAZING out there, Penny! Even Magical Maid Altea couldn’t hold a candle to the kinda power you were throwin’ around! It was really somethin’ else! You guys think so too, right?!” she asked the rest of the team, her eyes shining with excitement.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Also featuring a small appearance by

After MDP and Amanda had gone to help the Sanctuary, Connie, Gaia, and Mayra had set out to build some sandcastles. Connie and Gaia had just finished their castle when Mayra (who had left to find building materials for a secret construction project) returned, carrying a wooden catapult in one hand and bag full of small stones in the other. With a cheerful shout of “AND NOW THE CASTLES ARE AT WAR!” she promptly used her siege engine to lob a few of the stones at Connie and Gaia’s castle. The barrage ended up overshooting its target, but one of the stones still succeeded in smashing apart the top of the castle’s tower.

“The king of Castle C is jealous of Castle B having a taller tower and has catapults attacking! How will the king of Castle B respond!?” Mayra asked, looking expectantly at her two friends.

As it looked like she’d be very disappointed if they didn't play along, Gaia decided to indulge the playful dragon girl.

“It would seem your royal engineers need to work on the accuracy of their siege engines,” the verdant magical girl observed with a teasing smirk. “Thankfully we have no need to employ such crude contraptions.” she added as, with a wave of her hand, a quartet of vine tendrils sprouted from the ground around her castle. Picking up the stones Mayra had launched, they wasted no time in firing them back, causing significant damage to Mayra’s castle in the process. “Our king’s consort happens to be a nature sorceress, and she is fully capable of defending her home from jealous neighbors.”

By the time Amanda and MDP returned with a new friend in tow, the battle had reached a stalemate, and both sides were happy to see that reinforcements had arrived. After MDP introduced Melisa to the group, the six girls split into teams and got to work building a pair of even larger sand castles (which also went to war upon completion). This was followed by volley ball, before moving on to some water sports (no deep water stuff, like diving or snorkeling, though, since, as Mayra herself put it, "Fire dragon and water doesn't mix"). Connie decided to sit out on these, seeing as how she didn’t know how to swim. Thankfully, Melisa (who couldn't swim either, what with her metal body and all) was kind enough to keep her company, especially after the timid girl had said she was feeling tired and wanted to take a nap.

Casting a spell on the exhausted girl to ensure she had only the sweetest of dreams, MDP left Connie and Melisa on a comfy beach chair and went off to play with the other girls. Much fun was had, but eventually, Amanda said she had to get going, with Mayra also having to depart soon after, due to her other allies leaving the dimension. Now only Gaia remained, but that did nothing to dampen MDP’s bubbly spirits as the two of them walked side by side along the beach. Indeed, as the graceful Daughter of Mother Earth glided serenely across the sands, the playful Princess of Dreams splashed around in the surf, giggling happily as she kicked the water up with her feet.

“Magical Dream Princess just wuvs this placey wacey sooo much~! (giggle!)” the whimsical magical girl announced as she did a few somersaults, before jumping into the air with her arms raised high. “Like, if she could, she’d stay heresie weresie for ever and ever and ever, but she’s got lots and lots of super duper boring work to do tomorrow worrow, so she thinks she should probably wobably go back home nowie…” she added, looking rather dejected. “Oh~! But, like, she just remember wembered she had something super duper important wortant to ask you~!” the energetic girl exclaimed as she turned her full attention to Gaia. “Magical Dream Princess’s daddy waddy got really super duper sicky wicky right before that big ravey wavey thingie wingie, and some kinda winda shady wady people weple told her that it was because of a magical wagical cursey worsey, or hexy wexy, or something womething like that, so, like, you weren’t responsible wonsible for that, were you, Gaia Waia?” she asked in a pleading manner as her eyes began to tear up. “Magical Dream Princess really super duper hopes not, but, like, she just wanted to make sure, cause, like, even though Daddy Waddy’s a lot better nowie, it’s kinda winda a mystery wistery how it happen wappened in the first placey wacey, and, like, Magical Dream Princess had just been given wiven a way to stop Connie Wonnie’s nightmare wightmares from bothering wothering Daddy Waddy, and then that happen wappened, and Magical Dream Princess got sooo super duper scared, and…” the poor girl paused in her agitated rambling to catch a breath, tears streaming down her face. “I-I j-just wuv Daddy Waddy sooo much…” she sobbed.

Gaia was understandably shocked by this sudden change in her whimsical companion’s demeanor, but she didn’t let that keep her from offering what comfort she could. Wrapping the crying girl up in a big hug, Gaia patted her head gently, while whispering in a soothing voice, “That’s it, just let it all out. Your father is very fortunate to have someone as caring as you for a daughter,” she added with a warm smile.

Nuzzling her head against Gaia’s ample chest, MDP returned the hug, before wiping her eyes with some of the verdant magical girl’s voluminous hair.

“Are you feeling better now, Your Highness?” Gaia asked.

“Uh huh,” MDP nodded, her smile slowly returning. “Thankie wankies for the huggy wuggy, Gaia Waia~”

“It was my pleasure,” Gaia replied. “I am just glad to see that you are back to your usual cheerful self. And to answer your question,” she added, while placing both hands upon MDP’s shoulders and looking her squarely in the eyes. “You have my word, as the Daughter of Mother Earth, that neither I, nor Connie, had anything to do with what has happened to your father.”

“Like, that makes Magical Dream Princess soooo happy wappy~! (giggle!)” MDP cheered. “But, like, now she has to find out who was really responsible wonsible…” she added, her joyful demeanor changing to one of worried uncertainty.

“I would be only too happy to assist you, if you would like,” Gaia offered.

“You would~?!” MDP asked, her expression dramatically brightening. “Golly wolly~! Magical Dream Princess would like that lots and lots~!”

