Equestria Girls: Duel Monsters Arc 2

by Night-Quill

Duel #23: A New Start (Edited 28.4.2020)

Author's Note:

Yes, I'm continuing the chapter/duel count from the last chapter of Arc 1 as if this were an anime season.

This was going to entail the upcoming duel, but it was already nearing twenty pages, so we'll get to that portion in the next chapter.

My name is Sunset Shimmer. I am a student at the certified dueling school of Canterlot High in Canterlot City. For a long time, I was the sole, undisputed Duel Queen as per its traditions, but in the dark, I was so much more than that, to the point that I almost brought about not only the destruction of Canterlot High, but perhaps even the end of civilization as we know it.

No, that was not a joke.

For those unaware, I am not exactly human. I mean I am, in this reality. To the average bystander, I am pretty much your average high school girl. But many years ago, in another dimension, I lived as a unicorn, in the magical land of Equestria. Even there, I wasn’t exactly what you would call average. For most of my life, what might as well have been an eternity ago, I was the protégé of Princess Celestia, the undisputed alicorn ruler of all Equestria: A near god-like pony, imbued with the very power to move the sun and moon.

Yet in my hubris, it wasn’t enough for me to have the best schooling possible for any unicorn. No. What I wanted, what I felt entitled to, was a power beyond any mortal, be they human, or pony: The power to undo death itself. For when I was a filly, in my overeager carelessness upon acquiring my cutie mark, I tried magic which I had no business meddling with, and as consequence for my action… I caused the deaths of my mother and my father. I thought that should I become powerful, I could unmake my first, gravest mistake and undo all the wrongs which I may have inflicted, if not more.

I betrayed my beloved mentor when I was denied what I desired, and in my anger, I fled through an ancient magical mirror that was connected to a focal point in another world, hoping to make a new life for myself, away from my mistakes, away from the painful memories, and away from Celestia. But this world was not one bereft of its own magic and mysteries. Here, I met a wise and ancient spirit, one who sought to protect me from my own fears, and protect the world from me, for as a being with magic tied to my very veins; I was a danger, and some things sought to use me, because of that.

Something beyond my own understanding came to me, and infected me with deceptions and lies, cutting me off from my spirit guardian, and I was poisoned by the malice of betrayal and hatred. I drove people apart, destroyed friendships… and relationships, relishing on the misery I inflicted on everyone around me. All to mold me into a tool for the ultimate weapon of the cosmos; the Games of Darkness.

In this world, there exists an ancient magic that the inhabitants of this world had long forgotten, which was as inexplicably returned through what would grow into the world’s most popular past time; Duel Monsters.

A card game, designed and produced by an eccentric entrepreneur through emulation of the very dark rituals that the people of this world once used in their bids for power, where the very fabric of the cosmos is twisted to summon forth supernatural manifestations of the human spirit given tangible form as monsters. Through my mastery of Duel Monsters through CHS, and the dark secrets bequeathed to me by unspeakable horrors, I was molded into an unstoppable force, save for one lacking piece: A font of power strong enough to unmake the world.

During the correct celestial formation, I returned back home to Equestria, where I stole the one thing bearing all the power I would ever need, the Element of Magic: One of six relics that maintained the harmony of the land itself; belonging to someone who I once considered my enemy; Princess Twilight Sparkle.

The Princess pursued me into my new home world, and went about undoing all I had done in a bid to get back her stolen element: She reunited CHS, in particular five special people, against me, to unseat me from my throne as Duel Queen of CHS, and to make things right. This all culminated in a great battle, my hatred versus the hope and camaraderie Twilight Sparkle embodied, all until I seized what I sought, and whatever had poisoned my mind unmade me as a person, and instead repurposed my very flesh as a harbinger of the end. If not for the one who still held hope.

By the will of the Element of Magic and its bearer, I was pulled from the darkness into the light, and the darkness was banished, all to protect me… And to help me. On my refusal to return home, she assigned those same five special people to look after me; Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, ponies in Equestria, humans in this world, who resonate with the same virtues as they do as ponies; my first friends.

CHS still resents me, not that I blame them, but I will persevere. I will make things right again. And I hope I will do proud the one special person who thought I deserved this second chance: I will not waste this opportunity to remake my life. I will keep this journal as a reminder, and to aid me in my journey.

