Forerunner

"Final Turn!"

Céri Dylanson's eyes snapped open at his opponent's declaration. His hand shook as he chanced a glance at the cards he held. He didn't have any Sentinels available. If his opponent drew a trigger during this next attack, he wouldn't have enough to guard against it anyway. What was worse was how this enemy was somehow influencing the cards to get exactly the triggers they needed when they needed them.

"Darkness takes you!" The enemy cackled.

Darn it, thought the 'hero'. If only I hadn't accepted that card...

---
Several months earlier...

Bored. So bored. There was no word in the Britannica dictionary that could grasp how bored he was. A supercomputer calculating for a thousand years could not even come close to the level of how bored he was. He was just that bored.

"Yo, Cherry, wake up!"

A light impact temporarily displaced his shoulder. He quickly reached up his opposite hand to massage the sudden ache. When he turned around, he noticed his ever so friendly acquaintance. Said acquaintance was smiling like an idiot... or maybe a sneaky savant. He couldn't tell these days.

"Could you not call me by that nickname in public?" he asked as politely as possible. "I don't want some random stranger to try and drug me, dump me at the nearest McDonald's, and steal my wallet."

"You're too paranoid, Dylanson," insisted the acquaintance. "That's why I asked you here, to try and lighten up a little."

"How am I supposed to lighten up in a place where I spend three-quarters of my time waiting in a freaking line?"

The acquaintance scoffed. "It's only been two-thirds of the day. Don't be such a drama princess."

He rolled his eyes. "It's pronounced 'drama queen' and shut up."

There were stories about how people would kill each other for tickets to a convention of any sort. Some of the rumors even extended so far as committing genocide when it came to the more specific conventions. Rituals were said to be performed to both the Heavens and the Seven Layers Below, often by the exact same person, for the means to travel to this specific convention's location. If those kinds of reminders were supposed to make Céri feel happier to be here, then it was lost on him as to how that was supposed to make sense.

Still, his acquaintance wasn't completely heartless. He could tell when it was time to bring in a distraction. So, he shoved a couple twenties against Céri's chest, prompting the young man to lift up a hand to find out what was going on.

"Here. Go browse the stands and find yourself something nice. I'll text you when I'm close enough to the autograph table."

"What?" He kept holding the legal tender in place. "I can't just take this-"

"Consider it your reward for putting up with my dumb antics all day." The acquaintance smiled.

He smirked. "What happened to it only being two-thirds of the day?"

"Maybe find a joke book, Mr. Literal-Pants."

For the first time during that whole wait, they shared a round of laughs. Deciding to leave it on a positive note, Céri slowly walked off and did his best to shift around the multitudes of other attendees to the other side of the building. Though, along the way, he spotted a couple kids that were knee-deep in a competitive card game.

"Ha! I drew a critical trigger," boasted the red-head. "Your Goku is toast!"

"No way," groaned the kid with a smiley-faced T-shirt.

Céri took a moment to lean down and observe the game mat a little more closely.

"Um, Tobihiko is from the Nubatama clan," he pointed to the little word imprinted on the card's description. "All of your units on the field are currently Granblue. Your trigger can't activate."

"Wait, what?" The red-head's eyes skimmed over all of his cards currently in play. "Oh crud! I completely missed that!"

The other kid's smile outshone his shirt's. "So... does that mean I still have a chance?"

"Looks like it," affirmed Céri.

"Yay!" the kid cheered.

He decided to leave them to their fun and continued to make his way toward the overpriced, special merchandise. Freestyle art, character quilts, entire fan-made comics and manga in laminated backs... The stands had the works. The only thing they didn't have were show-related foods. Scratch that. He saw a stand with food specifically made to mimic those in the show, and calmly walked to the next stand. He wasn't feeling anxious and trying to get his mind on literally anything else. What are you talking about?

Céri happened to pick up a random item from the next stand and tried to clear his thoughts of, er... the booth at which absolutely nothing happened. It was a deck of cards with backsides exactly like the ones that those kids from a few minutes ago were playing. Each of them had the illustrated phrase, "Cardfight!! Vanguard". Bad grammar aside, he was at least familiar with most of the rules and a handful of episodes of the source material.

"Like what you see, stranger?"

The young man flinched at the sudden voice, practically imitating a child who had gotten caught with his hand in the candy bowl.

After catching his breath, Céri said, "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

The seated gentleman gently grabbed his trilby. "Well, I've only been here for about two-thirds of the day. So it's only natural that I've been missed." His lips grinned, yet his eyes remained hidden. "Would you be interested in bartering for that special deck?"

"Um, what's so special about it?" Céri asked as he turned the deck over to look through the cards' faces. "Hey, these cards are all blank."

"Why yes, Mr. Observant Pants," commented the man. "The cards you hold are only limited by the power of an image."

Céri assumed the man was just referring to how a blank card could be drawn on in one's free time. He wasn't really looking for anything in particular. He was only here at his acquaintance's request anyway. So, he decided to just go for it.

"Okay, how much for this 'special deck'?" he asked.

What happened next was rather peculiar. It almost looked like a trail of blood flattened itself against the gentleman's face. He lightly shoved his trilby up to reveal an empty abyss where his eyes should have been. At the same time, the deck of blank cards made Céri's arms feel like they were falling asleep. Actually, it made every single one of his joints lock in place.

"Oh... you'll have plenty of time to figure out how to pay me back... in Tartarus!" The not-so-gentle man giggled.

The stinging sensation was spreading all the way to Céri's lungs. He gagged for air. Everything around him was going blurry and blood red. Then, he dropped.

Unbeknownst to him, the two pieces of legal tender with Andrew Jackson's face floated to the floor like a pair of bat's wings.

---

*Bzzzzz* *Bzzzzz*

Ugh. It was too early. He didn't want to get up.

*Bzzzzz* *Bzzzzz*

Who the heck was calling him this early?

*Bzzzzz* *Bzzzzz*

Tch. Fine. He'd tell the dumb telemarketer that he was sleeping and then imply sarcastically that they should go take up beekeeping or some other equally irritating occupation. Céri reached over to the pocket on the table, fumbled with the buttons a bit before finally sliding the touch screen to answer.

"Cherry, where the hell are you?! This is a new kind of low, especially for you!"

What the...? His acquaintance's voice? What the heck did he have to yell at him about?

"I'm in the middle of sleeping. Where else would I be at this hour?"

"Where are you sleeping? In some white van with candy? Because I texted you at least ten times within the past ten hours and I can't find you anywhere at the center or the suites. I didn't want to call the police, but if you don't get your rear end somewhere sensible soon, I'm about to!"

Céri held his other hand against his head. "Wait, wait, wait, back up. Center or sweets? Why would I be at... Ah!"

His eyes went wide. That's right. He was at the convention center with his acquaintance. He had taken a break from lines to go buy a souvenir. There was a card fight that he had helped out with, a bunch of stands, food that looked really disgusting when too much thought was applied to it, and then... He quickly scanned his surroundings. This looked like the insides of a house with a really rustic feel. He had no idea where he was.

"Um... I don't want to alarm you," started Céri.

"It's a little late for that, you dingus!"

"But... I think I've been apprehended by some guy in a trilby."

"... what."

A door opened within a couple rooms' distance from the couch that Céri was seated. Two sets of footsteps sounded along a tile floor. An indiscernible shadow stretched along from the outdoors' light. At least, that was the case until somebody turned on the lights. A creature wearing a cap like Nurse Joy's and what must have been a pink wig stared in surprise. To be fair, Céri wasn't exactly eyeing the... pony(?) with any less uncertainty.

"I'm also pretty sure he drugged me," he added into his phone. "Because I'm seeing something that looks like it belongs in a Vine... or a CGI snuff film."

"Dylanson, you're scaring me."

"Me too." He slowly hung up and slid through his phone's options before activating its GPS signal. He hoped he would come down from this hallucination soon.

"H-Hi there," said a woman's voice as it looked like the pony's mouth trembled. "I see that you're, uh... feeling better?"

Céri sighed as he let his arms hang on either side. "That's debatable. If I was really feeling better after getting knocked out by some crazy man behind a card table, I doubt I'd be seeing white ponies talking to me and questioning the very idea."

"Wait... what do you mean by that?" Now the pony was imitating the universal cartoon expression (one side of the eyebrow raised higher than the other) for disbelief. "Is there something you find wrong with white ponies?"

He shook his head. "No, no, no. It's nothing against you personally. I just don't usually wake up in the morning to some cross-dimensional space where Stuart Little meets Dr. Doolittle." He then scratched his head. "Come to think of it, why hasn't anyone tried to make those characters interact? That actually sounds like a good what-if novel."

The pony bent her back legs and sat down. "I... think I'm starting to see what you meant by 'debatable'. You're saying a lot of strange things."

"I know, right?" He held his arms out in a shrug. "By the way, name's Céri. What's yours?"

"Oh, how rude of me." The pony sounded like she cleared her throat. "My name is Redheart. When I found you yesterday, you were closer to my house than to the hospital. So, I figured convenience made more sense than dragging you across the ground for so many kilometers."

Well, that was just great. Apparently, his drugged up subconscious preferred the metric system. He hoped his real body wasn't beating up innocent kids and demanding money for cool ranch chips while he was having this trip. At least this illusory pony sounded like a woman with a good head on her shoulders. Wait... did ponies even have shoulders? He shook his head, supposing that it didn't matter.

"Well, thank you for looking after me, Redheart." He smiled. "I hope I can find someone just as nice as you when I actually wake up."

She blinked a couple times. "You're awake right now, Sary."

"No, it's pronounced Say-ree, and I have to be in a drugged up dream right now," insisted Céri. "It's the only way this whole situation makes any sense."

Before the pony could object to his logical deduction, there was a sound coming from outside that squealed and groaned in the span of less than a second. Céri pressed his hands against his ears. Redheart had her ears flattened atop her head.

"Attention Ponyville, please feel free to panic and/or worship your new ruler and master: Platinum Quill! Failure to do so can and will result in a fatal blow from my personal army."

"What?" Redheart was already galloping across the house.

Seeing that he didn't have anything better to do in this dream that had severely deafened him, Céri ran to catch up with her. What they both saw upon entering the street was either really terrifying or really over-the-top. For Céri, it was difficult to tell the difference. Dragons of all shades of black and purple littered the sky. But at the moment, he was feeling a little too amused by the Vanguard character role-player... standing next to a creature wearing a black and red necklace. Said creature had a beak and outstretched wings, and was singing into a megaphone.

"Hey, gryphon!" called out Céri, briefly catching the half-bird creature off guard.

Though, it quickly resumed speaking into the megaphone. "Excuse me, sir, but I'll have you know that I am a hippogryph, not a gryphon, a hippogryph."

"Really?" wondered Céri, practicing a cartoon eyebrow expression of disbelief of his own. "Then where's the hippopotamus in you?"

...

The gryph-whatever sighed, putting a clawed limb over his face. "Anakin, could you be a good manservant and deal with this idiot?"

The role-player placed an open palm against his chest and bowed. "As you wish, My Vanguard."

Before Céri could laugh again, there was a sudden rushing of wind followed by a dark cloud. It manifested itself as the dark-clad man with an oversized weapon. The pointy end of said weapon was dangerously close to Céri's cheek. A small droplet dribbled down to his chin and dripped. Céri slowly lifted a hand to his chin, then pulled his hand to the side without the sword being too close. His hand had a red smear. He wasn't laughing anymore.

"I'm... bleeding? And it... stings?" His eyes went wide. "I... that... how...?"

"I am Blaster Dark!" declared the man with cold, blue eyes. "You will no longer disrespect My Vanguard."

Céri couldn't move, and his mind was having just as much difficulty comprehending his situation. "What... the... fumble...? What the actual Friday?"

"Stop!"

Blaster Dark suddenly found himself sliding back. He grunted in surprise and looked down at what had collided with him. At the same time, Céri was able to shake his head out of scared stupor and look down. It was the first face he had seen since this whole illusion... no, this whole new reality had bombarded his senses.

"Redheart!" he called out.

"Insolent horse!" Blaster Dark growled before slapping the pony away with a backhand.

Before Céri knew what he was doing, he had run over to catch his momentary savior. Though, the force of impact caused him to fall backward. Redheart ended up atop his lap. What was he supposed to do? He was in real danger here, and so was Redheart. He looked up just in time to see Blaster Dark bring his blade down to the ground. A bunch of purple sparks snaked around the ground, heading right for them in a giant, grounded lightning bolt.

The human from lands unknown and the pony held each other tightly, waiting for the end.

...

"Perfect Guard!"

"Huh?" Céri opened his eyes, surprised that he hadn't been harmed.

A flurry of bright lights surrounded him. Out in front and flying just a few feet above him, it looked like a giant pair of blue wings were attached to a young lady. She was holding up a feather pen and a clipboard, and what appeared to be a magic circle composed of several dots. The purple lightning attack was being shoved away into nothingness.

"A...Aniel?"

"W-What?" Redheart peeked as well. "Who is that?"

"Adamantine Celestial, Aniel," Céri muttered the name again.

The unit looked back and smiled at the two of them before seeming to fade from existence. Céri felt something in his pocket vibrate. When he pulled it out, he was surprised to find a box for a deck of cards that was glowing. He slid some of the cards out. What was once a blank-faced stack was quickly transforming into a fully comprised Cardfight Vanguard deck. Many of the entities on the faces resembled humanoids with wings, though there were a few cyborg equines mixed in as well.

"Angel Feather..." whispered Céri.

"Okay, screw tactics." Blaster Dark pulled his sword up and held it ready to swing. "I'll just destroy you both!" He leaped forward with enough force to shatter a few of the nearby windows.

Céri was still a little anxious, but he now had an idea of what to do... and the Angel Feather clan was the first step to doing it. He stood up, pulled out a card and held it up high, allowing its glow to shine the most brightly.

"Chief Nurse, Shamsiel! Ride!"

The card emitted a circle made of yellow light and edged with points like a star. Blaster Dark grunted as a sudden force in the atmosphere halted his advance. When he was able to look up, a new figure had taken to floating in the air. This figure was quipped with a half-ring of gold and several syringes of all colors.

The "Chief Nurse" adjusted her glasses before holding out her gloved hand. The syringes flew ahead and peppered the area like machine-gun bullets. The dark warrior let out a deep yell before getting launched a few feet and subsequently landing on his back. His weapon went flying and dug into the ground right next to the hippogryph, scraping a few feathers off his wing.

"Uh... could I get a redraw?"

But as quickly as the hippogryph had avoided impalement, the sword evaporated into a cluster of purple lights. Blaster Dark followed his weapon's example. All of these lights slowly floated around the hovering nurse and into Céri's hand. They assembled into a card, with a picture that resembled the swordsman that had just been defeated.

"Huh." Céri flipped the card over once before examining it carefully. "I wasn't expecting that."

"W-What just happened?" Redheart was coming around and groggily stood up.

"We just got the means to turn this half-gryphon's plan around," answered Céri. "Blaster Dark! Call!"

This time, a circle of purple with spikes shone from the card. Immediately afterward, the dark warrior stood on the street again. This time, however, he was casting his death glare at the bird with the megaphone. He glanced back at his card's holder.

"You have shown me your strength; allow me to show you mine." He held his blade straight up and a stray lightning bolt crashed right onto its tip. "Shadow Paladins! We have a new Vanguard!"

The dragons that were terrorizing the village all circled back. Some other creatures also floated or flew over, waiting for the new call to action. Just up the street, Platinum Quill looked like he was crying.

"Blaster Dark, how could you? I thought what we had was special."

Blaster Dark pointed his blade forth. "Fullbau, sick 'im."

A dark canine that looked like it was wearing cyan shades growled and then ran forth. It barked a few times during its approach. The hippogryph screamed, threw his megaphone, and ran away as fast as he could. Why he didn't use his wings to try and fly away, our heroes would never know.

The skies brightened up from what was once a dark storm. As the sun shone brightly, the various Shadow Paladin units disappeared in a flurry of lights. Shamsiel also faded in her yellow sparkles. Before Céri knew what was happening, he was holding onto two full decks of Cardfight Vanguard cards. Conveniently, Shamsiel was on top of the Angel Feather deck and Blaster Dark was on top of the Shadow Paladin.

"Let's see where your strength takes us, My Vanguard," echoed the voice of Blaster Dark.

Céri sighed and looked down to the side. "Are you alright?"

Redheart slowly nodded after a breath. "I will be." She gasped. "You're still bleeding!"

Céri felt the warm liquid dribbling down his face. "Oh... right... thanks for letting me know."

He dropped to the ground.
---

Boost

View Online

"Hey! Are you in there?"

Céri slowly stood up. He tried looking around. Everything seemed to be an empty abyss. Well, everything except for the clawed man with a hat, a red-striped sweater, and rotting fle- What the hell?

"Yaaaah!" Céri shuffled several paces backward, only to find that his distance from the creature wasn't increasing.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before." The other entity waved his clawed hand dismissively. "Seriously, can't you guys ever find more original things to do than scream in fear, call me a monster, and beg me not to kill you? Because I only accidentally slashed one of the other cos-players and it wasn't even lethal."

Céri blinked a couple times. "Wait... so you're not going to rip me up with a chainsaw and then drag my corpse around until you see your next victim?"

"Wrong horror series, bud." The burned creature crossed his arms. "Besides, that guy's more partial to his machete."

"O...kay... so, uh... What are you doing here?" He took a cautious step forward.

"Well, my abilities granted after meeting the strange salesman include wandering through other people's dreams. To a limited effect, this can also cross universes and dimensions. That condition is that it must be someone else that got sucked into a version of Pony Land."

"Pony Land?" Céri tilted his head. "You mean... there's more than just the one pony that looks kind of like Nurse Joy?"

"You got bound to Nurse Redheart?" asked the burned man. "Well, at least it's not the worst thing in the world. You could have been trapped with Season 1 Diamond Tiara."

"What do you mean I could have been stuck with a crown?"

The claw waved dismissively. "Never mind, man. So, like I was saying. There's a ton of us that got conned by a shady merchant who gave us either an object or a source of power, but the catch was getting transported to another universe. Some of us have already made contact with each other, and we think that'll be the key to saving realities, or at least getting those of us who want to back home."

"Why wouldn't people want to go back home?"

A claw and burned hand reached to either side in a shrug. "They think they've found their soulmate in their Pony Land or something. I don't really get it either. Anyway, what's your gimmick? You don't look like any fictional character I've seen before."

"Uh..." Céri shuffled through his pockets and procured the Vanguard deck. "I can call Cardfight units to life for brief periods of time."

"Oh, so you're one of those background anime duelists." The other guy chuckled. "No wonder you still look relatively normal."

"Background... Hey!" Céri's brow furrowed.

"Ah, almost forgot." The fleshy hand extended palm-side up. "I'm Freddy Kreuger. It's kind of a rule for us misfits to exchange calling cards, in case something comes up. Just say, 'Elm Street,' if you need me."

Céri looked at Kreuger's extended hand. Resting on the burned flesh was a mini-version of his clawed limb. Slowly, Céri reached down and picked it up. He turned it around a couple times before pocketing it.

"Okay, so... how do I make a calling card?"

"Well, it should be relatively easy here in your dream," insisted Kreuger. "Just imagine the form you want it to take and then give it a passphrase. Then, I can try to distribute it to as many others that have been displaced as possible."

Céri put his deck away before holding up a hand and concentrating. A glimmer of light flashed and gave him grasp of a blank, white card. He cleared his throat.

"Céri Dylanson: Card fighter, specifically in the TCG 'Vanguard'. The passphrase is 'Stand up, my avatar.' " The card stopped glowing. "Is that okay?"

"Meh, good enough for me." Kreuger shrugged as he moved the card into his possession. "When Loki tried explaining it to me, he was kind of vague in regards to the specific details."

