"I'm so excited for Shiny Chariot's show!" A little brunette girl said to her pink and blue haired bestie.

"Me too!" She said. "I bet it's gonna be amazing, Akko!"

"Yeah! Sparkles and magic everywhere, Xelia!" The brunette, now named Akko, said.

They were jumping on Akko's bed in excitement, laughing as the stuffed animals on the bed got knocked onto the spruce wood floor.

The night sky was littered with stars outside, all brilliant and shining.

The door swung open.

"Girls! It's time to head to the show! If we don't head out now, we're going to be late!" A woman said, having the same brown hair as Akko.

"Okay, we'll get ready Mom!" Akko replied with a grin.

Half an hour later, they were in their car, nearing their destination. The two girls couldn't stop squealing with excitement.

Then they saw it. The seats all lined up neatly, almost no place left for them to sit. The stage was lit up, the brightest thing in sight. Even the moon couldn't compare.

After getting out of the car, they quickly sat in their seats and waited patiently for it to begin.

Or, at least, some of them did...

"I can't wait! It's taking too long! Where is she? Where's Shiny Chariot?!" Akko squealed, too excited to contain herself. Her own mother had to hold her back down on her seat.

"Atsuko, be patient! It'll start soon. Look, everyone's going quiet! The show's starting!" She said.

Xelia and Akko exchanged cheery smiles before giving a tiny squeal.

A spark of light traveled in the air above the crowd. It slowly morphed into a silvery bird, with a yellow star on it's belly.

The two girls gasped when they saw it, mesmerized. Akko's mom just chuckled at their close attention.

The bird zoomed past the crowd and onto the stage, magically transforming into a redheaded woman wearing silver robes and a bright smile.

"It's Shiny Chariot!" The girls exclaimed as the crowd cheered.

"Welcome to the world of magic!" Shiny Chariot proclaimed. "Now please, extend your hand!"

As she said that, she held out her hand and a bright blast of blue manifested her famous Shiny Rod.

"It's the Shiny Rod!!" Akko and Xelia said in unison, hugging each other tightly while wearing huge goofy grins.

"Your story is about to begin!" Shiny Chariot said happily, dancing around the stage, swirling her rod around her. She thrust it downwards and and a burst of water came billowing forth.

She then surfed on it using her rod as a surfboard. The crowd closed their eyes and held their breath, but the water disappeared soon after.

The surroundings were gone, replaced by only the night sky around them, and shooting stars swirled and danced in the air.

The two girls were in awe, stunned by the mystical happenings of the show.

Shiny Chariot was still surfing, despite there being no water, and a trail of light coming from the tip of her Shiny Rod.

Curving back towards the stage, she tipped her rod upwards and catapulted herself into the sky.

Like a meteor, she transformed into a burst of light and hit the ground in a splash of water, before surfacing from the ground with a second splash, swimming through the air as a mermaid.

In a blast of brilliant white light, however, she morphed her arms into majestic bird wings, her legs returned as she sailed across the sky over the crowd.

In another blast of light, she turned into a centaur, galloping in the air!

Akko and Xelia cried out in joy, before a tiny yellow fairy erupted from both of them, along with everyone else there.

Some of the yellow fairies morphed together into pegasi, while the others stayed in their normal form, all the while dancing above the crowd.

Shiny Chariot teleported back on the stage, smiling and waving.

But then, out of nowhere, black and red cubes formed together to create some scary dragon-like creature!

Akko and Xelia grew a little nervous at the fact that it was eating all of the fairies and pegasi, chasing them and swallowing them with a single chomp.

But Shiny Chariot threw her witch hat into the air, as it transformed into that same bird at the beginning of the show.

Following behind it, Shiny Chariot leapt off the stage and landed on the back of the bird, heading straight for the scary creature with a look of great determination.

She pulled out her Shiny Rod. "Note, Orfei," She exclaimed, holding her rod out even farther. "Oudon..."

Her Shiny Rod turned into a bow.

"Retorei!" She said, manifesting an arrow and drawing it back. The creature roared.