- Sunset Shimmer

-

Another Monday was upon the students of the certified dueling high school of Canterlot High. Everyone was diligently flocking towards the open front doors, ready to resume broadening their understanding of the world, on top of molding themselves to the next generation of trained duelists. Coming up after the majority of the others, was Sunset Shimmer, deliberately trying to avoid much attention, for ever since her fall as the Duel Queen of Canterlot High, her reputation as the instigator of the newly titled “CHS incident,” (in honor of the similar “West Tower incident”) had not exactly been impacted in a positive way.

A soft voice called out to her beside the pedestal of the majestic Wonder Colt statue, “Good morning, Sunset!”

Sunset shimmer waved back to Fluttershy, one the first seven people she’d come to call friend, who upon her getting close enough, proceeded to hug Sunset in greeting. Sunset couldn’t help but blush from bashfulness.

“Hey, Fluttershy. You know, you don’t need to hug me every time we meet…” she said, returning the gesture, having become well acclimated to the notion that hugs truly did have a positive effect one one’s state of mind.

“Oh, I know,” said Fluttershy unperturbed, “I just want you to feel welcome.”

The two laughed softly as they together approached the school, “Believe me, I’ve felt welcome enough since our little weekend get-togethers.”

Fluttershy nodded, “You’ve been a great help down at the animal shelter.”

Hearing her friend say so felt elating. To the surprise of not only Sunset herself, but very much most of the student body, and even outside of CHS, her and Fluttershy’s friendship would have been deemed all but an impossible notion. Being the rather meek and shy (as befitting her name) girl Sunset, until that fateful night, had designated the light-yellow skinned, light-pink haired eco-kid as the bottom of the pecking order.

Indeed, for as long as she’d been at CHS, Fluttershy would have suffered the most of the brunt of Sunset’s tormenting; being pushed around, having been stuffed into her locker by Sunset, and admittedly the most repugnant; the cold, vile threats made towards each and every animal Fluttershy might have come across in school. Given her innate love of animals of all shapes and sizes, the mere mention of a threat aimed at her furry, feathery, or scaly friend was the ultimate tactic of blackmail and coercion against her.

And here the two were now; walking side-by-side, fondly talking about their weekend activities together. Ever since what Sunset might have guiltily felt was having her imposed on the five girls Fluttershy was the first among them to take this charge with gusto: After some coaxing (largely successful due to the enormity of guilt that Sunset had felt particularly susceptible after the incident), Fluttershy had set Sunset up to aid her during her volunteering at the Canterlot City animal shelter.

It was awkward at first, particularly how the woman who ran the shelter, one Dr. Fauna, originally took to Sunset’s mere presence. As Sunset would come to learn, her machinations at CHS had farther lasting effects, rather than simply making students’ lives figurative hell on a daily basis. To this end, Sunset had felt beholden to make up for every possible way she had wronged the sweet and caring Fluttershy. Even after proving the ability to openly care for animals, and the accruing stories pertaining to mishaps, such as Sunset’s little tussle with a chinchilla (affectionately named Puffles), Sunset remained incapable of forgiving herself, and this a constant weighty sadness remained.

“Everything okay, Sunset?”

Snapped out of her thoughts, Sunset looked to Fluttershy, who was staring at her in concern, “It’s… It’s nothing, really.”

Fluttershy’s brows arose in an almost perfectly level line. She was not buying Sunset’s dismissal, “You’re still feeling guilty about… well, you know, aren’t you?”

Sunset sighed, “Yea… I know you’ve told me it’s fine, but I just can’t help it.” The feeling was not at all helped by disdainful looks directed towards her from most of the students they passed. She could spot how two students, girls Sunset believed were named Sweet Leaves and Paisley respectively, whispered something between one another as she and Fluttershy walked past. “I’ve been trying so hard, but no matter what I do, be it giving up my place in the lunch line for everyone, to cleaning out the student council space, and just saying hello to someone…” she sighed. “I’ve honestly considered it being better if I’d just up and vanished.”

She felt a comforting hand upon her shoulder, “Oh, don’t say that, Sunset. I’m sure with the whole revelation about dark magic and such just has everyone spooked. I’m confident that they’ll come to see you’re not what you used to be.”