At this point, Céri and Kreuger found themselves literally drifting apart.

"Good luck, pal. Expect to hear several new calls within the next week or so. Oh, and try to wait a while before calling me. I'll probably be busy with other matters."

---

Céri bolted upright. He took a few gasping breaths before managing to calm down somewhat. He looked around and found himself sitting on a bed in a plain, clean room. He reached up his hand to his face, noticing the texture of cloth over a few areas. Bandages, perhaps? Well, given the fact that he had been cut by Blaster Dark's sword, that wasn't too surprising.

It was about this time that he realized that his fist was clenched around something. When he uncurled his fingers, he gasped at the sight of the mini-claw. It looked exactly like the one he saw in his dream. He tried closing his fist and opening it again. It looked like it vanished, yet he could tell that it was... there somehow.

"Elm Street, huh?" he muttered.

"Try to wait a while before calling me. I'll probably be busy with other matters."

He sighed, turning over to face the left of his bed. Though, a sudden pinching prevented him from rolling any further. A slow look down his arm led to the sight of a needle. It was attached to a very thin tube leading all the way back to a pack of an IV pack hanging on a tall metal stand.

"Geez, how long was I out?"

A glance to the right side of his bed led to seeing a night stand. It was complete with a lamp, a weird-looking paperweight, and two Cardfight Vanguard decks. He could see Shamsiel and Blaster Dark on top of them respectively. He swore that the trouble that the Shadow Paladin had put him through was-

The door creaked open, cutting Céri's train of thought short. A cart with a plate was slowly wheeled in, followed by Redheart pushing it. When she laid her eyes upon him, she opened them wide for a bit. She shook her head and let an awkward cough to the side before wheeling the cart all the way to the left side of him.

"How are you feeling, Céri?" she asked with a calmness that lightly veiled some hint of worry.

"A bit scratched up, but alright," he answered. It's still hard to believe that you're real. Oh, well. One step at a time.

"That's good, considering you were out for the last twenty-two hours."

"Twenty-two hours?!" Céri gripped his bed sheet tightly with both hands. "When? I mean, how?"

Redheart carefully positioned the plate and tray onto the bed. "The shock from a cutting weapon would ruin anypony's day, followed by such an immense magical output." She glanced at him directly. "Speaking of which, where did you find the magic to summon three familiars in a single day?"

"Technically they're called 'Units'." He said, grabbing one of his decks with his right hand and then flipping through its cards. "As for how I summoned them, your guess is as good as mine. Usually, something like this would only be possible with extremely advanced technology or certain types of power you don't want to mess with. But... I don't think this is the same power as was prominent in the manga."

"Well... okay." Redheart nodded once and smiled gently. "I trust that you'll put that power to good use."

"Wait, you trust me?" he asked, setting the Angel Feather clan back on the stand. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." She idly pointed toward the tray. "Now, I imagine that you're hungry after being around for two days, and I haven't seen you eat anything."

Céri looked down, ran his right hand down the ribs against his skin and realized the nurse had a point. In less than two seconds, he had the small fork in hand and was scarfing down the multi-colored, gelatinous crud on the plate. He didn't even notice Redheart pulling out the IV needle and placing a small bandage on his arm. He did, however, perk up when she procured a glass of water and hoofed it over to him. It wasn't a five-star meal, but it was satisfying for the time being.

"You should be okay taking the bandages off your face in about a week," Redheart added. "But there will likely be some light scar tissue when all's said and done."

"Figures." Céri muttered, idly fiddling with the green hospital garment. "By the way, what happened to my clothes?"

"They've been cleaned and dried," she said as she trotted to the other side of the bed. "We'll get them for you as soon as you're ready to walk out of here."

He wondered what she was looking at, and followed the path of her gaze to the Shadow Paladin deck. He looked back at her. Her expression was that of a rather annoyed woman. He shivered, remembering that same kind of gaze that his mother used to hold against him when something wasn't right. Though, his trigger soon switched to confusion when he saw her pick up the Blaster Dark card with just her hoof.

Wha-... How is she doing that? There's nothing on that limb for her to grab!

Redheart, however, was oblivious to the young man's confusion regarding scientific impossibilities. She squinted at the dark, armored man in the picture. She then promptly lifted her other front hoof and performed a motion almost identical to a backhand against the card. Blaster Dark ended up smacking right back on top of his clan's deck. Before the young man could fathom that the pony was somehow standing on her hind legs while not falling, she was suddenly back on all fours.

"What the heck did I just watch?" asked Céri.

"Hmm?" The nurse's expression softened as she looked back at her patient. "Oh, sorry about that. I guess I still had a bit of a grudge against that guy."

"Oh... right... the backhand." Céri remembered his first encounter with the live Unit. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I held an ice pack against my cheek for a bit and that helped a lot."

"That's good." He sighed and shook his head. "That was something crazy yesterday."

"I know," she agreed. "That was the second monster attack this week. Usually we can get by at least two and a half weeks without seeing major destruction to the town."

Céri's eyes went wide. "Your town gets attacked by monsters almost every three weeks?!"

"Oh, no." Redheart smiled reassuringly. "Those usually only come by every two months or so. Normally, the mess comes in the form of somepony's shenanigans inside a house or from a large, outdoor event."

He could have been speechless if his mouth hadn't kept moving. "How can you say that kind of thing with a straight face?"

"Well, you tend to get used to that after a year or so of living in the same town." She said, while putting the empty tray back onto the cart. "Now, I've got a few other patients I need to check on before this evening. After that, I'll be back with your clothes. So in the meantime, please try to relax."

With that said, she was already wheeling the cart out of the room. The door swung shut behind her. Céri was left alone with his current understanding of the surreal world he had been tossed into. His head fell back against the pillow and he stared at the ceiling for an indeterminate time.

---

He saw a few other ponies of different colors as he was escorted down the hall. They ranged from being bed-ridden patients to a few nurses and doctors. There was even one that uncannily resembled Dr. House. Céri instinctively shivered in his hospital gown.

Finally, the nurse that he had apparently formed a bond with led him to a room with several hangers. His clothes were among them. He'd sat in his fair share of doctor's backrooms where he was required to strip one or more articles of clothing in order to examine specific body areas. So, he wasn't as freaked out as one might expect him to be as this nurse watched him change outfits.

"Where do you live?" asked Redheart.

He gave his home city name. From her confused expression and her failed attempt to pronounce it correctly, it helped add evidence to the 'other world' theory that his dream's visitor had explained. Come to think of it, he had even brushed his hand against a tiny glove with claws when rummaging through his pants pockets. Though, trying to explain the circumstances he shared with this "Freddy Kreuger" person proved to be difficult.

"So... Karugula has the same powers as Princess Luna?" she asked.

"I don't know who that is." Céri shrugged before putting on his jacket. "I'm new around here. Basically, my understanding of this world is equivalent to someone who has been living under a rock."

"Oh. Well, Princess Luna returned to power roughly seventy-five moons ago. She's Princess Celestia's younger sister and they share responsibility over Equestria."

" 'Equestria', huh? That sounds a lot better than 'Pony Land'," muttered Céri. "Hold on, they're both princesses? Then, who's the queen?"

Redheart's confused expression was starting to become familiar. "Does there need to be a queen?"

"It just seems like it would get really confusing if there's more than one ruler with the same title, especially to foreign nations."

"Hmm." She held a hoof just under her mouth. "I guess there was some confusion with the last dragon ambassador that visited, but I'm pretty sure they said she was okay with our system upon her departure."

"Wait... dragon ambassadors are real?"

"Yes, though I'm not an expert on their current politics. You'd probably find more information in Princess Twilight's castle library. I heard that they updated some of their shelves due to some missing manuscripts during the last dragon migration."

Céri was starting to feel like he had a headache. "Celestia... Luna... Twilight... How many princesses can one land have?"

"Well, four if you count Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire branch in the middle of the Arctic North."

He pinched his nose and groaned. "So out of all four of those candidates, none of them are allowed to choose a title of higher standing, or at least a different title with roughly the same level of authority? Like 'Queen' or 'Empress' or 'Duchess'?"

"Maretonia has the exclusive rights to 'Duchess'." Redheart trotted over and dumped some other pony's clothes into the washer. "And as for the other two titles, Empress Nightmare Moon threatened to cover the world in an everlasting night and Queen Chrysalis nearly sucked all of the love out of Canterlot in the middle of a wedding reception."

...

"If those things are commonplace in Equestria, I don't feel safe as long as I'm here." He shook his head. "I really hope the other displaced people and creatures can work together to find out how to get us all home soon."

After starting the washer, Redheart trotted over and gently touched the man's hand. "You'll be fine, Céri."

He looked down at her gentle, aged blue eyes. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because the ponies I know won't let bad things happen without fixing them back up." She nodded confidently. "Besides, from what I've seen, you've got quite a few options for calling familiars- sorry, Units."

He pulled out his deck and fanned out the various Angel Feather Units. "I guess that's true."

Redheart pulled her hoof back and scratched her neck. "Speaking of which, do you think you could... call the one that shielded us from that lightning strike? I want to thank her."

"Uh... sure, but maybe we should move this outside. I didn't really get a grasp of how big these Units are."

---

Soon, the nurse and the young man were standing outside. He slid the cards around in his hand. He was muttering something along the lines of "Sentinel" over and over as his eyes skimmed through the card descriptions.

"Ah, here we go." He pulled out the Grade 1 Unit with a golden bar around its shield value. "Adamantine Celestial, Aniel. Call!"

As he held the card up, it emitted the Vanguard circle symbol. A moment later, the cute little angel with blue feathers and a clipboard was floating in the air. She hummed in confusion, looking around and not seeing any other Units anywhere. She then looked at her Vanguard summoner.

"Excuse me," called Redheart, momentarily gaining the angel in nurse's garments attention. "I... just wanted to thank you properly for saving us yesterday, so... Thank you."

Aniel smiled and held her clipboard close. She closed her eyes and gave a bow with her upper body. She waved with her free hand, then promptly vanished in a stream of particles.

"I don't think she looks any bigger than you," commented Redheart.

"Well, when we start considering the giant dragons like those we saw in the Shadow Paladin clan," said Céri while straightening his cards back into the deck, "it's better to err on the side of caution."

"Yeah, I'd rather you didn't call one of those indoors." She chuckled.

"Speaking of indoors, my situation kind of makes me homeless by default," he commented sheepishly. "Would it be alright if I stayed at your place for a bit longer, at least until I can figure something else out?"

"Not a problem. I've got to get back to my shift soon, but I think walking you home should be within accepted practices."

He smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

---

Intercept

View Online

It wasn't long after Céri Dylanson waved goodbye to Nurse Redheart when a strange voice permeated his mind.

"I'm bored. Stand up, my avatar!"

Wait, was he supposed to pick up a line or something? How was he supposed to answer calls that used his passphrase? After a few seconds of looking left and right like a kid lost at the mall, he sighed. Well, what was the worst that could happen if he just picked a completely unoriginal phrase?

"Um... beam me up, Scottie?" Céri said while shrugging his shoulders.

Something sounded like a small explosion on the floor. When he looked down, he saw a blue Vanguard symbol. It was spinning around and glowing brightly. He yelped and tried to use his arm to avoid going blind.

---

After a few seconds, he took a chance to peek, and gasped at his new surroundings. What should've been the inside of a house had become a twisting and turning emporium. Everything he saw attached to the "walls" was exotic. There were a few masks of various shapes, bottles and vials of all colors and sizes, and even a very convincing witch's cauldron. That particular decoration had bubbling liquid that wasn't sure if it wanted to be green or purple.

"Look a little less lost, partner. You're way too conspicuous when your eyes dart around."

Céri snapped to attention and looked to the vague vicinity of the voice's origin. What he saw was a pair of golden lights slowly bobbing up and down. Within a few seconds, a face and the rest of someone's body followed suit. It kind of looked like a male teenager with scruffy brown hair, a pair of red headphones wrapped around his neck, a jacket that seemed too stiff, and the exact same shade of gray on the slightly wrinkled pants.

"Are you okay, man?" asked Céri. "Your eyes look like they're radioactive yellow."

The other guy scoffed. "Well, they should. I am a Shadow: the true self." He pulled out what looked like two kunai and spun around in place. "Wage slave by day, hero by night. I am Captain Ressentiment!"

Céri took a step back and held up his hands, palms facing forward. "That's a... mouthful."

"Meh." The 'captain' threw one of his knives up. It spun through the air before he caught its handle. "If that's too hard for you to remember, just call me Yosuke Hanamura. I mean, that's basically who I am... with a few exaggerated quirks."

Céri lowered his hands about an inch. "Is one of those quirks tossing around your throwing weapons carelessly?"

"Nah, the real Yosuke did that too. I just get bored more easily than he does."

"The 'real' Yosuke?" Céri tilted his head in confusion. "You mean you're another cos-player like that Freddy Kreuger look-alike?"

"No... well, okay. That's part of it." Yosuke twirled his other kunai. "It's just that on top of that, I also turned into his Shadow. I guess that's what I get when a strange merchant hands out free contact lenses."

"Heh, it was a deck of trading cards that threw me under the bus."

"Yeah, I was curious about that." In a swift motion, the kunai were hidden from sight. "Is it just Yu-gi-oh's shadow games magic at work, or what?"

"Wrong manga, wrong anime." Céri shook his head and pulled out his Vanguard cards. "Cardfight Vanguard is a bit more like a comprehensive game for those that like the Magic: The Gathering play style, but doesn't weigh their decks down with mana."

"Sounds interesting." Yosuke crossed his arms. "Show me how to play."

"Um... alright. Wait! Would the owner of this place mind if we marked up a table that we can sit across from each other?"

"Ah, I wouldn't worry about that." Yosuke waved dismissively. "The broad's zebra magic can clean just about any surface."

Zebra magic? Going to have to look into that later. Céri shook the thought from his head. "Okay, next order of business. Do you want to use an Angel Feather deck or a Shadow Paladin deck? They're the only two I have at the moment."

"One of them even has Shadow in the name?" Yosuke smirked. "Well, the choice is obvious, isn't it?"

"Just thought I'd ask any-"

"Angel Feather."

"-way. What?" Céri blinked twice.

"The locals have been showing me the courtesy of someone from the darkness for the last two months." Yosuke spat to the side. "I think it's time I tried something a little more... positive."

"Huh. Never thought of it that way," admitted Céri. "Alright, here."

---

While it wasn't a tournament approved playing mat, Céri and Shadow Yosuke had gotten the gist of the various spots labeled on the slightly moss-covered table for either player. Five circles with an "R" in their centers surrounded the main circle with a "V". A rectangle labeled "Deck" was on the right with a rectangle labeled "Drop" just underneath. On the left, was a "Damage" rectangle of a larger area. There was a slightly larger circle between either player's "V" circle that had the word "Guardian" in it.

"Okay," said the summoned cardfighter. "Choose a Grade 0 Unit from your deck and place it face-down on top of your 'V' circle."

"Got it." Yosuke took a card and did as instructed.

"The rest of the deck goes over here and we each draw five cards."

Yosuke slightly flicked the top cards out of place until he could grab all five of them.

"Before the game begins, you're allowed to redraw as many as five cards from your hand. An ideal starting hand has a good mix of Grades 1, 2, and 3. 0s are probably okay too, since they usually provide good defensive options later on."

"I think I'm good."

"The next step is to decide who goes first, usually by way of rock-paper-scissors."

Simultaneously, they said, "One, two, three, shoot!"

Yosuke had his full palm showing. Céri had a sideways peace sign.

"Okay, now that we know the turn order, both of us flip over our starting Vanguard and the game begins. I like to shout, 'Stand up, Vanguard!' when I play." Céri smiled. "It helps get into the right mood."

"Alright, pal." Yosuke chuckled. "I'll humor you."

Simultaneously, they grabbed their first card and shouted. "Stand up, Vanguard!"

Yosuke flipped his over. "First Aid Celestial, Peniel."

"Frontline Revenger, Claudas," declared Céri.

A couple of light flashed in the shape of Vanguard circles with spikes. The units actually appeared in miniature forms atop of their respective cards.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you could summon these things," commented Yosuke.

"This... doesn't usually happen," admitted Céri. "Maybe we should stop before something bad happens."

"Are you kidding me?" Yosuke leaned forward excitedly. "The fun just got started! You can't up and leave before you've at least shown me the basics."

I guess they're not big enough to destroy too much while they're like this, decided Céri before holding up a hand. "The first phase of every turn is the 'Stand Phase' where the player resets all of their cards. But since my Unit is already standing, I can move on to the 'Draw Phase'." He pulled a card off of his deck and added it to his hand. "Next up, the 'Ride Phase'. Each turn, the player is allowed to ride a Unit equal to or one Grade higher than their current Vanguard. Basically, it ensures that no one is getting a free pass to their strongest cards right from the get-go."

"Makes sense." Yosuke nodded.

"Ride! Black Sage, Karon."

Céri placed the aforementioned card on top of Claudas' card. The young Shadow Paladin's image was replaced with a slightly different Unit who happened to be carrying a dark book of magic.

"Some starting Vanguards are known as 'Forerunners'," he mentioned. "These can move to an empty circle if you ride a Unit of the same clan on top of them." He moved Claudas' card to the "R" circle just behind Karon. "Call!" The young lancer appeared standing on the field once again.

"After that, we have the 'Main Phase'," continued Céri. "During that time, the player can use units from their hand and call them to the Rear-Guard. These are restricted to Units of the same Grade or lower than that of that player's current Vanguard." He took a card and placed it on another "R" circle in his back row. "Call! Transient Revenger, Masquerade!"

A small man with white hair came into being. He looked all dressed up with no where to go. The only abnormality was that one of his hands looked like it was concealed by cursed chains.

"And that's about it for a turn," said Céri. "The player who goes first can't attack right away, so I'm moving right to the 'End Phase'. Now, it's your turn."

"Sweet, here goes!" Yosuke put his hand on his deck. "Stand and draw!"

---
Several turns later...

"Prophecy Celestial, Ramiel attacks your Vanguard!" ordered Yosuke.

"I discard a Shadow Paladin for Dark Revenger, Mac Lir's skill," countered Céri. "Perfect Guard!"

Yosuke growled. "Come on, Twin Drive check!"

The top card of his deck flipped over. It depicted a dark blue unicorn with rockets attached to its side. More importantly, however, was the small yellow symbol on the top right of the picture.

"That's a critical trigger," pointed out Céri. "It's good for the attacking player because it can increase the damage caused by an attacking unit."

"But you already shut down my Vanguard's attack." Yosuke blew a short breath of disgust. "Fine, I'm giving all the effects to my Rear-Guard, Shamsiel."

A golden aura shimmered around the chief nurse, and her glasses twinkled.

"Second check!"

Yosuke flipped the next card over. Its name was Critical Hit Angel. That name was aptly fitting, considering she too had the small yellow symbol.

Céri gasped. "A double critical!"

"Not bad," said Yosuke, feeling a bit more enthusiastic. "All effects to Shamsiel!"

The liquid in Shamsiel's needles all turned an eerie pink. Needless to say, Céri was not feeling so great as he looked between the powered up Unit compared to the last card he had in hand. There wasn't enough Shield power.

"With a boost from Baruch, Shamsiel rains down on Phantom Blaster Overlord!"

The giant vials of vaccine unleashed a barrage of their prismatic contents. What should have been a terrifying dragon could only roar out in pain as it took the full blast. One of the speeding droplets zipped through the edge of Céri's jacket sleeve. When he saw the new rip, he gasped. Meanwhile, the top of his deck flung cards to his Damage zone: Blaster Dark, Mordred Phantom, and Phantom Blaster Dragon. They landed on top of the three cards that were already in the Damage zone from earlier turns.

"Wait... that's six damage, right?" asked Yosuke.