"SHINY ARC!!" She exclaimed, letting the arrow loose as it sliced through the creature. Everyone watched in awe as the creature exploded in a brilliant blast of light!

Shiny Chariot stood tall on the bird, aiming her bow upwards and drawing back another arrow. She let it loose, and with another blast of light, a portal gateway appeared.

Looking back at the crowd, Shiny Chariot smiled. "Never forget," She said, slowly backing into the gateway.

"Believe in yourself! That is your magic."

And then with her final wave, and a final burst of bright stars, she was gone.

The crowd was left with the final sparks of magic and wonder left behind.

Akko let a tiny spark fall into her hands as she clutched it tight and held it to her chest, her heart satisfied.

Years later, Akko was walking through the streets, searching for her friend since childhood, Xelia.

She wore an orange jacket and brown shorts, along with a pastel pink backpack. She was also lugging around a rolling bag.

"I think if I turn this way, then..." She mumbled to herself, taking a right turn and disappearing around the corner. Xelia's home was just in sight.

She smiled wide and ran as fast as she could, trying to avoid bumping into anyone.

As she stood at the front door, she took a deep breath and rang the door bell.

A few moments and passed and still no one answered. But then Akko heard a lot of shuffling from behind the door, hearing some female grunts as the person behind the door frantically tried to get ready.

After that, the door swung open and revealed Xelia.

Her hair was still short and the same pastel pink and blue color, purple in between them as an ombre. She wore a purple sweater and some jeans, along with matching sneakers. She

"Akko! It's been a while!" Xelia exclaimed with a bright smile. She too had a rolling bag and a brown rucksack.

"Are you ready for us to finally go to Luna Nova?" Akko said excitedly. "That's where Shiny Chariot went to become a witch!"

"I know! It's so exciting!" Xelia said.

"You're lucky you're part of a witch family - you have more practice and everything." Akko said, a bit sad.

"Don't be like that! I'll help you out until you can get the hang of it! Trust me." Xelia said, putting her hand on Akko's shoulder. "Besides, I had a lot of trouble at first."

Akko instantly perked up. "Right!"

"To being a witch!" Xelia said, holding her fist in the air. Akko grinned and did the same.

After a while of searching around, Akko asking people for where the bus was, Xelia sat down at a nearby bench and looked at the pamphlet.

Her eyes widened.

"Akko! Come here! You should see this!" Xelia said, waving her pamphlet in the air. Akko wrapped up her conversation with a little boy and ran over and sat next to her.

"Yeah?"

"If you look at the pamphlet, we're not supposed to go to a bus station - we're supposed to be heading to this big tree thing called the Leyline." Xelia explained, pointing at the picture. "And from there we can get to Luna Nova."

"Wait, I think it's over there!" Akko said, pointing in the distance.

Xelia followed her eyes to a distant hill, with the Leyline sitting on top of it.

The girls quickly got up.

"Let's go!" Akko said, grabbing Xelia's hand a sprinting towards the Leyline.

While the two girls were running, Akko wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her.

A girl with mauve hair, with some of it covering her left eye, was reading the same pamphlet while walking right towards them.

"Akko, look out!" Xelia cried-

But it was too late. They bumped right into the girl, and her things were knocked on the floor.

"I'm really sorry about that..." Akko said, trying to get up.

"Yeah, we're sorry! Here, let us help..." Xelia said, picking up some things on the floor. The girl picked up her broom.

While Akko was helping out, she got the girl's pamphlet.

"Hey, you dropped this!" Akko said, giving her the pamphlet, smiling widely. "So you're a new student too? Are you heading to the Opening Ceremony?"

The girl took the pamphlet from her, as calm as ever, not saying a single word.

"Alright! To be honest, I was a little scared of going to witch school all by myself... My name's Akko! I've dreamed of being a witch ever since seeing Shiny Chariot's magic show with Xelia when I was little!" Akko said, bursting into one of her frequent monologues.

"Actually, I think it's destiny! You have heard of her, right? The Shiny Chariot?!" Akko said, pulling out her rare Shiny Chariot card.