Indeed, another something she’d openly refrained from partaking in in the past several weeks; Sunset may have adorned a new duel disk (what with her old one having been rendered irreparable following her morbid transformation), one with a more inviting color scheme of a warm magenta central module and a light orange tray, she hadn’t dueled anyone once. Mostly due to no longer having a ready deck, with her original being now an indeterminate distance away in another world with its new, more worthy wielder, while her two previous decks were now long gone. The other reason being everyone’s steadfast refusal of dueling her, most definitely due to how the last time she did she came close to injuring everyone, and potentially even killing them while under the unknown entity’s control.

Fluttershy waylaid to unload anything excess into her locker, while Sunset walked further down to find her own. Standing out like a sore thumb from the rows of identical ones, her locker’s door was covered in a potpourri of sticky notes of various colors. “She-demon!” “Crazy bitch.” “Get out of town!” That and many other colorful messages were left for her, along with one having a crudely drawn picture of what seemed to be her tied to a stake and on fire.

Charming… Thought Sunset, opening her locker to put away her unneeded material for the first period. Not quite as inventive as the one where I was being fucked up the ass by Summoned Skull, but still.

“Good morning, Miss Shimmer,” Sunset looked to find Vice-Principal Luna approaching her, the second in charge of CHS reacting to her presence much more courteously. If Sunset could take any solace, it was that this particular person was one of three survivors of a similar incident, the West Tower Incident at Academia, the progenitor dueling school, and thus knew better than others of Sunset’s plight.

“Vice-principal Luna,” said Sunset in acknowledgement.

The vice-principal noticed the sticky notes decorating the locker, “This again?”

Sunset sighed, “It’s fine, Vice-principal. It’s not like some of them are that far off…”

Vice-principal Luna frowned discontentedly, “Miss Shimmer, I know you feel guilty, but the faculty does not approve of your fellow students’ conduct towards you.”

“Eh, what some don’t understand makes them afraid,” said Sunset, when she noticed the clipboard in the vice-principal’s hands. “Is there something wrong?”

Vice-principal Luna rhythmically rattled her fingers against the plywood board in her hands contemplatively, “Well, you see, Miss Shimmer; it came to the board’s attention that for the past month you’ve been neglecting on your dueling.”

Neglecting? Maybe. More like the fact no-one will duel me after the stuff I pulled. Well that and I don’t have a deck… So maybe it’s apt.

“Now, the Principal and I, we understand you might have reservations,” she continued, being ever by-the-books when referring to Celestia by her title, despite the two heads of CHS being sisters, “but as a certified dueling school, the curriculum requires at least a minimal participation. If you do not catch up, we will be forced to transfer you to a non-dueling institution.” Despite the professionalism, externally the vice-principal appeared apologetic.

“There’s no-one for me to duel,” shrugged Sunset helplessly on shutting the door. “Everyone’s afraid I’m just going to turn it into a dark duel and maybe ‘swallow their souls’ or something to that effect.” That’s when the two noticed one of the sticky notes coming loose and wafting to the floor; the one with the drawing of her being burned at the stake, something Vice-principal Luna seemed to take to with absolute displeasure. Sunset casually placed a foot atop it, and crumpled it underneath the sole of her boot.

“Speaking of…” Vice-principal Luna looked about before leaning in to whisper, “You don’t by any chance actually remember how you did that?”

An excellent question certainly, one Sunset could almost proudly respond, “I actually don’t. I know under regular circumstance it requires preparations, perhaps a sacrifice, most likely blood like in your, *ahem*, case. But no; I do not actually remember how I pulled it off. Ever since that night my memories have been… scattered.”

It was true; since her, or rather, the entity’s defeat in her body by Princess Twilight, Sunset hadn’t been entirely unscathed by the experience. The migraines from trying to remember things were gone; she could freely remember details before and after Priestess’ arrival with no ill effects. She could freely remember most things where she believed she’d been mostly in control, whereas certain moments such as that Thursday night at the Ghouls’ establishment were simply blanked in her mind. From what she’d heard of the occurrence, she felt she was better off not knowing what she did that night.

The vice-principal looked at her in consideration, “I’ll… take your word on it, Miss Shimmer. Your behavior has been defined by most staff as amicable, I do not see a need for you to lie. Still, the board requests that you be put through a test duel. As such we’re setting one up for you tomorrow afternoon.”

Sunset stood silent for a moment, “Against an instructor?”