"Y-Yeah, that's right. You won." He couldn't part his eyes from his slightly torn jacket.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." Yosuke waved a hand nonchalantly. "Give it a week or so and you won't even know it's there."

Céri looked up in confusion. "What do you mean? Sleeves don't fix themselves."

"In Equestria they do," insisted Yosuke. "About a month ago, I got banged up by at least six pointed claws and limbs. But you wouldn't know it by looking at my clothes. The rips just sort of disappeared one day while I wasn't even paying attention to them."

Céri still looked skeptical. "It can't be that simple."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Yosuke held his hands behind his neck in a leisurely position. "For all I know, that could've been because I'm a Shadow or maybe Zecora cast some weird voodoo spell on them in my sleep. Could've been anything really." He started gathering the cards back together. "Anyway, thanks for that little tutorial and the game. It was fun."

"Mm, it really was," agreed Céri as Yosuke handed him his deck back. "So... do you know how I get back to the Equestria that I was in? Kreuger sort of skimped on that detail."

"Yeah... about that..." Yosuke scratched the back of his neck while glancing to the side. "I'm just as lost on that part as you are."

Céri sighed and looked down. "Great."

Suddenly, he heard the call of what sounded like a crazy woman.

"What the heck?" Céri looked around rapidly.

"Oh, she's back."

Yosuke smirked while glancing at the door. It slammed open just a second later. A mesh of black, white, gold, and green covered this pony-shaped being. But all Céri could think of as he was staring was how big her hair was. Maybe the green eye mask was somehow holding it up even more than it naturally could be.

"Yosuke of Shadows, come along quick! We are in need of your Persona trick!"

"You got it, Zecora," replied Yosuke. He randomly pointed over at the other guy in the room. "Mind if we bring another along for the ride?"

The aforementioned Zecora looked curiously at the newcomer. She trotted closer, squinting, and humming at this stranger. She pulled out a pair of... glasses(?), glancing up and down. Finally, she grabbed one of Céri's hands and put the spectacles down onto his palm.

"You are no changeling. That is clear to me. Take these so that through illusions, you too can see."

Céri blinked uncertainly. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Those are special glasses, partner." Yosuke pointed out. "If you put them on, you can use them to see through all kinds of things like fog, holograms, magical illusions, and disguises."

"I don't know about all that, but it is kind of foggy out," agreed Céri as he looked out the door.

He couldn't really see anything that special about the glasses. Come to think of it, they seemed more like lightly shaded sunglasses. But as he looked through them and put them on, the place where there should have been fog suddenly cleared up into a forest path. Confused, he took them off. The fog was back again. It vanished when he put them back on.

"How do they work like that?" Céri was at a loss for ideas. "And how come neither of you need them?"

"Well, I'm a Shadow," said Yosuke as a reminder. "My eyes were specifically made to see truth for what it is. Zecora's got her own all-seeing mask on. That's how she can see."

Zecora nodded once. "Stay close to us and stay within our sight. Use your powers when the time is right."

The card fighter gripped his Angel Feather Units tightly. "Got it."

The zebra grabbed a few vials from her shelves. She carefully set them inside her small bags worn around either of her sides. Then, she galloped out the door. Yosuke quickly ran after her and Céri soon followed.

---

He wasn't entirely sure how to describe what he was seeing within the next forest clearing. There were a few ponies that kind of looked like the same build as Redheart, but that was about where his familiarity with this world's species ended. Something uncannily different was causing the trouble. Beetle-like wings buzzed atop black-shelled creatures with bat-like fangs. Occasionally, these "changelings" surrounded themselves with green fire, and it seemed to confuse the defiant ponies long enough to kick them to the ground.

"Now!" cried out Zecora, leading a few scattered ponies into the fray.

A blue flame floated in front of Shadow Yosuke. He smiled at the spinning card before slashing a kunai's tip across it. A slightly taller humanoid appeared in a wisp of light. It was wearing a red scarf and a uniquely pattern on the rest of its outfit. In either upper appendage, it held a large shuriken. Both it and Yosuke ran forth and started cutting down changelings with their respective weapons.

That looks kind of like what I can do, thought Céri. Speaking of which... huh?

As he through his deck, he noticed something very wrong. The majority of his cards had somehow been grayed out. He could still read their names, but it kind of looked like something had sucked the color out of the illustrated images. The only ones that looked like their usual colorful selves were the Grade 0s. But he was running out of time to think. There were some ponies getting scratched up and crushed to death by an ever growing number of changelings.

He shook his head and held up the Angel Feather starter. "Stand up! First Aid Celestial, Peniel!"

After emitting a Vanguard circle of light, the card brought out the young green-haired angel carrying an aid kit. She floated forward a few yards, yelped when she tripped on absolutely nothing, and spilled a bunch of first aid supplies over a small swarm of changelings. A couple of them got tangled up in the loose bandages and went rolling into a bush. The rest, however, looked rather angry and hungrily at the floating angel. That was about the moment that Céri noticed some of his cards getting back their original colors: the Grade 1s.

"Ride! Thousand Ray Pegasus!"

Just as it looked like the swarm was going to gang up on Peniel, an invisible force shoved her backward. In her place, a large Pegasus with floating robotic needles on either side of it appeared. It flapped its wings and flew straight up. The swarm followed after the flying horse without a second thought.

Thousand Ray flew up and over in a broad looping path. Soon, it was in a position that it could see all of its pursuers. Peniel giggled and cheered in support. The Pegasus's laser pointers opened up and shot a bunch of the changelings out of formation. Though, there were still a lot that were left and ready to dive. Several of them surrounded themselves in cones of green flame. The Grade 2s regained their colors.

"Ride! Crimson Drive, Aphrodite!"

The Pegasus turned into a pool of light. This light reshaped itself in the image of another angel with a nurse's cap. She had red-feathered wings, a halo, and a sword with what looked like a heart-shaped light near its tip. Aphrodite hummed in determination as she took her blade and swung it against a few changeling craniums. Peniel kept on cheering her Vanguard, at least until she turned around and screamed.

Céri turned around and saw yet another swarm of changelings approaching. He tried grabbing a couple more of his Grade 2 Units.

"Holy Zone, Penemue! Iron Heart, Mastema! Call!"

A couple more medical field angels appeared to face the new swarm. Penemue was wearing pink and she swung around a couple rolls of gauze like whips. She was able to swing those around in a makeshift barrier against the majority of the incoming attack. Mastema looked a bit more wear for tear with one torn wing and slightly bloody bandages around the joints where his limbs connected to his body. Still, he seemed more than determined to swing his curved blades at the enemies. His grunts of fatigue and pain actually seemed to strengthen each of his slashes.

Meanwhile, Yosuke and Jiraiya had cut down a significant fraction of the changelings where they were standing. Zecora had smacked around several of them as well with swift and precise smacks of a single bamboo pole. Between them and Céri's four angels, the changeling swarm's numbers eventually dwindled to those that were too injured to move or among the squishy messes on the dirt.

The card fighter leaned his back against a tree, breathing heavily. "I guess... there's a limit... to how much... I can... call Units... in a day."

"Another fight like this is sure to dawn," said Zecora solemnly. "But I thank you for helping in this battle we have won."

"Oh... you're welcome." It was about this time that his Units returned to their cards. "But if it's all the same to you, I think I'll stay out of your next skirmish."

"Before you go, I think there's something I need to find and give you," mentioned Yosuke. He briefly grabbed the glasses from Céri. "This is Yosuke Hanamura's Shadow. If you ever need an extra warrior or a small tornado, give me a call." He then put them back on Céri's face.

"Wait, how'd you know these glasses were your key?" Céri asked.

"I wasn't sure at first, but there was a slight highlight on them that only I could see," explained Yosuke.

"Our time for rest is soon to end," reminded Zecora. "Do you know which challenger we shall send?"

"I've got a rough idea." The Shadow smirked as he glanced to the card fighter. "See you later, partner." He then held up a red crystal that seemed out of place. "Bring down the wrath of Dreamer Devilmane!"

Those were the last words Céri heard before he found himself standing on Redheart's doorstep.
---

Drive Trigger Check

View Online

Céri didn't understand how he had returned to this version of Equestria outside of the house rather than inside. He looked around a bit and saw the figure of Redheart trotting farther away into the distance. It was as if he had barely been gone for what felt like a long time in the changeling-infested world, Yosuke's Equestria. He pulled off the glasses and gently massaged his bandaged cheek. He shook his head and opened the door.

Once he was settled on the couch, the first thing he decided to do was check his phone. He had fifteen missed calls, all of them from the same number. He pressed "call back" and waited for the inevitable, conversational grenade.

"Cherry, you've got to put an end to this vanishing act," said the voice of his acquaintance. "Where are you?"

"I take it the GPS doesn't work, then?" surmised Céri.

"All it's telling me is that you're not on any marked location."

"I was afraid of that." Céri sighed. "Listen, I think it's going to be a long time before I can make it back. I'm in another universe."

"I'll say!" exclaimed the phone. "What did you do? Dig your way all the way through the Earth and end up in China?"

"Were I only that lucky." Céri shook his head. "No, the guy that I bought a souvenir from actually turned out to be some cross-dimensional, package deliveryman. Except in this case, the package was me and the destination was some place called 'Equestria'."

His acquaintance went completely silent for about ten seconds.

"What?" asked the guy on the other end.

"I'm stuck in a place called 'Equestria' and I don't know how long it will be until I can get back home," explained Céri. "From what I've gathered from a couple other guys around here, I need to work with a bunch of other people that were pulled into similar situations and then possibly carve our way back to our own worlds together. I just don't know exactly how we're going to do it or how long it's going to take."

"Dylanson... are you high?"

"I kind of wish I was. It'd make this situation at least a tiny bit less stressful and confusing than what it is right now."

"Cherry, hold yourself together, man. Okay? I've called for the police's help. We're going to find you. We'll get you back, and then we'll get you the help you need. Okay?"

For the sake of him not looking like an idiot to the police, I hope they do find a drugged up me somewhere and wake me up from this place that I have accepted as my current reality. "Okay, good luck."

The phone clicked as the call ended.

---

He laid out his humble collection of items on the dining room table. For the next few minutes, Céri stared at everything carefully, trying to make sense of it all. A tiny clawed glove from Kreuger, a pair of illusion-piercing shades encoded with Yosuke's passphrase, and the hundred Cardfight Vanguard cards that only he could call to life. Blaster Dark stood out because he had previously declared Céri as the Shadow Paladins' new Vanguard. What did that even mean?

In the anime, the characters emphasized the Vanguard as "the one who leads". Well, to where was he supposed to lead them? How would he know when he arrived? Would that location be the way back home? For the past couple of days, excluding his nearly full day of being unconscious, he had been randomly calling Units forth just hoping that they would work. But doing that had left him feeling like a dead battery after fighting a bunch of changelings. Surely, there was a better way to go about this.

Would it hurt to ask? He supposed if he got attacked over a question, he could just call a stronger Unit and force this one back into his card. Céri picked up the Blaster Dark card and held its face to the side.

"Call!" he declared.

Within a couple seconds, a purple light emerged and took the shape of the dark-armored swordsman. When Blaster Dark noticed a distinct lack of enemies, he set his sword pointed down into the floor and placed both of his hands atop the pommel. His neutral blue eyes stared at his Vanguard expectantly.

"What exactly is it that you expect me to do?" asked Céri.

"That is for you to decide," said Blaster Dark.

Céri massaged his temples before holding out a hand palm-side up. "I know that I get the final say, but I thought I ought to know what you wanted before I continue doing anything."

"A warrior that wants is left to his own suffering." The swordsman's expression didn't change. "I am but one warrior among the many that you have. Perhaps you are meant to save us... or perhaps you are meant to destroy us. Either way, we shall keep our loyalties and follow the Vanguard, regardless of the sacrifices."

"Like that hippo-gryphon guy?"

Blaster Dark closed his eyes. "He showed weakness when he faced another Vanguard. I have no regrets."

"Hmm, you're not as bloodthirsty as I thought you'd be."

That caught the swordsman's attention as he opened his eyes again.

"I always got the impression that the Shadow Paladin clan was full of murderers and thieves that struck down their allies when they wanted more power. But you... you seem more... I don't know... unassuming?"

Blaster Dark shrugged his shoulder plates. "What purpose does it serve to become asinine?"

"That's... actually a good point," said Céri now that he thought about it.

"Is that all you require of me right now?"

"One last thing." Céri held up an index finger. "Platinum Feather, whatever, called you by another name. What was that about?"

"When we first met, he tried to nickname me 'Darky'. I politely corrected him with my real name: Anakin."

"Anakin, huh?" Céri gently smiled. "That sounds pretty cool."

"I am glad that you approve." Though, he showed no physical sign that he was glad at all.

Soon, Anakin disappeared in a stream of purple light particles. The Blaster Dark card faintly glowed before returning to its normal state. Céri sighed as he sat back down on the chair. He didn't gain a whole lot of information that he was looking for. It was nice that he started to form some mutual trust with his Unit, but he hadn't learned much beyond his name. His purpose was still just as vague as it was before.

It occurred to him that he hadn't felt any more of his strength being drained just then. Maybe this version of Equestria was his default and he could call Units as many times as he liked. Leaving this Equestria and answering someone else's call could be like operating on a device away from its charger. Though, he'd have to wait and test that idea when someone else that was displaced called him.

His inner thoughts were interrupted by a gurgling noise and a vibration in his abdomen. Céri decided to put his quest for answers on hold as he got up and looked through Redheart's fridge.

---

After partaking in an apple and a can of something that tasted like grape soda, Céri went back to looking over his cards. If Anakin could talk, what other Units could speak to him? He recalled that Adamantine Celestial, Aniel only smiled and nodded the two times that he had seen her. As for some of his other Angel Feather Units, they had been in the middle of a battle, which was not the most opportune time for chatting about the weather. Maybe... the first one he had used would have something to say?

Worth a shot. "Chief Nurse, Shamsiel! Call!"

The robed nurse with pink hair buns and a pair of spectacles appeared with all of her needles attached to her wings. She briefly glanced around her and noticed no enemies. She fiddled with a scalpel in her hands, awaiting her Vanguard's orders.

"Can you talk?" asked Céri.

Shamsiel blinked at the question. After a slight hum, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I see..." He looked to the side awkwardly. "Sorry to bother you."

She shook her head again and smiled gently. Apparently, she didn't mind. Though, she was quick to return to her card.

Céri spent the rest of the daylight hours calling some of his Units out and seeing if any of them would converse with him like Anakin. At most, he would get a laugh or a grunt. He didn't bother with the dragon Units as he didn't want to cause a scene in this town again. As casually as Redheart had made panic and destruction sound around the neighborhood, she could have been the exception to the public's attitude for all he knew.

It was about then that the homeowner opened the door and walked in. She hung her cap on a low hanger and trotted over to the fridge. Her eyelids were halfway down. Her mane had a couple ends sticking out in weird directions. To top it off, she was moving fairly slowly.

"Hi." Céri gave a small wave of his hand.

"Hello," Redheart responded.

She grabbed a carrot, pulled open a drawer, and took hold of a vegetable peeler. What still baffled her house guest was how she was doing all of this with just her mouth and one of her front hooves as she navigated the kitchen. After the sound of water running, a peeler scraping off edges, and a few crunches, Redheart looked like she had a bit more light in her eyes.

"Sorry if there isn't much to do in here," she said. "I'm usually out all day, so I never felt inclined to add extra things to the house."

"That's alright." Céri waved dismissively. "I kind of went through a lot today."

---

"An alternate version of Equestria was overrun by the changelings?" reiterated Redheart.

"Yeah, it was hectic all around," affirmed Céri.

"I can't even imagine what that must have been like."

He shrugged. "Exhausting. I don't envy Yosuke or Zecora one bit."

"As far as I've seen, the Zecora in our world doesn't fight for lives nearly that often. Though, it's sort of fascinating to know that she could have that potential if the worst came to pass." She placed her empty cup over near the sink. "Let me try to fix up the couch to be a little more comfortable for you tonight. A day like yours would tire anypony out."

"So would yours," he remarked. "What was it, six or seven babies in the infirmary?"

She sighed. "Twelve now, actually."

"How about that?" he asked rhetorically as he put away all of his paraphernalia.

---

Emptiness surrounded Céri. He held up the tiny, clawed glove. "Elm Street!"

"Good timing, I-"

"Yaaaaaah!" Céri spun around in fright before letting out a breath. "Can't you just pop up in front of me like a normal jumpscare? At least I can brace for those."

Kreuger made his burned eyelids as deadpan as possible. "Right... anyway..." He held out his non-gloved hand. It held what looked like a tiny pony in mid-kick. "I've got a new key to pass around some of the dreams."

Céri grabbed it by the waist. "Why are these 'keys' never actually keys?"

"When you find the bastard that sent us all to these different worlds, ask him... and then call The Incredible Hulk so he can punch that stupid merchant's face in."

"That's assuming I ever get a key from somebody who cos-played as Hulk to begin with," Céri pointed out.

"Fair enough," said Freddy with a shrug.

Céri took another look at this new 'key'. While the statuette didn't move, he did hear something.

"Hey there! Courtney here. I know I may look and sound like somepony else. For the record, the costume was my boyfriend's idea. But I digress. Holler if you need me."

Céri stared at the figurine awkwardly. "Uh..."

"Yeah, he's not the first one to get forcibly transgendered." Kreuger shook his head. "And I'm sure he won't be the last."

"Is there some reason you can't just... take my key to him in his dreams?"

"It's called a copy limit." Kreuger held up his claws. "Anyone who tries to pass around keys other than their own has a finite limit to the supply. Yet, this limit doesn't seem to apply to the original keyholder. Basically, you can hand out your own calling card as many times as you care to do so. But I could only pass around your key about fifteen times before it stopped copying itself."

Céri sighed. "I'll never understand these arbitrary rules."

"You and me both." Kreuger crossed his arms and vanished from the card fighter's dream.
---

He woke up with a bit of morning blurriness in his eyes. There was also a blanket laid atop him. Had Redheart put it there last night? He slowly sat up and pushed that blanket to one side of the couch. He stopped when he noticed the statuette in his hand. Seriously, what were the restrictions on Kreuger's dream-to-reality powers?

Céri took a calming breath and stood up. He figured he might as well get this over with. The voice had sounded like a nice enough girl-guy.

"Hey, Courtney! Let's talk for a bit," he said while holding up the really little pony.

"Céri, who are you talking to?" asked Redheart trotting into the room with a mess of bed hair.

"Oh, I was just-"

*Boom!*

The nurse took several, small steps backward at the sudden noise. Nothing had spontaneously combusted, but hearing the sound was quite startling. Heck, Céri had backed up enough to fall into the couch and sit. After blinking a bit, though, he was able to see what had appeared in the middle of the room.

It appeared to be a bronze orange pegasus pony with a slightly lighter shade for the mane and tail. He was wearing a black stetson and what appeared to be saddlebags. Infused with the bags were... twin shotguns? What the hell?!

"Wah! Don't shoot! I'm unarmed!" Céri panicked and put up his arms in front of himself to guard.

"Huh?" The stallion looked confused before taking a look to either side of him. "Oh, right, those." He smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry. The safeties are on right now. They're not going to fire."

Céri exhaled the breath he was holding.

Redheart rubbed a hoof against her temple. "I do not need an adrenaline rush right now. I've got to go to work."

She stepped out of the room and trotted away. Meanwhile, Céri was getting enough nerve to stand back up and observe the newcomer.

"You've already said your name was Courtney." He reached out a hand. "Céri Dylanson."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." The pony put his hoof out and shook the person's hand.

"Your passphrase said that your boyfriend came up with that costume," Céri commented. "Where did he get the know-how of what the ponies of this world looked like?"

