Ch.9 First Impressions
In a busy street, ten blocks away from Canterlot High stood a small candy shop. The Sweetie Drops was one of the biggest sweets shops in town, with all of their goods made by hand and with recipes that had been passed down for generations. If one wanted to get their hands on a top quality batch of candy, that was the place to go. If one were to stop by the shop on that bright day, they would also see the shop's owner attempting to hug the life out of a fiery haired teen in a black leather jacket with tears in her eyes.
"Bonbon," Sunset gasped, desperately reaching out to the mortified cream-colored teen. "A little help, please!"
Bonbon sighed as she approached her weeping mother.
"For god's sake mom," she groaned, grabbing one of her mother's arms. "Let the poor girl breath!"
"R-Right," Sweetie Drops sniffled as she reluctantly released her prey. "Sorry. Welcome to The Sweetie Drops, where quality smiles are our top priority," she smiled. "Feel free to check out our wears and if you find something you like, don't hesitate to bring it to the register."
"Uh, sure?" she said awkwardly.
With a smile and sniffle, the older woman nodded then headed to the back of the shop. Sunset let out a relieved sigh as she watched her leave. While it was a better reception then she was used to outside of her new circle of friends, it was still a little too personal for her.
"Sorry about that," Bonbon sighed as she walked towards the same door behind the register desk. "My mom's not usually like that."
"Really?" she asked as she fallowed the cream colored girl. "What's she like normally?"
She paused just outside the door with her right index finger resting on her chin as she thought for a moment then said, "Like that only less weepy and huggy."
"Ah," Sunset nodded.
With that, the two girls entered the back room and what she saw made Sunset's jaw drop. While the shop's main floor was impressive, the countless laboratory-style setups that filled the room was on a totally different level of awe-inspiring. Beakers, test tubes, and various types of equipment needed to handle an equally diverse collection of chemicals dominated the room, with large bundles of completed product gathered near unused packaging.
"Impressed?" Bonbon giggled as she saw Sunset's slack-jawed expression. "Here at Sweetie Drop's, all of our candy is hand made using centuries old recipes passed down from matriarch to matriarch. While we don't have the marketing of some of the bigger chain stores, our reputation has made us one of the biggest businesses in the city."
"What about wrapping?" Sunset asked, snapping out of her stupor. "You don't wrap and package all of your candy by hand too, do you?"
With a smug grin, Bonbon nodded.
"Just the two of you?!"
"Well of course not," she laughed. "Normally we have the whole family here making and packaging the candy. You didn't really think my mom and I were the only people that worked here did you?"
"Well..." she pouted with a slight blush. "Maybe? But then were is everyone?"
"Day off," she said with a smirk. "The shop isn't open on Sundays. Gives everyone a chance to catch their breath."
"Oh, that makes sense," she said, mentally face-palming.
And the only reason her mom and her are here is because they live on the second floor.
"Anyway," Bonbon said walking towards a set of stares in the room's back left corner. "let's get out of here before you try to make a love potion or something."
"A what?!" she exclaimed, chasing after the blue and pink haired girl. "Why would I want something like that?!"
"Oh please," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I've seen the way you look at Derpy."
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," Sunset stammered, face turning as red as her hair.
"Whatever you say," she said with a playful smile. It turned positively cheshireish as she added,"Good luck with that by the way. The two of you would be absolutely adorable together."
Sunset could only sputter random sounds as her frazzled mind struggled to come up with a functional counter argument. That proved to be an impossible feat, leaving the fiery haired girl a blushing mess as she ascended the stairs to the shop's second floor. At the head of the two girl parade, a grinning Bonbon observed her handy work with a victorious smile.
Looks like Octavia's hunch was right. That settles it then. When all this Annon-a-Miss BS is taken care of, were gonna help get these two together. Well Octavia's gonna do it. I don't even want to think about the kind of crazy plans Lyra would come up with.
Instantly, memories of her thirteenth birthday came to mind, and with them, a shiver down her spine. They never did find the clown that was supposed to pop out of the cake.
Once they reached the top of the stairs they stepped into a dimly lit hallway with three doors. One was at the opposite end of the hall while the other two were at the middle facing each other. Bonbon casually walked to the door on the left and gently pushed it open.
"Well, here we are," she smiled as she held the door open to her.
Sunset let herself in to what had to be the most generic looking bedroom she had ever seen. The walls were painted a light brown with nothing decorating them beyond a light-blue wall mounted clock. A blue dresser stood against the wall to her left with a traditional wood-framed queen-sized bed on the opposite end of the room. Directly across from her stood a simple work desk with a pink laptop positioned at its center with a desk lamp just behind it. A straw hamper was positioned right next to the door. A light trace of lemon and laundry detergent filled the air as Sunset took in her surroundings.
It reminds me of my room at Derpy's, she thought, taking a deep breath.
"Pretty bland, huh?" Bonbon smiled, letting herself in and closing the door. "Mom keeps bugging me to decorate, but I don't really see the point."
"Yeah, I get it," Sunset sighed, taking a seat on the bed. "If you don't need it, it's just clutter, right?"
"Exactly," she exclaimed, taking a seat beside her guest. "Finally someone who gets it!"
Both girls laughed, Sunset enjoying the simplicity of her surroundings and Bonbon's company. It was then that Sunset noticed a previously missed blue deck box sitting on the bed's headboard.
"A gift from Lyra?" she asked, pointing at the headboard.
"Kinda," Bonbon said, a gentle smile gracing her face as she picked it up. "The deck box came from Lyra, but the cards are all me."
"Really? No offense, but you don't look like someone that would be into that kind of thing."
"None taken," she laughed. "And you're right, I don't play all that much. Not as much as Lyra anyway."
She stared down at the small cardholder, her gaze distant as a faint smile decorated her face.
"You know," she continued, eyes still locked onto her deck box. "It's thanks to Magic that I became friends with Lyra."
"Really?" Sunset asked, intrigued.
She nodded.
"Back in Junior High, I wasn't the best at making friends. I was really awkward and shy, so when lunch came around, I'd spend most of my time wandering the school looking for ways to kill time. Some of the teachers that had classes after lunch would let students use there rooms to hang out. Sort of like mini cafeterias or clubs as long as the student's didn't get too rowdy. One of the teachers that did this was a music teacher towards the back of the school. I went there once to take a break from all the noise in the cafeteria, and that's when I saw Lyra for the first time."
***
At the heart of the otherwise empty music room stood a green girl with messy gray and white hair wearing a light blue shirt and gray shorts. In front of her were two desks facing each other about two inches apart. On each desk was an assortment of cards arranged in some sort of pattern that only made sense to their mint handler. Bonbon watched the strange girl for a moment, intrigue drawing her to investigate further. Three feet away from the sight, the unnerving stillness of the girl in addition the intense levels of concentration she exuded prevented the shy tween from moving any further. Then, as fast as a cobra, the girl's hands flew between the two desks, each changing card positions and locations. It was almost like she was in a trance, moving with the speed of someone at the mercy of a higher power. Then, just as suddenly, she stopped, an irritated scowl plastered across her face. With an annoyed grumble, she picked up all of the cards, put them into their own individual stacks, placed those stacks into small colorful plastic boxes, put them into her backpack, and left the room with a distant look in her eyes.