Xelia handed the girl all her things. "Here you go! Sorry that Akko's rambling, she tends to do that a lot when talking about Shiny Chariot."

She pushed Akko's card farther away from the girl's face for some personal space.

"See this super rare Chariot card? It's my favorite!" Akko said with a goofy smile. The girl seemed uninterested, and a bit annoyed.

"Chariot is really well-known in the magic world, but can you believe I haven't met any other fans of her other than Xelia in person?" Akko asked, still talking even though the girl was starting to walk away, crossing the bridge over the stream.

Akko and Xelia followed.

"I guess that people think that her magic's outdated, but that just makes her one of a kind don't you think?" She said happily.

The girl noticed the white bird figurine on the ground. Xelia did too.

"Oh! Sorry, Akko must have dropped that when we ran into you. Here, I'll just get it out of your way-" Xelia started, but the girl bent down and got out a potion bottle with purple liquid inside.

"I still think she's cool!" Akko said, still talking about Shiny Chariot.

The girl unscrewed the cap of the bottle and poured the potion on the bird. The bird glowed a bit purple before returning to it's original shade.

It came to life right in front of them, and Akko smiled gleefully.

"Woah! Amazing! Puppet magic!" She said. "Never seen it up close before!"

Akko crouched down and smiled at the now-alive bird.

"Hey little guy! Don't be scared - I won't hurt you!" She said, holding out her hands for the bird to jump on.

Instead the bird pecked her eye.

She held her hand on her eye, crying out in pain. Xelia rushed over to her.

"It got me right in my eye!" Akko cried, on the ground with Xelia kneeling beside her.

"That wasn't very nice!" She said, glaring at the girl as she walked away calmly, not looking back.

"It's okay Akko - the girl just made the bird come to life, she didn't tell it to peck your eye." Xelia said. "Anyway, here's some ice, maybe it'll help."

Xelia got out an ice bag and pressed it against Akko's eye, making sure to cover it in a warm towel first.

"Better?"

"Yeah, it's working." Akko said. "Still mad though."

Then, wanting to ramble some more, she quickly got up and ran after the girl. "Hey, wait up!"

Xelia was struggling to keep the ice bag on her eye. "Wait, Akko, don't go so fast-"

"I'm fine, Xelia! The ice bag already did it's work! Now come on - we might have another Chariot fan here!" Akko said hurriedly, catching up to the girl and gently pushing away Xelia's ice bag.

"So what's your name?" She asked her. "Is puppet magic difficult? I tried to make it using... ...but it was pretty hard to follow."

We started walking on the bridge.

"I'm not even sure if I got the basics down. Anyway, I wanna learn how to use magic like Shiny Chariot so I decided to..." Akko said, rambling. But the girl suddenly stopped right in the middle of the bridge.

She turned around to look at them. Akko grew a bit nervous, but the girl held out her hand to her.

Akko's goofy smile returned.

"Nice to meet ya!" She said, shaking her hand with both of hers, giggling happily.

Then she felt something on her wrists.

She looked down and saw the snakes coiled around her arms.

"Aww, snakes! So cute!" Xelia said, smiling at them. The girl had a slight smile before she walked away.

Akko screamed. As she desperately tried to get them off her, she fell off the bridge and into the stream below.

"Akko!" Xelia cried, going the rest of the way through the bridge and then turning around to get in the stream.

Upon the snakes' contact with the water, they turned into rope. Akko got up from the water, soaking wet.

"Hey, are you okay?" Xelia asked. "Here, I'll use a spell to dry you off."

Xelia pulled out her wand and pointed it at Akko. Taking a deep breath, she recited the spell.

"Siccum Exhauriebat!" The wand glowed a teal color, before the water soaking Akko and her clothes was drained and splashed back into the stream.

"Thanks Xelia... it was so cold..." Akko said, then remembered what Xelia said earlier. "Why weren't you helping me?! Then I never would've fallen in the stream!"

