"So, as you can see, we have fourteen confirmed 'Dalek' sightings spreading out across this area of Texas and New Mexico. They've been travelling alone, but it doesn't seem to have much impact on their deadliness."

Sunset and Penn were standing and staring at a large screen mounted to the wall, where Coulson had been going over a map with them for nearly half an hour. Each town on the map listed a count of casualties, injured and deceased. The fact that there were so many more of the latter than the former made Sunset's stomach turn. Even Penn seemed to have eschewed all of his excitement for a deep scowl as the magnitude of the destruction set in.

"Daleks are highly militaristic, they wouldn't conduct full-scale invasion in single numbers. The one Sunset and I encountered even identified itself as a scout." Penn mused. "They're still scouting out this world, assessing whether or not we could pose a threat-" he caught himself, then shook his head. "No, not a threat. How many resources and how much time we could cost to wipe out now, and whether we could be put to better use as a slave force."

"We think they're coming from a spatio-temporal anomaly right about... here." Fitz pointed to a point right at the center of the map. "We sent a drone through to the other side to try and gather data, but it was shot down after filming for only a few seconds."

The screen shifted to a bird's-eye view of West Texas, climbing up into the sky towards a shimmering barrier. As the camera moved up and through it, the entire picture transitioned to one of deep space. Far off in the distance, Sunset could count five spinning bronze saucers against the black void. After only a moment, however, a dalek flew into the picture, a flash of light came from its gun, and the picture was reduced to static.

Sunset had no idea what she had just been shown, but she knew that it wasn't good. She glanced over at Penn, hoping to get more information out of his reaction.

Sunset didn't know eyes OPENED that wide. She could see the whites all the way around his pupils, which were just as pale as his colorless face. Without a word, his eyes rolled back up into his head and he tipped backwards, falling to the floor with a loud thud.

"Penn!" Sunset rushed over to his side, checking him for injury from the fall. Luckily, the floor upstairs was carpeted, so it was unlikely he'd been seriously hurt by the impact.

"That bad, huh?" Coulson muttered, shutting off the screen with a wave of his hand. "Does he do that a lot?"

"I- I don't know, we just met earlier today!" Sunset gasped and slapped her palm over her mouth. She had been so worried about Penn, she'd spoken without thinking.

Fitz and Skye looked at one another anxiously, but Coulson's eyes just widened and locked on Sunset.

"You mean that the two of you beat one of these things after only knowing each other for a few HOURS?"

Sunset thought about trying to patch the leaked information with a lie, but she could practically feel Applejack's disapproval.

"Well, that kind of teamwork is exactly what we're going to need if we want to survive this. Skye, you and Sunset help get him onto the couch, I'll have Simmons come take a look at him. I want to know the moment he wakes up!" Skye nodded obediently. "Fitz, you're going back to working on reverse-engineering that destroyed dalek down in the lab, I want a plan on how to beat these things by morning!"

"Yes, sir!" Fitz nodded before speed-walking his way out of the room back in the direction they came in from. Coulson obviously has his own places to be, leaving the briefing room in the opposite direction. Skye gave Sunset a sympathetic smile as she walked over and bent down to grab his ankles. Sunset returned with a tired smile of her own, reaching over and looping her arms under his shoulders. With joint grunts of effort, they both lifted him up into the air and walked him to a nearby couch.

"Not exactly the best first impression to make..." Skye muttered with a grin. "I've seen a lot of things, but I don't think I've ever seen someone faint like that at the first sign of trouble."

Sunset couldn't help but feel slightly offended. "Hey, take it a little easy on him, he's had a rough day! I think he's had more adventure today than in his whole life combined."

Skye raised her hands defensively. "I'm just kidding! I'm kinda the 'new girl' around here, too. Trust me, it's hard not to freeze up when you're staring the impossible in the face."

Before Sunset could respond, another girl was crouching beside her. She had a wide smile, long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a small bag. She reached inside, retrieving a small device.

"Hullo! Sorry, but would you mind moving?" she chirped, giving Sunset a gentle push out of the way before beginning to examine Penn. She ran the device over his forehead and watched a small display. She gave a relieved sigh.

"I might do a few more tests, but I would guess that he's fine, probably just overexerted himself." After a moment, she finally seemed to realize Sunset's presence, offering a wide smile and a friendly handshake. "Sorry, that was terribly impolite of me! Jemma Simmons, pleasure to meet you!"

"Simmons here is a genius with, like, six doctorates." Skye grinned. Simmons waved away the praise, but Sunset noticed that she didn't try to correct Skye.

Sunset took Jemma's hand and gave it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you, too, Jemma. I'm Sunset Shimmer."