"Oh, that's easy. He just found some fan-art of Calamity from the internet. Turns out, there are a lot of fans of Fallout: Equestria in addition to the Friendship is Magic series."

Céri blinked. "Fans of what in addition to the who?"

Courtney raised his eyebrow. "Wait, you've never seen My Little Pony? Not even loose mentions scattered online?"

Céri shook his head. "No, never. My most recent experience with the internet was seeing a bunch of collaborated Vines about 'Grandpa Hates Valentine's Day'."

"Oh... well, then..." The stallion adjusted his hat. "Prepare for a story that's going to sound like I'm selling something."

---

"Seriously?" Céri raised his eyebrow. "It just ends with her flying with the wings she had just gotten the night before, looking at the camera, and assuring that things are going to be alright?"

"Well, no," admitted Courtney. "There are at least a couple more seasons after that, but that's as far as I got before having an encounter with our 'good friend' the merchant." He held out his tongue in disgust.

"Yeah," Céri concurred. "Thanks to that jerk, my acquaintance thinks I'm high and lost in an unmarked ditch somewhere."

"Wait, you have contact with your home world?" Courtney's eyes opened wide.

"It hasn't helped for the past four days," said Céri dismissively. "Even with the GPS on, it doesn't show up on any marked map. No one in my home world has gotten anywhere close to seamless dimensional travel. I even tried 911 for good measure. No luck."

"Oh, I see." The stallion's shoulders slumped and his wings drooped down over his saddlebags.

Aw, crap. This conversation is too depressing. New topic! New topic! "So, what's the Equestria like where you ended up?"

Calamity/Courtney's eyes practically lit up as he opened up. "Oh, it's nothing like I expected. It was full a lot of crazy, nonsensical stuff. From what I gathered, the Mane Six died out a while ago and what remains are some magical 'Echoes' that are put in charge of specific day-to-day tasks. Twilight's Echo focuses on cyborgs and robotics, Fluttershy's Echo is in charge of biological research and hybrid pets, Pinkie Pie's Echo is all about the happiness found in sweets and sugar-based weaponry, Rainbow Dash's Echo takes care of the aerial machines and tactics, and Applejack's Echo keeps her land infused with power fields for the earth ponies."

"I'm getting worn out just listening to that list." Céri then looked off for a moment. "Wait... you only listed five. What happened to the sixth 'Echo'?"

"Well... that's even weirder." Courtney pushed his hat up. "You see, Rarity was actually hit by an evil wizard about a thousand years ago, at least in that Equestria. When she finally woke up, she went around trying to discover some holographic tapes in regards to her friends' last hour before the Echoes went online." He rubbed a hoof against the floor. "I... might have accidentally kicked her in the eyes out of hysterics when we first met. I got turned into a pony and suddenly gained a Y chromosome. How in the E.U.N. was I supposed to react to that?"

"I can't imagine what that would have been like or if there's even a right way to respond to such an event." Céri scratched his scalp. "So, what happened after that?"

"Fluttershy's Echo was courteous enough to give her original's friend two free eye transplants... though, she added a scorpion's tail to her spine as a 'gift'."

Céri looked absolutely baffled. "... what."

"Did I mention that each of the Echoes have defects that make them insane in one area or another?"

"There's insane..." started Céri. "Then there's... I don't even know what that is. Who the hell would think that it's a good idea to slap a scorpion's tail into the back of a pony after replacing their eyes?" He shivered. "If I ever get put in a situation where I have to meet this world's version of Fluttershy, I hope she won't be nearly as crazy."

Courtney placed a hoof against the young man's hand. "Well, if Nurse Redheart is any gauge, I'd wager that this version you got tossed into is pretty close to the show's original interpretation of the characters. So, you've got a good shot of meeting the normal, yet somewhat assertive Fluttershy."

Céri took a breath and exhaled. "How do you keep your sanity in the midst of all of that?"

"Well, I have a bit of help." Courtney took his hoof back and placed it against his chest. "There are times where if I'd normally freeze up, Calamity's instincts kick in and help me think a little more clearly and move. I see that as at least one good thing about having to look like him."

"So... do you have another mind that talks you through things, or what?"

Courtney shook his head. "I don't hear another set of thoughts. Certain actions just... feel right when I do them. For now, they're keeping my friends and me alive."

"I guess." Céri shrugged. "You've got more experience being the pony, so I can't tell you how to live. Oh! Just remembered something..." He pulled out a copy of the smaller, blank-face card and held it out. "I've got your 'key' already, but I'm guessing you don't have mine yet."

"That would probably help, at least as soon as we figure out what we're all supposed to do." Courtney took hold of the card, spaced out for a couple of seconds, and blinked. " 'My avatar'?"

"That was a common phrase used by the Cardfight!! Vanguard protagonist." Céri chuckled. "I figured it was as good as any."

"Hmm, I'll have to look into that show when the displaced can all go home." Courtney nodded before putting the card away into one of his bags. "Thanks for the chat, Céri. I think I needed that."

"You're wel-"

*Boom!*

"Yaaah!"

Céri fell to the couch once again. When he looked at the spot, Courtney the Calamity was gone without a trace.

"Anyone else want to give me a heart attack?" Céri called as he looked at the ceiling. "Please speak now or forever hold your peace!"

"I may require your services. Stand up, my avatar."

"Eh, fine." He sighed at the new voice. "Take me away."

---

Twin Drive

View Online

One blinding light from a Vanguard circle later, Céri saw that he was above a forest area. What was holding him above said forest was a rocky peak. Said peak was crumbling every so often and he just realized that the big rock under his shoes had broken off the rest of the landmark.

"Oh, no..."

Céri found himself at the mercy of the law of gravity. Sliding down the rocky wall, he fell into a tumble, lost feeling in a hand, and scraped a knee against something else. It was a miracle that none of that had damaged his face even further.

"Ah-hah-ow..." He shook as he slowly stood back up and looked at the rock wall. He held his numb wrist with his other hand. "Whose bright idea was it to summon me on top of a freaking cliff?"

"My apologies, but I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with the finer nuances of these 'keys'."

The card fighter whirled around at the light, yet husky voice. There appeared to be a tall, white-clothed man holding a copy of the blank Vanguard card. He was wearing what looked like moccasins. He had a bit of a bushy tail growing behind him and a pair of mammalian ears sticking out of his silver hair. He was staring at Céri with a hint of amusement.

"Well, I guess I can't blame you too badly." Céri grunted against the pain. "I mean, I'm still pretty new to the whole 'being displaced' concept myself. Though, the anthro wolf costume is a bit much."

"Costume?" The amusement was replaced with doubt. "You mean... I wasn't always a fox demon?"

"Huh? Of course not." Now Céri was confused. "All of the displaced I've met so far were cos-players that were going to some big convention before a suspicious merchant zapped them to some version of a world called 'Equestria'. Didn't Kreuger mention any of this when he gave you my 'key'?"

"I had assumed that the dream wanderer was delusional at the time, but... you are the second one who has brought this to my attention... " The fox-man looked down at his hand, curling and uncurling his fingers a few times. "Why... don't I remember... who I am supposed to be?"

"Wait, you have amnesia?" Céri blinked and scratched the back of his neck with his good hand. "Geez, man. I'm sorry. I really have no idea what to do about that. Normally I'd suggest just waiting until something comes along to jog your memory. But... seeing as none of the rest of us displaced people are actually in our home worlds, that might not happen for a long time."

The other guy closed his eyes and sighed. "I suppose that is the best I can hope for." He looked back at eye level to the one he had summoned. "Thank you for the kind words." He pocketed his copy of the 'key'. "In any case, that is not the reason why I requested your presence."

"Right, so what am I going to be holding up my cards to this time?"

"Firstly, we should probably attend to your broken metacarpals." The fox-man motioned with an index finger. "Come over here for a minute."

"Uh... okay?" Céri walked over. His right hand sort of limped behind the motion of the rest of his arm.

The man in white grabbed Céri's numb hand and lifted it up. He then pulled something else out of his pocket. Céri didn't see it until it looked like the man had scratched him with a long fingernail and proceeded to insert a tiny black dot into the opening.

"Hey!" Céri exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

Something in his wrist was causing it to spasm. Within five seconds, something started growing out and surrounding the wrist entirely. It resembled a bracelet made entirely out of brown thorns. He also noticed that he could move all five of the phalanges on that hand without trouble. He tried touching the bracelet with his left hand, though his right wrist perceived that touch as if being directly contacted.

"The Gauntlet Thorns allow a limb to be used in spite of skeletal and nerve damage," explained the fox-man, "even to the point of perceiving a normal range of motion and senses. Though, it will release a rash-inducing toxin to anyone who tries to touch it other than the wielder. Please be mindful of who you shake hands with from now on."

"That's... oddly specific." Céri looked incredulously at the man.

"While I may not remember who I am, whatever phenomenon transported me to this world also gave me knowledge of every single seed and plant in my arsenal."

"Huh." Céri stared at his new plant accessory before looking at the man again. "Well, at least I can use my hand again, so thank you. Do you have a name? It seems kind of insulting for me to constantly think of you as 'Fox Man'."

A simple nod preceded his response. "Yoko Kurama."

---

Yoko led Céri along a path that eventually wound all the way out of the forest. A hissing noise met the card fighter's ears. Before he could ask what it was, something caught his attention further along the path. Several creatures with solid, yellow eyes were roaming about. Three-dimensional shadows, faceless dwarves in armor, and a fat robed creature made up the bulk. A couple ponies nearby were galloping around in panic, until two of the soldier shadows dug their claws through and pulled out their hearts.

Céri gasped and whispered, "Heartless."

"You are familiar with these entities?" inquired Yoko. "Then, perhaps you know how to eliminate them."

"Wait, what do you need my help for?" Céri wondered. "Can't you use your pocket garden to deal with them?"

The demon fox plucked a few seeds and flicked them with his thumb. After flying about ten feet, they sunk into the ground. Next thing Céri knew, he was watching three red Venus fly-traps growing out and growling. In an instant, they all chomped on the fat man and he evaporated.

However, a large valentine remained. It floated around a bit before moving about three feet behind the fly-traps. It reforged into the original fat creature that had just been destroyed. Meanwhile, the Soldiers had clambered over to the plants. After each of them spun around with their legs extended out, the fly-traps were chopped off their roots. The plants withered into small, dry husks.

Céri blinked. "Oh. I guess we need a Keyblade to deal with them permanently."

"Do you have such a weapon in your repertoire?"

"I might have something close enough to that," said Céri as he pulled out his Angel Feather cards. "But, this isn't the Equestria I was sent to originally. So, it's going to take me a while to bring it out." He looked at the field of approaching Heartless and then back at his summoner. "Think you can keep them all distracted for a minute or two?"

"I can guarantee forty-five seconds," said Yoko.

In an instant, Yoko had a rose in each hand. With just a flick of his wrists, the petals floated off the stems. At the same time, the thorns extended into a much longer and flexible form. Soon, the fox demon was whipping around the two "Rose Whips" with enough speed to create sonic booms upon contact with the Heartless.

"Guess I'd better get started." Céri pulled out his Grade 0 starter. "Stand up! First Aid Celestial, Peniel!"

The Shadows and Soldiers were all whipped away twenty feet. Extending his Rose Whips to even greater lengths, Yoko wrapped one around the Fat Bandit and spun it around. A Neo Shadow tried its luck by slashing its claws against the man's back.

"Ride! Battle Cupid, Nociel!"

Yoko retaliated against the Neo Shadow with a back kick. He followed up by swinging a whip around and flinging the Heartless back into the group of similar kinds.

"Ride! Million Ray Pegasus!" Céri held up his cards, hoping the Grade 3 would unlock soon. "Come on, come on, come on."

The fox demon performed an aerial somersault into the midst of the Heartless. His next move made his Rose Whips look like they were spinning around and hitting every single direction at once. The Heartless were getting whacked into a plant tornado. At last, Céri's Grade 3 card gained its colors back.

"Got it!" He held it up high. "For the love of all creation, behold! This has been foreseen. Ride! Prophecy Celestial, Ramiel!"

Yellow lights emerged from the card. After taking shape, blonde pigtails flowed to either side of the Unit's head. Light blue feathers spread out along the angel's wings. Her red, white, and green outfit was reminiscent of a marching band leader. In each of her gloved hands, she carried a giant, charcoal black scissor. They were relatively the right shape to be dual-wield Keyblades.

"Call! Crimson Drive, Aphrodite! Iron Heart, Mastema!"

The sword-wielding angel and the bandaged angel with a torn wing joined the battlefield.

"Alright, guys." Céri clenched his fist. "Set those Heartless up and let Ramiel take the finishing blow."

His Rear-Guard Units nodded in understanding. Mastema ran out while breathing heavily before swinging his arm blades against the ground. A few Neo Shadows were uprooted along with the ground they were standing on. Ramiel flew out and swiped her individual scissors at the airborne Heartless. The force of impact caused the shadows to evaporate completely.

Aphrodite flew over and smacked each of the Soldiers that were annoying Yoko. With a cross-slash, Ramiel took care of those Heartless as well. Red valentines emerged from their disintegrated bodies, floated into the sky, and vanished.

It was down to the Fat Bandit now. Yoko whipped the Heartless over to Mastema. Mastema cut it in the back. Aphrodite pushed it with a laser from her sword. Ramiel held her scissors behind her, charged up, and swung a Grand Slam right against the soaring bandit's head. An explosion of light released a large red valentine that floated into the sky. Like the other small hearts, it disappeared as well.

Céri leaned down and held his knees. His breathing sounded almost as heavy as Mastema's. His suspicions about using up energy in alternate Equestrias were confirmed by his current feeling of fatigue. Sensing that they were draining their Vanguard, his Units turned into particles and returned to his cards.

"Now, now, what's all this?"

"Huh?" Céri looked up at the sudden voice of a disappointed woman.

Standing further along the path was a very tall, pony. She wore armor of a similar color to the Shadow Paladins. It was very... gaudy, trying to look at her and her outfit. Though, the menacing slit irises were a touch intimidating.

"And just who are you?" asked Yoko Kurama as he stood before her.

"You must have been living under a rock to go so long without recognizing me." The armored pony chuckled humorlessly. "I am Midnight Sparkle, Sole Empress of Equestria and everypony in it."

"Well, as you can clearly tell, I am not a pony." Yoko held his clawed hands out to either side.

"It is an all-encompassing term," huffed Midnight, "and it matters little what you think. You will kneel in my presence, or you will suffer the consequences."

"Sounds like fun," said an amused fox demon.

The empress was not nearly as amused. "I'll make you understand the error of your impudent ways."

"Dylanson," muttered Yoko to the worn out card fighter. "I suggest you get going."

"What?" Céri looked alarmed. "What about you?"

"She does not carry the same aura as the Heartless we destroyed," the fox explained. "I believe my powers will suffice for incapacitating her." He held out his hand, and surprisingly had a Vanguard card. "Here, I found this in an abandoned castle earlier today. Don't worry about a passphrase. Just call me by name and I will reconvene with you at my earliest convenience."

Céri opened his mouth to object, but a wave of weariness flooded over him in that instant. He slowly reached out his hand and took the card. When he looked at its face, he gasped at the red along the edge. It looked like a young maiden surrounded in roses and carrying a botanical scythe.

"Dream-spinning Ranunculus, Ahsha?" Céri asked in awe. "But, that's a-"

"Go now!" Yoko pressed an open palm against Céri's chest.

Before he knew what was happening, Céri found himself falling into a seating position on Redheart's sofa.

"How did he do that?"

He looked down at the card in his grasp, and sighed. "Good luck, Kurama."
---

Damage Trigger Check

View Online

It looked like dry grass. It felt like dry grass. It even smelled like dry grass. So, when Céri took a bite of the fast food sandwich, imagine his surprise when he tasted... dry grass. If it weren't for the other fixings, he probably would have spit it out right on the spot. As it was, it was just tolerable enough to choke down.

"I've seen that look on other ponies' faces before," commented Redheart. "I'm guessing you don't like it."

"Hey, I'm hungry enough," he insisted. "I'll probably finish eating this hay burger. I'll just need an extra grape fizz to wash it down."

"Well, I suppose I can give you at least that much." She walked over to her fridge and pulled out another can.

At least the French fries tasted right, even if they were ridiculously shaped like mini horseshoes.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do around here?" she asked. "I get that responding to the call to other universes is important, but does your time here have to be all about waiting to fight changelings and monsters somewhere else?"

Céri took a few chugs from his soda before exhaling. "What would you suggest?"

"I can think of at least two things." Redheart chomped down a couple of the fries. Her own sandwich had been devoured minutes ago. "You could head to the castle library and fill yourself in regarding Equestrian society and history, and you could walk over to Town Hall and see if any small job openings are available. I could write down directions to those places if you like."

Work to eat, I suppose. "Sure, that sounds alright."

Her eyes fixated on something else. "That's an interesting bracelet."

"Careful." He pulled his wrist a little away from her approaching hoof. "Yoko said it would give a terrible rash to anyone that isn't the wielder."

"Hmm, well... it is covered in a few thorns here and there," she admitted. "Doesn't that hurt you?"

"No, my wrist feels normal, as if the Gauntlet Thorns weren't there." He wiggled his hand and fingers around to demonstrate.

"I fail to see how making somepony else itchy would be a useful tool." Redheart tossed the Hayburger wrappers into the basket.

"Yeah, I don't know either." Céri shrugged.

---

"How did I not see this before?" Céri stared in awe at the giant crystal tree.

The structure in question was huge! Various windows lined the upper branches and canopy. There was even a giant star adorning the top like that of a Christmas tree. Heck, the bright variety of colors might as well have been the holiday's decorations.

After staring for an unprecedented amount of time, Céri shook his head. He slapped his bandaged cheek to get back his focus. Slowly, he walked over to the really tall door. He lifted his fist and knocked twice. Idly, he tried pushing the door while he waited. He nearly fell as the door easily budged open.

He leaned a little farther inside to get a look. It was a really long hallway... a really, really, really long hallway... with doors every yard or so. What was with all the charcoal black and purple coloration? It made the place feel like a cliché villain's lair... or at least home sweet home for his Shadow Paladin Units.

Céri unfolded his paper with Redheart's directions again. It even told him how many doors down and to the right where the library was. He sighed. This was going to be a long walk.

---

After about five minutes, if his phone's perception of time was to be believed, he made it to the twenty-third door. He had to rest against the nearby wall for a few seconds. He was not looking forward to the return trip.

There was some muffled noise. As he pressed his ear against the wall, it sounded like the voice of a woman. But, he couldn't tell what she was talking about or to whom. Carefully, he reached for the door and opened it as gently and quietly as possible. Peeking into this room, he could see that it did have several shelves of books. That much was right, but he was a bit more curious about the voice. Was it a public place? If so, why weren't there more ponies walking or sitting around?

He walked past a few of the bookshelves. Finally, he saw a candidate for the mystery voice. It was a pale magenta pony hunched over a scattered pile of notebooks. She kept looking back and forth between the piles.

Her words sounded like, "Be there for... don't look in mouth... be true... even before she..." an incomprehensible mess.

"Excuse me," Céri spoke up.

"Wah!"

The pony's exclamation and sudden twist of her body sent several pieces of paper floating through the air. Though, Céri did get to see the extra feature on her forehead: the horn of the unicorn. He also saw it glowing, somehow suspending a few of the sheets from naturally falling to the floor. So, that was magic's typical form, huh?

"Sorry to bother you," he followed up. "Do you work here?"

She sighed. "In a manner of speaking, yes." The sheets that were in her magical field shuffled around a bit before realigning themselves into neat, suspended stacks. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for some information on Equestria's history and culture." He moved his hands around for emphasis. "The small amount I do know isn't much more than someone who has been living under a rock."

