//------------------------------// // Ch.5 Decisive Play // Story: Seven Saviors // by Arcanum -Phantasy //------------------------------// Derpy deadpanned the screen in front of her, the main focus of her ire being one of five live-chat windows on the display. "Care to explain why I've got rumors that you're guarding Anon-a-Miss running through my intel network?" Lightning gaped at her friend through her screen. Are you fucking kidding me? HOW?! No one else was in the locker room! Stunned, she fished her phone out of her pocket and logged onto Mystable. After a few seconds she managed to make it to the Anon-a-Miss account page. Sure enough, there was a new post titled: Talk Shit About Me and My Dog Will Take You Out! Just beneath it was a muted video that showed the moment Lightning Dust punched and then held Rainbow up by her shirt collar. Her mind struggled to find the right reaction to what was shown to her for a moment before it settled on aggravated exhaustion. "Alright," she growled. "You want to know what happened? Here you go." Lightning sighed as she recounted the events that led to her attacking Rainbow Dash. Derpy's eyes widened in disbelief as the gravity of Sunset's situation hit home. "No Fucking way," Vinyl growled from her chat window. "The next time I see Dash I'll knock her teeth out!" "Easy love," Octavia said, tone cautious. "I'm sure Lightning's punch was more than enough to get the point across." Bonbon and Lyra nodded in agreement from their respective screens. The DJ let out an irate sigh then leaned back in her seat. "Fine, but next time something like this happens I want first dibs." "Let's hope there won't be a next time," Bonbon frowned. Lyra was silent, but a visible shiver ran up the mint colored girls spine that was noticed by the rest of the Skype callers. "You okay there, Magic Girl?" Vinyl asked, a thin layer of concern decorating her tone. "Y-Yeah," she said, a shaky smile decorating her face. "Just didn't think The Voice would make a comeback." "Tell me about it," Lightning sighed. "Just wish I could've told Sunset about it before I had a breakdown." "Speaking of which," Bonbon frowned. "How is she?" Lightning frowned as she looked at the couch to her left and the sleeping girl that occupied it. "She's good," she smiled as she shifted her attention back to the computer screen. "Passed out an hour ago after she did her homework. Turns out she's a real bookworm." "Maybe she can help you bump up your math grade," Bonbon smirked. "Shut up," Lightning chuckled. "A C's still passing Bony." "She has a point," Lyra shrugged. "We can't all be Number Gods Bons." Bonbon rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored her friend's antics. "Fine," Bonbon chuckled. "But seriously, what are we gonna do now?" "What do ya mean?" Lightning asked. "Well, now that you outed yourself, the whole school and Anon-a-Miss are gonna keep an eye on ya. Isn't that gonna make things harder for the rest of us?" A thick silence filled the air as the six teens let that question hang. But that silence didn't last for very long. A light chuckle drew the attention of the whole chat towards the group's wall-eyed leader. They watched as her smirk and giggle turned into a broad grin combined with a matching stream of laughter. "Uh, you okay there Derpster?" Lyra asked, slightly unnerved by her friend's behavior. "Yes love, care to share," Octavia smiled awkwardly. "You're kind of scaring me." "Ditto," Vinyl and Lightning said in unison while Bonbon merely nodded with an uneasy frown. "S-Sorry," Derpy gasped as she managed to pull herself out of her laughing fit. "I just never thought Anon-a-Miss could make this so easy for us." "HUH?!" the whole group said in unison. "Well," Derpy continued. "Not only did they make it so at least one of us can protect Sunset directly, they also made it easier for us to narrow down possible suspects." Everyone gaped at the beaming teen. Lightning Dust was the first to recover. "How?" she asked, eager to take any kind of good news she could get in regards to her new friend's situation. "From what you told us," Derpy grinned. "You and Rainbow Dash were the only ones in the locker room at the time, right?" Lightning nodded, eager for the other girl to cut to the chase. "That means that Anon-a-Miss has to be someone who has access to the girl's locker room. That fact alone takes half the student body off of the suspect list. They also have to be someone who's been there so many times that no one would give them a second thought if they showed up?" "How come?" Bonbon asked. "Coach Spitfire," Derpy and Lightning said in unison. The rest of the girls raised a brow, confused. Lightning let out an annoyed groan then said, "Right, none