“Very well,” Gaia noted with a serene nod. “In that case, we can start right now. Would you be up to answering a few questions? I know your memory isn’t the greatest when you’re in this form, and, considering your desire to preserve your true identity, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to change back to your normal self in such an open location as this.”

“You’re probably wobably right about that…” MDP conceded. “But Magical Dream Princess will, like, totally wotally do her best~!” the energetic magical girl added, here eyes filled with a look of determination. “Like, she can actually wactually remember wember important wortant stuffy wuffy if she thinks really super duper hard about it~!”

“All right, my first question concerns the people who told you that your father had been cursed. Who were they, and why did they think what happened to your father was the work of a curse?”

“They were, like, a business wisness that dealie wealies in magical wagical stuffy wuffy~” MDP explained. “They were kinda winda shady wady, too~ They first met with Magical Dream Princess back before she became Magical Dream Princess, when she was looking for whoever wever was giving Daddy Waddy all those horrible worrible nightmare whightmares, and they told her that they could helpy welpy, so she signed a contract wontract thingie, and they eventually wentually told Magical Dream Princess about you and Connie Wonnie~! Oh~! And, like, before that, they, like, gave Magical Dream Princess a thingie wingie to blocky wocky all those nasty wasty nightmares, and also this special wecial phoney whoney thingie wingie that could do all sorts of super duper cool stuffy wuffy~! (giggle!)”

“I see…” Gaia said thoughtfully. So that was why Connie’s magic was no longer able to affect the elder Covington. Very interesting… Even more interesting, and more than a little alarming, was the knowledge that this mysterious organization knew the identity of both Connie and herself. Although Violet was no longer antagonistic towards them, this unknown group could be a very different story indeed… “Can you recall the name of the organization?” Gaia asked, her expression becoming slightly more troubled than her usual serene countenance.

MDP’s own expression became one of intense concentration as she tried to recall the requested information. Her eyes were squeezed shut, while her brows furrowed. “Please, brainy wainy…” she begged her ADHD addled mind. “Pretty pretty please let her remember wember…”

“Please do not force yourself,” Gaia told her gently, while placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She felt so bad for the poor girl. MDP was immensely powerful, but it seemed that power came at a price, especially where her mental faculties were concerned. While it didn’t normally seem to bother the whimsical girl, at times like these, it was obviously quite upsetting for her.

After trying her best for a few more moments, the childish magical girl finally gave voice to a long sigh of defeat.

“Magical Dream Princess, is, like, really super duper sorry, but she just can’t remember wember their namey wamey right nowie…” she mumbled dejectedly, her tears threatening to return. “Fluffer wuffer… Magical Dream Princess wishes her memory wemory wasn’t so terrible werrible whenever she’s Magical Dream Princess… Ah~!” she exclaimed, smiling brightly as an idea seemed to occur to her. “Magical Dream Princess knows~! She can do the thinky winky dance~! (giggle!)”

Gaia couldn’t help but giggle herself as she watched the childish magical girl preform an incredibly silly (and incredibly adorable) little dance.

“Think, think, think~! Thinky winky wink~!” MDP sang as she shook her hips in time with her singing, while playfully tapping a finger on the side of her head. “Thinky winky~! Thinky winky~! Wink, wink, wink~! If you can dream it, you can do it~! Don’t give up, there’s nothing to it~! Got a problem~? Dance right through it~!” she went on, while striking series of cute poses as she acted out her song’s advice. “Take a look around~!” she sang, while leaning forward with her hand shielding her eyes and twirling in place on her tiptoes. “Make a happy sound~!(giggle!) ‘Cause, when you do your very best, happiness abounds~! So, think, think, think~! Thinky winky wink~! Thinky winky~! Thinky winky~! Wink, wink, wink~! Ah~!” the playful girl squealed in exuberant delight, before jumping up in the air with her arms spread wide like a cheerleader. “Yaaaay~! Hip, hip, horaaaay~! (giggle!) Magical Dream Princess remember wembers~! She did it, Gaia Waia~!” MDP shouted with glee as she bounced over to the verdant magical girl and wrapped her up in a big hug. “She really really did it~! (giggle!)”

“I am so happy for you, Your Highness,” Gaia told her warmly as she returned the excitable girl’s hug.

“Like, super duper thankie wankies, Gaia Waia~! (giggle!)” MDP beamed. “But, like, Magical Dream Princess should probably wobably tell you what she remember wembered before her memory wemory goes bye bye againsie! So, like, the namey wamey of the people weple who helpy welpied Magical Dream Princess is the Ebon Webon Mint!”

Gaia frowned at the mention of the shadowy organization. “The Ebon Mint? Are you certain?”

“Like, absodutelylutely~!” MDP replied. “It was totally wotally the Ebon Webon….” her happy smile vanished as a distressing realization fully dawned, and she gave voice to a sharp gasp. “Golly wolly goodness woodness! Like, those were the meanie weanie heads that trashy washied Penny Wenny’s placey wacey! They’re, like, super duper nasty wasty, and, like, Magical Dream Princess signed a contract wontract with them and everythingie wingie! But, she, like, totally wotally didn’t know!” Her eyes threatened to overflow with tears as she clutched both sides of her head. “Penny Wenny hates them, and Pastel-chan does, too! A-Are they gonna hate Magical Dream Princess when they find out?! A-Are they?! Magical Dream Princess doesn’t wanna lose her friendy wendies! She really doesn’t wanna! W-What should Magical Dream Princess do, Gaia Waia?!” she sobbed desperately, falling to her knees in front of her friend. “W-What should she do?!”