What the heck just happened? she thought as she watched the strange girl leave.
***
"Later, she told me it was a mock battle," Bonbon smiled, opening up the deck box and pulling out her cards. "She takes two decks and pits them against each other. She told me its like fighting herself over and over again so she can make the best deck she can."
Sunset nodded in understanding, her hand drifting unconsciously to her own cards in her jacket pocket. Ever since Lyra gave them to her, she kept them close. It felt like having a piece of one of her friends with her at all times.
"Ever since that day," she continued, slowly sifting through her blue-sleeved cards. "I would go to that room at lunch. At first it was because I had nowhere else to go, but then I started to get curious about her. What was she doing? What was with those cards? Why was she all by herself everyday? Was she the same as me? I really wanted to know, but every time I tried to ask her, my nerves would get the best of me."
Then, a gentle smile spread across her face, she stopped filing through her cards to pull out one in particular, a nostalgic gleam in her eyes.
"But one day, I was walking through the mall and something amazing happened."
"What?" Sunset asked.
She faced her guest, still holding her nostalgic smile and said, "I got to see the real Lyra and get my answers all in one go."
***
Bonbon let out a sigh, the crowds tuned out as the music from her earbuds flooded her with the zen only opera could provide. It was the only way she could deal with being surrounded by so many people at once. Not every time of course, but sometimes the suffocating feeling of being surrounded by people was just too much. With her anxieties mostly tamed, she casually strolled through the stores, not really looking for anything in particular. It was as she was looking at a mannequin on display at a department store that the green girl with gray and white hair caught her attention. To Bonbon's surprise, the girl was dressed completely different from how she was at school. Instead of her usual light-blue shirt and gray shorts, she wore a white dress shirt tucked into a pair black jeans with a matching summer jacket draped around her shoulders. Slung over her one shoulder was what looked like a single-strapped backpack with a strange star-shaped pattern on the top.
She seemed a lot more relaxed, with a giddy smile decorating her face as she navigated the labyrinth of stores and kiosks. Curious, Bonbon decided to fallow her, not really sure what to make of this new development. After a few minutes, the girl in black stepped into a store, Bonbon not far behind her. A quick look around added more questions to the growing pile in Bonbon's head. The store was full of various card and gaming paraphernalia, with the wall being dominated by wall-mounted displays showing a wide variety of cards. At the checkout stand were even more diverse merchandise such as the same colorful plastic boxes she saw the girl put her cards in as well as different colored versions of the bag she had wrapped across her shoulder. At the heart of the store's main area were a cluster of chairs and tables evenly spaced in an eight-by-eight grid pattern with two chairs a piece. Most of the tables were occupied, all by people who were using the same kind of cards as the girl she followed.
What is this place? she thought, gently plucking her earbuds out.
It was then, that what little background chatter the removal of her earbuds exposed her to was cut off as, one-by-one, each of the store's inhabitants took note of Bonbon's unknowing guide. She was silent as she moved towards a table in the farthest corner of the table grid, her back towards the other patrons. With practiced ease, she slid her shoulder bag off onto the table. Silence owned the room, then, with a confident smile and golden eyes that burned with determination, she turned to face the staring crowed.
"Hope you guys didn't miss me too much! Don't worry, Queen Lyra is ready to take all of ya on!"
The room filled with cheers as those that weren't already playing against someone moved over towards Lyra's table.
"Bout time you showed up, champ!" said one kid, taking a seat. "I've been working on my deck since our last match. I bet I can take ya this time!"
"Heh, we'll see about that," she grinned as she unzipped the top of her bag. "Don't think I've been sitting on my butt this whole time either, Button."
With it open, Bonbon saw that its interior was divided into evenly spaced plastic brackets. Each section held a plastic box of varying colors ranging from bright red to pure white. Everyone watched with baited breath as the girl, Lyra, selected one. When she pulled out a white leather-bound container, excited grins filled the room.
"Let's go all out," she grinned, as she deftly placed her prize onto the table.
Her challenger stared at her, jaw slacked before it made way for an excited smile.
"Alright! This is gonna be awesome!
What followed could only be described as a blur of activity as Bonbon watched the two card sharks go at it. When she got close enough to get a better look at what was going on she was able to notice a kind of pattern involving the cards the two were using. Lyra's cards were all relatively normal looking with a vast majority of them depicting human warriors and knights, while her opponent's all looked like twisted corpses or demonic horrors. She also noted a correlation between the two putting cards that depicted variations of terrains into a horizontal position with playing more detailed cards from their hands. It also seemed like a kind of score was being kept using twenty-sided dice as counters for some reason. As the game continued, Lyra seemed to become more animated, egging on 'Button' to play better cards and try getting past her defenses. Eventually, Lyra's half of the table was absent of anything beyond land cards and only three cards remained in her hand.
"Hah! I've got you now Champ," Button grinned. "In my next turn, my Salvage Titan's gonna take out what's left of your life."
For a moment Lyra stared at the table, her face blank, then, she looked at the three cards in her hand and laughed.
"Wow Button, you've really stepped up your game," she smirked. "But like I said, I haven't been slaking off all this time."
With that, she tapped three of her land cards and placed a new card on the table.
"First, I pay three white manna to summon Wall of Resurgence. This allows me to turn one of my lands into a 0/0 elemental with three 1/1 counters on it and haste."
As she said this, she moved one or her tapped lands into position next to her creature.
"And next," she said, her grin widening. "I pay seven white manna to summon Angel of Glory's Rise."
The second she placed her card, the whole room grew deathly quiet, as if everyone were holding their breath. Bonbon couldn't help but to get drawn into the tension of the situation. She knew that something big had happened in terms of the match in front of her, but she had no idea what. And it was driving her crazy. Fortunately, Lyra was more than ready to answer her unasked question.
"The second Glory hits the field, all of the humans in my graveyard return to the field. All twenty-four of them!"
With that, she reached for her graveyard and put twenty-four cards onto her side of the table, lips pulled into a smug grin.
"Oops, sorry," she giggled. "I meant Twenty-eight. When Attended Knight is summoned all four of them create a 1/1 Soldier token. And my two Crusaders of Odrics gain power and toughness equal to the number of creatures I have under my control. Also, my Captain of the Watch gives everyone else a 1/1 power boost and vigilance. This is my new ending move: THE GRAND BATTALION!!!"
Button gaped at the variable army at Lyra's disposal, frantically looking at his meager hand for any way to turn the tide in his favor.
"W-Wow Champ, that's pretty good. I hope I can get a board wipe next turn."