of you guys have sixth period PE. Basically, Spits is a real stickler for gym rules. Normally, you can only get into the gym if you're one of her students and anyone who tries to get past her without permission gets a week's detention. You don't even want to know what happens to repeat offenders." "Ouch," Vinyl cringed. "Glad I never tried to visit." "Anyway," Lightning continued. "She'll make exceptions for people related to her students or anyone who can get on her good side." "So then, that means Anon-a-Miss is someone on that list?" Lyra asked, a grin creeping onto her lips. "If not her directly then someone linked to her," Derpy smirked. "It's a huge step in the right direction at the very least." Everyone let out various cheers as Derpy's revelation washed over them. Among them, Lightning smiled the widest at the news presented. Not only did her actions give them more options, but it also helped them move closer to bringing this to an end in a big way. It took everything in her power not to run over to the couch to wake Sunset to tell her the good news. "Anyway," Derpy yawned. "It's getting pretty late. Unless theres anything else we need to talk about, I need to get some shuteye." "Nah, I'm good," Lyra chuckled. "Same," Bonbon yawned. "Though I think I'm gonna need to do some things after school tomorrow." "Ditto," vinyl frowned. "I concur," Octavia sighed. "In light of current developments, I feel I may need to burn a few bridges as it were." "Right," Lightning chuckled. "Talk to you all later." With that, the chat windows blinked out of existence until only Lyra and Lightning's windows were the only ones active. Lightning was about to deactivate hers but stopped when Lyra let out a shout. "Hey, think maybe you and Sunset can stop by my place tomorrow after school?" Lightning blinked, then said "I don't know. It all depends on her. Why?" "Well," Lyra giggled awkwardly. "Since she's going to be a part of our group and all, I thought we could have a little fun for a while. You know, help her get her mind off things for a while." Lightning thought about it for a moment, then said, "I'll try, but I make absolutely no promises." "That's fine," Lyra smiled with a sigh. "Hey," Lighting snapped. "Don't get all mopey on me. I said I'd see what I can do. Just promise me that if she says yes that you'll dial back your craziness a bit. The girl's been through enough as it is!" "I'll try," Lyra smiled. "I guess thats all I can ask," she groaned. "Anyway, see ya when I see ya." "Yeah!" With that, the two logged out at almost the same time. As Lightning closed her laptop, she couldn't help but glance at her sleeping guest. Even knowing her situation, it disturbed her how quickly Sunset accepted her current arrangement. While the one bedroom apartment her Grandfather payed for wasn't the greatest place in the world, she kept it in pretty good shape. The place was in a relatively safe neighborhood as well, with the only real crime being the occasional shoplifter or lawn thief. Though if one were to compare her simple home to Derpy's, she was practically living in a slum. But Sunset treated the place like it was a sacred temple and the faux leather sofa like the softest feather bed in the world. The second Lightning gave her a blanket, Sunset looked like she was in heaven until she finally fell asleep watching TV. It broke her heart to see how such simple luxuries seemed like precious gold to her friend. That all should've been things she was supposed to take for granted. But to Sunset, they were sacred treasures that she had to enjoy while she could. With a sad smile, she placed a hand on her sleeping friend's shoulder. One way or another, she was going to help her get through this. *** "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Scootaloo cringed away from her phone as Sweetie's voice blasted out of it. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she whined as the ringing in her ears started to fade. "YOUR SORRY?! YOU THINK THAT'S GOING TO MAKE THINGS BETTER?!" Scootaloo groaned as she set her phone to speaker mode to spare her ears. She saw this coming when she posted the video, but that did little to prepare her for Sweetie Belle's verbal assault. "Yah really dug a hole this time," Applebloom sighed through the phone. "What did ya expect me to do!" she exclaimed. "She hit Rainbow Dash!" Two sighs could be heard from the two lines. While they couldn't really blame their friend, it didn't make their decision any easier. "Look Scoots," Applebloom sighed. "We get why you did it. Heck! If something like that happened to AJ, I'd probably do the same thing if I got the chance. But we can't afford to be reckless with the account anymore." "So," Sweetie