"Oh, well that's quite the coincidence." She floated up about four different hardbacks. "I just finished brushing up on some of that and I was going to re-shelve them as soon as I was done with my other studies. But if you need them now, I suppose I can let you look through them first."

After he grabbed the books out of the air, her magic faded from them. "Huh, well, thank you."

She cleared her throat. "I'm Starlight Glimmer."

"My name's Céri Dylanson." He reached out his left hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Pleasure's mine." She smiled gently.

"So... Starlight, huh?" He walked over to another table and set the books down. "Any relation to Twilight?"

"Funny story there..." She coughed. "Legally speaking, she's my parole officer."

That gave Céri pause. "Your what?"

Starlight rubbed her hooves against each other nervously. "Well, I kind of... sort of... stole her cutie mark and the cutie marks of her friends, wrongly imprisoned them, subjugated them to brainwashing, and tried to write their friendship out of existence by using a spell that altered time itself."

Céri backed up enough to sit on the table. His eyes and mouth were wide open. "What?"

"Yeah... that wasn't exactly a highlight in my list of achievements," she admitted.

"Back up... just one minute..." Céri opened both hands out in front of him as if trying to hold a box. "You tried to write a person-pony as she was... out of existence - which is essentially a form of premeditated murder - and your only punishment for that and everything else... is probation?"

"I know." She mirrored his expression of shock and awe. "I was certain that she and her friends were going to deliver righteous vengeance upon me for all of my transgressions. But... all of them showed me a way that I had long-ago convinced myself was closed to me: the door to friendship." Starlight was getting all teary-eyed.

"Um..." Céri looked to either side of him before speaking again. "Forgive me if I don't feel comfortable being in the same room as you right now. I mean... magic that can rip apart time and space?! How am I supposed to defend myself against that?"

She lowered her head and sighed. "I don't blame you. Honestly, I find it difficult to trust me right now too. I've already learned that I can't be friends with everypony. But that's okay." She lifted her head back up. "I have new friends now, and as long as they're willing to give me a chance, I can live with that." She glanced to the side. "It also doesn't hurt that the only copy of Starswirl's time spell was lost forever after that whole fiasco. Now, I can't possibly harm anypony on a temporal level."

She turned around with her tail toward him. "Enjoy your research. I have reviewing to do."

The unicorn trotted back to the desk where Céri had found her. Meanwhile, he edged himself and the textbooks so that he was on the opposite side of the table. That way, he could quickly look up and see her even in the midst of his reading. For a few seconds, he had one hand on his deck. He contemplated the idea of bringing out Blaster Dark just for an intimidation factor. Though, he then figured it might be difficult to explain to a ruling princess why this stranger from another world had spilled her custody's blood all over the library floor. He shook his head and pulled his hand out of his pocket.

---

Céri wasn't sure, but he could have sworn that he heard a musical note every time he discovered an aspect of Equestria that Courtney's "cartoon show" details hadn't quite covered. It was improper etiquette for magic users to eat fork and knife meals without actually making use of the cutlery. Wielding dark magic to enslave an entire population was considered punishable by love-based execution. An entity known as "Discord" was apparently imprisoned twice and was... allowed free as long as he exemplified good behavior. These were just a few things among the facts that Céri was able to retain.

The young man figured now was as good a time as any for a break. He looked over at the desk and briefly around himself. Starlight was nowhere to be seen. Uneasiness crept into his fibers. It didn't help when he heard a door slam. Footprints echoed in this hard-surface room.

Finally, a familiar face showed up. The unicorn on probation had a small item in her levitating field. Actually, it was two items: a small plastic rectangle and a feather quill. Wait, what was going on?

Starlight cleared her throat. "I went ahead and got a library card for you. Just sign... here." She pointed the quill at one corner of the plastic. "Then, you can borrow what you need and go on about your day... if that's what you want, of course."

It was odd hearing the good point coming from the very pony that he feared. It might be a lot easier to continue any necessary studying in the safety of Redheart's house. That nurse may have been nonchalant about danger, but at least there was very little chance that she would cause it directly.

Timidly, he grabbed the quill out of her magic hold. He went about scribbling his name, connecting his letters in the somewhat proper method of a signature. When he was done, the unicorn picked the card up via magic and looked at it briefly.

"Well, it's more legible than most of my signatures," she admitted. "Here you go. Make sure to bring any books back by next week."

"Alright then." Céri took the card and picked up a couple texts which he hadn't yet read. He strolled as calmly as he could to exit the library... which practically turned into a sprint after passing two bookshelves.

Perhaps his shaken nerves were what blocked out the fatigue of traveling past the twenty-three doors to the castle's exit.

---

After dropping his evening reading material off inside Redheart's place, Céri briskly followed the written directions to Town Hall. He felt that he needed a distraction. Besides, his phone's battery was getting low. Five minutes of Bejeweled (based on his estimate of the time that said low percentage of battery would last) was not going to be enough to forget the self-proclaimed, time-erasing pony. He needed to kill at least a couple more hours.

Some of the ponies he passed gave nonplussed stares. Though, as soon as he had taken a few more steps along his way, they went back to their own tasks as if he wasn't even there. Perhaps Redheart's non-reaction to weird stuff the other day was not an exception to the typical local response after all. Conflicting emotions of unsettled and relieved drove him forward.

The door was open and a light amber pony was busy balancing a few scrolls and files atop a single book in her mouth. Céri probably spent at least ten seconds just watching her walk with concentration. He shook his head and walked inside the circular building. Upon seeing that there were hallways farther in the back, he was starting to wonder if all of the important buildings in this town had a Tardis complex.

Looking around the peripherals further, he spotted hanging board that looked promising. It was covered in papers and pictures that were tacked onto its surface. He gave all of them a glance over. He wasn't really going for anything in particular. It just had to be something he could do. After mentally rejecting a few leaflets that specifically asked for winged job-seekers, he sighed as he grabbed hold of a picture of a mop that had directions on the back.

---

The Hayburger manager was a little confused at first when the smallest minotaur he'd ever seen walked in and asked about the open position. Still, he'd seen weirder stuff in his time. This Céri person seemed to demonstrate how to wipe up grime and rub down tables without excessively complaining, unlike that green unicorn that had moved on last month due to garbage-related differences. When Céri asked what that was about, the manager quickly pointed out a new soda stain that he totally didn't just make to distract his new employee. What was he talking about?

Céri looked at that as not so bad. After all, he'd watched his acquaintance undergo a worse hell in various fast food joints before. So, he just sighed and went about the duties as a part of his occupation title "Sanitation Maintenance".

Contrary to what he was used to, however, this employer actually paid his workers after the end of the day. So, Céri was physically given twenty-four bits for his three hours of work. Not that he was complaining, it was just different from the end-of-week or end-of-month payment policies.

---

...

"Data error."

"Lock!"

"I... require... my friends..."
---

Soul Charge

View Online

Author's Note: All colored text in this chapter will represent vocal irregularities. Thank you.

---

"I have something to show you of great importance. So... stand up, my avatar!"

Well, that was oddly phrased. Usually, Céri heard a short snippet request or in Yosuke's case, a basic emotion. It was the middle of the night in Redheart's house, but he didn't really know how to "hang up" inter-dimensional calls. Maybe the woman who said that phrase was just being melodramatic about her key.

"The Vanguard attacks," he said before the spinning circle of light changed his location.

After the light decided it was through blinding him, Céri looked around. Whatever building he was inside this time looked very large and hollow. Come to think of it, the wooden beams everywhere led him to believe that he was inside a barn. He half-expected that he was going to have to flip cards over and fight mutant chickens.

However, there were no animal sounds coming from anywhere nearby. The only sound he could feasibly identify was the rush of wind. He could even see wisps of dust being carried just outside the open upper door. He scratched his head with the Gauntlet Thorns, though it did its usual thing of not hurting him. He even tried putting on Zecora's shades for a second, though the flying grains of sand were apparently real enough to block the sight of anything else that might have been outside.

Normally, the displaced person and/or creature was at least within the general vicinity of where he arrived. But after waiting for what seemed like an extremely long couple of minutes, no one showed up. It was just... empty.

"Hello?" Céri called out. "Anybody home?"

He walked around a bit. Maybe there was some kind of clue as to the other displaced entity's presence inside the barn. Something told him that going out into the strong dust storm wasn't a good idea. A quick glance through the stables didn't turn up anything but a few strands of hay and some water troughs that were long forgotten.

In the last stall, however, there was something out of place. It was a nightstand that had a small red box on it. He hummed in uncertainty. He decided to pull out his cards to be sure. His Shadow Paladin Units were grayed out, except for the Grade zeros... and one other card: Blaster Dark. Maybe there was more to that card than just being able to talk.

"Call! Anakin!"

The dark clad swordsman emerged. His expression was as stoic as ever as he stared at his Vanguard.

"Could you check that box out for any traps?" asked Céri while motioning in the direction of the stall.

Anakin looked between the box in question and the card fighter. "Very well."

The Unit marched over and calmly extended his weapon out. He tapped the box a couple times with his sword. The lid slid to the right and revealed its contents.

"Well, it didn't explode," commented Céri. "That's a good start."

"Hmph." Anakin was not impressed as he raised his weapon and rested the flat side against his shoulder.

Céri walked toward the opened box with a bit more confidence. As he stood right next to the nightstand, he could see some gold color with a spot of orange right in the middle. He reached down and picked up the item as well as a piece of paper that was resting just underneath it. The golden item resembled a necklace and the spot of orange felt like a jewel. The jewel's shape was that of an apple with a stem and leaf.

"What do you suppose this is?" He turned around and showed his Unit.

Anakin shook his head. "I couldn't fathom a guess."

Idly, Céri unfolded the paper. Some inked words were scribbled on it that read, "I think this is yours. ~T.S."

"I don't see a recipient's name," said Céri while glancing over the message again. "What the-?"

The orange-apple necklace shook wildly and floated up on its own accord. In a shimmering rush, it launched itself at the card fighter. Céri yelped and ducked. The magical jewelry was coming around for another rush.

"Blaster Dark!" he shouted and held out his hand.

Anakin hollered and took a swing at the allegedly possessed necklace. Contact with the sword was enough to send the necklace spinning around and slamming against another stall. But after a couple seconds, it pulled itself off the wood, shook itself, and rushed jewel-first at them again. This time, the Shadow Paladin tried a downward strike. The necklace ended up splashing in a water trough. Additionally, one of the wooden beams got sliced diagonally and split off the rest of the stall.

"Whew." Céri sighed. "Thanks for the save, Anakin."

"Don't mention it," said the swordsman. "The last thing I need to hear is Vaha laughing that I struggled to beat a necklace."

"Wait, Vaha?" Céri performed a double-take. "As in Moonlight Witch, Vaha?"

Anakin's eyes briefly went wide before he looked to the side. "I said nothing. I don't know what you mean."

"Wow." Céri smiled wryly. "You really do have a heart... and it beats for Vaha." He started looking over his cards. "I wonder if I have a copy of her."

"No, don't!" Anakin put a hand over the cards, failing horribly to hide the Units' pictures.

Unbeknownst to either of them, a glint of gold and orange slowly raised itself out of the water trough.

"Aw, Annie... are you okay?" Céri gently patted his Unit's hand. "Are you okay, Annie?"

"I demand that you stop, My Vanguard!"

"Alright, alright, I'll look later." Céri straightened his deck out and put it away. "Besides, I'm not judging. I find it to be kind of a cute crush. Good on you."

Blaster Dark sighed and put his hand over his eyes. "Can we please talk about literally anything else?"

Did somebody call for a sudden whistling noise? How about a rushing light that decided to instantly press against Céri's neck? No? Well, he got one anyway. The rush was so sudden that he fell to the floor on his stomach.

"Gah! What the hell?" He reached up and tried to pull off the vengeful necklace. "Get it off!"

Anakin snapped out of his embarrassment and picked up his sword. In a slow motion, he tried to get the curved end of the tip just underneath the necklace. But as he tried to cut the intrusive jewelry, the narrowest point of the sword snapped. It was a small fragment of the dark sword, but it was definitely noticeable when observing the sword as he raised the tip to his eye level.

"My blade..." he whispered. He was speechless. The same could not be said of his Vanguard.

It felt like a bunch of vipers and worms were crawling through Céri's neck. The feeling quickly rushed to the rest of his body. His muscles convulsed, especially in his hands and feet. When he managed to lift up his right hand to eye level, it seemed a lot more... orange... and cylindrical.

"What in tarnation is going on?"

Céri slapped what remained of his hands against his mouth at the sudden tone shift. Very shortly, he could see a sort of round protrusion growing out of his face. His jaws and nose ached the whole time. He tried looking down and around at himself. Too distracted to realize that his neck was turning way further than what should have been possible, he saw that his legs and feet had met a similar fate as his hands.

Some long, blonde hairs were flowing out. One of the invisible vipers had nabbed his spine and pulled it out further. More of the blonde fibers grew out into what could have been a tail. On top of everything else, he realized that his pants and shoes had vanished. The only clothing that remained and was somehow fitting his body's new shape consisted of his jacket and the Gauntlet Thorns on his right wrist.

"What the actual buck?" He grunted. "And why can't I talk without sounding like somebody from East Texas?"

She felt one more tingling feeling down where her hips used to be. Chancing a look at the left, it appeared to be an image of three red apples, flatly integrated on her new hide of orange. She looked up at the dumbstruck Blaster Dark.

"That's... that's... wow..."

It was unsettling to Céri, having never seen Anakin at a complete loss of words. She shivered despite having all of this new hair to cover her... everything. Come to think of it, hadn't she seen something close to this coloration and build before? She fumbled through the jacket pockets with her left hoof, somehow keeping her balance while standing on the other three. Eventually, she pulled out Courtney's statuette 'key'. The pony that was all scrunched up to kick behind her was a dead ringer for Céri's current visage.

"Okay... this is just getting weird."

She shoved the trophy back into her pocket. Her tail involuntarily wrapped around her left hind leg with tension. She felt something flop down atop her head. Were those her ears? All of these new sensations were alien to her.

Out of curiosity, she tried standing up on her hind legs. She kind of held in place, but it felt as unstable as standing on one leg would be normally. Using that short window of time, she reached up her front hooves and tried to pull the necklace off. Strangely enough she could feel something in those limbs grasping. However, the necklace seemed quite content to hold around her neck and refused to budge any more than a millimeter in any given direction.

"Nuts and shoots." She fell back to all fours. "I guess I'm stuck like this for a while." She craned her neck again. "Hey, Anakin, would you mind squatting for a bit?"

"Uh, sure."

Blaster Dark bent his knees, bringing him lower to the ground. Céri still had to look up slightly, but at least she didn't have to stare at the ceiling just to give a simple order. Come to think of it, how would this interfere with summoning her other Units? She shuffled her hoof around her right-hoof side pocket and brought out the cards again.

"Stand up! Frontline Revenger, Claudas!"

Claudas the young lancer appeared in a glow of purple. He looked around and let out a grunt of confusion. Though, he eventually spotted his leader all the way on the floor. Unlike the confused Anakin, Claudas simply stared at Céri with expectation.

She sighed in relief. "At least that still works." She smiled gently at her Shadow Paladin starter Unit. "Alright, get along now."

The Unit nodded once before returning to his card.

"You should probably head back as well, Anakin," Céri insisted. "Unless you have any ideas about getting me back to normal?"

"As you wish, my Vanguard." The purple particles took the Unit back to the special Grade 2 card.

Céri once again found herself alone in the barn. Only this time, she was trapped in the form of a pony... all because of a stubborn necklace that wouldn't come off. She sighed, figuring she might as well wait around for the other displaced person to show up and possibly help her out. She trotted around a bit, quickly growing accustomed to the four-legged motions. She even leaned down and lapped up some of the water in the trough.

A sudden burst of magenta light was coupled with an explosion behind her. The noise alone startled her enough to leap in a one-eighty. She could have sworn that she let out a whinny during the jump. Her ears stood up straight and her eyes went wide.

What she saw was a pony that kind of reminded her of Starlight Glimmer. The newcomer had a horn and it stopped glowing as if finishing its spell. This unicorn was lavender and had a magenta highlight against her otherwise violet mane. Though, it struck Céri as odd that there were stray hairs sticking up from this pony's mane and that the eyes were so bloodshot.

"Uh... are you alri-"

"Applejack!" exclaimed the unicorn, trotting up so that her face was right in front of the earth pony's. "It's good to see you... again."

Céri shook her head. "Who are you?"

The sleep-deprived smile briefly left the unicorn's face. She turned around, revealing the red and white stars on her hips.

"She doesn't 'remember' me," she muttered. "Stupid part of the spell didn't work right."

Céri squinted in suspicion. "I beg your pardon? What spell?" She gasped, glanced at the necklace, and then looked at the unicorn again. "Are you the one that did this to me?"

The forcibly transformed pony soon found that she couldn't feel her own weight. She could barely move anything of her own will as she was lifted inches off the floor. She strained her eyes to see that the unicorn's horn was glowing a vibrant red.

"Oh, don't worry about a thing, AJ," insisted the unicorn. Her mischievous smile returned in full. "Let's just head out for now and we'll see the rest of our friends really soon. Doesn't that sound fun?! Ha ha ha ha!"

Despite the barn's warmth, Céri felt as though her blood went ice cold. She had heard that evil laugh before. It was just before Yoko Kurama had shoved him back into his own version of Equestria. This pony... in that other world, she was...

She whispered, "Midnight Sparkle."

The unicorn looked smiled even wider. "So you do remember me... kind of. That's wonderful! Let's just jog your memory a little more."

"Wait! What's that supposed to mean?" Céri struggled fruitlessly. "Put me down!"

Two simultaneous flashes of light removed them from the barn. The only sign that anyone had been in there was the opened box, the unfolded letter, and the slightly emptier water trough.

---

After a brief moment of seeing nothing but magenta light, Céri opened her eyes to the new surroundings. Dusty, worn bookshelves surrounded her. Up above, the wooden structure looked like it had a really old hole in its roof. The only thing protecting the place from the forces of nature was a magic bubble of similar coloration to the aura that was currently suspending her off the floor.

"Where-" Céri gasped at the sight over toward the middle of the room.

Four other ponies of various colors were strapped to a chair. The bindings were made of some metal and restricted motion of their hind legs, their waists, and the pegasi's wings. Upon a harder look, Céri could see that each of them was wearing a golden necklace similar to the one stuck to her neck.

Only two chairs remained. Against her will, Céri was slowly floating toward the fifth chair with bindings. Meanwhile, the crazy unicorn was humming some nonsensical tune while trotting over to the plain chair. Her grunting and squirming captive didn't deter the tune as the bindings were fully applied to match her other "friends".

"Dag nab it!" Céri exclaimed.

"Hi..." The cyan pegasus with a red lightning bolt necklace said with a shameful look on her face. "Welcome to the losers' circle."

"Oh, you're so silly, Dash." The alleged Midnight Sparkle giggled. "You know jokes are Pinkie Pie's thing."

"I still think it's kind of racist for you to call me that," insisted the pink pony. Her voice sounded way too peppy for such a disgruntled statement.

"Well, you yourself insisted that it was easier than Pinkamena," said Sparkle as her eye twitched.

"Alright, now I know you are making those names up as you go." The bound unicorn crossed her front hooves.

"There is nothing you could possibly gain by chaining us down like this." The other pegasus grunted. "I demand a lawyer!"

"That's nice, Fluttershy," said Sparkle dismissively.

"Quit calling me that!"

"Hold up," interrupted Céri, lifting a front hoof. "Just to make sure I'm up to speed, all of us are not the ponies that this lady thinks we are. Rather, we all got forcibly transformed into their forms by these irremovable necklace do-hickeys. To top it all off, she's trying to insist that all of us are her friends and she keeps calling us by specific names."

"That's about it in a peanut shell." 'Pinkie Pie' nodded.