"Next turn?" Lyra blinked. "What do ya mean? My guys are taking you out right now."
"Huh? But summon sickness-"
"Don't you remember that land I turned into an elemental?"
He nodded.
"Well, it gained the haste ability and this guy," she said, pointing to one of her cards. "Odric, Lunarch Marshal, can give all my creatures the same printed ability as one of them. In short, since my elemental has haste, all of my creatures have haste. Get it? You've lost."
Button's jaw dropped, then he picked up Odric and the first card that Lyra played that turn. Once he confirmed that she was telling the truth he, politely returned the cards to her and let out a frustrated yell.
"Dang it! I was so close that time!"
"Like I said, you've really improved," she shrugged as she picked up her cards. "You're just not quite at my level yet. Keep it up. You'll get there eventually."
As she said that, she put a hand on Button's shoulder and flashed him an encouraging smile before shifting her attention to her crowd of fans.
"Alright, who wants to take a crack at me next?"
***
"And you know what the crazy thing is?"
"What?" Sunset asked, captivated by her friend's tale.
"She beat all of them."
"Really?"
"Yep!" she smirked. "It was amazing. It was like she had some kind of bond with her cards. Each time she looked like she was going to get overwhelmed, she would draw just the card she needed to turn it all around. It was like her cards wanted her to win just as much as she did."
Again, Sunset's hand drifted to the deck box in her jacket pocket, only this time it was with a bit more intent. To her surprise, she could feel a small trace of magic in it that didn't belong to her. It made her wonder just how much of Lyra's bizarre fascination with magic was truly based on a love of fantasy.
"It was amazing," she sighed. "No matter what happened, she had such confidence in herself through out the whole thing. I admired that about her, and decided I'd try to become like her, if I could. So, I did as much research on the game as I could; focused on what kind of strategies worked best with me so I could face her. I thought, if I could match her then maybe I could be as cool as her."
Bonbon let out a light chuckle at that before she continued.
"Guess I got more than that."
Sunset nodded, a wistful smile on her lips as her thoughts drifted to Derpy and the bridge.
"As you could guess, she beat the tar out of me. A new-b versus a city champion? No contest. But each day, I'd challenge her and with each match I got more confident. Eventually, we started hanging out and before I knew it, I had my first friend. She even gave me this as a birthday gift."
As she said that, she handed a card over to Sunset. She took it and gave it a slow look over and was surprised by the amount of print it had on it.
"Morphling?" she asked, reading the card's name. "Looks pretty powerful."
"It is. It's one of the strongest blue cards in the game and one of the hardest to get. She said I'd need it more than she did."
Sunset gave the card another look, this time with more appreciation. She also noticed a trace of magic surrounding it, though it didn't feel aggressive or wild. It felt impatient, like a child eager to get back to its friend. With a light chuckle, she returned the card to Bonbon who gently returned her cards to their deck box.
"You know," Bonbon smirked. "I think Lyra said she was gonna head to the mall today to update her deck. Want to stop by and say hi?"
She pondered it for a minute, then with a smile she nodded
"Sure, let's do it."
***
A thick layer of snow covered the ground, the early morning's rays coating the entirety of the Canter Canyon mountain range with a faint aurora. At the heart of a clearing among the mountains, an Alicorn and Chaos God flashed into existence.
"Okay," Discord sighed, letting go of his captive Princess. "We should be far enough ."
Shock shifted to irritation as Twilight turned towards her capturer.
"Discord, what the hay are-"
Her anger turned back into shock as she got a good look at him. The Dragonequis was covered with a wide variety of injuries ranging from deep scratches to massive burns. In addition, one of his eyes was black and swollen shut along with his Griffin arm appearing to be dislocated at the shoulder.
"What happened to you?!" she exclaimed, horn already glowing with no less than twenty healing spells at the ready.
"Your former Teacher," he groaned as he fell into the snow. "That's what happened to me. Remind me to never do anything permanent to her family in the future."
Twilight paused, letting the spells do their work as she tried to process what he said. While she knew that Celestia was powerful, she just couldn't see her doing this to anypony, especially Discord. At least, not without a good reason.
"What did you do," she groaned.
"Hey!" he snapped, pulling his now mostly healed form into a sitting position "I'm not the one who screwed up this time! That honor goes to your friends on the other side of the portal!"
"What?!" she exclaimed, taking a step back from the irritated being before her. "What do they have to do with this?!"
Discord let out weary sigh then gazed at the Princess of Friendship with a broken frown.
"This is what happened."
***
Laughter filled one of the castle's private guest rooms as its two occupants enjoyed each others company. A single candle was the only source of light in the dark room, Illuminating just enough of the room to reveal Discord, Celestia, and the bottle of two-thousand year old wine right next to it on a silver table. The infectious nature of the season dominated the atmosphere as the two immortals told tales from their pasts that the other hadn't been able to find out about, as well as a few hilarious rumors that had come to light. It wasn't often that they allowed themselves to unwind like this, especially with alcohol as a factor. The main reason being that it was hard to find any liquor that could actually effect them, but the other was because of the Solar Diarch's hectic work schedule. But when they could have these moments, it was always a pleasure. More so for Celestia than Discord, as the Chaos God's antics had started to grow on her a little bit over the years.
"Oh, Discord~" she purred, cheeks flushed from the wine. "Do you think we could...you know?"
"Why Celestia, what kind of question is that?" he asked, talon on his chest in faux shock. "Of course we can!"
With a wide smile, he snapped his fingers and a five foot tall ornate mirror appeared in beside the table. A happy squeal slipped past her muzzle as she poured herself another glass and turned to face the mirror. Ever since it was confirmed that she was alive on the other side of the portal, Celestia had taken steps to make sure Sunset was safe in the other world. In addition to putting up several barriers and security spells around Sunset's home asking Discord to open a window between the two worlds was the most reliable of these methods. Of course, it needed to be adjusted at first, after all, there was only so many times Celestia could watch her daughter sleep before it became both boring and introspectively creepy. As such, the spell was reworked to only show events in Sunset's life that held strong emotional attachment to her between uses.
For the first few minutes, everything was fine. They watched as Sunset bonded with her friends, a smile brighter than Celestia's charge threatening to split her head in half. But then, things took a turn for the worse. Before her very eyes, the beautiful life that her daughter fought for began to crumble. Her friends abandoned her, the students she protected turned on her, and her precious sun fell further into despair. A tornado of emotions were warring for dominance in her heart; sadness, fear, confusion, but creeping into the position of Commander was an emotion that the Solar Ruler tried to contain on a daily basis and was failing spectacularly. An unstoppable inferno of rage filled her, causing her hold on her wine goblet to tremble before the unfortunate object was crushed into an atom. Tears were falling down her face as she saw her long lost pride prepare to take her own life.
No......No please......Don't.......Don't do it....PLEASE DON'T!!!