continued. "As of right now, we're changing the account's password." "What?!" Scootaloo yelled, jumping to her feet. "We can't trust ya with access to the account anymore," Applebloom said, tone somber. "With Meme Queen running around, every move we make with it could be life or death for us." For a moment, the sporty girl was a silent torrent of emotions. Anger, shock, sadness, and many more feelings whirled through her core as she struggled to accept what her friends had told her. Eventually, she took a deep breath to calm the storm inside her until a strange mix of sadness and resolve took its place. "Okay," she sighed, tone hollow. "I get it." "It's not a total cut-off," Sweetie amended as she picked up on her friend's tone. "You'll just have to let us know when stuff like this happens." "Yeah, sure," Scootaloo sighed. "Anyway, can we talk about this tomorrow? It's getting kind'a late." "Yeah, ah think we can do that," Applebloom yawned. "Might be easier ta' figure out what all that was about after a bit of shut-eye." Sweetie let out an affirmative grunt from her end. "Yeah, night Scootaloo, Applebloom." "G'night." "See ya." With that, the phone let out a soft click, signaling the end of the call. With a groan, Scootaloo picked up her phone off of her bed, hooked it up to its charger on her bedside desk, then tuned off the light. As she walked back to her bed, her body felt like a bolder was dropped on her back. All of the stress from the whole ordeal today really weighed on her. But what really added to her anxieties was what she witnessed in the locker rooms. She could see it in her mentor's eyes, hear it in her voice; she wanted to hurt Sunset. The memories of what happened today sent a chill down her spine. As such, only one thought crossed her mind as she threw herself on the bed. Hopefully, Lightning Dust can keep her safe. And with that, Scootaloo's mind faded into the land of dreams. *** Sunset navigated the school hallways with a little more pep in her step than she had in days. While this was partially due to getting a full nights sleep in an actual warm bed for the second time in a row, the bulk of her joy came from the green girl walking at her side. After she was abandoned by her former friends, Sunset had accepted the hand fate had dealt her and let herself fall back into a life of loneliness. That was, until she was pushed to her breaking point and added a new regret to the long list she already had in her mind. But now she had Lightning Dust at her side, a friend that was willing to put her reputation, and maybe even more, on the line just to keep her safe. While she hoped that it wouldn't be tested, Sunset was more than happy to have such a loyal friend in her life. "So," Lightning sighed as she threw an arm across Sunset's shoulders. "Where's your next class?" "Just up ahead," Sunset smiled. "No. I mean the next class," she sighed, giving a staring student a death glare. "The only class we share is third period History. Need to make sure you get to the other ones safely." It unnerved her a little how serious Lightning was taking her new role as her open protector, but after she got the whole story about what happened with Rainbow in the girl's locker room, it was greatly appreciated. To say Sunset was shocked was an understatement, though it did make one thing crystal clear; they were not friends anymore. In fact, they probably never were friends to begin with. And they never would be. "Room 204," Sunset whispered. Lightning winced. "Miss Harshwhinny? Wow, that sucks." Sunset giggled. "Oh come on, she's not that bad." "She teaches Honers Physics and gives enough homework to build a house bigger than my apartment," Lightning deadpanned. "Hence the nickname 'Math Devil'". "She's always been nice to me," Sunset shrugged. "Only cuz you eat math for breakfast with a mug of genius each morning," she smirked. "Whatever," Sunset smiled. As she closed in on her first period class, she couldn't help but marvel at how good it felt to laugh again. Just the simple act of interacting with another living being just seemed to fill her with new life in these trying times. Even while she felt like she was under constant observation by her fellow students, just these small moments gave her a small semblance of normalcy that she thought Anon-a-Miss took from her. It was a breath of fresh air that she desperately needed to heal. As she was about to step into her first class, Lightning tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, so, what do you think about Lyra's offer?" she whispered. Sunset frowned. "Tell her... I'll think about it." Lightning nodded with an understanding smile and headed off to her own class. All the while, the fiery haired teen mulled