Gaia’s concern was now clearly evident in her normally tranquil countenance. This was definitely bad. She didn’t know much about the Ebon Mint, but what little she did know painted a less than pleasant picture. The verdant magical girl could only imagine what such a sinister organization would do with access to someone of Violet Covington’s wealth and influence, but she forcefully put those ominous thoughts aside in order to focus on her whimsical friend’s current plight. By this point it was clear to her that, much like a small child, MDP’s emotions were exceptionally pronounced. Although normally the embodiment of bubbly exuberance, the whimsical girl was now a hysterical mess, and Gaia’s heart ached at the sight. Gently massaging her sobbing friend’s shoulders, the verdant magical girl spoke to her softly.

“Shh… Shhh… It’s okay, just take some deep breaths for me, and we’ll get everything sorted out. I promise.”

The nymph-like girl’s soothing voice, combined with the relaxing fragrance released by several colorful flowers in her hair, managed to break through MDP’s hysteria, and, after taking a few deep breaths, she slowly began to calm down.

“There,” Gaia whispered. “Doesn’t that feel better?”

“Y-Yeah…” MDP sniffed, once more using her verdant friend’s hair to dry her tears.

“Now, from what I can tell, you didn’t know what the Ebon Mint even was when they approached you, correct?” Gaia asked. “If that is indeed the case, then you cannot blame yourself for accepting their offer of assistance. In fact, since it was your concern for your father’s well being that prompted you to need that assistance in the first place, it could be argued that I am ultimately to blame for this entire situation, as much as I wish that were not the case.”

“B-But, w-what about Magical Dream Princess’s friends?” MDP asked in a shaky voice. “She doesn’t want her friends to be angry with her…”

“From what I know of your friends, and Amanda in particular, I am confident that they will not blame you for making a simple mistake due to a lack of knowledge. After all, you were not even a magical girl at the time, yes?”

“Y-Yes…”

“I do not know Penny,” Gaia continued, “but if she is anything like the rest of your friends, I am sure she will forgive you as well. The next time you see her, simply tell her the truth. You can do that, right?”

“Magical Dream Princess guesses wesses she can… But, like, she’s still super duper nervous… She really likes Penny Wenny a super duper lot,” she added as a blush began to color her cheeks. “A-And she really really wants Penny Wenny to like her, too…”

Smiling sweetly, Gaia gave MDP’s cheek a gentle caress. “I do not see how anyone would not like someone as adorable as you, Your Highness,” she told her childish friend. “Especially when you have such an obvious crush on them,” she added with a playful giggle.

“M-Magical Dream Princess doesn’t have a crushy wushy!” a flustered MDP attempted to deny, before turning away as a dreamy smile spread across her face. “Weeell~ Maybe waybe she does have a little wittle one~”

“You are just too precious,” Gaia observed as she watched MDP write Penny’s name in the sand, before putting a big heart around it.

“Gaia Waia?” the whimsical girl asked after a moment. “What do you think Magical Dream Princess should do about her contract wontract thingie with the Ebon Webon Mint? Like, she promised womised that they could use some of her company wompany’s stuffy wuffy, but she doesn’t know what they’re gonna do with it, and, like, that makes her super duper uncomfortable womfortable…”

“Yes, that makes me rather uncomfortable as well,” Gaia agreed. “But perhaps it provides an opportunity…” she mused. “If you were to continue to go along with their requests, then that might provide us with valuable information on what the Mint is planning.”

“Ooooh~! Like super duper secret wecret agent wagent stuffy wuffy~?!” MDP asked, clearly excited by the idea.

“Something like that,” Gaia agreed with a melodious giggle. “In any case, I believe it might be best for you to think on this some more when you return to your normal self. You may remember something important we haven’t considered.”

“Like, Magical Dream Princess will totally wotally do that~! (giggle!)” MDP replied with a playful salute. “Gaia Waia is just sooo super duper smart~! (giggle!)” she added, while giving her verdant friend another hug.

“I am most grateful for the compliment, Your Highness,” Gaia told her. “But I imagine that if we were to assume our mundane forms, your mental prowess would far surpass my own.”

“Gaia Waia’s probably wobably right about that~” MDP agreed with a playful smile.

“Come on, Your Highness,” Gaia giggled as she helped MDP to her feet. “Let us return to Penrose. I know you have a lot of work ahead of you, but please remember that your friends are here for you,” she added with a warm smile. “If you ever need help, all you need to do is ask.”

“Like, Gaia Waia doesn’t have to worry~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl declared as she struck a cute pose. “Magical Dream Princess’s memory wemory may be terrible werrible, but she’d never ever forget that~!”

Sharing a happy giggle, the two friends headed back to where Connie and Melisa were waiting for them.

---

After bidding Connie and Gaia farewell, Melisa and MDP watched the pair vanish through one of Dan’s portals. “Like, Magical Dream Princess is gonna head back to Penrose Wenrose nowie, too~” MDP told the doll girl. “Is Melisa Wisa staying heresie with Danny Wanny and the other people weple from the Sanctuary Wanctuary~?” she asked with a smile.

”Mmm, I think I’d like to see what else there is in Penrose. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in town. It’s sad to see the place in such a mess.” She waited and looked around while she thought about what she might be able to do.

“Soooo, are you, like, going back to the Sanctuary Wanctuary, thensie~?” the whimsical girl asked, tilting her head with a look of slight confusion. “It, like, doesn’t really seem all that safey wafey right nowie…”

Looking unsure, she kicked at the sand a bit. ”I could go back to my place I guess, for a little while. But I don’t really want to be alone like that.”

“Like, Magical Dream Princess knows~! (giggle!)” MDP declared. “You can come stay with her~! At least, for a little wittle while~! (giggle!)” she added with a wink. “Would Melisa Wisa like that~?!”

Looking up for a bit, MDP’s energy seemed to draw her back in. A smile slowly came across her face and she responded back with a high child like voice. ”I would love to!”