“We will be pairing you with someone of your current grade and tier level. As such, it will be a freestyle duel, no test decks, just whatever you and your designated opponent wish to use.”

That’s going to be difficult, thought Sunset, for she felt not even the orders of one of the most authoritative members of the faculty could sway anyone with the prospect of dueling what most considered a monster posing as a woman, like something out of H. B. Lovetap. “There’s also the problem that I do not have a deck…”

Vice-principal Luna seemed to make not that the deck port of Sunset’s duel disk was, indeed, vacant, “I see… I understand you discarded your previous deck. Could you not use the one prior?”

Sunset took a hissing intake of air through her teeth, “Yea… You see; I kind of discarded both my old decks, and my very first I gave to Princess Twilight as a keepsake. Overall, I’m very much… deckless at the moment.”

The vice-principal’s fingers rattled against the clipboard again, looking empathetically concerned, “That could be a problem… I’ll see if we can give you an extension, but if not, I’m afraid our hands are tied.”

Quite the dilemma indeed. On one hand; being forced to transfer to a new school meant less knowledge about her past, albeit bringing on the continued stress of hiding one’s identity among strangers. The notion was, somewhat tempting, but then on the other hand; Sunset would once again be forced to be alone, and leaving behind the first genuine friends in her life made the prospect even less appealing. She was going to need help.

-

“Apologies how this sprang up so suddenly, my friend,” said Principal Celestia, leaning forward onto her desk, before her spread out a manila envelope, looking over some of the paperwork it contained.

“No problem. It’s not like my career was exactly going anywhere in the first place, what with people being reluctant to hire a, and I quote; “deluded basement dweller”,” said Celestia’s guest seated across from her.

He was a tall, slightly lanky man, his skin a greyish amber hue with a head of brown hair styled somewhere between spiked up and bedraggled. He was dressed in a contrastingly formal attire consisting of a dark blue, slightly ruffled pinstripe suit with a white dress shirt peeking from the top with a green tie. The ensemble’s air of formality was drastically reduced from the pair of converse sneakers, one being very visible from Celestia’s vantage point with his laidback manner in which he was seated, with one leg perched over a knee.

Celestia raised an amused brow, “Have they seriously said that?”

The man held up his hands defensively, “Alright, so the rent is cheap. I couldn’t exactly splurge, what with being fired from teaching at Stancolt… And other locations. Suffice it to say, it’s been a huge damper or resources.”

Celestia couldn’t help but smile, “Honestly, it’s been too long, Turner.”

Turner chuckled in response, “That is has. To be frank, I was really hoping to get a chance to study a proper case of the Dark Games, but let alone it being in your school of all places that this comes up.”

“That and how easy it was acquiring a qualified physics teacher,” Celestia joked as she gathered Turner’s credentials back into the folder. “But in all honesty, I’m very grateful you agreed on this. Though student camaraderie has improved greatly, many of them are still understandably terrified after that night. I suppose I am too to an extent.”

“Ah yes, this Sunset Shimmer. A dark duelist, on top of an extradimensional being to our universe.”

“I was almost certain you wouldn’t believe the latter in the least,” Celestia mused.

“Being a certified doctor in quantum physics, I wouldn’t find the notion of parallel worlds farfetched in the slightest,” said Turner, leaning forward onto his knees.

Celestia raised a daring brow, “Even if said parallel world entails, from her own words I should add, talking magical ponies? Emphasis on magical.”

Turner looked at Celestia flatly, “Need I remind you I saw you and your sister in a ring of fire, with real monsters that all but destroyed the west tower’s structural integrity?”

“Touché.”

“And the fact the reason I’m in my current financial predicament being that I made a few minute suggestions that certain phenomena which we ourselves could describe as magic or the supernatural, might not be as farfetched as our understanding could indicate.” He extended a finger in emphasis, “Going as far as avoiding that one specific word quite fervently I might add, with theoretical calculations on top of theoretical calculations, and the one time; one – time, the word slipped, I lose all credibility.”

Celestia placed her intertwined hands to her desk, “Since you bring that up: Do you think this magic is detectable by more grounded means?”

Turner shrugged nonchalantly, “More than likely. Not to toot my own horn, but I took some time making and modifying some hardware on the off chance something like this comes up again.”

“Perfect!” declared Celestia more audibly. “This might be rather unorthodox, but by any chance would you be willing to perform a… tryout, if you will, before you start officially?”