She jumped.
"SUNSET!!! NO!!!"
The dam broke and with it, the hold Celestia had on her magic. The torrent of emotionally charged magic shattered the mirror while countless ageless enchantments built into the castle's very core held back Celestia's enormous magic flare. Discord watched, terror paralyzing him as the grieving mother let out a wail of pure agony, her eyes glowing with power and running tears. Surrounded by a hurricane of power, she let the heavens hear her pain for what felt like hours, the name of her now truly dead daughter repeated like a morbid mantra. Soon, the strength in her legs disappeared , forcing her to her knees. As she sobbed, Discord tried to figure out what he could do to fix this. As great as his powers were, even he couldn't bring back the dead. It was one of the reasons he only messed with everypony as opposed to killing them. Death was permanent, something he never liked and never would. He didn't need to ponder his options for long, as after a few minutes Celestia had stopped her crying, though her magic was still trying to tare the world apart. She slowly rose to her hooves, a look of murderous fury plastered across her tear stained face.
"They took our Little Sun," she growled, voice echoing as she slipped into her old form of speech. "We shall rain down damnation upon them with the fury of the Eternal Flame. To leave ashes would be too glorious a funeral for them. WE SHALL BRING THEM THE GIFT OF OBLIVION!!!"
***
"I've spent the past week fighting her nonstop to keep her from doing something stupid! She shattered three pocket dimensions, two black holes, and a completely different reality made of color! None of that should be even possible! And coming from me? That's saying something!"he exclaimed as Twilight stared at him, eyes wide and jaw slack.
There's no way they would do that, she thought, mind raising as she tried to digest what she had just heard. My friends would never just abandon somepony like that. My friends would've heard me out and tried to get to the bottom of this. My-
It was then that she realized her error, and it made her sick to her stomach.
"They're not my friends," she muttered, her whole body trembling from more than just the cold. "They were so much like them that I started treating them like them. How could I be so stupid? I did this...I killed her...I killed Sunset."
"Twilight, stay with me," Discord said, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a hard shake. "I already have one unstable Alicorn running around and I don't need another one!"
"R-Right," she said, forcing her thoughts of Sunset to the back of her mind for later. "Assuming the portal is the only way she can get to the other world, she shouldn't be able to cause any real damage. The portal strips away a pony's magic when it turns them into a human. Even if she took an artifact with her, its power would be severely weakened."
"Unless she took the Ring of Eternal Mana, right?" Discord said matter-of-factly.
"Exactly," she sighed.
A moment of silence fell over the duo before, with a trace of dread in her tone, she asked, "She has the ring, doesn't she?"
He nodded.
Twilight grabbed him by the head and pulled it within inches of her own, eyes wide with panic as she said, "Discord! Take me home right now!"
"Or," he said, holding up a hand, fingers prepped to snap. "I could take us to the other world myself."
"DO IT!!!"
With a snap and flash, the clearing returned to its original state of peace, faint imprints in the snow the only evidence of any visitors.
***
Canterlot High was completely deserted, like most schools would be during the weekend. The only person that could be seen on the school grounds was a truly divine sight to behold. She had the general appearance of Principal Celestia, but several key features separated her from the woman. This Celestia was half a head taller then the Principle and had an air of command to her seen in seasoned Generals. She wore an elegant golden ball gown that reflected the light of the sun with a thick lion hide coat protecting her from the cold. Her long, quad-colored hair hung loose around her shoulders, trailing down to the middle of her back. Finely crafted white leather boots with intricate silver ornaments kept the chill of the streets off of her feet as she stood before the school's statue. With cold, hate-filled eyes, she took in her surroundings before casting a glance at the gold ring wrapped around her finger. While it did allow her to keep her magic, it wasn't anymore than a small fraction of her true power. At most, she could level a small city before she would need to rest as opposed to radiating the whole planet with its own sun in one foul swoop.
It's a start I suppose, she thought bitterly as she raised a hand towards the sky, all of her diminished magic gathering into her palm in preparation to grant its master's desire. Let this accursed city be wiped from their maps!
Just before she could form her spell, a warm hand grasped her arm at the bicep, its grip gentle as the rays of the setting sun.
"Please, don't," the hand's owner pleaded, her voice hauntingly familiar. "No more."
The rage in Celestia's heart shattered as the voice entered her mind. In its place stood a monument of joy and despair as she turned to face the being that stood beside her. It was a teen girl wearing a flowing silver cloak, a cascade of arcane symbols decorated it from the base all the way to the hood that was draped loosely over her head. A violet ceremonial robe could be seen through a vertical opening in the cloak, a two-toned red and gold sun sitting proudly on the figure's chest. What brought tears of joyful agony to Celestia's eyes was the girls face, her strong sky-blue eyes, and the beautiful locks of gold and red hair.
"My Little Sun," she gasped, reaching a hand out to caress her cheek.
"Not quite," 'Sunset' sighed, pulling Celestia's hand away from her cheek to gently hold in her own. "I'm an Element born from her heart. I'm Acceptance, Sunset's shield and, when necessary, her sword."
Disappointment briefly flashed across Celestia's face before hope took its place.
"Then does that mean-"
With a kind smile, Acceptance nodded.
"Yes, she's alive."
Celesta let out a long sigh of relief as all the tension poured out of her.
"Thank the maker. Please, take me to her. I need to see her!"
"I will, but not yet."
"What?" she asked, taken aback. "Why?"
"You're emotions are still unstable. If something sets you off now, you might hurt someone or worse. Once you've calmed down, I'll take you to her."
Celesta glared at the spirit for a moment, before she let out a defeated huff. As much as she hated to admit it, Acceptance was right.
"Very well, but in the mean time, could you tell me how my daughter is still alive? Last time I checked, she threw herself off of a bridge."
"Well," Acceptance smiled, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. "It all started with a girl named Derpy.-"
***
The mall was a madhouse as usual, only now a sense of urgency was mixed with festive feel in the air. Everyone was rushing to get that one last gift they needed for the people they loved. An expected development with Christmas being just over a week away. Bonbon and Sunset casually weaved their way through the crowds all the while looking at what the stores had on display.
"Any idea what you're going to get everyone?" Sunset asked, giving a department store mannequin a once-over.
"Eh, I already got gifts for everyone," she shrugged. "What about you? Got any idea what you want to get everyone?"
Sunset froze for a moment, then said, "I have something for Fluttershy, but I'll need to return a few things before I can get everyone gifts."
Bonbon cringed as she recognized her mistake.
"Oh. Right. Sorry."
Before Sunset could respond a pair of familiar voices caught their attention.
"Come on Fluttershy, please?"
"No," they heard her say, a faint tint of annoyance in her tone.
"Why not?! Do you have any idea how many fights I could end?"
"Because, Lightning, if you hit the wrong nerve ending, even a little, you could kill your opponent. Do you want to take that risk?"