“Yaaay~! (giggle!)” MDP squealed as she bounced up and down with glee. “That makes Magical Dream Princess, like, sooo super duper happy wappy~! (giggle!) Magical Dream Princess and Melisa Wisa are gonna have, like soooo much fun together wether~! (giggle!)” she added, scooping up the doll girl and playfully spinning around. “Okie dokie, Danny Wanny~!” MDP called to the dolphin. “Magical Dream Princess would like to go homey womey nowie, so, could Danny Wanny, like, pretty witty please make one of those portal wortal thingie wingies~?”

After a portal had been opened, MDP cheerfully skipped through. “Super duper thankie wankies, Danny Wanny~! (giggle!)” she called back to the dolphin. “Bye bye for nowie~!”

Once on the other side, Melisa would find herself in an opulent bed chamber, one that exuded elegance and refinement.

“Ta daaa~!” MDP announced as they entered. “This is Magical Dream Princess’s homey womey, and, like, this over heresie is her bed~! (giggle!) It’s, like, super duper comfy womfy, and Magical Dream Princess just knows that Melisa Wisa will totally wotally wuv it~! (giggle!)” she added, while jumping up and down with childish delight.

While Melisa had made a decent living for herself as a business woman, the scale of expense for just a bedroom was something else. Eyes widening her pink eyes lit up as she looked around. Stunned silent for a bit she turned her whole body around as she looked. There were a number of questions she had, but she would wait to give those a little later. For now she would give MDP her attention.

Though she was short, she definitely had more strength than she looked she did. With little effort she jumped up onto the bed. ”Woooow.” She plopped down with a small thump. ”I don’t think I’ve ever been in a bed this soft.” It probably helped that she wasn’t all that heavy even made of metal. Her arms where spread out to her sides and she enjoyed the floof.

“Like, Magical Dream Princess said it was comfy womfy~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl told Melisa as she jumped onto the bed next to her and spread herself out like the doll girl had. “Oh~! Does Melisa Wisa wanna know something special wecial~?!” MDP asked excitedly. “Magical Dream Princess has never ever wever had a friendy wendy sleep over beforesie, not even Pastel-chan~! Melisa Wisa gets to be the very wery first~! (giggle!) Pastel-chan was gonna come over wover, but she’s been really super duper busy wisey lately wately, and, like, so has Magical Dream Princess~! And, like, golly wolly!” the innocent magical girl exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “Magical Dream Princess just remember wembered! Now that you’re heresie, Magical Dream Princess kinda winda has to let you know her secret wecret identity wentity! Maybe waybe she shouldn’t have invited you over wover, but she was just sooo happy wappy to have a friendy wendy spend the nighty wighty…” she added, looking somewhat worried and uncertain.

Melisa would look at the magical girl for a moment and seemed to be considering things. After a bit she rolled over and sat on her legs. ”I don’t really know that many people in the grand scheme of things. You’re also super nice and kind. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.” She crossed her heart. Something occurred to her and she held up her hand with her tiny pinky outstretched. ”Pinky winky promise.” She would giggle a bit.

If MDP felt any trepidation about revealing her true identity to Melisa, it completely evaporated after hearing what the doll girl said. Giving voice to a squeal of joy, the whimsical girl reached out her pinky to touch that of her friend. “Pinky winkie promise~! (giggle!)” MDP told her with a smile spreading from ear to ear. “Okie dokie~! Magical Dream Princess is gonna changey wangey back to normal wormal nowie~! But, like, she has to warn Melisa Wisa that she’s totally wotally different wiffernt when she’s not Magical Dream Princess~!” MDP added.

The next instant, there was a bright flash, and the whimsical girl was replaced by a dark-haired young woman wearing a silk bed robe. She gave Melisa a small smile, as her cheeks took on a crimson shade.

“So… this is what I really look like,” the young woman said somewhat hesitantly. “I-I hope you still like me this way,” she added, clearly a bit embarrassed. “I know I am nothing like how look or act as Magical Dream Princess, but I am still your friend, and I am still so very happy to have you here.” she told Melisa, while gently patting the tiny girl’s head.

The tiny girl smiled brightly from the head pats. Seemed she didn’t mind being treated in such a way. Looking over her friend she shook her head. ”I don’t mind. I sometimes get carried away with whatever magic changed me too so I don’t exactly act myself if I’ll be honest.” She offered with a knowing nod.

“Thank you, Melisa,” the young woman replied with a warm smile. “Oh, and please allow me to introduce myself,” she said, rising to her feet and giving a curtsy. “My real name is Violet Covington. Yes… That Covington…” she added when Melisa seemed to recognize the name. “We are actually in the penthouse of Covington Tower right now,” Violet explained.

Understanding seemed to come to the doll’s eyes. ”Mmm. Well the room makes more sense now. Melisa Reese. I don’t really have my old identity anymore so…” She shrugged. Her “disguise” wasn’t much use to her most of the time. Didn’t help that if it was night and she drops the disguise then she couldn’t put it back up. ”I don’t know. I didn’t really have much other than work anyway so getting dragged into this was more of a shock than anything.”

“Work pretty much defines my existence as well,” Violet commiserated. “I was trained since early childhood to be the successor to the family name and the CEO of Covington Industries. I never had any time for fun, games, or dolls. That is why I so dearly love being Magical Dream Princess! When I am her, I can do all the things I was never permitted to. I can make all my deepest dreams come true,” she added, slightly bushing upon realizing how corny she sounded. “But I can understand if it is not the same for you, Melisa,” she told the doll girl with a small frown. “I know you did not ask for this, and it is not like you can still maintain your old life as I am able to. Do you… truly enjoy your life in this new form?”