over the mint colored girl's offer. Carefully, she weighed the pros and cons such a proposal presented to her and wondered if it was really even worth the few risks she could find as she texted her class schedule to Lightning. *** What do you mean you're canceling your gigs with me?! Pinkie typed, hands shaking as they clutched her phone. About an hour after she came home form the roughest school day she had in years she received a message from her favorite DJ informing her that she no longer wanted to work with her. Her phone vibrated and Pinkie gawked as she stared at her phone. Just that. I don't want to have anything to do with you're parties. I think Cheese could give me a WAY less toxic rep than you. Struggling to find the words needed to describe what she was feeling, Pinkie frantically typed a response, desperate to find a way to salvage this situation. While Pinkie's parties were massively popular she knew that a large percentage of their appeal came from Vinyl's reputation. The young DJ could turn a great party into a fantastic one with her wild beats and amazing charisma. The second she got her hands on a turn table, it was as if she filled the room with magic and you couldn't help but let it take you away form all of your problems. Is it because of what Sunset's posted lately? Don't worry! I'm sure Meme Queen can bust her and that big meanie pants can get what she deserves! She waited a few minutes and was shocked when instead of a text, she got a call. With a relieved sigh, she accepted the call and put the phone up to her ear. "Yeah?" "Listen," Vinyl growled. "If you say anything like that to me again, I swear I'll PUNCH YOUR FACE IN THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Pinkie flinched away when Vinyl's voice roared out of her phone's speaker. "Y-Yes," she squeaked. "B-But I-" "Good!" Vinyl snapped. "Now do me a favor and FUCK OFF!" With that, the call ended leaving a silent room with a trembling Pinkie Pie standing in the center. It took everything she had not to breakdown in tears. *** "Excuse me?!" Rarity exclaimed, voice echoing through the now empty boutique. "Did you not hear me?" Octavia asked, tone neutral and arms crossed. "I would like to cancel all of my orders." Rarity shook off her shock then immediately shifted to damage control. Of all of her clients, The Melodies were her biggest and most influential of them all. Not even The Riches could hold a candle to the prestige Octavia's family could give Rarity's business. In addition, the girl was one of the few clients the budding fashion designer had formed a kind of bond with. Not quite a friendship, but she was very hopeful that with enough time that would change. "I see," she said, anxiety hidden behind a polite smile. "Any particular reason?" Octavia's calm mask cracked slightly as a trace of a glare bore into Rarity. "Does a lady need a reason, or is a simple change of heart not good enough?" Rarity flinched at the barely contained rage in her client's features and venomous tone. While she knew the girl was capable of it, she had never seen Octavia angry before. Something that she considered a blessing as she took in her soon to be former client's visibly restrained display. "O-Of course," she said, a nervous chuckle slipping pass her lips. "I was merely curious." Octavia sighed and with slightly less aggression held in her features said, "To be honest, recent events have lead me to question the character of this establishment. As such love, I feel it is for the best that I sever such a questionable tie from my family's name. I'm sure you understand dear. It's nothing personal, I am simply doing what I think is best for my lineage." Every word that left Octavia's mouth was like a dagger to the heart to the now stunned designer. While a small part of her was relived that no apparent malice guided the musician's actions, it still crushed her to hear that her name had been damaged to such a degree that it would've caused harm to Octavia's social standing by mere association. Trembling slightly, Rarity struggled to find her voice as she tried to continue the conversation. "Y-Yes darling, completely understandable. But if I'd be so bold, where will you be sending your business if not with me and my family?" "Hard to say," Octavia sighed. "It will take some time to find someone with your skills, but I think I can manage. I have heard rumors of a talented seamstress in Canterlot City's southern district. I believe she went by Polomare or something to that effect. Anyway, have a good day Rarity. Hopefully the next time we meet it will be under better circumstances." With that, she turned and exited the building, leaving a stunned Rarity to fall to her knees as all the strength