At that moment, the crowd parted enough to let Sunset and Bonbon see an annoyed-looking Fluttershy level a flat glare at a cringing Lightning Dust.
"For real?" she stammered, taking a half-step back from the normally shy girl. "Like Fist of the North Star type stuff?"
"More like Naruto," Fluttershy sighed with a cocky smile. "Mom never made anyone's head explode."
"I don't know if that's any better," Lightning shuddered. "Think I'll stick with Grandpa's Kajukenbo."
"Lightning? Fluttershy? What are you two doing here?" Sunset asked as she and Bonbon approached them.
"Hey guys," Lightning smiled. "Just getting some gift shopping done. Thought I'd get to know the latest member of our team a little better while I was at it."
"That's nice," Sunset smiled.
Bonbon gave the two of them a scrutinizing look before shrugging and saying, "Eh, I ship it."
"What?!" Lightning exclaimed. "I don't swing that way Bons."
"She's not my type," Fluttershy deadpanned.
They laughed for a bit before Lighting tried to change the subject.
"So, what brings you guys out here?"
"Just thought we'd say hi to Lyra and do a bit of Christmas shopping," Bonbon shrugged. "Wanna come with?"
"Sure," she smiled.
With that, the four girls made their way towards the card store on the other side of the mall. As they did, Sunset took a more detailed look at Fluttershy. She still looked pale, but instead of looking sickly, it looked more natural on her. Her hair was also a little messy, though in a way that showed a more natural appeal as opposed to a lack of care. She also seemed to be holding herself with a little more confidence then Sunset remembered ever seeing her exhibit before.
"You seem, different." Sunset whispered, getting Fluttershy's attention. "Are you okay?"
"No," she muttered, a hand drifting unconsciously to her right thigh. "But I will be."
"Huh?"
Fluttershy smiled.
"Don't worry about it."
Before she could inquire further about her friend's words, they found themselves in front of a store called Card Kingdom. A familiar, excited voice from within caught all of their attention as Lyra stepped out to greet them.
"Hey everyone! Come for a game?"
"Sort've" Lightning grinned. "Thought we'd watch you kick some ass the only way you know how."
"Says the girl to got railed by the Nameless King," Lyra smirked.
"Hey!"
Everyone laughed good naturedly as Lightning grumbled to herself.
"Anyway," Lyra said once she regained her composure. "Can I borrow Fluttershy for a minute?"
"Huh?" the newest member of the group asked, owl eyed. "Why?"
"You're a member of the team, right? Well, I think it's time we got to know each other a bit."
As she said that, Bonbon and her shared a knowing smile while Lighting Dust gave a weary sigh as the girls walked into the store. At Lyra's lead, the group walked towards an unoccupied table with a square shoulder bag sitting on top of it. Lyra took a seat and gestured for Fluttershy to take the seat across from her. Confused, she took the offered seat as Lyra reached into the bag.
"Magic is a really cool game," she said as she pulled a green deck box out of the bag. "There are millions of different cards and as a result, millions of different kinds of decks out there. No two decks are exactly the same and can even change over time as players get better. It's a lot like people when you think about it. When I think about a person, I can build a deck that matches them almost perfectly. So when I make a new friend, I build a deck for them as a mark of friendship for them. So, this one is yours."
As she said that, she handed the deck box to the shocked girl sitting across from her.
"But I don't play," she stammered, staring at the cube of plastic.
"That's fine," she shrugged. They're still yours if you ever want to. Think of them as an early Christmas gift from a new friend."
"Okay," she said, taking the offered cards. "Could you teach me?"
"Totally!" she smiled, pulling a white deck box out of her bag.
As the two set up, Sunset stared at the cards in Fluttershy's hands. As she expected, they were coated in a faint yellow glow of magic.
That's definitely magic, she thought as she watched the two girls set up. But it doesn't look like Lyra's aware that she has it. Given what I know about her, I think it would be a good idea to keep it that way for a while.
The practice match that followed was a close one to be sure. Like Sunset, Fluttershy had a real knack for the game, even managing to knock Lyra down to two life while maintaining a high level of field presence with her hulking green creatures. But Lyra wasn't pulling any punches either. The second Fluttershy started to show that she understood how to play, she went back to full battle mode, summoning knights and support creatures as quickly as she could to match the pale yellow girl's growing army of beasts. At the final turn, Fluttershy tried to finish it with an attack from her Thorn Elemental, but Lyra was able to counter with two Gidion's Reproach cards and two Healing Grace cards at the last second, taking out Fluttershy's best attacker and replenishing her life at the same time. With one attack from her Pegasus Courser , Lyra won the battle, both with big grins on their faces.
"That was awesome!" Lyra exclaimed. "I guessed you'd be good with green, but holy cow! Do I know how to pick 'em or do I know how to pick 'em!"
"Thanks," Fluttershy smiled as she delicately collected her cards. "That was a lot of fun."
"Wanna go another-"
She stopped mid-sentence as someone stepped into the store, her smile replaced with an indifferent frown. The sudden shift in mood was noticed by everyone and as they all turned to look at the store's new customer, it was quickly made apparent why.
"H-Howdy y'all," Applejack said sheepishly, hand up in a timid wave.
Lightning quickly put herself between Sunset and the farmer, not willing to take any chances. Fluttershy's eyes were locked onto her former friend, whole body tense like a spring. Bonbon and Sunset watched with cautious intrigue, not sure just how this was going to play out.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Lighting growled, fists clenched.
"Easy now," Applejack said, hands up in surrender. "Mah little sis spotted this here shop and wanted ta' check it out."
As she said that, Applebloom stepped out from behind her on-guard sister. For reasons beyond everyone present, the second she saw Sunset, Applebloom was on high alert, looking at each person in the room. To Sunset, it looked like she was trying to take note of everyone present, but didn't ponder on the girl's odd behavior for long, as Fluttershy rose out of her seat to stand beside Lightning Dust, drawing her attention back to her most recent aggressor. A heavy silence fell over the room as the two groups stared each other down, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Suddenly, Lyra rose from her seat and slammed her hands together, making both parties jump.
"Okay, enough of that," she said, tone neutral as she walked over to the shop's counter.
"Hey Card Stock, is the private room open?"
The purple man behind the counter nodded before he reached into the pocket of his gray slacks and handed her a key.
"Thanks."
With that, she took it then turned towards Applejack.
"You. Follow me. I've got a few bones to pick with you and this is too public a place to pick at them."
"I'm coming too," Lighting growled, a quick nod from Fluttershy showing a matching sense of resolve.
"Fine," Lyra huffed. "But no throwing the first punch. I'm doing this to keep the peace, not start a brawl."
With the ground rules set, the three girls followed Lyra to a locked door three feet to the left of the counter. Once she unlocked it, she held the door open for them and gestured for them to step inside. What greeted them was a ten-by-ten square room with white walls and matching tile floors. A florescent light in the ceiling hummed as it hung over four expensive-looking ornate wood tables with a matching set of chairs to accompany them.