"Sorry! I just thought the snakes were cute!" Xelia said, backing away from the angry Akko. "Besides, they weren't real anyway."

"Yeah but you didn't know that before!"

"Whatever! Let's just ignore that and focus on getting to Luna Nova on time. We can't miss the Opening Ceremony! That'll mean immediate expulsion for those who are late!" Xelia said, putting away her wand and grabbing Akko's hand.

"So strict..." Akko said.

They were walking up the path, and Akko was starting to get annoyed at the girl.

"Okay, maybe the bird incident wasn't her fault, but the snakes was definitely on purpose!" Akko said angrily. "That girl... who does she think she is?!"

Xelia just stayed silent, knowing that if she said another word Akko's anger would turn on her.

Then they came across three witches by the entrance of the Leyline.

"Yay! Luna Nova students!" Akko said happily.

As we got closer, we overheard their conversation.

"So how did your spring break go?" The redhead girl said, her hair tied in a swirly ponytail with a yellow bow.

"Too many tourists. It was really hard to enjoy anything." The purple haired girl said.

"Did you hear? Apparently one of the students this year isn't from a witch's family." A girl with dark blue hair said.

"No way!" The two girls said in unison.

Akko and Xelia stopped in our tracks, Akko getting nervous about what they were saying.

"They've been letting in way too many commoners lately." The redhead said.

"I heard their not doing well financially, and letting the commoners in helps keep the school open." The dark-haired one said.

"Ugh, of course." The purple one said.

"If this keeps up, who knows who else they'll let in?" The dark-haired one said.

"I bet she can't even ride a broom!" The redhead suggested.

"No way." The dark-haired one replied.

"Well she'll be the first person in the history of Luna Nova who can't ride one if that's true." The purple one said.

Akko was hiding behind Xelia now.

"Hey, it's okay. They're just bullies." Xelia said. "Besides, remember what Shiny Chariot said? 'Believe in yourself-'"

"'That is your magic.' Yeah, I remember. How could I forget?" Akko took a deep breath. "Thanks."

She stepped out from behind Xelia.

"Who are they?" The dark-haired one said, pointing at Akko and Xelia. Akko immediately went back to being nervous.

"O-oh! I'm new here... Atsuko Kagari!" Akko said, a bed of sweat dripping from her forehead.

"Oh, so you're the one." The dark-haired one said in disgust. Xelia glowered at her.

"Uh, well... sure hope the bus comes soon, am I right?" Akko said nervously.

"What bus?" The purple one asked.

"Huh? Isn't this the bus stop?" Akko asked.

The three girls burst into fits of laughter. Xelia's glower only grew more menacing.

"Hey, leave her alone, will you? It's not her fault that she doesn't know! Nobody chooses which family they're born into." Xelia snapped.

The girls stopped laughing.

"Oh look, the commoner has a suck-up. Or, something more believable, someone who pities her." The redhead joked, laughing. "Besides, who would suck up to a commoner?"

Now it was Akko's turn to get angry.

"Says the big old meanie! You leave Xelia out of this!" Akko said angrily.

"Or what? You're gonna use your commoner energy on us? Cute, but we have magic on our side. Years of practice." The purple one said, getting out her broom.

The others got their brooms out too.

"Now, getting back to the... 'bus station'..." The dark-haired one said.

"Are you really that dumb?" The redhead snickered.

"I can't believe you really thought there was a bus here!" The dark-haired one said.

"Tiafreilei!" The girls said in unison, as their brooms levitated. They were riding on them, grinning down at Xelia and Akko.

"This is a broomstop, moron!" The redhead said.

"The Leyline Terminal." The dark-haired one added.

"This is the only way to get to the Luna Nova." The redhead said.

"Magic energy has been flowing through this terminal since ancient times." The dark-haired one explained.

"Riding that energy takes you straight to your destination!" The purple-haired one added.

"It's the magic highway!" The three girls said, riding their brooms inside the Leyline.

"It's basic witch knowledge." The dark-haired one was delighted to share.

Akko turned to Xelia.