seemed to drain out of them. *** Sweetie Drops was one of the biggest candy shops in the city. Unlike most shops like it, all of the products are hand made by the owner and her family using methods and recipes passed town from generations of confectioners. In many ways, this made it the candy equivalent of the Apple family. A fact that lead to the two forming a kind of alliance of sorts where one would supply ingredients to the other in exchange for advertising and distribution. It was for this precise reason that the atmosphere in the titular candy store was so tense as the heiresses of the two families clashed. "What the sam hill are ya talking about!?" Applejack gaped. "Our apples are just as good as they've always bin!" Bonbon raised a brow at the apple farmer. "Really, then mom and I must be pretty stupid, cuz they taste way too bitter for us to use to make our caramel apples. In fact I think most of them are too rotten for us to use for much of anything." "B-But what do you expect us to ta to with ten crates of sold apples? They ain't something we can just resell!" Applejack exclaimed desperate. Bonbon shrugged from her position behind the cashier's counter. "Beats me. Maybe you can use them all for fertilizer. Honestly, I could care less. Regardless, Sweetie Drops prides itself on making the best quality candy in the city and we can't do that with subpar ingredients. That said, you have ten days to pick up the crates before we make arrangements to have them disposed of. We will also be expecting a full refund for all apples not used as part of our family's agreement in regards to customer satisfaction no more than a day after the removal of the defective product. We also will not be accepting anymore products from Sweet Apple Acres until you can prove to us that you can provide us with quality ingredients again." Applejack was floored. Granted, this wasn't the first time someone talked ill of her family's main crop, but for one bad bushel of apples to do this much damage to such a loyal business partnership was a huge pill to swallow. Desperate, she racked her brain to find a way to turn this around. While they had Barnyard Bargains as a powerful business ally, Sweetie Drops helped bring attention to the farms baked goods and more experimental ventures such as their apple jam. But now, not only did the farm stand to lose its biggest form of advertising, they now owed said sponsor a considerable amount of money. "T-There's nothing ah can say that can change this, is there?" Applejack asked, fear gripping her heart. "No," Bonbon said, tone as cold as ice and face equally readable. "There isn't." With that, Applejack slumped her shoulders in defeat then said, "Ah get it. Ah'll send word to the farm and make the arrangements to get the apples out of here. No point lettin' them go to waste, right?" "Right," Bonbon said, giving the cowgirl a sympathetic smile. "And thanks for being such a good sport about this whole thing." Applejack nodded and with the shadow of her hat hiding her face, turned and left the store. As soon as she left, Bonbon's smile turned into a triumphant smirk as she stepped away from the counter and into the store's back room. There, she found her mother standing not too far from the door dividing the two sections of the store, a big grin plastered across her face. The two looked almost identical with the only main differences between them being the obvious age gap and that while Bonbon had a more beige tone to her skin, her mother was more of a light gray with spirals of white decorating her pink and blue curls. As Bonbon got close to her she asked, "You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Bonbon's grin grew slightly. "More than you know." Sweetie Drops' smile rivaled her daughter's as she threw her arms around her in a proud hug and said, "Let Sunset know that the next time she comes here, there's a bag of sweets waiting for her." Bonbon smiled and said, "I will mom. I will." *** "I can't believe I'm doing this," Sunset sighed from the passenger seat. "Aw c'mon, it won't be that bad," Lightning chuckled as she drove through the busy city streets. "Lyra's a pretty cool girl once you get to know her." Sunset let out a sigh as she stared out the passenger window. After she gave it some thought, she decided that it wouldn't be so bad to at least try to be friends with the rest of Derpy's group. And when she considered how well things turned out with Lightning Dust, she didn't see the harm in giving Lyra a chance. It also brought Bonbon's proposal to mind, but she decided to shelve her thoughts on that matter for another day. For now, she had to deal with a mint green girl who wanted to "Prove the existence of the fantastical." Assuming