"This is a room Card Stock reserves for big city tournaments," Lyra said casually as she took a seat at one of the nearest tables. "It soundproofed to keep the noise from the mall out so the champs can concentrate."
As she said that, Fluttershy and Lightning Dust flanked Lyra on each side, their arms crossed and glares leveled at the lone farmer. With steepled fingers, the card shark gave her an unreadable look, before delivering an order with the finality of a Judge.
"Now. Take a seat."
With an audible gulp, she took the seat across from Lyra. For several minutes, a dense silence dominated the room, Lyra's party displaying varying degrees of calm, while Applejack was sweating bullets.
"You know," Lyra said, tone neutral in the face of Applejack's flinch. "When you really suck at something, most people either don't do it or try to get better at it. I'm guessing you never learned how to lie."
Applejack sighed, then looked away in shame.
"It wasn't a total lie," she muttered. "Bloom really did want ta' check this store out."
"Well, that's good for her," Lyra said, a faint smile creeping onto her face. "But what about you?"
Applejack cringed, but otherwise didn't react.
"Well?" Lightning growled. "What did you want?!"
Tears started to form at the corner of her eyes as Applejack looked Lyra in the eyes and said, "Ah want ta' talk ta' Sunset."
Both Fluttershy and Lightning Dust leveled a hard glare at her, with Lighting's hands balled into tight fists while Fluttershy's fingers stiffened.
"Do you really think you deserve that?" Fluttershy said, voice on the border of a snarl and a growl.
Applejack shook her head.
"No, Ah can't rightly say Ah do, but Ah still want ta'. Ah was a right mule to her these last few days. We all have."
Fluttershy's glare narrowed slightly at that.
"Most of us have, Ah mean," she amended. "All the same, Ah want ta' apologize for everything."
"I see," Lyra said, her pokerface once again hiding her emotions. "And what brought this on? Last I heard, you wanted to turn Sunset's face into a hand puppet."
Again, Applejack flinched, then answered.
"Ah, woke up this morning and stopped to think about everything, Ah mean really think about everything. And the more Ah looked everything over, the more it all didn't add up. Sunset always had somethin' ta' gain when she pulled this kind of stuff in the past and she was never this sloppy. She was a lot of things back in the day, but stupid wasn't one of 'em."
"Tsk, took ya' long enough ta' figure it out," Lightning muttered bitterly.
"Must've taken a lot of lube to pull your head out of your ass," Lyra sighed, stunning all present with her choice of words. "While I can commend you for swallowing your pride, I can't make any promises that Sunset will want to look in your general direction let alone talk to you. I can't say all that much, but believe me when I say you guys really fucked up."
"Ah-Ah know," Applejack sighed, a tear finally slipping past her defenses. "All Ah ask is for a chance to make up for it."
Lyra's eyes bored into Applejack, looking for any sign of deception in her body language. Finding none, she let out a tired sigh.
"I'm not going to make any promises," she said, tone hard as steel. "I'll let Sunset know that you want to apologize to her, but its all going to be on her terms. Do you understand? I don't think you're a bad person Applejack. Just someone who got duped and royally screwed up."
Applejack nodded, a sad smile gracing her lips. Even if there was only a slim chance that things could be mended between her and her former friend it was well worth any price.
"Good. Now let's get the heck out of here. I'm starving!"
As she said that, she rose out of her chair, her two bodyguards letting go of all of their built up tension. As the trio started to walk out the door, Applejack called out to another of her former friends.
"Yes Applejack?" Fluttershy asked coldly.
She gulped, then said, "Ah, just wanted ta' say.......well......about what happened last week after school....Ah mean-"
"I forgive you," Fluttershy sighed.
"Thanks," Applejack sighed.
"Don't thank me," she replied, tone ice cold. "Just because I've forgiven you, doesn't mean we're friends again."
With that, she left the farm girl in the room, a heavy silence once again falling over her as she let what Fluttershy said sink in.
"Right," she muttered before she followed the group out into the card shop's main room.
***
Derpy's house was a buzz of activity as the now group of eight enjoyed their weekly game night. The inclusion of Fluttershy was barely an argument as Sunset, Lyra, Bonbon, and Lightning all vouched for her. The biggest deciding factor was when Fluttershy revealed she was the one who gave Meme Queen the extra intel a couple days ago. So, over a game of Uno, Derpy filled her in on the situation, officially adding her to the group. Of course, when the already regretful girl found out about what happened on the bridge, it took everyone to pry her off of Sunset as she held the girl in a surprisingly strong embrace with tears in her eyes while begging for forgiveness. Fortunately, they were able to free her before she turned purple.
"And I thought Sweetie Drops could hug," she gasped as Lightning tried to get the hysterical girl to calm down.
"No kidding," Derpy chuckled. "I was just about to run and get the crowbar."
The two gave a little giggle at that, her walleyed friend helping her stay level in her hour of need. As she did, she couldn't help but notice how cute the gray teen's smile was.
"But yeah, things have been going really well lately," Sunset sighed, giving the room a happy once over to hide her blush. "I have a home, real friends, I really can't see how things could get much better than this."
As if on cue, a soft knock at the door got her and Derpy's attention.
"I'll get it," Sunset smiled as she approached it.
When she opened it, she got the shock of a lifetime. Standing before her was none other than Principle Celestia, but she was dressed in a manner that wouldn't look out of place in a medieval fantasy film. The regally dressed woman looked at Sunset with barely contained tears, while Sunset's eyes held confusion.
"Principle Celestia? What are you-"
Before she could finish, Celestia threw her arms around her, trapping Sunset in her third hug for the day. But while the first two people to do this seemed hell bent of loving her to death, Celestia's hug was gentle, like she was afraid that if she held her too tightly, she'd break.
"I'm so sorry. I should've never left you in this world. I'm so, so, sorry my little sun."
Sunset's eyes widened as realization sunk in. With shaky hands, she returned the embrace, happy tears trailing down her face as she buried her face into the woman's fur coat.
"H-Hello.......mom."
For a moment the two stood there, wrapped in each other's arms. The only thing that was real for them was the warmth of each other and the tears of joy they shed. The cold outside and the stares of the people outside was nothing more than an afterthought as mother and daughter shared a hug for the first time in years.
***
After Sunset and Celestia had their moment, the solar Diarch wanted to meet the woman responsible for giving her daughter a place to live. It was for that reason that the two women were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, waiting for Time Turner to serve them tea. Naturally, Celestia thanked her for her hospitality as well as keeping Sunset safe as best as she could. It wasn't until the conversation shifted towards the origins of the two Equestrians in the house that things got a little strained.
"So, you say you're from another dimension," Rose Luck said, a trace of skepticism in her tone.
"Yes," Celestia smiled.
"And Sunset and yourself are actually talking magical horses?"