That was a good question. She hadn’t really had a whole lot of time to feel out this new life. If anything she’d come to the realization of why Penrose was coming apart. With something of a sigh she leaned a bit. ”I don’t think it really matters how I feel about it. As far as I understand I’m stuck this way so complaining about it isn’t going to help. I think whatever this doll is encourages me to accept it is some way though. It gets better when I’m having fun or get the chance to eat.” Given she was hollow it was a little hard to tell exactly how consuming anything would help at all. With all the commotion though it had been a while since she’d had the chance to consume a dream.

“Well, I am sure that we shall have lots of fun together,” Violet told her. “As for food, I can procure a great deal. I do have my own private chef, after all,” she noted with no small amount of pride. Violet was a bit unsure of how a doll could even eat food in the first place, but then, she had seen Melisa eat the ice cream she had made back at the Sanctuary…

”Oh uh, I don’t eat food. I feel hungry until I ‘eat’ someone’s dream. The ice cream tasted good but it didn’t really do it for me. I have to find people that are asleep. At the Sanctuary I would find people with nightmares and eat those. I have to be careful not to enter the dream too long though. They tend to get worse the longer I’m in the dream.” She would explain a bit about her unusual needs.

“Eat… Dreams…?” Violet wondered aloud, frowning slightly. Melisa then went on to clarify, and the heiress’s expression softened once more. “I see… So you try to mitigate the problems you might cause by taking away people’s nightmares? I actually do much the same as Magical Dream Princess, although I don’t consume the nightmares themselves, only convert them into sweet dreams. Perhaps we could work together to help banish nightmares from Penrose once and for all?” she suggested with a smile.

”Yeah. I found out they're pretty much the same thing as far as my hunger is concerned.” Considering Violet’s offer for a bit, she would smile. She wasn’t all about getting rid of nightmares per se. It would help her feel better either way though. ”I can help with that, I guess. My magic isn’t all about dreams, but I try not to take away ones that are good if I can.” She would tap her singers together nervously. It seemed like a task that was bigger than she was ready for.

“I am glad to hear that,” Violet told her. “And I certainly do not wish to force you into anything you are not comfortable with. On that subject,” she continued, becoming slightly more serious. “I want you to know that you have my full permission to enter my dreams whenever you are feeling hungry. Do not worry about me,” the heiress would reassure her small friend if the doll girl seemed concerned, “I shall be fine. Besides,” she added, her voice taking on a more somber tone. “It is only right that I atone for may past mistakes…”

Looking a little confused for a moment the girl nodded. ”Thank you. But uh…” She looked at the girl a bit. Despite her current stature and sometime behavior she was quite a few years older than the girl in front of her. ”Mistakes? You seem a little young to have a lot to atone for.”

“Perhaps,” Violet conceded, “but I have been entrusted with far more responsibility than most people my age. Although,” she added with a sigh of resignation. “That was not exactly what I was referring to… Melisa,” Violet said, a hint of sadness in her voice. “There is… Something I need to tell you. Now may not be the best time for it, but it is something that cannot wait. I did not realize it at the Sanctuary, because of my… memory issues when I become Magical Dream Princess, but the Ebon Mint, the organization that attacked the Sanctuary? I… I am sorry to say this, but I… I once made a deal with them,” the heiress told her, wincing as if she were pulling off a bandaid. “It was before I even became a magical girl,” she added. “Someone was attacking my father with magic, and the Mint approached me and offered their services to discover the attacker’s identity. Not having any other options, and not knowing how monstrously evil the Mint truly was, I accepted. Since then, I had not given my association with them any further thought. At least, not until tonight, not until I saw their vile actions with my own eyes. Melisa,” Violet pleaded, gently taking the doll girl’s tiny hands with her thumb and two of her fingers. “Please believe that I never would have worked with them had I known what they were really like, and please, please trust me when I say that I will never, ever allow them to hurt you. I pinky winky promise,” she told Melisa, holding out her smallest finger and hoping her tiny friend would accept it.

To some degree Violet was lucky that Melisa didn’t know much about the various magical groups. Her opinion of the Mint was sour, but she’d only heard them talked about and she wasn’t entirely sure how people knew it was them that attacked to begin with. Seeing that the girl took it seriously though it had to mean something. Looking at their hands for a bit she accepted the promise.

”I believe you. This magical girl stuff sounds like it can be shady business sometimes.” Putting a hand to her face she thought for a little while. She would need answers from people more knowledgeable with the kind of activity that went on here in Penrose. Setting that aside she looked back up to her new friend. ”Is your father alright? Did they find who attacked him?” Seemed a reasonable question to ask.

“Thank you, Melisa,” Violet replied with a relieved exhale. “And, yes, Father is doing much better now.” she told the doll girl with a smile. There was still the matter of the “curse” the Mint itself had very likely placed upon him, of course, but he was currently in stable condition, and the heiress felt it wouldn’t do to worry Melisa about it. The tiny girl seemed to have enough problems as it was. “Shall we retire for the evening?” Violet asked, as she slipped under the covers. “Although,” she added after a moment’s thought. “Are you even capable of sleep in your current form?”

”I… rest I guess. I’m also still somewhat damaged from the attack so I can use that time to fix myself.” She gestured to some rough repairs that her patron had made. Her magic would deal with the rest over time. Really all she needed was the raw material to get it done.

“Very well then,” Violet replied. “I suppose I shall leave you to it.” After laying her head on her fluffy pillow, the heiress closed her eyes for a few moments, before asking hesitantly, “Um, Melisa…? C-Could you, maybe rest next to me for a short while? I-I’ve never been allowed to have a dolly of my own, a-and I’ve always wanted one… N-Not that y-you are a dolly…!” Violet hastened to add, her flustered face growing a bright shade of crimson. “I-I mean, you are, but you are also a person, and… I’ve never had a friend spend the night either…”

The request was silly and sad all at once. But the small girl didn't take long to decide. "Of course." She said cheerfully. Crawling over to one side Melisa lay down on the bed and snuggled up next to Violet. Thanks to her patron's influence she almost craved being seen and treated as a doll.