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you! It's a lovely name!" Jemma assured her. Sunset couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about this girl reminded her of her friends: as if she were some kind of fusion of Fluttershy and Twilight. It made her feel safer. "Now then, I doubt your friend will be waking up soon on his own, it's already rather late. I would suggest you both get some rest while you can! The rest of us, on the other hand..." she sighed, and for the first time Sunset noticed tired-looking bags beneath her eyes, "will keep working on reverse-engineering that THING they brought back for us..."

Sunset glanced at Penn. The color had returned to his face, and he now looked as if he was sleeping peacefully. She thought over just how much action and adventure had been crammed into a single day, then glanced at a clock on the wall. 10:30.

"I might not have any doctorates, but... maybe I could help?" Sunset rose up to her full height. "I don't know as much as Penn about daleks, but I DO know that their own guns are strong enough to take them down. If we could find a way to disconnect it from the main body-"

"Then we'd have an effective weapon to use against the rest! That's brilliant!" Simmons snapped her fingers and gleefully dashed for the door. "Thank you, Sunset Shimmer!"

"Wait! Maybe I can... help?" Sunset started to follow, but stopped as she felt Skye's hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me, it doesn't matter HOW smart you are, nobody can keep up with Fitz-Simmons when they're working together. Just that information is more than we could have asked for." Skye smiled and motioned to a set of doors on one side of the room. "We've got a spare bunk, why not follow your friend's example and get some sleep?"

Sunset glanced towards the doors, then back at Penn sleeping on the couch. She sighed and walked to another one of the chairs in the room, pulling off the cushions and setting them on the floor.

"I... don't want to leave him on his own. I'm used to this kind of excitement, and even I feel like this is getting to be too much. Until I dropped into his life, he was just a pizza delivery guy! I feel kind of responsible, you know? Could I just borrow a blanket?"

Skye seemed surprised, but game her a knowing smile and disappeared into one of the bunk rooms, returning with a pillow and blanket for her.

Sunset smiled, laying down on the cushions and making herself comfortable under the blanket. Before she'd even realized it, she was already deep in the grasp of her dreams.

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Sunset awoke to a firm hand shaking her shoulder. Opening her eyes, Sunset found herself staring up into Penn's face.

"Huh- wha- is it time to go?" she groaned, rubbing at her eyes as she began to sit up.

"Oh, no! Nonono! You're just moving up to the couch. you don't have to get up." Penn assured her as he motioned to the place he had been sleeping.

Sunset was sleepy, but she wasn't THAT sleepy. "Wait, then where are YOU going?"

Penn smiled and held up the black pouch he had taken from his car, giving it a playful shake.

Sunset was wide awake, now. She sat up completely, shifting her glance back and forth between Penn and the pouch. A grin spread across her face and she was on her feet in seconds.

"But you need to rest! You-" Penn caught himself and leaned in close to her to whisper into her ear. "You got blasted across who-knows-how-many universes today! Who KNOWS what kind of condition you could be in?"

Sunset took a moment to take inventory of her body. Two eyes, two arms, two legs... Nothing was hurting or missing, she was hardly even sore.

Once again, Penn's eyes moved up and down examining her before he finally let out a defeated sigh.

"We're probably gonna need some space..." Penn winked before motioning for her to follow. Together, the two of them made their way back out the way that they had come, down into the cargo bay where the black humvee was parked beside a cherry-red sports car on a large exit ramp. Behind a pair of glass doors, Sunset could see Fitz and Simmons toiling away as fast as they could on the remains of the dalek she and Penn had destroyed earlier that day. Sunset considered herself rather skilled at reading lips, but the speed at which they were talking was beyond her ability to make out even a few words. She quickly turned and followed Penn down the ramp and outside.

"Oh! I know this area! We're halfway to Seagraves!" Penn grinned. "So much for the tinted windows making us lose track of our location, huh?"

Sunset rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything to spoil his fun. To her, the landscape around them was just shallow hills and dead grass.

Penn grinned and unzipped the top of the pack, reaching inside and retrieving a set of small, thin objects. Sunset cringed as disappointment settled in.

"Not just ANY cards!" Penn declared, pivoting on his heel and pointing the bundle of plastic-covered cards at her. "These cards are part of a game created from a show about summoning monsters and casting powerful magic! The cards act as a gateway between the human world and the world of spirits! A good duelist can overcome any obstacle with only his wits and the heart of the cards!" He pointed the cards victoriously to the sky. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he returned to normal posture and cleared his throat.

"Of course, in THIS world, they're just children's trading cards. I was just thinking..." he dragged the tip of his toe through the dirt, obviously embarrassed about his earlier outburst. "You know, if Daleks and SHIELD and you can all be real now, maybe these can be, too?"

Sunset couldn't resist smiling. His enthusiasm was almost... cute. It was definitely contagious.

"Well, I guess comparing if them now to BEFORE I broke the universe isn't a bad idea, right? I guess anything's possible at this point!"

Penn's face lit up at the encouragement and he began to eagerly rifle through the cards in his hand. After a few seconds, he finally settled on one. He confidently held it at arm's length, displaying it for the world to see.

