The One Who Leads The Way

by TundraStanza

Final Turn

That evening, Céri and Redheart had a dinner consisting of fresh corn on the cob and stuffed mushrooms. Redheart had asked beforehand. Céri had the sudden craving for those two items, but she wasn't sure why. The nurse agreed that it sounded good and cooked them up. It was a very tasty dinner, yet Céri didn't know for sure if it was the actual food or Applejack's taste buds that were telling her this. Either way, she had her fill.

"Anything you'd like to do tonight?" asked Redheart as she took care of the dishes.

"I can think of one thing." Céri held up the familiar deck of cards.

Redheart chuckled. "Should have guessed."

---

"Stand up, Vanguard/Stand up, Vanguard!"

"Ride! Transient Revenger, Masquerade."

"Ride! Thousand Ray Pegasus. Attack!"

"Ride! Blaster Dark Revenger. Attack!"

"Ride! Iron Heart, Mastema. Attack!"

"Strength can be found, even when trapped in a dark abyss. Ride! Revenger, Phantom Blaster 'Abyss'. Attack!"

"Perfect Guard!"

"I end my turn."

"Grant wisdom that gives the truth, and shine with the knowledge that leads to freedom. Ride! Wisdom Celestial, Jibril. Seek mate! Knowledge and sword find strength together, and free us from the dark that blinds us. Freedom Celestial, Zaphkiel. Legion!"

"Perfect Guard!"

"Aphrodite."

"Guard!"

"Million Ray Pegasus."

"Guard! Intercept!"

"That's the end phase."

"Sometimes their principles lead to stabbing in the back. Yet no hands are clean when the might of vengeance is unleashed. Blaster Dark Revenger 'Abyss'. Legion!"

"No guard. Damage check. Got a draw trigger. I give the power to Jibril and draw."

"Releasing three rear-guard units. The Legion between Phantom Blaster and Blaster Dark. Stand back up and attack!"

"With this card I got from the draw trigger, Perfect Guard!"

"The rear-guard Blaster Dark Revenger follows up."

"Ergh... no guard. Damage check. I got a heal trigger! Recovering one damage."

"It's your turn again."

---

Céri leaned against the back of the couch. "It's kind of weird."

Redheart walked into the living room, carrying a grape fizz for each of them. "What's weird?"

"How I've gotten so acclimated to living here." Céri briefly waggled her hoof. "Sure, I'm a little bummed out that I can't find a way back home. And yet, I don't feel too worried about it." She looked over. "Being here feels... just right."

"I don't think it's weird." Redheart took a sip from her can. "You've got food, shelter, friends to talk to, and powers that other ponies can't exactly replicate." She smiled thinly. "Despite the circumstances that led up to it, wouldn't you say you have a pretty good life right now?"

Céri nodded. "Yeah, I would."

"Then I'd say you're perfectly normal to feel at least a little content with what you have." Redheart leaned against the back of the seat. "Let yourself have positive feelings."

"Thanks." She gulped down several sips of grape fizz.

---

Kruger's form appeared like a man rising out of the water. Céri sighed as she watched, still in the Applejack-form in her dream realm. She pulled her red hood back, letting her mane drape down on either side of her neck.

"No terrified screams tonight?" wondered the burned man.

"Ah, I'm sure you'll be making me crap myself again in no time." Céri waved a hoof dismissively. "Right now, I'm just sort of contemplating the situation."

Freddy morphed into the form of Yosuke. "You mean the loss of one of your confidants?"

"I mean, yeah. It sucks. Don't get me wrong there." She kicked a hoof against the imaginary floor. "But aside from getting back up and keeping on trying to live to the best of my abilities, what can I do for him now?"

"Fair point, I guess." He crosses his arms. "Unless you could try a Resurrection of the Dead spell card..."

"Once again, that's the wrong anime." Céri shook her head. "The only clan in Vanguard that I know that can consistently bring back the dead is the Granblue, and I don't have that."

"I'll take your word for it." Kruger resumed his usual face. "So, I guess you've crossed over to the 'I'm in no hurry to leave the land of ponies' camp."

"I know. Crazy, right?"

"Simultaneously scary and justified."

Céri blinked twice. "Wait, I thought you weren't a fan of staying in Equestria."

"I've had some time to think about it." Kruger spread his regular arm and clawed arm wide. "While I would still like to go home, the first goal I've got is to get out of this dream realm, so that I can make some actual difference. I can't hold it against you for wanting to stick around and see what happens."

She smiled. "You're the nicest bad dream I've ever talked with."

He tipped his hat. "Much obliged, card fighter."

---

The next day, Céri had her 'keys' laid out on the table, save for the Element necklace that was still stuck to her. She learned that touching each key and leaving short messages somehow worked like inter-dimensional walkie-talkies. While touching her necklace, she checked in with Ezekiel. She found out that Ezekiel was still working on clearing packets of erroneous data from her interface. It would take some time. Quick touch-bases with the pony figurine and the Ahsha card revealed that Courtney and Yoko had recovered well from their past shared ordeals.

Her fog-clearing sunglasses were cracked. For the sake of being thorough, she tried touching them and mentally messaging Shadow Yosuke. It just sounded like static on the other end. As if to add insult to injury, it ended with a generic recording that sounded like it belonged on a busy phone line.

"We're sorry, but the displaced you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please hang up and try again."

She grunted and let go of the cracked lens. She moved her hoof over to the small heart locket. An explosion could be heard coming from the other side, and her eyes went wide.

"Can't talk now," muttered Chara's voice. "I'll call you back."

"Well... guess I couldn't go unless he asked me to help anyway." She put her keys away. "Considering what he's capable of, I'm not too worried."

Céri leaned back in her chair a bit. She forgot that her legs didn't quite reach the floor on this kind of chair. She ended up landing on her back against the floor. She groaned and moved her front legs around to reach as far as she could to rub off the pain. She was really glad that Redheart was at work right then and couldn't make a big deal over the fall.

So much for smarts... she thought as she rolled over to stand back up. I wonder if I could convince Redheart to invest in a kitchen carpet? Nah, there's too much cleanup required for those.

As she put her keys back into her pockets, a familiar yet new sensation transmitted directly into her mind.

At this point, I will accept help from anyone. There's a man with a lethal bow, shooting what looks like energy arrows! His aura resembles a magenta inferno!

"Bow and arrows?" Céri said to herself. "That could be another string used by one of those Merchant sociopaths. I'd better take this." She pulled out her deck cards. "Stand up, Vanguard!"

The Vanguard call circle shined under her hooves, transferring her to the next Equestria. Her hoodie shook on an unseen wind.
---

Author's Note:

Yeah... I think it's time for me to move on. Assuming I feel up to it, a sort of successor multi-chapter story will come after this. However, the stars and side characters will be different.