“Thank you,” Violet whispered, giving Melisa a happy smile as her eyes began to tear up ever so slightly. “Goodnight, Melisa,” she added, giving the top of the tiny girl’s head a kiss. “Rest well.” With that, the tired heiress drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

To Dana’s elation, Nicole’s attack succeeded in freeing Astrelle from the Void’s clutches, but her celebration was short lived. The Void, having been deprived of its prey, now lashed out at Nicole, sending the crimson-haired Ars Magi hurtling back towards the ground at a frightening speed. Astrelle wasn’t out of the proverbial woods yet either, as she, too, was now plummeting like a rock, on her way to what promised to be a very unpleasant meeting with the pavement below.

“Dana! Get Astrelle!” Penny instructed. “I’ll get Nicole. Once I give the signal, give that thing everything you got! Ready?!”

“Ready!” Dana called back.

II Music: A song absolutely none of you have ever heard before. II

Springing into motion, she raced towards where it looked like Astrelle would land. Dana knew that just being underneath her wouldn’t really work, and so, in order to gain some altitude, she mentally commanded her various glowing energy stars to form a series of steps for her. Hoping they would be able to solidify enough to bear her (admittedly light) weight, Dana began jumping from star to star, each leap taking her closer to her goal. When she felt she was close enough, Dana launched herself off the final star and wrapped her small body around Astrelle in a tight embrace.

“Gotcha!”

That was just step one, of course, as the two Ars Magi were still falling. Dana had managed to change their trajectory, though, and had also instructed her stars to form a single sloping shaft of light, which she and Astrelle could now slide down. Once they had safely reached the ground, Dana gave her gloomy companion a big grin.

“That was kinda fun, huh?” she asked with a giggle as she helped Astrelle to her feet. “Just rest here for a bit,” she instructed as she began heading over to where Penny had just completed her own rescue of Nicole. “I gotta go help Penny finish off our ugly friend!”

She had just about gotten into position, when Penny yelled, “DANA!! FIRE! DONNERSCHLAG!”

Simultaneously, the bespectacled Ars Magi blasted herself up, before brutally slamming her Gladius into the Void’s face, the charged up rocket hammer striking with such force as to cause a shockwave.

“Whoa!” Dana yelped as she was sent sprawling onto her back. “That’s some power!”

Not wasting a moment, the energetic Ars Magi drew her own Galdius and raised the gleaming weapon above her prone body, until it was pointing directly at the Void. It was a clear shot, and Dana knew she had to make it count. Summoning every last ounce of her magic, she channeled it all into her pistol, causing it to glow with barely contained power. This was it, this was her moment. With every fiber of her being, Dana Noel knew that this was when she would show everyone what she was truly capable of. The moment when she would pierce the darkness of this shattered world with her radiant light.

All at once, a shaft of blinding brilliance shot into the heavens, utterly consuming the Void and piercing the brooding clouds beyond, so that the vibrant blue sky was once again visible. As the beam finally began to dissipate, rays of soft sunlight fell upon Dana’s smiling face. She felt completely exhausted, but she had never been happier.

“Nice work, buddy,” she whispered to her Gladius. “And guess what? I think I finally figured out what to call you. From now on, your name is Shining Zenith!”

Hugging the pistol close to her chest, Dana closed her eyes and drifted off into blissful unconsciousness.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

MDP Stats

Magical Dream Princess

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
4 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 8

Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage

Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

MDP was really enjoying herself. Eating yummy ice cream was always so much fun, and it was even better when shared with friends! At first, it was just her and Amanda, but they were soon joined by a tall girl in armor, who seemed to like ice cream a very great deal. She introduced herself as Hilaria, which caused MDP to giggle. It was a silly name, and one MDP really liked the sound of. MDP also liked how friendly and helpful the girl was. She would clearly make a very good friend.

“Like, thankie wankies for the helpy welpy~! (giggle!)” the whimsical magical girl told the new arrival with a happy smile. “Magical Dream Princess is, like, sooo super duper happy wappy that you like the yummy wummy ice cream she made~! (giggle!) And, like, wowie zowie~! Hilaria Waria even brought her own spoony woony, too~! (giggle!)”

Although she had lots of questions she wanted to ask her new friend, MDP could see how intensely the girl was focused on consuming the ice cream as quickly as possible, and so she decided to hold off for now. This decision was made easier by the fact that there was still a lot more ice cream to eat, and she didn’t want the armored girl to finish it all by herself. Digging back in, the childish magical girl was surprised a moment later, when she caught sight of a small figure tentatively tasting the ice cream with a tiny finger.

“Like, wowie zowies~!” MDP squealed with delight. “You’re, like, a super duper adorable worable dolly wolly person werson~! (giggle!) Magical Dream Princess thinks you’re, like, soooo totally wotally super duper CUTE~! (giggle!)” she added as she knelt down and treated the tiny girl to her biggest smile. “Like, Magical Dream Princess would just wuv to pick you up and give you the biggest wiggest huggy wuggy ever wever~! Like, can she~?! Can she~?! Can she~?! Can she~?! (giggle!)”

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

Dana’s smile widened when she saw that her Gladius’s beam had blown a hole clean through the Void’s chest. As she suspected, it wasn’t enough to slay the creature outright but it had certainly wounded it, and that was as good a starting point as any. Indeed, no sooner had Dana snapped off her shot, then Nicole darted past, instructing her to keep the monster pinned down, while she and Penny engaged it in melee.

“You got it, Nicole!” Dana acknowledged, while giving the redhead a cheerful grin and a thumbs up.