Turner looked at her with evident interest, “What’s on your mind?”

“The board brought it to our attention that, on top of the decrease in duel-oriented activities at CHS, Sunset Shimmer’s duel disk has not registered one single duel, at least on school hours or grounds for the past month or so. As such, Luna and I have been obligated to perform a test of her abilities, on the pains of potential expulsion and transfer to a non-dueling school.” Celestia stood from her seat and walked over to her wall filled with photographs, including the one of her, Luna, Turner, and a few others during their time at Academia. “The hard part has been finding her an opponent, in lieu of the incident.”

Turner’s eyes followed her intently, “Ah, I see. Presiding over the duel all the while I take the chance to gather data. Simple enough; I could set up some spectrometers, maybe a Geiger counter and some UV and IR detectors- Oh! And I could finally test one of my inventions to boot! Though it would take time to set everything up…”

Celestia looked to turner, “In that case, I believe I have the perfect, let’s call him a teacher’s aide,” she said as she walked to the front of her desk and casually leaned against it. “One of our students, Micro Chip; a regular prodigy among the sciences. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to assist. Young man is bound to be going places with his grade average, so I’m certain a few missed classes under your supervision won’t hurt. All I ask that for the time being you don’t disclose too much information among the student just yet.”

“Well then,” said Turner, getting up, straightening his suit and tie, “preparations to be done, charters to peruse, and most importantly… find out how to get all my stuff here at a reasonable amount of time.”

Turner walked up to retrieve his tan trench coat from the small rack in the corner of Celestia’s office, all the while Celestia herself walked to the door, “I can’t stress this enough how happy I am that you agreed to help with all of this.”

“Think nothing of it,” said Turner, leisurely throwing his coat over a shoulder. “Glad to help out, even if it might not be as glamorous as some university.” He held out a hand, which Celestia took hold of, “It’s good to see you again, Celestia.”

“Likewise.” She looked idly to the side, when a small, abashed smile formed on her lips, “Could you say that thing you always did? For old times’ sake.”

Turner grinned sheepishly, before pointing a hand towards the door in a grandiose fashion, “Allons-y, everybody!” he declared, to which Celestia opened the door for him to leave.

-

After her probationary choice of leaving herself as the last student to be served their lukewarm, allegedly highly nutritional meal that was to maintain their energy requirements for the remainder of the day, Sunset walked as discreetly as she could in the crowded, wide open room, towards what came to be her… their usual table. Setting her tray down and taking a seat next to Fluttershy, she was greeted in varying levels by those she’d come to consider her first and only friends.

First up, greeting Sunset with the most gusto was the aptly named Pinkie Pie, who was currently waving to her quite fervently, to which Sunset abashedly waved back with a twiddle of her fingers. Enthusiastic and ever smiling, Pinkie was the other among the five to eagerly accept befriending Sunset alongside Fluttershy, despite having caused a rift between the two via a malevolent case of online fraud. Truly, there was no mean bone in either’s body.

Then there was Applejack and Rarity: The former the epitome of the hardworking country girl, complete with never going anywhere without her cherished Stetson hat. The latter a prim and proper classy lady with an avid eye for detail and a figurative wizard when it came to style and fashion. The most striking trait about the two was that they were a couple, much to certain boys’ despair, or so Sunset had heard, who time and time again, despite their vast differences in mannerisms, lifestyles and even class, made evident that they truly cared for one another in subtle displays of affection. And Sunset had so coldly split the two apart through a duplicitous deception during their freshman year.

How and why the two would come to even stand having Sunset around them was a mystery to her. Of all five, they should have had the most justified of reasons to despise her. Applejack in particular was known for being stubborn, almost on par with a certain other someone. Whether or not Sunset could discern her being true to try and make the impromptu friendship work, oddly enough, she had no reason to believe Applejack as being disingenuous. For there was a reason Applejack was known as the uncrowned worst liar of CHS. In Rarity’s case it may have been simply respecting Twilight’s wishes, given how she was the one to help rekindle the flame between the two; the “you scratch my back” system.

And then there was Rainbow Dash; top athlete at CHS, captain of every possible sports team imaginable. Competitive, fiery in spirit, and about as headstrong as one could be… And Sunset knew well enough that she clearly despised her, though was tactful enough to not be too explicit about it, at least when the others were around. She did not so much greet Sunset, as she would eye her warily, in between mouthfuls of pulled pork.