"Fat lot of good knowing that will do you," remarked 'Dash'.

Sparkle chuckled insanely. "Oh, Applejack... always the level-headed one. That's why you're the only other pony I'd ever trust to lead our special herd."

"But I ain't Applejack," insisted Céri. "I'm-"

All of a sudden, she found herself unable to complete her thought. Sparkle had magically thrown an apple against the transformed mare's mouth. Céri grunted, turned her head, and spat the intrusive fruit to the side.

"Don't bother, darling," said the bound unicorn with a sigh. "She does that every time one of us tries to say our real names."

"But we have to convince her to change us back!" insisted 'Pinkie'. "We have to!"

"Why would I change you again?" Sparkle smiled while rubbing one hoof over the other. "You're already exactly the way you're supposed to be. Hee-hee-hee."

She's not listening to reason, thought Céri. She ain't seeing... the truth... Wait a minute.

Using a free hoof, she shuffled through her jacket pocket. Her ears perked up as she pulled out the pair of shades. She put the lenses over her eyes and tapped the side of the frame.

"What's with the sunglasses?" wondered 'Dash'.

"Come forth, Jiraiya!" Céri's glasses briefly twinkled.

"You rang, partner?"

In just a blink of an eye's time, Shadow Yosuke was standing on top of the center of the table. He pulled down his headphones so that they were around his neck instead of on his ears. He smirked as he crossed his arms. Though, that immediately switched to a befuddled expression as he looked around.

"Wait, I thought for sure I heard his voice. So where...?"

"Down here, Yosuke!"

Upon hearing that exclamation, the Shadow turned his golden gaze toward the orange pony with shades and a jacket.

"Wow, Céri." Yosuke chuckled. "You kind of... let yourself go since I last saw you."

Céri groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Throw a 'fat' joke in. Why not?"

"Applejack, who is this?" asked Sparkle with a cold, warning tone.

"I take it your new looks weren't by choice," commented the teen.

"You reckoned right," replied Céri. "Somehow she magicked this here necklace along with four others to change these other people and myself into ponies that she claims are her friends."

"Hey, don't ignore me when I'm asking you a question!" demanded Sparkle.

"And you can't get them off by conventional means," finished Yosuke.

"Eeyup."

"Well, then..." The Shadow smirked. "Let me have a few words with the warden." He turned to the only free unicorn in the room. "Twilight Sparkle, I presume?"

"Oh... good... you know me." Sparkle's voice seemed way too calm for her earlier frustrations to match. "But that still doesn't answer my question: Who in Celestia's name are you... and why are you here?"

Shadow Yosuke pulled out something from a pocket on either side of him. Each of these things made a windy noise as it spun through the air. After that, he caught both of the kunai and he spun around. When all that was done, he was standing in a stance ready for a battle.

"Why waste either of our times with boring introductions?" he asked. "Let's get to the good stuff. You let these fine gentlemen and/or ladies free, change them back to themselves, and then we can have a proper chat without anyone getting hurt." He took a step toward the unicorn to which he was talking. "Or do you think you can keep me entertained with a fight before I eventually force you to do that anyway?"

Right as he finished saying that, a light red aura surrounded Yosuke. Sparkle looked a bit disappointed as she magically tossed the intruder against an empty bookcase behind her. The Shadow let out a garbled yelp before sliding to the floor onto his rear. At that point, Sparkle had gotten out of her seat and was staring at the man with her full attention.

"You honestly think you can hurt me?" She scoffed. "I've got the magic of my friends on my side."

"We don't even know you, bikkhe," grumbled 'Fluttershy'.

'Rarity' raised her brow. "What the devil is a 'bikkhe'?"

"Just replace it with another b-word... one that's meant for dogs."

"Oooo. You're good." 'Pinkie' squinted.

During the peanut gallery's quips, Yosuke slowly rose back onto his feet. He shook his head and adjusted his headphones.

"This might be more fun than I expected." He chuckled.

"Fight!" 'Dash' pumped her hoof.

"Time for The Magician to fight the magician." Shadow Yosuke swiped his card. "Persona!"

The ninja of toads rose up and towered over the unicorn. She retorted by firing a few small spell beams. Jiraiya blocked the attacks with his giant shuriken. At the same time, Yosuke ran over and swung one of his kunai down. Sparkle teleported away just in time for the knife to impale nothing but her chair.

Appearing a few feet away, Sparkle attempted to focus her magical aura all around the Persona. Though, she looked like she was straining as Jiraiya barely moved a few inches. Her complete toss of him looked like a slow motion movie. At a similar pace, Yosuke was also forced to float through the air. Both the Shadow and the extension of himself landed on their backs.

Sparkle was sweating bullets and panting like an exhausted dog. Shadow Yosuke grunted as he managed to at least get up to his knees. The unicorn's eyes glowed brightly as she focused a pool of magic into one large beam of magenta. That was when a surge of red crossed Yosuke's face.

"Blow 'er away!"

In a way that shouldn't have been possible, Jiraiya blew a strong, green current from his nonexistent mouth. The air in front of him spun around into a tornado that rose as high as the pseudo-roof's magic bubble. It drew Sparkle's beam in, spun it around, and fired it back at her all within the same second.

She screamed upon getting hit. The force launched her against a bookshelf and broke the old wood into a pile of splinters. Yosuke stood up and wiped his mouth against his sleeve.

"Go, Jiraiya."

The Persona made five big swings with its weapons. The motion was enough to break the bindings off the five captive ponies. All of them stretched to work out the aches.

"It's about darn time." 'Rarity' whipped her hair back.

"That was craze-amazing!" hollered 'Fluttershy'.

Céri sighed and looked at her summoned help. "Thanks, Yosuke."

"Don't mention it, partner." He stowed his knives away and walked over to the collapsed bookshelf. "So... are you going to answer some questions, or should I show you the makings of the rest of your house?"

There was a high-pitched moan as the lavender unicorn lifted her head. Her mane looked a lot messier than when Céri had met her earlier. Though, any injuries weren't what drew the attention of the rest of the room's occupants. What stood out were some fresh tears pooling out of her eyes.

"I just..." Sparkle sniffed. "... wanted... my friends back... Is that... too much... to ask?"

"Well, you kind of kidnapped all of us, held us hostage, and tried to induce brainwashing. Granted, that last one wasn't very successful, but the bad intent was still there."

Everyone looked at 'Pinkie Pie', mostly with degrees of bafflement.

"Ugh." She put a hoof against her face. "I swear that this pony mouth says things faster than I can even comprehend it."

"You do have a point though," said Céri to 'Pinkie' before turning to look at Sparkle. "Why'd you have to grab us and change us? Why couldn't you just go find your real friends?"

Sparkle looked at the floor in defeat. "Because... over five years ago... they died."

The room went silent... for about five seconds.

"How unexpected," commented Yosuke. "And by unexpected, I mean completely expected."

"That still doesn't justify anything you've done!" yelled 'Dash'.

Sparkle averted her eyes. "What else am I supposed to do?"

Céri rubbed the underside of her muzzle in thought. After a bit of that, she unzipped her jacket and took it off, while also stowing her sunglasses away. She held up the jacket to the only humanoid in the room.

"Hold this for a minute, please."

"Uh, sure... wait, why?" Yosuke held the jacket, yet tilted his head in confusion.

But Céri was already trotting over to the crying unicorn. She put a hoof up to Sparkle's side. The soft contact caused the sad little girl to look up in surprise.

"What else can you do? I'll tell you what you gotta do: Move on. I get it. Losing friends can be a sad thing. But you can't dwell on the past and force expectations upon a bunch of new ponies that you haven't even met yet. I'm not saying you should forget your old friends, but you should be willing to look at the new people you meet, get to know them, and befriend them as they are."

Sparkle's eyes shook at this little speech. "A.J. ..."

"Can you do that for me, sugar cube?" The orange and blonde pony smiled gently.

"Good lord, I'm going to throw up." 'Fluttershy' shook her head.

A moment of quiet passed... and another one... and another one... and another one. Finally, a small innocent smile worked its way onto the unicorn's face to reciprocate the image of her friend's.

"Okay," answered Twilight quietly.

She closed her eyes and faintly ignited her horn. Something unlatched, and the necklace with the orange apple fell to the ground. A few more clinks led to a necklace with a red lightning bolt, a blue balloon, a pink butterfly, and a purple diamond to hit the floor as well. Within a few seconds, Céri felt as though the skin vipers that had forced her into this form were retreating to their den.

He walked over and took hold of his jacket. "Thanks."

"Er... yeah." Shadow Yosuke scratched the back of his head. "Huh. Neat. You got your pants back."

"Oh, Ra's sake..." A restored gryphon stretched out his claws. "That was messed up."

"That was rather crazy," said a tall guy in swim trunks. "Let's never do that again."

"Well, it wasn't fun and as far as I care, it wasn't real." A changeling spat to the side.

"Whew, that was exhausting." A small dragoness panted. "I had no idea talking could be so tiresome."

"I'm sorry for holding you down against your will," said Twilight. "Here, I can send you all back to where you came from."

Her horn glowed gently and released another spell. Four consecutive flashes removed the creatures out of this world's existence. However, the card fighter and the Shadow remained.

"Huh?" The unicorn massaged her head with one hoof. "Why didn't it send you back as well?"

"Well, I got called here by Céri," pointed out Yosuke, "so I don't know when I'll actually get back to home base."

"And I still have yet to find the displaced person that called me to this world in the first place," explained Céri.

Twilight blinked. "What do you mean by 'displaced'?"

At that moment, Shadow Yosuke looked like he was melting into a red puddle. Soon after, a bunch of yellow particles rose up in a flurry of lights. Céri fought to contain whatever was still in his stomach from dinner. Whatever was in there, it briefly burned his esophagus until he could take multiple short breaths to calm down.

"Um... alright... that'll keep me awake for the next month," he muttered. "So, uh... A displaced person is what the victims of a con-merchant have taken to calling each other. Long story short, we all ended up in different versions of a world called Equestria and we're trying to find each others' keys to figure out a way to get home."

There was a sound of a fuse shorting out. Twilight's irises shrank to pinpricks as she stared straight ahead. Immediately, she closed her eyes and held both of her front hooves against her head. Her teeth grit as she grunted in all sorts of pain.

"What is... why... so familiar... ah?" Her words were a jumbled mess.

Céri ran over and knelt down. He tried to reach out a hand and calm her. However, a sudden ball of magenta light formed around Twilight's horn. Her eyes opened as solid white. The card fighter panicked and pulled out a defense.

"Grim Revenger! Guard!"

Just as the blinding burst spread out, a Shadow Paladin with purple-feathered wings swooped down. He and his Vanguard held out against an explosion that really shook the force field outside. As the Grade 0 Unit faded back to his card, Céri chanced a look at the epicenter. He gasped when he saw what had become of Twilight.

The unicorn was now adorned with a school uniform of a rustic era. She also wore a pair of glasses that rested just underneath where here eyes were visible. Her hooves were all back on the ground, supporting her. Her expression was... unreadable.

"Data corruption removed," she said monotonously. "Mission details backed up and restored. Welcome, User Céri Dylanson."

Céri stood up and took one step back. "What in the Void just happened?"
---

Limit Break

View Online

Céri wasn't entirely sure what he was looking at. The pony that he had just convinced to let her friends pass on peacefully... turned out to be something else. Her eyes were now unblinking, watching... analyzing...

"Excuse you?" he asked.

"Céri Dylanson of Equestria No. Two Hundred Ninety-Nine Thousand, Eight Hundred Eighty-Eight." The monotonously uniformed unicorn elaborated. Her horn glowed and pulled a small 'key' card out of her pocket. "You are here because I requested it."

"No way..." He was at a loss, unsure of how to even react. "You're the displaced person?"

"I am," she replied without faltering.

Okay, I have a whole bunch of questions racing through my head right now. Céri wiped his forehead. "Then, what was that whole deal of acting like Twilight and that story of losing your friends five years ago?"

"Several irregularities corrupted the data within this interface." The eyes above the glasses finally blinked once. "Key details had been locked by the administrator's unwillingness to cope with isolation. The irregularities that resonated most closely were those of the late Twilight Sparkle of this version of Equestria."

"I... I'm not sure I understand." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you saying that some emotions and dead pony's memories made you go cuckoo or something along those lines."

"That is within the realm of correctness with an uncertainty of plus/minus seven point seven percent."

Céri sighed. "Why are you talking like that? Did you cosplay as some kind of robot before meeting the merchant?"

"The administrator was under the guise of a crossover of Twilight Sparkle of Fourth-Generation My Little Pony and Yuki Nagato of an original series 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'." She didn't even sound like she needed to pause for breath. "Consequently, this data interface's appearance and habitual standards was the result. Rather than a robot, it might be more accurate to say that I am what you would consider an alien."

Céri raised his arms high. "Well, that just makes things so much simpler." He abruptly dropped his arms to his sides.

"Sensors indicate that your arbitrary changes of tone and posture are a sign of less than fifty percent seriousness."

"Well, at least you can pick that up." He crossed his arms. "So, now that you've drowned me in techno babble, what can I do for you?"

"You have already given the correct passwords with the correct vocal frequencies to allow this interface to go through a complete scan for the irregular data points and remove the corruptions." Sparkle actually blinked a second time. "I owe you my gratitude." She bowed her head.

"Oh." He blinked in surprise. "Huh... so... that's it?"

"That is it." She lifted her head back to stare ahead at her eye level.

"You wouldn't happen to know how much longer I have before I get pulled back to the Equestria that I was in, would you?"

"I do know, but the series of algorithms necessary to calculate the exact time frame between displaced users' arrivals and departures would likely sound incomprehensible to you."

"Yeah, trigonometry was never my strongest subject," he admitted with a chuckle.

"These algorithms would technically fall into algebra and statistics," she corrected.

"Right, well... it's all Greek to me." He shrugged.

"Mathematics." She blinked again.

"Would you please stop that?"

There were a couple of seconds of silence before she flatly said, "Okay."

...

"Anyway..." Céri looked around. "Is there... anyone else in this world?"

"Surveillance for the last three hundred sixty-five earthen day cycles has returned null results aside from hazardous plant and predatory animal life forms."

His eyes widened at that. "You've been alone... for a whole year?"

"With uncertainty levels-"

He shook his head. "Forget the numbers for a minute. You've been alone, yes or no?"

She almost looked taken aback. "Yes."

His mouth started moving before he was ready. "What if... when I find the key that lets me call you... would you... like to spend some time with me... and the friends I've made?"

Her eyes fluttered shut. "Perhaps I would."

"Alright, cool." He smiled dumbly before looking around. "So... any idea what I should look for that'll work as your 'key'?"

Sparkle's glasses twinkled a bit. She held her hoof to the right as her horn glowed magenta. After a little jingling, a familiar necklace floated within a few inches of her hoof. She willed it to hover right in front of her mouth... right before her lips moved to form syllables at such a rapid pace that Céri couldn't hear all of them. The orange apple jewel glowed briefly before returning to its original shine.

"I have updated the programs within this Element," she explained at a more steady pace. "It may now be switched on and off at User Céri Dylanson's leisure, and only through your permission." She shoved the jewelry against the card fighter's hand.

Céri held up the necklace. "You're saying I can put this on and take it off whenever I want to and it won't get stuck?"

Sparkle nodded. "Yes."

He hummed in curiosity. Cautiously, he put the gold band around his neck. Within a few seconds, he had taken on the visage of that orange pony again. Then, she put up a hoof and yanked it off. Sure enough, he was standing back up as himself with his shoes intact.

"I'm not sure how often I'll actually use that," he commented. "After all, I'm fairly certain that the Twilight in my world and all of her friends are still alive."

"Additionally, I have made slight modifications to allow access to the late Applejack's memory instinct and quadriceps output."

Céri raised his brow. "Her what and her what?"

"One moment please."

Sparkle lowered her head and her horn glowed brightly. With a soft pop, she vanished. Just before he could wonder where, though, she reappeared near the entrance of her house. Sitting next to her was a giant boulder.

"What in the world...?" Céri wandered over and placed a hand up against the giant rock. "Where did you get this?"

"It was just gathering dust outside of the late Rarity's boutique," answered Sparkle. "She will not mind. I will set up defenses to prevent the structure of this house from suffering any test runs you may wish to take with that Element."

"Uh... no offense, Twilight, but I'm pretty sure no one could possibly kick hard enough to budge a rock of that magnitude, let alone break it."

"Initiating heart-wrenching, infant canine mode."

What happened next would be a blur in Céri's memory. All he could comprehend in that moment was the look of a small, purple puppy dog pouting at his presence. She just wanted him to trust her. Was that so wrong?

"Oh, alright." He put the necklace back on and turned around. "If you insist."

She trotted over toward the table to get some good distance. After that, she took a galloping start at the rock. Just a foot before she reached the stone, she slammed down on her front hooves, turned around, and whipped out her hind legs. Oddly enough, she barely felt her hooves make contact with the boulder before they made a sound akin to a wrecking ball.

She turned her head to see what had happened. What she saw then made her green irises go all googly. The rock had been replaced with a conglomeration of pebbles and dust. The only thing keeping them from spreading all over the tree library was a set of magical barriers being held up by Sparkle.

"Sweet celery stalks," gasped Céri. "Did I do that?"

"You did that," answered Sparkle without faltering.

"Well, I'll be a rattlesnake's uncle," she marveled as she held up her necklace. "Maybe I can find a use for this after all."

He took it off and pocketed his new 'key'.

"The passphrase is 'Ready to begin, Ezekiel?' "

"Alright, I think I've got it," he said with a nod.

---

"So... this is Ezekiel." Céri pointed to his newest, displaced comrade.

Redheart blinked. "Uh, hi. I'm-"

"Nurse Redheart," interrupted the alien Sparkle, "a current employee and occupier of Ponyville General Hospital. Status: Single."

Redheart raised her brow. "Wait, what?"

"She's kind of an alien with a quirk of abusing the thesaurus." Céri scratched the back of his neck. "At least, that's what I gather."

"User Dylanson's analysis has a plus/minus twenty-two percent uncertainty." The uniformed pony didn't miss a beat.

"Well, it's... nice to meet you?" ventured Redheart.

"I am grateful for this encounter as well," said Ezekiel.

...

Awkward chuckles were given by Redheart and Céri. There had to be a way to break the monotony.

"Oh, hey..." Céri pulled out his cards. "How about I teach you two how a game of Vanguard works?"

Ezekiel turned to look at the deck. Her glasses twinkled as she held up a hoof. A little orb of light was procured and reshaped itself into a gelatinous blob. Before Céri and Redheart could ask what was going on, the blob had taken the form of a full deck.

"Er... I guess that'll work," commented Céri before handing his deck to Redheart. "Here, you can use the Angel Feather clan."

---

"Battler of the Twin Brush, Polaris," stated Ezekiel. "Attack the Vanguard."

The small polar bear with weapons on its paws charged forward. The scissors-wielding angel Ramiel took a full force of impact, forcing Redheart to take two more damage checks. It was already a few turns in, yet Céri was still baffled as to how Ezekiel had somehow created a full Great Nature clan deck from absolutely nothing.

Redheart sighed. "I stand and draw."

She looked around between her cards in hoof, the field, and the damage zone. There weren't a whole lot of options left, but she decided to go for a choice rather than nothing.

"Show both the healing and the discipline of medicine." She held the card up and slowly lowered it on the Vanguard circle. "On top of Prophecy Celestial, Ramiel, I break ride Chief Nurse, Shamsiel!"

The nurse with giant syringes stood. A vibrant air glimmered along her glasses.

"Using Ramiel's Break Ride skill, I pick up one card from the damage zone, add it to my hand, replace it with the top card of my deck, then give my Vanguard 10000 power," said Redheart. "Plus, a new card in the damage zone gives the following units 2000 more power: Thousand Ray, Million Ray, and Shamsiel." The two armed pegasi and the chief nurse glowed with power. "I call Holy Zone, Penemue and Sunny Smile Angel."

