//------------------------------//
// Crouching Diva, Hidden Geek 
// Story: Aria Ignite 
// by Third Brony 
//------------------------------//

Tuesday was a day off for us. Principal Celestia was so happy with out victory over the Shadowbolts that she'd actually intended to clear our entire week. If it weren't for Vice Principal Luna reminding her that we still had a curriculum to complete, she might have actually gone through with it. Still, it was decided that we needed at least one full day to recover. 
Snips, Snails and I decided to move our Wednesday game of Starswirl's Demons to Tuesday and met up at the Sugar Cube Corner a little before twelve. I hadn't been to SCC since my fall out with Aria but I decided that since she'd recovered (if you could call it that) it was safe to return.
Mr. and Mrs. Cake still gave me wary glances as if my very presence my cause random drama to appear. Pinkie Pie wasn't there but a plate piled high with cupcakes sat on the counter with a colourful note stating that they were for her. Other than my friends and the Cakes, the Corner was empty. A couple minutes into our game, the door opened and Sunset came in. She looked around for a while and then walked over to us.
"Hey Sunset," I greeted. 
"Hey Lost," she returned. She matched Snips' and Snails' angry glares with a curtly nod.
Before I could ask why she was here, she explained, "The girls are all having some pet party at Fluttershy's place and Aria's off with some new boy she met yesterday." As soon as she said that, she gave me a confused look. "Why isn't she with you? She really seemed to like you."
I shrugged. I contemplated asking her if Aria knew that Silver was involved with Rainbow already, but by the way she seemed comfortable saying that Aria was off with a boy, she didn't know who the boy was. I thought about telling her but then I felt Silver's hand on my shoulder again. I shuddered and looked back to my game.
"Mind if I play with you guys?" she asked. 
"You?" scoffed Snips. "Don't make us laugh."
Sunset dug into her pocket and removed a pack of cards which she slammed down on the table. Snips, Snails and I crowded around to see. Our eyes nearly fell out of our heads when we saw that it was the Starswirl's Demons- Nightmare Expansion Pack. It had only been out for all of two days.
"How?" I struggled to ask. "How did you get this?"
She answered, "When I was first banished here, I had to find something to do until the portal opened again."
"You never mentioned being a Starswirl fan," Snips piped.
Sunset twisted her face to mock him. "Like I'd ever tell you two," she said. "You'd blab to the whole school and I'd lose all my popularity."
Snips folded his arms and looked away in a huff but Snails and I still stared in wonder at the Nightmare Expansion Pack. Below it, we noticed was a more worn out pack that was torn at the edges.
"Alright," I said after I was finished drooling. "Let's play."



It was a hard lesson for us to learn just how ruthless Sunset really was. 
Even after we bid her not to use the Expansion Pack since it was more advanced than the cards we had, she decimated us with her mismatched pack. None of us saw that Ahuizotl's Roar coming.
At three, we decided that we'd had enough and put our cards away. In fact, I could have sworn that I saw an inkling of respect in Snips' and Snails' eyes as they glared at Sunset.
"Looks like Pinkie isn't coming for these," we heard Mrs. Cake say. "Sunset dear."
Sunset pocketed her cards and looked up.
"Could you take these to Pinkie for us? It seems she forgot that she ordered them."
"Oh, those are probably for the pet party," Sunset said as she went for the plate. "Sure I'll take them to her."
"Thank you dearie," Mrs. Cake said before going to tend to the sudden crying of her son. 
"I have to go now guys," Sunset said to us in a cheeky tone . "Maybe I'll play you guys some other time."
"We have to go too," Snails said as he and Snips gathered up their things.
They dashed out of The Corner in the direction of the comic book store.
"Aren't you going as well?" Sunset queried.
I shook my head. "Nah," I answered. "When Aria crushed my phone, Mom cut off my allowance till I can buy a new one."
"Aw," she mused. "Well, since you aren't doing anything, want to come with?"
I looked around. The Corner was empty, with even Mr. and Mrs. Cake in the back making baby noises at their kids. I sighed.
"Sure," I replied. "I've never been to one of Pinkie's parties."
Sunset grinned. "Then you're in a for a huge surprise."