An awkward silence ensued, no vocalization uttered aside from the odd clink of cutlery or clap of a glass, or the gurgling from Pinkie’s imbibement of whatever canned carbonated substance of excessive amounts of carbohydrates, caffeine, and other questionable, if not hazardous, elements she was in the mood for.

Clearing her throat as she prodded at her three-bean chili, Sunset took the initiative to break the silence, “Girls… Vice-principal Luna informed me that I’m required to take a duel test.”

“Mhm, that’s very interesting,” said Rainbow Dash before ingesting another forkful. “Tell me more.”

Sunset decided to ignore Rainbow’s passive aggressiveness for the moment, “Well, it turns out the school board isn’t all too pleased with me going without dueling since you-know-what. So I need to do this or I’m going to be transferred to a non-dueling institution. But I’m sure you’ve noticed that I still don’t have a deck.”

“Seriously?” asked Applejack, seeming to sound at best perplexed rather than irritated.

“Sunset, while I know some of us might not have been the most welcoming,” said Rarity, ever more tactful than her girlfriend, “but you shouldn’t let it come between you and your performance. Applejack and I have made it abundantly clear that you’re off thin ice. Why, we’re very proud how you’ve been helping with Fluttershy at the shelter.”

“And being my favorite cupcake guinea pig,” added Pinkie, “A cupcake pig, if you will.”

“I get what you mean,” Sunset replied, a slight shudder racing down her spine remembering the last hangout with Pinkie, the burn still embedded in her memory. It turned out habaneros were not the most auspicious choice for chili chocolate icing. “Honestly, with how no-one is even willing to duel me, I guess it just slipped my mind. Now the problem is, I might have to do this tomorrow.”

This turned the heads of four, sans Rainbow, who seemed to only swerve her eyes.

“Ohhh…” hissed Applejack. “Yea, that’s not good.”

“Are you saying you don’t have anything you could use? Like your previous deck?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset shook her head, “No, I got rid of my Chess Archfiends too. I didn’t want those things associated with me anymore.”

“Well… um… You could borrow my deck, maybe that’ll-”

“Nuh-uh,” proclaimed Rainbow Dash. “Loaning one’s deck to someone else is out of the question. Besides; Sunset ain’t even in the same discipline as us.”

Though certain Rainbow was doing this as a jab at her, Sunset had to agree; duelists were required to utilize a deck of their own belonging, as such using Fluttershy’s deck would mirror poorly in evaluation. Plus, she wasn’t quite certain if she could consider herself a Synchro user. In the past she was part of the Xyz discipline, but she dropped out after…

Actually, she couldn’t quite remember exactly when it came about, but she clearly remembered transitioning to using her Archfiends at the time, while any precise memory of what she did to Priestess and her Prophecy deck still eluded her. She must have forgotten them in her backpack, out of sight, and out of mind, until by chance their case was ejected from within the night she stole into the Crystal Palace.

“Thank you for that… insistent reminder, Rainbow,” said Rarity sounding more than a little displeased at the athlete’s demeanor.

“Always happy to help,” proclaimed Rainbow, leaning back in her chair, finishing the remainder of her milk.

Applejack glanced at her rainbow-haired friend with discontent, “So you’re sayin’ you’ve got nothin’ to work off of?”

Sunset bobbed her shoulders, “Maybe a few extras, but that’s about it.” She could have made mention that she wasn’t too pressed for cash at the moment, despite having to purchase a new duel disk after her previous one’s destruction in lieu of her… malformation. Still, despite wanting to remain true and cordial with the five (whether they wanted it or not), she hadn’t had the heart to tell them about what she’d gotten up to while others toiled at their part-time or summer jobs. “I guess I just hadn’t put much thought on it until this just sprung up.”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Fluttershy who took the initiative in the situation when she stood up to address everyone, “Alright then; I say we get together and help Sunset build a new deck!” Perhaps out of a sudden feeling of abashment, the animal caretaker slowly lowered herself back into her seat, “If you’re all available, that is…”

Rarity was the first to respond, “I for one believe that is a wonderful idea. It’s so seldom we all six of us get together. Don’t you think so too, hun?” She looked to Applejack expectantly, fluttering her eyelids playfully.