she didn't turn into some lab experiment, this could be a very interesting day. "If you say so," Sunset groaned. "But if she does anything weird to me, I can't be held responsible for what happens." "Deal," Lightning smirked. After a few minutes of silence, the two pulled into the driveway of a two-story condo. Standing by the door to greet them was none other then the infamous Lyra herself, a shy smile decorating her face. The second Lightning killed the engine, the two girls stepped out of the vehicle and stepped towards their hostess. "Hey Ly," Lightning smiled as she approached the girl. Lyra frowned. "You know I hate it when you call me that." "Yep," she said, smile turning slightly sinister. "Your point?" Lyra shrugged, her own confident smirk creeping across her face. "None really. Though I could always let Sunset know your team nickname if you want." "I'll-be-good!" she said stiffly, body turned tense. The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped the two girls out of their verbal sparing match and reminded them of why they were here in the first place. "Right," Lyra laughed awkwardly. "Shall we?" With that, she held open the door for her two guests as they stepped pass her into the house. Lyra's house was surprisingly plain for someone so eccentric. Simple white walls and the standard furnishings one would normally find in a house. It was such a drastic difference from her host that Sunset couldn't help but feel a little unnerved. When they got to Lyra's room, Sunset felt a little more at ease. The door was painted white like all the others she saw, but it was decorated with posters and stickers of various mystical creatures. Some of them were easily recognizable to Sunset as dragons and griffins while others were a little more obscure and bizarre. Lyra turned towards her two guests with an sheepish smile and said, "Sorry if the place is a little messy. I didn't really give myself a chance to clean up." With that, she opened the door. What caught Sunset's attention was the sheer volume of fantasy world paraphernalia that filled the room. Posters of all kinds of strange creatures covered the walls to such a degree that Sunset had to actively try to find a gap to see the white paint. In addition to a bed and dresser, three bookshelves loaded with various figurines and tall stacks of what looked like cards lined the far wall opposite the door. A coffee table stood about two feet away from the bed with a dragon-covered table cloth decorating it. HIdden away in a corner of the room hung a twenty inch flatscreen TV with no less then three game consuls hooked up to it from below. The three girls walked in and took a seat at the coffee table on the floor. Lyra seemed a little anxious while Lightning's body language told anyone who payed any attention she was quickly starting to grow bored. Sunset, meanwhile, was taking in her new surroundings with growing intrigue as she took note of each of the exotic creatures on display around her. "So Ly, what's on the schedule tonight?" "Well," Lyra nervously giggled. "To be honest, I didn't think I'd get this far, so I thought I'd just wing it and see how things go." Lightning groaned. "Really Ly? I mean, yeah I'm okay with hanging out and stuff, but I don't know if Sunset's cool with just sitting around all night, right Sunset?" When she didn't get a response, she looked and spotted the girl in question not sitting next to her but instead standing in front of one of Lyra's bookshelves. "You okay there Sunset?" Lightning asked, making the girl flinch. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, setting something back on the shelf. This didn't go unnoticed by the mint teen, and a small grin decorated her face. "Their called Magic cards by the way." Sunset stared at her, brow rased in confusion. "The cards you were checking out just now." "Oh," Sunset said, a trace of interest in her tone. "If you want, I could teach you how to play." "Are you kidding me," Lightning groaned. "I remember the last time you tried to teach me to play. It took forever to build a deck let alone play the damn game." "That's just cuz you didn't get the rules," Lyra huffed. "Besides, I have a few pre-made decks just incase something like this happens. So what do ya say Sunset?" After a moment of thought, she decided to give it a shot. If nothing else, the artwork on the cards looked interesting and it wouldn't hurt to at least try her host's hobby. "Sure, why not?" Lyra practically glowed with joy as she jumped to her feet while Lightning sighed in defeat. This was going to be a long night, she thought as she pulled out her phone. With a few light skips, Lyra made it to her closet and slid the door open to reveal a