Calling a strong defensive unit to the Rear-guard instead of holding onto it? wondered Céri. She's gambling a lot to make this her final turn.

"Sunny Smile Angel gives an extra boost to Penemue's attack against Geograph Giant."

"No guard," stated Ezekiel.

The panda holding the globe was knocked away to the drop zone.

"Peniel boosts Shamsiel's attack." A bright pink Vanguard circle of light spun forth. "Limit Break! Since Shamsiel's attacking your Vanguard, I can pick up a card from the damage zone and move one over there from my deck. She and my two pegasi Rear-guards power up again. Healing Rays of the Heavens!"

The giant needles that Shamsiel was carrying were practically glowing hot pink. The lasers on Million Ray's back were practically crackling with all of this new energy. In the meantime, the polar bear was on the verge of several oversized vaccinations.

"Guard."

Ezekiel placed three of her cards from hand into the Guardian circle. Their shields totaled 25000. Along with Polaris' 10000, a total of 35000 power was defending against Shamsiel's current total of 29000. At least, that was the case before the drive checks.

"First drive check." Redheart turned the card over, revealing another Sunny Smile Angel. "Heal trigger! I recover one damage and give the power... to Shamsiel."

She's going to need one more trigger if she wants that attack to go through, thought Céri.

Redheart's leg trembled as she reached for the deck. "Second check..." When this card was turned over, a unicorn with a rocket booster was depicted. "Sweet Celestia, it's really there!" She held the card over her Vanguard. "All effects to Shamsiel."

The chief nurse's power rose to a whopping 39000 with a critical to boot. This attack was successful and dealt two damage to the opponent. Ezekiel monotonously flipped two cards over from her deck. The first had no trigger. The second did... but it was a stand trigger, not so useful when it was the sixth point of damage.

"I... I won?" wondered Redheart.

"That was satisfactory entertainment." Ezekiel bowed her head slightly. "Thank you." A flash of magenta swished over her horn before a similar glow pulled her cards together and straightened out the deck. "I will see you again."

Some lights that resembled squares peppered the displaced unicorn all over. It was like watching a teleporter from the outside. Was there no consistency with how displaced people traveled between the multi-verse? Céri shook his head. Meanwhile, his companion rushed over to the now empty floor space.

"What happened?" asked Redheart. "Where did she go?"

"Back to her Equestria, I imagine," answered Céri.

"Oh."

Redheart trotted back over and started pushing the Angel Feather cards into a singular pile. Céri was still baffled how hooves were able to get any grip like that. Sure, he had experienced the sensation for himself before, but he still couldn't fully believe it.

"Here you go." Redheart held up the finished deck.

"Thanks." Céri pocketed the cards. "You were quite determined for a while."

"I don't know," she admitted. "I think I just got lucky."

"Maybe, but I think that's only part of it." He looked seriously at her. "Luck rarely falls on just anyone. There's an element of pure willpower that goes along with that good fortune."

Something sparked in Redheart's mind.
---

The colt on the ground needed serious attention. He wasn't breathing. She had to do something. She just had to!

Small, slightly gray hooves pressed down against the colt's chest. The motion was quick and repetitive. Come on!

Yes, there it was! A heartbeat! It was faint, but definitely beating!
---

"Pure will..." Redheart looked down at her hooves. They were still the way she remembered them. "You may be right."

The moment was interrupted by an unholy screech. Both pony and human lifted their respective limbs to cover their ears.

"Attention, Ponyville! Guess who's back, back again! Platinum Quill's back with some brand-new friends!"

Céri and Redheart rushed out the door. This seemed a little familiar. Only this time, the skies were only partly cloudy and the sun practically gleamed from the soldiers and assortment of creatures standing by the hippogryph's side. Many whites and blues covered their clothes and/or bodies.

"You have got to be kidding me." Céri looked at them all in disbelief.

"Foul villain that has taken upon himself the Paladins of Shadow," the megaphone screeched again, "prepare to taste the true justice of Blaster's Blade!"

There was an non-amused look from the soldier standing closest. "It's Blaster Blade."

"Silence, you tool," muttered Platinum Quill. "I'm the leader and that means you follow my directions."

Something buzzed against Céri. When he looked down, there was a blinking purple light. He pulled out the Vanguard card with Blaster Dark depicted on it. He wasn't sure how, but he just knew that this unit was itching for this particular fight. Well, if it meant shutting up that bird-horse for a bit, he'd gladly oblige.

"Call! Anakin!" A Vanguard circle of purple color emerged from that card before shaping itself into the dark clad warrior.

As Blaster Dark looked down the road, Blaster Blade stared in exactly the opposite direction. Their eyes locked, causing rival sparks to fly before any attacks had even been declared. While allies in times of greatest need, the Shadow Paladin and Royal Paladin clans would always rival each other at heart.

"Go, Armie! Attack their evil leader!"

Blaster Blade made a flying leap. His battle cry followed him through his straightforward strike. In response, Céri held out his hand in front of him, directing Blaster Dark to counter. Anakin gladly obliged with a yelling jump as well. Swords crashed against each other. Both warriors struggled for air space.

A smile crossed Platinum's beak. "Marron, give Armen a boost."

The blonde sage with thick-rimmed glasses and a red spell book took a couple steps forward. This unit held a hand over the open book. Something like lightning surged from the hand. The power was going straight into Blaster Blade's sword. Blaster Dark grunted as his opponent was suddenly pushing with more force than before.

"Hey!" Céri flipped a few cards over before finding a suitable Grade 1. "Charon! Call!"

What appeared was a blue-robed sage. They summoned a mystical circle in front of their index finger. A few arcs of dark sparks flowed over to Céri's other unit. Yet somehow, the extra boost still wasn't enough. Anakin was losing ground. With a last push, the Blaster Blade unit slashed across, forcing his Shadow Paladin look-alike back against the ground.

"Ha ha! See how your wickedness cannot prevail!"

"You idiot!" Céri shouted at the bird-horse. "You're the one that used the Shadow Paladins to attack Ponyville back when I first met you!"

"Ha! Like I'd stoop so low as to resort to name-calling and digging up dirt from the past. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to send all of my armies of light in a crusade against ponykind!"

A golden dragon with blue lines along its arms, legs, and tail flew above the rest of the group. Its roar sounded like it cleared out the heavens. It started gathering energy that resembled a small star in its clawed hand. Blaster Dark struggled a bit, and barely managed to sit up straight to see what was happening.

Céri looked down and clenched his fist. "Do you... seriously... think you can fight... a devil... in broad daylight?"

Anakin dug his sword into the ground and stood upright. The partly cloudy sky started swirling around. Purple lightning mixed with golden sparks all over these bigger and darker clouds. The Shadow Paladin lifted his sword, drawing lightning of both colors down his weapon's full body.

"Hraaa!"

A new power surged through the warrior. Charon and Redheart had to cover their eyes. Céri could only stare ahead with an uncertain, yet unshakable will. Platinum almost laid an egg, impressive for a male. Meanwhile, Blaster Blade grunted in anticipation.

Once the electric flares let up a bit, Blaster Dark stood tall, took a deep breath, and held his giant sword with one hand. Some golden highlights had brightened up the corners of his armor. A red cape split to either side on his back. But the spectacle didn't last long. In a whoosh of darkness and purple, Blaster Dark vanished. He reappeared behind Blaster Blade and promptly stabbed his rival in the back. Upon seeing the lead man fall, the golden dragon ceased its attack.

"Crud! Armen, come back!"

Blaster Blade's body turned into a bunch of golden sparkles, flung over to Platinum Quill's claws, and reformed into a card. He then proceeded to run away as the rest of the Royal Paladins vanished.

...

"That seemed a little too easy," commented Redheart.

"Yeah," admitted Céri. "That armor was that of Blaster Blade Seeker at most. Why did Anakin jump a generation and become Blaster Dark 'Diablo' instead of Blaster Dark Revenger 'Abyss'?"

Redheart blinked twice. "I have no idea what you just said."

"Sorry." The card fighter scratched his neck. "I guess Ezekiel's way of talking rubbed off on me."

---
Elsewhere...

"So, you failed me again, bird-butt."

"I've told you a billion times, Catherine. My rump is fully equine."

"It doesn't really matter anyway. This Cherry's new power won't be enough to stop my next victim. Eh heh heh!"

"What is with that blackish-red glow?"

...

"Lock," her voice whispered.
---

Legion Mate

View Online

Zero percent... that's where his phone's battery currently was. No matter how many times he tried to turn it back on, it was dead. It seemed his acquaintance and only communication with his home world was gone. Silently, he swore as he walked over to the fridge. He was probably drinking that can of grape fizz too quickly, but he wasn't that concerned about it right then.

Céri eyed the books on the table. He supposed now was as good a time as any to return them. He had already gotten as much information out of them as his brain could handle. Setting his can near the sink, he put one hand in the pocket of his hoodie while grabbing the books under his other arm. His head hung low as he stepped out the door.

Sunny weather contrasted his current expression. He had lost ties with his real home.

---

"S-So... you're ready to give up-up-up? Good-ood."

"What the heck?" Céri Dylanson could barely get a word in edgewise.

Next thing he knew, some blue threads shot out of nowhere and tied up his arms and legs. He clenched his teeth against the sensation of burned ice against his skin. He yelped as his books fell out of reach. There was way too much happening, way too quickly. But a sporadic, distant laughing noise would have none of it.

As the threads lashed against his Adam's Apple and his private areas, something pulled him clear from the ground's gravity. Trees and houses flew underneath his view. In pain, he managed to exclaim as all color was suddenly stripped from his surroundings. All that was left was a black void and the neon blue threads that bound him.

He tried wriggling everything, but simultaneously hot-and-cold strings fought his every move. It even felt like they were digging into his chest and strapped against his heart somehow. While he was struggling, more of the threads sneaked their way into his pockets and pulled out all of his "keys". In flashes of white and black squares, more blue threads appeared. This time, they carried other unwilling passengers.

Céri gasped. "Kruger! Yosuke! Courtney! Yoko! Ezekiel! Redheart!"

Indeed, the multiple blue threads had taken the dreamwalker, Shadow, gun pony, fox demon, alien pony, and nurse pony as prisoners. As reactions varied from "What in the world?" to "Aw, hell...", a pair of footsteps echoed in the void. A shape appeared, accompanied by the sound of paper ripping. Yellow teeth smiled at the bottom of the black and blue skull. Red, fixated circles glowed with blue contaminants that could only imitate eyes.

"Well, well, w-w-well." Black and red sleeves moved around a yellow and blue body that was somehow attached to the eerie skull. "I was wondering why nobody bothered to-to-to trap their enemies on their first attack. Heh. I'm kidding-idding. I wasn't wondering that-taht-that at all."

Ezekiel simply blinked behind her glasses. "It appears this one has a speech impediment."

Yosuke grunted as his fingers twitched. "That's what you're focused on, Einstein?"

"Sh-sh-shut up!" A yellow finger pointed from the black and blue figure. "You dirty glitches are in no position to criti-cize me!"

Céri grunted as it felt like tiny thorns were digging into his skin from the threads. "And exactly who are you?"

"I'll tell-tell-tell you when I'm good and ready-ydaer-ready." White letters appeared in the middle of the air all over the talking skull and his jacket. They seemed to spell out the word "ERROR" over and over again. "Don't recognize me, Mr. Observant Pants? Or did you think I wasn't serious when I said you'd have plenty of time to pay me back in Tartarus?"

Céri's eyes opened wide. "You're the merchant?!"

"Let's see-ee-ee." 'Merchant' pulled one of the blue threads. "How about you pay me with the lives of your new friends... starting with the one you care about the most."

"What?" Céri frantically looked at the allies around him.

"Augh!" Shadow Yosuke yelped as his body was pulled into literal ribbons. Merchant's blue threads pulled out something from the center that resembled a yellow valentine. It shook in place for a bit before being ripped to shreds as well.

"NO!" cried Céri. The painful threads dug deeper into his being as he yelled.

"Heh-heh, heh-heh-heh, heh..." Merchant tapped his red shoes. "I could keep this up all day-yad-day."

Ezekiel was soon surrounded by several "ERROR"s all ramming into her along with the threads. Her mouth formed a bunch of syllables incomprehensibly. An Apple rainbow pin-wheel of doom popped up on her horn while a Windows blue screen of death yanked on her tail.

"Hmm." Yoko Kurama clenched his clawed fists. "It figures he would give himself a body with godlike powers of destruction."

"A puppeteer that can just erase lives without remorse?" wondered Freddy Kruger.

"Great..." Courtney sighed as his hat fell off. "As if alicorns weren't OP enough, now we've got this."

"I said-ed-ed shut up!" hollered Merchant.

The white anthro fox, the burned man, and the pegasus pony all yelped. It looked like ropes were twisting their limbs every which way. Ezekiel closed his eyes and mumbled some rapid syllables. Redheart whimpered. Céri watched helplessly, hanging in the air like his comrades.

A bunch of red arcs suddenly flashed against the dark surroundings. Lights that looked like floating red "9"s briefly popped up. Immediately afterward, the blue threads vanished. Céri and his allies fell toward the invisible floor. Grunting, he grabbed his necklace out of the air and took on the form of the orange pony. Her four legs shook a little upon landing but remained intact.

"What-tahw-what?" Merchant actually took a couple steps back. "What's going on?"

"I'd say you're a smiley trashbag, but that would be an insult to smiles and trash everywhere."

Everyone looked toward the source of the new voice. Brown sneakers walked with the motion of black jeans. A hand held a glowing knife while the other was in the pocket of a green hoodie. A thin line formed a smile on the newcomer's face. He glanced over at Céri.

"A red hoodie, huh?" The teen shrugged. "I kind of prefer green myself, but that's cool too."

"Uh... thanks?" Céri scratched the exposed hairs of her blonde mane. "But, who exactly are you?"

Merchant's yell sounded like it was being chopped up by several filters and video feeds at once.

The green hood turned his back while spinning his knife around. "Tell you what? We can get more intimate if we both survive this. Okay, sweetie?"

"Deal! ... I reckon?" She pulled out a hoof full of cards.

Several blue threads launched through the air at once. Four arcs of red danced in place in front of the green hooded teen. His knife glowed all the way until the end of the fourth arc. The shade hid his eyes... until two vertical lines of red glowed in the darkness. A black-and-red "9" briefly glowed as each red arc took out a handful of the blue threads. He thinly smiled.

"Lovely evening isn't it? Crickets are chirping, moon lilies open up... On nights like this, you want to kiss the girl."

More of Merchant's threads yanked at Courtney's sides. He gasped as the tugging forced his weapons to open fire. Céri let out a whinny and galloped out of the way. The green-hooded teen grunted and ducked under the bullets. Kruger crouched down and covered Redheart. Bullets rammed against his backside. When the spray took a few seconds to pause, Kruger fell face-down into the nonexistent dirt. Yoko lashed out with his rose whips, severing the blue strings from the misused weapons. Another browser opened up by Ezekiel's left ear, saying that she required an immediate reboot. Her presence faded from the void entirely.

"But I have to ask a con artist like you... when the power becomes just too much... are you really in control?"

"Delete!" Merchant held up his hands and conjured two monstrous faces. Each was littered with white "ERROR"s like himself. It looked like some blackish-red light was building into orbs within the mouths of the dragon skulls.

"Ride! Blaster Dark 'Diablo'!"

Céri's dark-armored Vanguard appeared. At the same time, the green hood conjured a floating ring composed of red knives. The rest of the team moved behind Céri and their newest ally. Merchant launched his double-blast attack. The two waves of crimson red slammed against Blaster Dark's sword and the floating ring. The teen and the Vanguard unit were being pushed back.

A mere second later, some of the first blast seemed to phase through the weapon and collided directly with Blaster Dark's chest. He cried out as he was sent flying onto his back. His appearance shook a lot until the golden bits seemed to fade from his armor. Meanwhile, the green hood angled his ring of knives slightly. The blast aimed at him went sky high... at least whatever counted as sky high in the indeterminate void.

"Anakin!" Céri ran over to her Vanguard's side.

"Don't... sound... so... worried..." Anakin said between heavy breaths.

The current human swished his knife around and formed several arcs before launching them forward. One of Merchant's blasters got sliced into dust. The other blaster flew around the slicing attack. It charged its mouth with another eerie orb.

"Not this time!" Courtney pointed his guns and fired both shots.

Scattered bullet spray lodged itself all over the blaster. Its orb of light shrunk before exploding inside of the skull. Merchant's eye went wide. During the explosion, the teen had managed to run up to his face. He sliced across the discolored skeleton's chest twice.

"Heh...Eh-heh-heh, eh-heh-heh, eh-heh-heh, eh-heh-heh!"

A single blue thread jumped out of nowhere and whipped around the green hood's left ankle. With a single index finger, Merchant guided the thread to swing the ankle and its owner through the air and slam him against the ground several feet away.

"Did you really think-ink-ink that you could beat me with only two-owt-two measly attacks?" He shook his skull and laughed. "I'm not your average bonehead. I'm more real than they could ev-could ev-could ever hope to be."

"Moonlight Witch, Vaha! Call!"

Céri held up another card. The unit summoned was a witch with an oversized cap. At the same time, red roots appeared to grow out of Yoko Kurama's left sleeve. A giant salivating mouth bloomed from this unnaturally fast-growing tree. As Vaha cast forth a spell of blue energy at the Merchant, the tree's mouth followed and raced towards the same target.

"No ch-ch-chance." If Merchant wasn't already smiling, he would have done so right then.

"What?!" Céri looked on in worry.

As the short error-ridden skeleton raised his arms, a row of rose-colored bones popped out of the ground. These bones deflected the spell and tore through the tree's mouth. Merchant twitched his fingers. New blue threads sprung out of the aether and ensnared the witch. She grunted and screamed before being turned into a spray of light particles.

"No, Vaha!" Anakin dug his sword into the ground, struggling to stand up.

"Look at yourselves-selves-selves." Merchant closed one eye. "Aren't you all feeling completely use-use-useless? Just drop dead. It'll make my job a whole lot easier."

"Kiss my butt, connie!" The ensnared teen spat.

"Hmph." The glitching skeleton looked around. "What about you-you-you, Nurse? Don't you find this violence pointless? Surrender and I might just consider sparing your life."

The pale pony whimpered as she slowly walked forward.

Céri gasped. "Redheart, what are you doing? Stay back!"

Redheart wiped her eyes with a hoof and shook her head. "No."

She held a fierce glare and pointed her hoof in the direction of Merchant. The teen was busy trying to pull the blue string off his leg. Kruger was down for the count. Courtney was out of ammunition and he was flying in a zigzag to avoid some of the threads that were dancing around the air. But the threads were slowing down and Courtney looked down at the development on the void's floor.

"Just who do you think you are, demanding all of these persons to drop dead?" Despite the shape of Redheart's hoof, she was somehow crushing her hat in her grip. "The will to live is special, and isn't something to be thrown away for the convenience of some jerk with a god-complex!"

A light flashed from the hat itself. Those that could still move their front limbs moved to cover their eyes. Merchant's smile straightened out. His blue-yellow irises shrunk down to white dots. The light split into two pieces. Each piece floated down to Redheart's grasp as a card.

Céri peeked out from under her hood. "Holy ma sandwich with pa on top... and a side helping of son."

"Whatever trials you've fixed, however many lives you've taken... these are not your toys." Redheart held both cards up. "Healers beyond, lend your strength to free these souls for their quest to survive. Wisdom Celestial, Jibril! Freedom Celestial, Zaphkiel! A Legion!"