"Sorry I didn't tell you! I was so worried about packing the right stuff and being excited for attending lessons..." Xelia said with a nervous laugh.

Thankfully, Akko didn't seem to be too mad.

They headed inside to see the three girls high in the Leyline, a familiar portal gateway replacing the ceiling.

"Let's hurry!" The redhead said.

"If you're ever late for the Opening Ceremony, you're banned from ever attending Luna Nova!" The dark-haired girl said.

In a blast of light, the three girls disappeared into the Leyline.

"Well, we can't be late either!" Xelia said, getting out her broom. "C'mon, hop on! There's no way those roots are clime-able, they seem very old."

Akko smiled at Xelia and hopped on.

"Okay... if I'm remembering right, the spell was... Tiafreilei?" Xelia said. Suddenly, the broom levitated, and it startled Akko.

"Wo-oah!" Akko said.

"Just hang on tight, okay? Keep your balance." Xelia said.

The were zipping through the Leyline now, going really fast.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah! It's way too fast! Let me off!" Akko cried.

"It's a little late for that! Just remember what I said, hang on tight." Xelia said.

Then the Leyline sent some raging winds in their way.

Screaming, Xelia tried to keep the broom steady while Akko held on for dear life.

One of Xelia's notebook flew out of her rucksack.

"Your notebook!" Akko cried.

"It's okay, I packed plenty just in case something bad happened. Hopefully I don't lose anymore though..." Xelia said.

Behind them, that same girl who was harsh with Akko was reading a book while flying on the Leyline.

"A witch who is not properly trained cannot enter the Forest of Arcterus." The girl read aloud. Then she looked up from her book to see Xelia's notebook fly onto her face.

Unable to see, she started dropping in altitude.

"It's so windy! Something's wrong!" Xelia said, squinting. "You're not carrying any salt, are you?"

"Huh?"

"The Leyline really doesn't like salinity! It causes raging winds! It's the first thing my parents taught me when talking about the Leyline!" Xelia said.

"Um... you think it's this?" Akko said, getting out a small jar.

Xelia instantly recognized it as one of Akko's jars of pickled plums.

"Yeah, I do! Get rid of it!" Xelia shouted over more raging winds.

"But they're perfectly good plums! Can't I just-"

Xelia lost a bit of her grip on the broom and almost got knocked off.

"Throw it away, please, Akko!" Xelia yelled.

"Fine, I will!" Akko said, and she was about to let go of the jar when she saw her Shiny Chariot card fly out and away from her.

"My most prized possession!" Akko screamed. Knowing how much Akko loved Shiny Chariot, Xelia let the raging winds push her broom backwards.

And just when they caught the card, they fell off the broom and slammed into the girl.

Falling away from their destination, they slipped into the Leyline to somewhere.

And that somewhere was not Luna Nova.

Far away, in a tower at Luna Nova, a teacher by the name of Professor Ursula was sitting at her desk. Her blue hair was in a very loose ponytail draped over her shoulder, and her kind and caring red eyes were hidden behind slim glasses.

Her pet bird, a silvery one with a yellow star on its belly, started tweeting, sensing something was wrong.

Ursula turned to look at the bird.

"Hm? What's the matter, Alcor?" Ursula asked.

When Alcor didn't stop, Ursula stood up and stepped a bit closer to the bird.

She whipped out her wand and the lights went out, her only source of sight being the glow of her wand.

A ball from inside a cauldron floated upwards, illuminating the room with its teal glow.

It glowed brighter now, and along with it, a map of the tunnels of the Leyline.

As Ursula stared at the tunnel of the Leyline supposed to bring students to Luna Nova, she gasped at what she saw.

"No way! The Forbidden Forest of Arcterus?!" Ursula cried, worried for her students.

A/N:

Hmm...

It seems that these three students are in quite the predicament.

Just what exactly is so eerie about the Forbidden Forest of Arcterus?

And, more, importantly...

...will these three witches survive?

...They are, definitely. It's only the first chapter! XD

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Stay safe and well, and have a great day/night! <3 <3