Reaching her hand out, she once again conjured five small stars from each of her splayed fingers.

“Okay little guys!” she instructed as the stars zipped off to surround the nearby combat. “Do your stuff!”

After taking up position, the five glowing luminaries unleashed a torrent of incandescent star bolts. The attacks were fairly low-powered, but they served to restrict the Void’s movement, preventing the creature from escaping, or dodging the attacks of the other Ars Magi. At least, that was what Dana had intended…

As it transpired, the Void was far more durable, and far more maneuverable than Dana had expected. Contorting and warping its form with inhuman agility, the creature dodged the blows of Astrelle, Penny, and Nicole, before growing a pair of wings and taking to the sky.

It can fly?! Dana thought incredulously. A moment later, she gave a sharp gasp as an even more horrifying event took place. Oh, crap! It’s got Astrelle!

Unfortunately, even worse was to follow. As the creature ascended, viscus globs of Void-flesh rained down from its sinister form. By the time they reached the ground, the dark droplets had morphed into toothy serpents, and Dana couldn’t help but recoil at the sight of the disturbing creatures.

“Yikes… Those don’t look friendly…”

With a quick mental command, she instructed her floating stars to fire upon the dark serpents, blasting any that got close to her or her friends. Any that hadn’t already been smashed into paste by Penny’s rocket hammer, that is.

“Nice work, Penny!” Dana called to her roommate. “I gotta say, you’re really rockin’ that outfit! And that hammer of yours is AWESOME!” she added as tiny stars seemed to fill her eyes.

Dana’s admiration only grew a moment later, when Penny pointed the hammer in question at the flying Void and, doing her best Thor impression, fired a crackling arc of lightning at the creature. However, while the attack certainly packed a punch, it was a bit lacking where accuracy was concerned. Missing its target by a country mile, the chain lightning struck a nearby lamp post and promptly blasted it to sparking bits.

“Oh, uh… T-That was still pretty cool, Penny!” Dana told the bespectacled Ars Magi, in what she hoped was an encouraging tone. “I’m sure you’ll get better with a little practice!”

Despite her upbeat demeanor, the energetic Ars Magi was still acutely aware of the seriousness of the situation. Astrelle was very much in danger, and Dana knew that rescuing her needed to be their top priority. Penny had apparently reached the same conclusion, and she inquired if either Dana or Nicole had the ability to fly up and engage the monstrosity on its own level. Before Dana could say anything, the red-haired Ars Magi sprung into action. In an impressive display of graceful acrobatics, she propelled herself into the sky and slashed at the Void with her blade, clearly aiming to slice off the talons restraining Astrelle.

“All right! Go for it Nicole!” Dana cheered.

The energetic Ars Magi was so captivated by the display that she almost didn’t notice the Void-serpent as it darted out of a nearby shadow with frightening swiftness and aimed for her throat.

Almost.

Whirling to face it, she drew her Gladius in one quick motion and fired a blinding lance of luminous energy through the length of the vile creature’s body. Immediately, it dissolved into dark smoke, before even that, too, dispersed into nothingness.

“Penny’s hammer might be a bit more badass, but you’re pretty cool yourself, little guy!” Dana told her Gladius, while twirling the weapon around her finger and giving it a bright smile. “I gotta think up a really sweet soundin’ name for ya…” she added thoughtfully. “I just gotta find the right inspiration…”

Despite her current lack of ideas on that front, Dana was certain that the still-raging battle would provide precisely the insight she was looking for.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

MDP Stats

Magical Dream Princess

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
4 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 8

Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage

Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

“Ta daaa~!” MDP cheered as she and Amanda arrived at the Sanctuary. “Pastel-chan and Magical Dream Princess are here to, like, totally wotally save the day~! (giggle!)”

Taking a moment to get her bearings, the hyperactive magical girl noticed that there didn’t seem to be much happening at the moment. There were a lot of friends here, but, as far as she could tell, no enemies had presented themselves. So much for her flashy entrance and cute pose…

“Sooo, like, what exactly wactly is going on heresie~?” she asked no one in particular. “Magical Dream Princess doesn’t see any meanie weanies to fight… And, like, yucky wucky!” MDP pouted, scowling as she caught sight of the slime Oros had brought back from the Overcity. “There’s, like, this icky wicky slimy wimy stuffy wuffy all over! Oh~! Like, Magical Dream Princess knows~! (giggle!)” she added, brightening up to her usual cheerful demeanor once more. “She can helpy welpy by cleaning this nasty wasty stuffy wuffy aaaaall up~! (giggle!)”

With that, she raised her glittering wand and conjured her Dream Barrier. In a flash, the area surrounding the whimsical magical girl was transformed into an equally whimsical dreamscape, filled with fluffy clouds, rainbows, shooting stars, floating hearts… and ice cream. LOTS of ice cream…

“Like, come on, Pastel-chan~! (giggle!)” MDP called to her friend as she conjured a large silver spoon and began shoveling the ice cream into her mouth. “Magical Dream Princess can’t finish this super duper yummy wummy ice cream all by herselfy welfy~! (giggle!)”

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

Dana watched with gleeful excitement as each of her friends faced the Voids in turn. She thought it was awesome how their unique personalities influenced their fighting styles, and she couldn’t help but imagine how cool it would be if they could all team up to face an opponent together. Their hypothetical foe wouldn’t stand a chance, and she giggled at the mental image of the five of them standing triumphant atop the corpse of an enormous Void. But wait… Voids didn’t leave corpses, did they? Well, that was slightly disappointing… Even now, Penny was proving that fact as she finished pounding her opponents into paste.

“Woo hoo! Go Penny!” Dana cheered. She was a little disappointed the tests were finished, but she also couldn’t wait to see what was next.