Two angels flew forth from the light. One had white hair, wore light garments, held a blue-jeweled staff in one hand and an orb that seemed to contain time itself. The other angel had black hair, wore the dress of a female fighter, and wielded a blade made light, held together by some unseen might to herself.

"H-H-Hacks! I call Hacks!" Merchant turned around and ran.

He conjured a bunch of red bones and blue threads to cover his escape. Zephkiel flew forth and slashed through all of the incoming obstacles with her sword. Jibril raised her staff and orb, unleashing light upon the entirety of the void. The red marks that were on Merchant's chest glowed white as he screamed into a tunnel of static. His "ERROR"s exploded into a spray of "1"s and "0"s. He fell on his face before fading from view entirely.

---

Sunlight shined down upon what had resulted from the Legion's healing rays. Birds sang, flowers blossomed, and buildings popped back into existence exactly where they had been left. Kruger vanished from sight. Yoko simply nodded before a rose exploded and took him back to his Equestria. Courtney smiled before he vanished to the clicking sound of an empty gun.

Redheart sat on her haunches and hung her head low. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Céri trotted over and patted Redheart's back gently. The nurse pony turned and gave a hug, to the red hooded pony's surprise. Anakin shined purple before floating into Céri's pocket as a card.

Meanwhile, a green hood stood back up. "I'll finish this."

He walked over to the darkened skeleton. At some point, Merchant had been turned onto his back. The teen held a glowing knife high above the chest area. He struck down, expecting a final exhale of pain before the madman died.

"Heh... heh..." Merchant's exposed teeth smiled again. "You think... this is... really the end? Buddy... you really are... an idiot."

The green hood frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Yellow and black bones chattered. "I may have... no HP left... but that... doesn't mean... you've seen... the last... of me." A singular eye stared through the skull's eye socket. "There are... millions of... universes... each one... carrying... a sap I tricked. Don't you think... I'd have... contingencies... in case... one of me... died?"

"You don't mean..." Céri's eyes went wide.

Redheart softly whispered, "Oh no."

"It took... eight of you... just to... wear me down." Merchant chuckled and coughed. "Yet defeating me here... now... has done nothing. You can't... beat... all of... me."

"Go to hell." The green hood yanked up his knife forcefully.

Drops of red squirted out of the pierced bone marrow. The glow in this merchant's eye slowly faded to black. The body blew away into a trail of dust on the wind. An upside-down valentine hung just above the spot. Then, it too shattered into pieces of dust.

...

The green hood sighed and shook the dust off his knife. "I need chocolate milk. What say we get something together, ladies? I'm buying." He smiled gently while wiggling his eyebrows.

Céri had a weird expression on her face. "So... your first instinct after killing a crazy guy, who just told us that there are more of him just as powerful as he is across the multi-verse... is to find a drink... and hit on two girls you just met?"

"Come on." He shrugged. "We could all use something pleasant after that whole mess."

The transformed pony closed her eyes and softly replied, "Yeah, okay."

---

G-Zone Open

View Online

Ice cubes clanked against glass. Three empty cups slammed against a solid counter, one after the other. A light brown liquid poured into the first cup. The second and third cups were filled with a fruity red drink as well as new slices of a green fruit. An orange hoof picked up the second glass almost immediately. Céri chugged down almost half of the contents, save for the ice.

Taking a break, she exhaled. "So what brought you around here, Chara?"

The teen sipped his iced, chocolate milk. "Pure, unadulterated... determination."

"Right, I know. But what in the hay is that supposed to mean?"

"The short of it is a drive to see things to the end, whatever that end may be." Chara looked at his drinking buddies. "I don't even fully remember who I was before this whole Equestria displacement movement started. But I do know that I'm getting lucky to meet all kinds of pretty pony-people... if you know what I mean."

Céri crossed her hooves on the counter and rested her muzzle on top of them. Idly, she scratched her necklace. It felt stuck to her... like a nailed-down, metal plate. Her shoulders rose and fell with her next breath.

"It's incredible." Redheart looked up and down the red-hooded pony. "Aside from the messy mane and the jacket, I would be hard-pressed to find any physical difference between you and Applejack."

"Well, shoot." Céri exhaled some more. "I didn't know that Merchant was going to mess up Ezekiel's programming and her key to the point where I can't get it off."

"Not necessarily a bad thing." Chara swallowed a couple large sips from his cup. "As a pony, you're a lot less likely to attract weird stares as you sit around. Here, I feel like I'm constantly being watched... and not in the good way."

"But there's no pony else around here," noted Redheart.

"... that you know of," added the teen. "They might be waiting in the dark corner of their rooms, waiting... watching... urging me to kill something. Meh, what do I know? I'm not the one whose only company is their right hand."

"I swear the longer you talk, the less I understand." Céri shook her head before she pulled out her phone. How she did that with just a hoof, no one would ever know.

Chara moved his glass to the side on the counter. "Is that the old iPhone 7?"

"It was... but now it's dead." She stared at the black rectangle in disappointment.

"Bummer." He smiled. "But at least you still have a way to look at your pretty face."

She shot him a look. "Does every other word out of your mouth gotta be flirtatious?"

"Why, yes. My determination compels me to woo the hearts of everyone."

Céri sighed and slumped forward again. "Oh, I give up."

"Another round, please," he said to the bartender before looking back at Little Red Apple Hood. "Okay, look. I didn't just cross worlds for the sake of asking for new astrological signs, though that is a nice plus." He crossed his arms. "I thought I might as well pass on a little information to a fellow displaced."

She turned her head slightly, though still firmly against the counter. "Like what?"

"You know what the Merchant that we fought looked like? Don't bother memorizing that. His physical looks are red herrings. The actual key to figuring out who his multiverse clones are, rests in one specific power. Strings."

"What do strings have to do with anything?" Redheart asked before taking another sip from her glass.

"The bastard loves controlling the situation in any way possible. Some of his strings can't be destroyed just by swinging a magic knife around. Sometimes, the solution has to come from another source." He nodded at Redheart. "Your thing with the two angel cards was one such surprise. What'd you call it? A... Legion?"

"It's one of the moves in Vanguard that allows units to fight together simultaneously," explained Céri.

The nurse held together the cards depicting Jibril and Zaphkiel. "It's beautiful how they can join together to make a full picture."

Chara smiled, turned around, and hopped up from the chair. He fished through his pockets and pulled out both hands at once. From his right hand, he tossed a pouch of coin. The pouch landed on the counter with a multiplied "clink" noise. In his left hand, he held out a small heart-shaped locket. He shoved the locket into Céri's possession.

"You ever need me again, just remind me to 'stay determined'." He took a few steps forward, then looked at the bartender. "Keep the change." He then disappeared just as he opened the door halfway.

The bartender adjusted the spectacles on his face. He stared incredulously at his most recent customer's payment. His gaze kept switching between the slightly opened pouch and the door. Said door quickly closed itself, as if knowing that there was no reason left to be open.

Céri's belly gurgled. "Since Chara's paying for the bill anyway, maybe we can get a snack too."

"That sounds good to me." Redheart looked up. "We'll have a double order of garlic hay-fries."

---

After the impromptu lunch, Céri trotted over in a particular direction. She wasn't sure how she knew where she was going, but her hooves felt like they had trodden this particular path several times. Redheart was trotting just behind her, occasionally asking where they were going. However, the transformed Céri simply gave a vague answer.

Eventually, the scenery changed from rows of houses to a long white fence. Just on the other side of the fence were several deciduous trees bearing fruit. The hooded pony's eyes looked ahead without blinking.

Redheart ran to catch up. "Wait a second. This is... What are we doing here?"

"Something I gotta do to clear my conscience." Céri kept trotting.

When she got to the door, she knocked on it four times in rapid succession. There was a light grunt on the other side. Hoof steps on wood echoed through to the outer wall. The door opened inward, and a green hoof with wrinkles showed up on the edge. A pair of amber eyes blinked wide, then immediately squinted.

"Is Applejack home?"

The elderly pony looked carefully up and down at the unexpected guest. "Are you some kind of prankster? Nightmare Night was a while back, Missy."

"No, ma'am. I just need to talk with her for a bit. Actually, every pony that's available should listen too."

"Oh, really?" A similar voice to Céri's current one made itself known. The pony attached to said voice, however, had hair ties and a hat adorning her head. "And just who are you supposed to be?" She blinked and saw the other accompanying pony. "Nurse Redheart?"

Redheart nodded and waved nervously. "Hello, Applejack."

Céri took a deep breath. "My name is Céri Dylanson. Because of my current condition, I can't change back to myself. I wanted to avoid any confusion being delivered through a third-party and I wanted to relay my story directly."

The genuine Applejack moved to stand right in front of her lookalike. She quietly stared at Céri's eyes for several seconds. Céri stared right back. The granny mare hummed over the silence. Redheart shuffled her hooves against the ground.

Finally, Applejack gave a short nod of her head. "Fine, I'll give you a chance to explain yourself."

"Eh, you sure about this, AJ?" wondered the old mare.

"It's unusual for a shape-shifter to be so blunt about not being the real thing." Applejack looked at her granny. "I'd like to know what makes this one an exception." She turned around and motioned with a hoof. "How about you come inside and you can tell us all about it."

Céri and Redheart trotted inside the farmhouse.

Granny sighed. "Okay, but if she starts biting to suck out our love, I'm getting my rake."

---

All of Céri's cards were spread out on the table. The one with the image of Blaster Dark in his "Revenger Abyss" form was at the top. She recounted the tale as far as the original encounter with Merchant back on her world, the moment she acquired the Shadow Paladins, a brief overview of the discovery of other Equestrias, and the fight against Merchant's "Error" proxy. She idly scratched at her necklace while waiting for any questions.

Applejack lowered her hat and rubbed a hoof against her forehead. Granny Smith quietly hummed with her eyes closed. Big Macintosh flipped the piece of barley around in his mouth.

"What's a Vanguard?" piped in Apple Bloom.

"One who leads the way." Céri tapped a hoof against the table. "It's the unit that sticks around for the entire fight and doesn't leave until the end."

The original orange pony slowly put her hat back on. "As crazy as some parts of your story are, you don't sound like you think you're making any of this up." She picked up the Blaster Dark card. "That being said, how can you call out a critter from a card just like that?"

"As far as I can tell, it was the mixed blessing that the shady merchant gave me to meet his own amusement." Céri flipped back the flap of her hoodie and sighed. "He screwed over a bunch of other ponies in similar ways."

Apple Bloom picked up another card. "So, can any pony wave these around and summon them?"

"Only in a standard game of Cardfight Vanguard, and that's small enough to walk on a table." Céri slid off the couch, stood up, and picked up a familiar Angel Feather card. "I'm the only one that can call them forth in life-size."

"Show me!" urged Apple Bloom.

"Alright, but you might want to step back." Céri held up her card. "Adamantine Celestial, Aniel! Call!"

The blue-feathered angel appeared, holding her quill and clipboard. Aniel looked around and smiled at the current company. Apple Bloom's eyes went as wide as saucers. Big Macintosh snorted while blushing. Granny and Applejack gaped, looked at each other, then back at Aniel.

"Well, I'll be hog-tied..." Applejack finally found her words. "That sure is something."

"Zowie," agreed Apple Bloom. "Even Twilight can't bring anything to life quite like that. ... not for lack of trying."

Céri waved her card back a bit. Aniel vanished in a white circle of lines and flowed back into the illustrated piece of paper. Apple Bloom stared at the card that she had picked up and shook in place with a silly grin on her face.

Applejack gently put Blaster Dark's card back on the table and pulled her hoof back. "Okay, if I wasn't convinced before, I am now."

"Can you summon this dragon?" Apple Bloom held up the purplish-black image up to Céri's face.

"No/No!" exclaimed the orange ponies in unison.

"It'd be too big and probably bring the ceiling down on our heads!" Céri took back her cards and piled them back into two decks before putting them in her pockets.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean in here. I meant go outside first and then call it."

Applejack sighed. "That really ain't necessary. Besides, she said it tires her out to call too many of them in a day."

Redheart scratched her ear. "Wait, doesn't that only apply when you're in the other Eque-"

Céri interjected by poking her elbow against Redheart's chest. The card fighter shook her head at the nurse. Redheart shrugged with one shoulder and dropped the subject.

Applejack cleared her throat. "Seeing as how you came all this way to tell us your story, I'm guessing you aren't planning anything under-hoofed in my name. Is that fair to say?"

"I promise that I will not intentionally drag your image down." Céri nodded.

"Okay." Applejack smiled gently. "Then we have an understanding."

The original spat into her hoof and held it out. Céri grimaced before copying the motion. Their hooves met with a splat of combined saliva. The human mind screamed in silent disgust.

"I guess it's time for us to get going," mentioned Redheart.

"Y'all take care now," said Applejack with a small wave.

"See y'all later." After taking several hoof steps outside, Céri quietly wiped her hoof against her hoodie's sleeve.

"Sorry, I didn't think about her way of sealing a deal until after she started." Redheart looked at Céri in concern.

"Tain't your fault, Redheart." She shook her head. "I'll get over it."

---

Their walk back home was interrupted by a familiar hippogryph. At first, the two ponies rolled their eyes and waited for the megaphone treatment. When Platinum Feather held up his deck of cards, a blackish-red aura burned silently around it. Céri's eyes widened upon seeing the aura, and the bristles on her hide stood on end. If that was what she thought it was, then any fight that was going to happen soon would be really bad.

A lady stood behind Platinum. She had blond curls dangling on either side of her head and her eyes were bright blue. Her outfit consisted of nothing more than a set of undergarments that barely hid any modesty. Her hand glowed with a reddish-black orb floating just inside her grasping reach.

"You two are Reversed?" Céri instinctively crouched into a charging posture.

"Are you... a strong fighter?" droned Platinum.

Two shrouds of red smoke washed over the space right in front of him. But they didn't stick around for long. When the smoke cleared, two red rectangles appeared and floated in the air. They looked like eerie place mats for a Cardfight Vanguard match.

"And what's stopping me from just charging over and kicking your flank the old-fashioned way?"

"Augh!"

"Huh?" Céri looked over. "Redheart!"

Somehow, the Reversed Catherine had used her own underwear as a rope weapon. She had Redheart in a strangle-hold. The humanoid simply smiled and giggled at her captured prey.

"Consarn it!" Céri spat to her left. "Let her go right now!"

"You're in no position to make demands." Catherine licked her lips. "Now be a good little pony and play with my wing-man toy here. Otherwise, your mare friend gets a free asphyxiation."

"Ngh..." She pulled out a deck from her pocket. "Fine." The decks were set on the floating boards and cards were drawn.

"Stand up, Vanguard," droned the Reversed Platinum.

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

---

"Final Turn!"

Céri Dylanson's eyes snapped open at her opponent's declaration. Her hoof shook as she chanced a glance at the cards she held. She didn't have any Sentinels available. If her opponent drew a trigger during this next attack, she wouldn't have enough to guard against it anyway. What was worse was how this enemy was somehow influencing the cards to get exactly the triggers they needed when they needed them.

"Darkness takes you!" The enemy cackled.

Darn it, thought the 'hero'. Why did I accept those cards back at the convention?

---

"Aren't you giving up a little too soon?"

"Wait..." Céri looked into the darkness in her mind's eye. "Who's that?"

Something glowed inside of her pocket. She shuffled a hoof around before grabbing hold of a card. Its glow revealed the G-Unit granted by the white fox spirit: Dream-Spinning Renunculus, Ahsha. Céri hummed in doubt.

"It's not my turn to attack, and this isn't from the same clan that I'm using. How will this help?"

"Survive this turn and I will aid you however I can. You're not alone."

The card seemed to turn by itself without the hoof holding it. Céri looked behind it and another card glowed so brightly that its face couldn't be seen. She gasped at the sight of the clan and name.

---

Céri woke up from her trance with a start. She nodded firmly and grabbed a few cards that she did have and slammed them all down on the guardian circle. Platinum flinched, apparently not expecting the guard to take place. He checked for two drive triggers and got nothing for it. He growled through his beak and teeth.

"Stand and draw... Yoko!" Céri tossed the G-Unit that was in her pocket.

Kurama appeared and conjured two rope-like weapons made of green thorns. "Twin Rose Whiplash!" The resulting attack slashed through the tightly bound restraints and freed Redheart from captivity.

Grateful and relieved, Céri took another look at the current field. She spotted a card face-down and vertical sitting just above her damage zone. She nodded and slammed a Grade 3 Unit into the drop zone.

"Generation Zone, open!"

"What?" Reversed Platinum squawked.

"Impossible! Error Merchant took away your only striding unit!" yelled Catherine.

An image burned brightly in Céri's mind. It was so strong that everyone else present could see the star stream rushing past her. She held up a hoof and folded it toward her at her wrist.

"Fly forth on transcendent wings to the future." She pointed at her new, glowing card. "Stride Generation!"

The unit flew over and slammed on top of the Vanguard circle. Its grade was 4 and had a burning red highlight on the bottom. Its power became that of itself plus the grade 3 unit in its "Heart". Meanwhile in the life-sized visual of the battlefield, the Vanguard had become an angel with six blue-feathered wings. It was wearing a dress that looked both that of a royal and of a nurse all in one.

"Holy Celestial, Mikhael!" Céri flipped one damage card for the cost. "Stride Skill. I move a card from my deck to the damage zone, then take one of my other damage units and superior call it to the rear-guard." The nurse-outfitted angel with Keyblade-esque scissors appeared in the front row. "Since Ramiel is in the Heart and another copy is in the damage zone, the superior-called unit gets +5000 power!"

"This is Deus Ex Machina bull crap!" Reverse Platinum complained.

"Holy Celestial, Mikhael... attack his Vanguard Blaster Joker!" Céri moved her hoof toward her deck. "Triple drive check!"" The first card showed a Million-Ray Pegasus. The second card revealed a perfect guard unit. As for the third... "Critical trigger! Power to Ramiel and critical to Mikhael!"

The blinding light burned against Platinum's skin as the reddish aura let out an inhumane scream. "AAAAAAAAAH!"

---

...

*Poke* *Poke*

"Ugh..." The hippogryph reached up a talon and started scratching his face. "Itchy... why am I so itchy?"

"Céri, did you just touch him with the Thorn Gauntlet I gave you?"

"Oh. Uh... shoot."

Platinum Feather immediately sprang up on his hind legs. Both talons were scratching his face now. A bit of the fur and feather patch was coming off due to the vigorous scratching. He felt like a thousand fire ants were crawling in his skin. This wound... would it ever heal?

Yoko Kurama sighed. "If it's any consolation, you should be able to endure the pain once forty-eight hours have passed."

"What kind of life is scratching furiously for two days?" Platinum moaned. "I'll be a bald eagle at this rate."

"Aren't you already half bald eagle?" Céri flinched at the harsh glare that came her way. "Sorry."

"I could probably find some ointments to help you ease the inflammation," offered Redheart.

"Yes, please." Platinum followed Redheart's path.

Céri looked at her ally. "What happened to Catherine?"

"I put a tracer seed in her when I freed your friend." Yoko shook his head. "However, it seems I can no longer tell where she is. Given that she's in line with some of the other Merchants, she probably jumped to another Equestria."

"So she's going to make herself some pony else's problem." Céri lifted her hood up and scratched behind her ear.

"We rescued two of her victims." He held out an open-clawed hand. "Would you not consider that a victory?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Your optimism is amazing. Thanks, Yoko."

"My pleasure," replied the fox before he vanished in a breeze back to his original displacement.

Céri held the Mikhael card up on her hoof. She smiled and looked out at the horizon and the setting sun.
---

Final Turn

View Online

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.
---

The One Who Leads The Way

by TundraStanza

Forerunner

Boost

Intercept

Drive Trigger Check

Twin Drive

Damage Trigger Check

Soul Charge

Limit Break

Legion Mate

G-Zone Open

Final Turn