"Alright! If this is really going to work, let's find out! I summon... Ghostrick Doll!"

Sunset waited with baited breath. If this DID work, she couldn't wait to see what would happen. Both of them stood in complete silence for several seconds before Penn let loose a sigh of defeat and let his arm fall to his side.

"Well, I guess it WAS a stretch..." he muttered as he filed the cards back into the pack and fastened it back to his belt. Sunset stepped up beside him and gave him a gentle pat on the back.

"Hey, it was worth a shot, bud. I thought it might work, too! Sure would have liked to see it, summoning monsters out of trading cards sounds cool!"

Penn smiled and patted his hand against the pack. "Well, just having them nearby makes me feel safer anyway, whether they work or not."

Sunset could spot an opportunity to learn more about her new friend when it presented itself.

Penn smiled and reached inside, flipping through a few cards until he happened upon one that seemed to catch his attention, passing it into Sunset's hands.

It was a black card with a set of four stars at the top, a box full of text at the bottom, and a picture of what appeared to be a young girl at the center. She was wearing an adorable black dress with blue accents, a tiny top hat, and a pair of stockings with tiny shoes. She remembered Rarity calling the style "Gothic Lolita" in some of the mumbling she tended to do while she worked. The girl had a pair of wings with black-and-white feathers in a piano pattern and a matching halo over her head split evenly between black and white.

2 Level 4 monsters
You can also Xyz Summon this card by using a "Ghostrick" Xyz Monster you control as the Xyz Material, except "Ghostrick Angel of Mischief". (Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card.) When the number of Xyz Materials on this card becomes 10, you win the Duel. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; add 1 "Ghostrick" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to your hand. Once per turn: You can attach 1 "Ghostrick" card from your hand to this card as an Xyz Material.

Penn chuckled, taking the card back out of her hand and slipping it into the pouch on his belt.

"You don't have to be nice about it, I know the text probably makes no sense if you aren't familiar with the game." He shrugged. "'Ghostrick Angel of Mischief' is a real mouthful, so I just call her 'Missy.' She's my favorite of the Ghostrick cards, gotten me through many a duel!" He gave the card a gentle pat before slipping it into the pack alongside the rest. "I was playing Yu-Gi-Oh before I moved to Texas. One of my closest friends taught me to play and gave me my first deck! By the time I came to Texas, I was obsessed with it..."

Penn's expression eased into a nostalgic smile as he strolled back to the cargo bay ramp and sat himself on the edge. Sunset silently followed him, sitting on the lower part just below him.

"I founded the school's game club around it, made a lot of my friends that way! I practically had the whole debate team coming, twenty-five members!" His eyes squinted after a moment. "Of course, the debate teacher got jealous and rescheduled his practices to the same time as our club meetings... After that, there were only five of us."

Sunset couldn't hold back a giggle at the thought of a younger Penn and some generic teacher locked in dramatic rivalry.

"But those five turned into some of the best friends I ever had in high school. Tuesday afternoons were our time to just sit back and get away from all the people who liked to get their laughs at our expense. For three years, every Tuesday was just us, an empty classroom, and a giant pile of cards..."

Sunset knew exactly what he was talking about. She had always loved hanging out with her friends in the band's practice room for the exact same reasons. It was like there was no one else in the world but them. When she was still hated for her days as a bully, it had been the one place she was safe from the rest of the students' judging gazes. Still, one detail struck a guilty nerve with her.

Penn rolled his eyes and waved away her concerns. "It was much, much worse before I came to Texas. I didn't even realize I was getting made fun of until at least a year in down here! It was pretty tame. It was still nice to have our own little corner of the world where didn't exist, though." His smile widened as happy memories overtook his melancholy. "We would always manage to get in at least one match every lunch period, too! Best of three duels!" He leaned in close to her. "My buddy would tell you that we were evenly matched, but my old deck and I were never defeated in the best of three!"

"Oh! Yeah! The Ghostricks are actually pretty new compared to the cards in my old reliable deck! Here, take a look, it's-" he was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the ramp. Both of them looked up to see Agent Coulson.

"Good to see the two of you up and about, but I'm afraid there's no more time for reminiscing about the glory days. We've got a planet to save."

Sunset looked back at Penn, who simply chuckled and hopped down from his seat on the ramp.

"Well, guess there's not a lot of time for children's card games at the end of the world, huh?"

Sunset followed suit, and the two of them quickly followed Coulson up and back into the plane's cargo bay. She couldn't hold back a wide smile. She'd learned a lot about her new friend in just a few minutes. She hurried up to fall into line beside him.

"Do you think you could teach me to play that game? Once this Dalek stuff is all over?"

She watched as Penn's face lit up, practically rapturous in his disbelief. It was if those simple words had made his whole day.

The Multiverse in a Nutshell

by Pennington Inkwell

Glory Days