"Ponies actually," Celestia clarified, still smiling serenely.
"Uh-huh. Sorry if I'm having a hard time believing you," Rose said, eyes narrowed as her husband arrived with their drinks.
"I don't see why," she said, nodding her thanks to Time Turner. "Your daughter has quite a lot of magic within her as it is."
As she said that, she casually gathered a bit of her magic and levitated her cup to her lips.
"My," Celestia smiled, admiring her cup. "This tea is really good! Any idea where I could get some?"
Rose Luck's mind froze as she watched the literal impossible happen in front of her. She wasn't alone as Time Turner stood gawking at the floating cup as if it was an alien life form. The teens in the room all took in the event with mild curiosity, with one in particular looking to be on the verge of exploding with excitement.
"Mrs. Celestia," Lyra beamed, suddenly appearing beside the High Royal. "I will marry you right here, right now if you take me to Equestria!"
Startled yelps came out of everyone at Lyra's declaration while Celestia herself gave the girl a smirk with a raised brow.
"As flattered as I am with your proposal, it won't come down to that."
"You mean?!"
Celestia nodded.
"YES!!! LAND OF MAGIC, HERE I COME!!!"
"And not just her," Celestia said as she addressed the rest of the room. "Everyone present is formally invited to come visit Equestria as honorary citizens. Just a small present from me to the ones who saved my little sun."
"Mom," Sunset groaned, face turning red.
That got a laugh out of everyone as well as an elated cheer from Lyra.
"That reminds me,"Vinyl said, turning towards Derpy. "How close are we to busting Annon-a-Miss?"
"Not very," she sighed, pulling her laptop off of the living room coffee table and turning it on. "From what I've been able to gather, she's someone who has access to the girl's locker room, has a decent level of computer skills, is able to gather very intimate intel on people, and is trying to make it look like Sunset's the culprit. Even Fluttershy's suspect lists can only give me so many leads."
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy muttered.
"Hey, it's okay," Bonbon smiled, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You at least gave her something to work with."
"Did a better job than I did," Lightning sighed, remembering the last post Annon-a-Miss uploaded.
"And that's just it," Derpy groaned, looking over her notes. "The way she goes about gathering her intel doesn't make sense. The way she got the pictures from Sunset's phone shows that she's patient and calculated, but the picture of Rainbow's test was such an amateur move that it makes her look like an idiot! Then there was that whole nickname thing with Applejack that started this whole thing. That was a deliberate attack on her that would only work if she was close to Applejack. But none of Applejack's friends would have anything to gain from doing something so petty! It's as if she's more than one person!"
"What if she is?" Celestia asked, more than eager to lend what aid she could. "A group effort could explain the different approaches."
"I thought about that," she sighed. "And in a way, it makes things easier for us and harder at the same time. If I can identify one member of the group, I can find the rest of them in a matter of seconds. The trick is trying to find that one stooge in a mob of crazies."
Silence reined over the room as everyone processed what Derpy told them. As they sorted through it, something didn't sit right with them. It was Vinyl who figured out what that something was.
"Hey Sunset, was anyone else at Rarity's place when you took those pics?"
She shook her head.
"No, it was just us."
"Actually," Fluttershy said, a look of realization coming over her. "Wasn't Sweetie Belle staying the night?"
"Sweetie Belle?" Derpy asked.
"Rarity's little sister," Sunset replied. "And yeah, she was now that I think about it."
A thoughtful look crossed Derpy's face before she turned back to her laptop, fingers flying across the screen.
"I swear," she muttered. "If I'm right about this."
With one last tap of the keyboard, she looked at the screen and froze.
"No way," she muttered, eyes widening. "It all matches. But why? Why would they do this? Wait..."
She pulled up another window on the screen and skimmed through what looked like a list of names before pulling up another four windows. Her hands moved with incredible speed and precision as all four windows became a flurry of activity, images changing in them faster than anyone could process beyond the room's soul hacker. When she finally stopped, six images held dominion over the screen. Derpy stared at the screen, her breathing labored as she gave her data a long, hard look over.
"No way," she muttered. "The answer's been in front of me this whole time. HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID!!!"
Before anyone could ask her to elaborate, she set the computer down onto the coffee table and stomped into the her bedroom down the hall. A minute after they all heard her close the door, a loud muffled scream could be heard followed by a stream of expletives.
"What's got her so worked up?" Lightning asked as she gave the abandoned computer screen a look.
After a moment, Lightning let out an irritated sigh.
"Oh. Yeah. That'll do it."
"What'll do it?" Vinyl asked, tired of all the suspense.
With pursed lips, Lightning turned the screen to face them. What they saw made there jaws hit the floor. On screen was a long list of digital trails linking Annon-a-Miss to three very throughly busted sixth graders. In addition to that, there was also a collection of circumstantial evidence that linked them to specific posts such as surveillance camera footage of them entering the school after hours within the timeframe of each post from nearby stores and speed cams. The evidence was as damning as it could be; Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were Annon-a-Miss.
"This whole time," Derpy sighed, staggering back into the room and staring at the floor. "I never thought that Annon-a-Miss could be a grade schooler. More than one person? Sure. A bunch of kids? No way."
A smile started to creep onto her face as she then started to turn her gaze towards her friends and family.
"But now things are different. Now it's time to go on the offensive!"
She turned to face her mother, determined smile plastered across her face.
"Mom, do you think you could get your Costume and Makeup Artist on the phone?"
"Chrissy?" she asked. "I don't see why not. What do you have planned?"
"Not much," she said, smile turning predatory. "Just a bit of a shake up."
As Derpy explained her plan to her mother, Celestia leaned down to her daughter's level.
"I take it that she's Derpy, correct?"
"Yep," Sunset smiled.
"I see," she said with a knowing smile. "Just so you know, no matter what happens in the future, I approve."
Before she could inquire as to what her mother meant by that, a bright flash of light filled the room as two figures appeared at its center. One was a man with gray skin and red eyes with yellow irises. He was dressed in a dapper black suit with a matching tail coat and top hat as well as finely polished dress shoes. The other was none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, also in her human form curtesy of her companion's magic. The Princess had a wild look in her eyes as she quickly took note of her surroundings, only for her eyes to lock onto the other princess in the room.
"Princess Celestia! Please don't-" her words died on her tongue as she took in her former mentor's happy demeanor.
"Hello Twilight, glad you could join us," she smiled. "And you too Discord."
Both new arrivals were equally flummoxed. They half expected to see a world on fire, but instead got a happy Princess sitting next to a very confused-
"SUNSET!!!" Twilight cried as she flew towards the girl and trapped her in yet another bone-crushing embrace.
Again? she thought as she struggled to catch her next breath. If this keeps up, I'll have to start charging people.
Finally! Good lord this took a while to write. T-T We're starting to get to the grand finale people. Thanks to all of you out there who supported me all the way up to this point. Hopefully, I will get just as much support in future writings. 
