A Magical Encounter

Tripp and Sam finally stop once they make it back to Sam's estate. They find themselves in one of the courtyards amongst lush, imported greenery. The sun has long since set, and the moon is just beginning its ascent through the sky, bathing the courtyard in an ethereal glow. The only other light comes in the form of fireflies, who occasionally dot the darkness with sparks of gold.

The two girls, still in their magical girl uniforms, plop down together on a garden bench to catch their breath.

"What the heck was that?" Tripp finally asks, his feminine voice cutting through the silence of the night.

Sam runs a hand through her long blonde hair and shakes her head. "I don't know. That was insane. But you did good, 'Dove,'" She smiles and gives her friend a little punch on the shoulder.

"Gee, thanks," Tripp says, rubbing the spot Sam had hit, "I just wish I knew how to turn back. I can't spend the rest of my life like this!"

Sam turns to face her friend with a grin. Tripp knows the look well - it's her teasing face. "Aw, why not? You're super cute like that! And I've always wanted a gal-pal to hang out with. No offense to boy-Tripp, but we can't really share clothes or girl-talk when you're a dude. I mean... not unless you really wanted to. Maybe we should just keep you like this forever, huh wittle Twippy-twipp?" She leans in close, poking playfully at Tripp's new breasts.

"S-sam! Stop!" Tripp - or rather, Dove - blushes and scoots against the bench armrest, as far from Sam as he can get. "Where the heck is that bird from earlier? It did this to us, it should at least take responsibility and turn us back to normal! Let's go back to that shrine in the park and see if we can wake the stupid thing up again!"

Suddenly, a voice from above calls out to them, "Don't bother kid, I'm right here." And a small, very fat bird flutters down before them and lands on a decorative stone lantern.

This... did not look like the same bird from earlier, Tripp notes. It was mottled grey with a very plush burnt-orange belly, and it lacked all of the elegant plumage of the other bird. It was more like an overweight pigeon than the beautiful, glowing, majestic creature from the shrine. It also had eerie red eyes that made Tripp and Sam very uncomfortable.

"Uh, what is that thing?" Sam asks, pointing. "And how is it talking?"

The bird glares at her, somehow looking offended despite being, you know... a bird. "'That thing' happens to be a very powerful magical creature, young lady. The very same that gave you the most sacred and treasured powers known to the world, that you used to save the city today!" It puffs its chest up indignantly.

Tripp couldn't help but chuckle a little. The bird's voice was not the same as before. Whereas it had been soft and sweet before, Tripp would now charitably describe it as a smoker gargling gravel, with the hint of a New Yorker's accent. "Magical creature? You look more like a lark!" he says, making both girls laugh.

The bird then levels his glare at Tripp and gives his best beaky grin, "Well, better a lark then a... titmouse, eh girly?"

Tripp stands up instantly. "That's it, we're taking you to the pet store. I wonder how small they make bird cages nowadays."

"Calm down, you two," Sam says, waving one hand between the bird and the boy, who were engaged in an intense glaring contest. She addresses the bird. "Are you really the same bird as before? You look, um... different."

The bird gives a little nod acknowledging Sam, while still staring daggers at Tripp. "Yeah, well... it's the lighting is all. Daylight brings out my natural beauty an' all that. I'm not quite as glittery under the moon if ya catch my drift. The name's Alight, by the way, but my friends call me Al."

"Well, Al," Tripp says, trying his best to hide the venom in his girlish voice. "If you're the one that turned us into these magical girls, you can turn us back, right?"

Al shrugs his wings. "Sure, easy. Just tap your feather badge. Should have one somewhere on ya. That'll turn ya right back to the way you were so yous can keep your secret identity secret an' all that."

Both girls did just that. Tripp tapped the feather badge pin in his hair, while Sam tapped the one that was nestled at the center of the huge bow on her top.

Their bodies were briefly enveloped by pure shining light, which then shattered like glass and evaporated, de-transforming them.

Well, mostly de-transforming them.

Sam was back to normal. but Tripp was...

"I'm still a girl!" he shouts, and lunges for the bird.

"Oh right," Al says, "It don't work the same on boy types..."