As it turned out, the next item on the agenda would have to be postponed as, without warning, a spindly limb whipped out of an alley and smashed Penny through a building.

“Penny!” Dana cried in alarm, her eyes going wide at the sight.

Thankfully, her bespectacled friend quickly managed to fend off the surprise attack, which revealed itself to have originated from a Void that was significantly more menacing looking than anything they had faced before.

“Guys, some backup would be really nice right now,” Penny called over the comm.

The officer in charge proceeded to order them to provide just that, but Dana was already in motion before they had even started speaking. Her friend was in danger, and she didn’t need an order to rush to Penny’s aid.

“Hang in there, Penny!” Dana told the bespectacled Are Magi. “We’re on our way!”

Transforming in a flash, Dana sprinted onto the battlefield. “Hey, ugly!” she called out. “Eat this!” Drawing her gladius, the energetic Ars Magi took careful aim and fired a beam at the Void’s torso. She didn’t expect the attack to have anywhere near the kind of effect it had on the monster’s lesser brethren, but hopefully it would at least serve to soften the creature up enough for the rest of her friends to finish it off.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@PlatinumSkink @Majoras End

Connie, Gaia, Mayra, Amanda, and MDP were just heading out to build sandcastles, when they were presented with invitations to a Christmas party, handed out by none other than Mariette.

“G-Gosh!” Connie exclaimed, surprised by the portal girl’s sudden appearance. “A-A Christmas p-party? T-That s-sounds l-like it c-could be r-really f-fun!”

“Wowie zowie~! You’re, like, totally wotally right, Connie Wonnie~! (giggle!)” MDP agreed. “It’ll be, like, super duper funsie wunsie~! (giggle!) And, like, Magical Dream Princess can invite her other wother friends too~! Karen Waren and Katie Watie don’t live in Penrose Wenrose, but, like, maybe waybe that cutie wutie with the metal wetal armsie warmsies will wanna come~!”

“I… Do not think inviting her would be wise,” Gaia cautioned hesitantly. “I know that fighting is prohibited here, but we still do not want to create any undo tension.”

“Awww… But, like, Magical Dream Princess thought she seemed really friendly wendly…” the childish magical girl pouted. Then her face brightened as an idea occurred to her. “Like, what if Magical Dream Princess promised womised to make her behavey wavey~?” she asked hopefully. “Would Gaia Waia be okie dokie with her coming thensie~?”

Gaia was honestly caught off guard by how plaintive and innocent MDP sounded. She still had trouble believing that this girl was actually Violet Covington, the refined heiress. Forced to smile at the strangeness of it all, the verdant magical girl slowly shook her head. “I suppose if you promise to keep her from causing any trouble…” she reluctantly conceded. “Who knows, perhaps your… unique way of doing things will allow you to succeed in creating an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence where others have failed.”

“Like, Magical Dream Princess will do her bestie westiest~! (giggle!)” the cheerful magical girl said, while giving Gaia a playful salute.

“A-And, like, m-maybe we c-can invite E-Emily, and Faith, a-and Hildebell! Oh! A-And Ronin and M-Miss Sakura, too!” Connie added excitedly, overjoyed at the thought of having so many of her friends gathered together. It would be just like the movie night, only better! At least, she hoped it would…

Those happy thoughts were swiftly dissolved a moment later, when Dan announced that someplace called the Penrose Sanctuary was under attack, and needed immediate help. The Dolphin proceeded to create a portal, and several of the gathered magical girls wasted no time in running through it. Connie herself was very conflicted about what to do. On the one hand, she had just escaped from a rather harrowing situation and had little desire to head into another battle. On the other hand, and despite her fearfulness, she didn’t want to simply stand by while people were in danger, not if she could potentially do something about it. Looking at their own little group, Mayra seemed content to remain at the beach and let Mariette handle things by herself, but Amanda told them that she’d be heading to the Sanctuary, along with the rest of her allies.

“Golly wolly~!” MDP exclaimed. “Like, Magical Dream Princess is, like, totally wotally gonna taggy waggy along with you, Pastel-chan~! We can stop those meanie weanies together wether~! (giggle!)”

“W-We’ll g-go t-too!” Connie found herself saying, although her body was shaking like a leaf.

“Connie…” Gaia sighed, while casting a worried look at her friend.

“Like, it makes Magical Dream Princess sooo super duper happy wappy that Connie Wonnie wants to helpy welpy,” MDP said as she placed her hands on the timid girl’s shoulders and gave her a really big smile. “But, like, she thinks you should stay heresie and have funsie wunsie with Gaia Waia and Mayra Wayra~! You’ve been through sooo much awful wawful stuffy wuffy already, Connie Wonnie, so, like, pretty please let Pastel-chan, Magical Dream Princess, and everybodywody elsey welsey handle wandle this thingie wingie, okie dokie~?”

“B-But…” Connie started to protest, before Gaia calmly began stroking her hair.

“It’s okay, little sister,” the verdant magical girl said softly. “I know your heart longs to help others, and that is one of the things I love most about you, but you have done more than enough. There is no need to fight every battle. Let us trust in our friends to deal with this problem, and use this time of refreshment they have so generously given us to strengthen ourselves for whatever challenges the future may hold.”

“O-Okay…” Connie conceded after a moment. “J-Just… B-Be s-safe, a-all right?” she added, looking at MDP and Amanda, her eyes filled with concern.

“Like, don’t worry about us, Connie Wonnie~!” MDP told her with a wink. “No meanie weanies in the universe could ever wever stop two super duper dreamy weamy BFFs fighting together for wuv and justice~! (giggle!)”

After striking a cute pose, the whimsical magical girl twirled around and skipped through the portal with Amanda, completely unconcerned by any of the dangers that awaited beyond.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@Majoras End An Amanda and MDP team up sounds like fun.