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HA HA HA HA! SODDING ODRIC! THAT STUNT NEVER GETS OLD! But seriously Button, why don't you have Tormod's crypt? Or any other graveyard interaction? Ya gotta keep her from doing stuff like that.
So is she playing commander, legacy or modern? Commander hopefully, 'tis manifestly the best format.
So Sunset is Acceptance. I can see that, though I might have termed it Grace. But then there'd be a fight and multiple long-winded dissertations in the comments. And of course, Lyra's Magic is being lamp shaded as hard as humanly(ponishly) possible.
Coincidence that NOW is when several Anon-A-Miss fics are being updated? I think not!
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
*Savagely attacks the fic with his eyes*
... out of every thing that happened in this chapter. I jsut feel bad for discord.
Good start to my day to see this go up. Good job!
9315117
I tried that. Once. My left eye is still a little off.
9315104
The answer is yes.
9315160
Well now. That's a fair bit of money. What part-time job does she have?
9315164
She's a repeat world champion. She has enough bank to make it work.
9315168
Eyup, that'll do it.
Now we can look forward to seeing if Bloom got enough pieces of the puzzle to make an appropriate counter. Also if Sunset suffers any permanent effect due to repeated organ compression.
Excellent story so far! I can't wait to see how hard the CMCs hit the ground for this one!
So i take it that Layra has as we YU-GI-OH! fans call the heart of the cards
also is it bad i kinda wanted to see a Celestia fueld with motherly/mentor vengence
Jesus, I update for the first time in over a month and suddenly five of the stories I watch go up as well. Not complaining mind you, this is a good chapter, but now I gotta read them all and destroy my sleep schedule.
sunset do the smart thing, tell applejack to rot in hell where she belongs.
SQUEE! It's time for some retribution!
Please update again soon, please oh please
9315104
9315160
Hell yes, Commander for life. Other formats just tend to turn into mindless repetition as a deck does what it should: the same thing every. Danged. Time.
Also for Sunset, I recall someone on the staff saying on twitter that if Sunset had an Element of Harmony, it'd have been Empathy (which also explains why she got mind-reading powers in Everfree). Acceptance is pretty close to that.
Celestia's visit kind of feels like a dues ex machina thoughm (Celestia Ex Machina?). She arrives and everything falls into place? I do hope that doesn't mean this story is going to rush to its conclusion, it honestly feels like we've just arrived at the main act.
9315314
Indeed, all of the fun of an eternal format with
noneless of the angst. Less of a price tag too, thank zog for singleton formats... I've a wonderfully bad Karn silver golem deck, and a Rubinia soulsinger deck thatstealsborrows board state solutions from others.Well, matters were pretty well settled already. Sunset's Acceptance triggered the Elements to abandon their bearers and seek elsewhere, and now she's happier and safe. As to Anon-a-miss, well, if the millennia-old solar princess couldn't unravel the scheme of three middle-schoolers...
Correct spelling is "Anon-a-miss". You've been adding an extra "n".
9315206
Well that depends on how much effective Sunset will use Chryssy as her attack to them. I'm really surprised what kind of make up she will do to confront them.
The funny thing is while Applebloom could see Lightning, Fluttershy, Lyra and Bonbon as Sunset friends, Derpy already found out the CMC were anon a miss, and knowing the meme queen, that will be check mate. XD
9315314
I hate Commander. I've tried it multiple times with dinosaurs, and it never once came close to performing how it should have. I never got any of my big dinos out once and the larger deck size plus only having a single copy of a card is too problematic. My commander was Huatali; Warrior Poet
*SIGH*
Ok now I'm ready to face the day.
Many thanks Arcanum -Phantasy
9315104
No, Commander sucks hard.
Lyra has the strongest magic of them all, the heart of the cards!
she trusted in the heart of the cards.
Well the cards are on the table and there is nothing the CMC can do to stop their defeat. This is similar to how Lyra defeated Button during the flashback and I wonder how all the big sisters are going to take the betrayal from their sisters when it all gets drug into the open?
(Phew) Glad Acceptance managed to make this city dodged a bullet on that one.
Welp. Apple Bloom...Sweetie Belle...Scootaloo...I'll just leave this here for you all. Along with this pic:
i.ytimg.com/vi/zpmx8DN85fA/hqdefault.jpg
Great update tho i hope this gets a sequel even if its just a slife of life story on how there lifes are after
I absolutely loved this update! I had to go back and re-read the whole story, and that just made me appreciate it all over again.
BUSTED *****ES!
Okay first of all, love the backstory for Lyra, especially the Yu-Gi-Oh reference.
Second, so now Applejack wanted to apologize to Sunset? I'm glad she realized her mistake, but it's too little too late. Plus she still had no idea the damage she and the Rainbooms (sans Fluttershy) had caused towards Sunset.
And third, Derpy finally figured out who Anon-a-Miss is! I so can not wait for the next chapter!
Yessssss
Great chapter. Too little too late farmer.
Celestia ships. Them
And
Busted. I cannot wait for the aftermath of this
9315136
Poor guy, Celestia totally owes him a vintage bottle of chocolate milk.
9315737
lol so true
So it's a white combo deck? Makes sense with her personality. Is Lyra's play group casual or modern? How long has Card Stock owned the shop? Is Lyra and actual 'Walker? So many questions arise from that small scene!
9315617
>Actually Magic: The Gathering
Good try though.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
9315931
Whoops, my bad!
Was initially very worried you were going to take this to fire and brimestone with Celestia, I'm really glad you nose stalled that the second she got to the EQG world. I really think this story is at it's best when it focusses on supporting Sunset through her new friends and old friends like Fluttershy, Twilight, and Celestia rather than derailing into a revenge fic.
I feel that celestia jerking was not needed we al know the best thing she can do is sit and be useless
Oh great chapter I hope to see what horrors you'll have derpy throw at the crusaders.
Ps.
YEAH SOMEONE ELSE KNOWS THE HAWAIIAN EMPERADO METHOD
Poor Sunset, saved from suicide only to be hugged to death right after the mystery is solved! What a
!
I'm surprised none of the others in the room caught on to this spoiler alert.
I don't do FxF or MxM just FxM.
Fair enough. This just one of many unorthodox shippings I've come up with. Try and guess who I'm shipping with who in Tinker Toy.
Don't worry. The CMC look set to make up for the lack of ali-nukes. They seem about ready to stop digging their hole deeper, and start blasting their way further down with high explosives instead.
Yeah der, if she wanted to date a jock she would already be doing so, one of her former friends was one (RD)
Great chapter, I can't wait for Anon-A-Miss to fall
Not to be that guy but:
Switch the Your and You're in these two.
And it's medieval.
So this is why she got the new jacket in the EG Series. Those spikes are hug repellents.
9317450
Thanks for the heads up.
You really had to go the "Heart of the Cards" thing didn't you, wrong franchise buddy.