clear plastic dresser. She quickly pulled one of its shelves open to reveal dozens of multicolored rectangular boxes about the size of a soda can. Frantically, she trailed a finger across them all the while muttering, "Where is it? Where is it? I know its in here somewhere." After a few minutes, she let out a happy, "Ah hah!" and pulled out two of the small containers, one purple and the other white. "Alright! lets get to the table and we can get this thing started," she cheered. Once they got to the table, Lyra explained the rules of the game and how to use the cards. Once Sunset assured her that she understood, the game was on. At first, nothing really spectacular happened as the two players slowly set their fields with land cards, but as soon as Sunset summoned her first wizard, things took off. It wasn't long after that that Lyra summoned her first knight and then the two girls began performing combos to get an edge over each other. Both made this an incredibly close match with Lyra's knights and solders fighting as a unit and Sunset's wizards holding a strong presence on the field and granting her more spell utility. The match was so close, even Lightning was pulled away from her phone with baited breath as she watched the proverbial tug-o-war that the game had turned into. Eventually, the two players were down to the last sliver of their life, with Sunset holding onto a measly 2 life while Lyra held 6. "Looks like this is the end," Lyra smiled as she looked at her as she eyed her solitary creature. "I send my Pegasus Courser to attack you. And since none of your creatures can fly, you can't block me. Plus, I activate Adamant Will to turn him into a 3/5 with Indestructible. Game over!" "Not quite," Sunset smirked as she tapped four of her own land cards. "I cast Blink of an Eye. Pegasus Courser goes back to your hand and since I payed the kicker cost, I get a free draw." Lyra gawked at her opponent as she took in what happened, then returned her card to her had as Sunset drew from the top of her deck. "Nice," Lyra smirked then tapped her remaining land to resummon her Pegasus Courser. "That's all I've got this turn, all yours." "Thanks," Sunset smirked, as she drew a card from her deck. "Now its really time to end this." Lyra raised a brow at that. "Uh, Sunset, none of your creatures are strong enough to kill me this turn, even if I don't block with PC." "Who said I was going to attack?" With that said, she tapped all of her remaining land and with the biggest smile ever slapped a card onto the table. "I cast Fight With Fire, and since I payed the kicker cost, I can deal ten damage distributed as I want among any targets on the board. I win!" The room was silent as everyone processed what happened. Then, a light snicker filled the air and in a matter of seconds Lyra fell into a massive laughing fit as she fell onto her back. "T-That was the greatest match I've had in a long time," she said, pulling herself back into a sitting position and wiping happy tears from her eyes. "You sure you've never played before? You're a freaking natural!" "Thanks," Sunset smiled, a laugh slipping past her lips. "That was a lot of fun Lyra. I don't think I've ever played anything so intense before." "No kidding," she said, her smile suddenly more sad. "I really owe a lot to this game." "Huh?" "Uh, don't worry about it," Lyra blushed a slightly forced smile replacing her glum one as she turned toward Lightning. "Hey, what time is it?" Lightning looked at her phone and her jaw dropped. "Shit! It's already seven-thirty! We need to go or Derpy's gonna kill me!" Quickly, the two girls scrambled to get all their cards together to put them back into their respective deck boxes, but when Sunset handed hers back to Lyra, she shook her head and pushed it back towards the fiery haired teen. "Keep them," she smiled. "But-" "I can always build another one if I ever get the urge and besides, I built it with you in mind to begin with. Think of it as an early Christmas gift from one Planeswalker to another." Speechless, Sunset took the small purple deck box, and help it in a gentle embrace, happy tears leaking down her cheeks. "Thanks Lyra." "No prob, Sunset" she smirked. *** A soft clicking filled the air as a lone teen sat, her computer the only source of light in the dark room. In its light her yellow skin and pink hair showed her stress as her teal eyes scanned the screen before her.. Sitting open on her desk by her keyboard was an almost ignored faux leather bound journal filled with entries written with two different styles of penmanship. "Don't worry Sunset," Fluttershy muttered to herself as she examined yet another old post. "I'll prove to everyone that you're not behind this. I swear."