Applejack chuckled with amusedly, “Alright-alright, sugarplum, Ah’ can take a hint.”

Pinkie hopped on her chair, inch by inch getting closer to Rainbow Dash, currently perusing something on her smartphone, when she felt the intent stare of the pink anomaly in the shape of a girl. Rainbow looked up to find herself staring directly into Pinkie’s soul-staring cerulean eyes, like being ogled by an attention-starved puppy dog.

“Uh… Thing is, I’ve got soccer practice after school, so…” said Rainbow, looking hot under the collar from Pinkie’s staring.

Sunset and Fluttershy exchanged glances. “We could always wait for you,” said Sunset in suggestion.

The reasonable compromise, coupled with Pinkie’s aid to the negotiation made the athlete sigh in defeat, “Fine. Just have something other than ramen unlike last time, kay?”

Sunset gave an okay gesture, for Rainbow was not exactly in the wrong when last time she had everyone over in her loft apartment. She mouthed a silent thank you to Fluttershy, who in turn responded with a friendly wink. It was progress, certainly: Asking her friends for help when she desperately needed it. Who knows? Perhaps getting her back into the spirit of the game would help mend bridges further, seeing how a certain special someone did just the same. If only she were accessible right now. Would she think Sunset had performed admirably thus far? She certainly hoped so.

-

The sense of irony was not at all lost on her as she discarded the ramen cup. It was past five pm. in the evening, so afterschool activities would have come to a close by now, so all she had to do now was wait. As per Rainbow’s request, Sunset had taken the time on the way home to pick up a two-liter of soda, as well as a bag of nachos and dip. For the moment she lay atop her futon, a series of Duel Monster cards fanned out in her hand. Nothing spectacular stats-wise, for sure, given that they were largely the typical potpourri anyone had lying about, unused if not outright forgotten.

The sound of her buzzer sent an instantaneous jolt through her system, kicking herself up to answer the door.

“Deck-building party commence, girls!” cried Pinkie exuberantly as she hopped over the threshold into Sunset’s apartment, while the rest filed in after her.

“Hey girls. I hope this isn’t too much of an inconvenience for you,” said Sunset, closing the door as everyone was inside and settled.

“Honestly, Sunset; you’ve become more apologetic than Fluttershy,” remarked Applejack as she slung her backpack beside the futon.

“So guess there’s a silver lining to everything,” quipped Rainbow, tearing open the bag of nachos on Sunset’s coffee table, naturally without asking.

Rarity looked at Rainbow with a sigh. “Pardon it took so long; we had to retrieve some essentials for this little meeting,” she emphasized, showing a small box styled akin to a treasure chest. First expecting it to be a makeup kit, Sunset was proven wrong on opening it to reveal a small stack of Duel Monster cards.

“Do you have anything in mind?” asked Fluttershy showing her own small flower and butterfly print box. “I don’t have much, but I hope they’ll be of some help.”

“Just don’t go asking for any extra deck stuff,” muffled Rainbow, mouth full of nachos and salsa. “Those things don’t exactly come cheap.”

“Oooh, why not use him?” asked Pinkie, who’d taken the liberty of looking through the stack Sunset was going through initially, picking out one card in particular and held it out to Sunset. “I mean he’s red, your hair is red, he’s got funny alternatively colored eyes-”

“It’s called heterochromia,” Fluttershy interrupted in a discerning tone. When a few looks turned her way, she promptly blushed abashedly, “It’s common among huskies and certain cats.”

Pinkie acknowledged with an “okay” gesture, before resuming in her latest stream of consciousness, “You have green eyes, and they were all red when you…” And with that the warmth of the moment was promptly drained. “Ohhh… Sorry. I didn’t mean to… That is…” With a sigh, she handed the card to Sunset, frowning ashamedly. “I’m sorry.”

Sunset took the card in question. “No, it’s fine,” she sighed, “An apt descriptor, if you ask me.” She wasn’t exactly lying, what with the primary indicator of her past possession being visible namely through her eyes, having turned them from brilliant teal to a virulent orangish red.

An intriguing find certainly: The card depicted a sleek raptor-like beast. Its sleek purple body was covered in brilliant red, angular, arrow-shaped scales around its torso, legs, neck and a small portion of both the root and near the tip of its tail. A pair of bone-white horns protruded upwards from its shoulders like some unconventional tusks, while its sharp, beak-like visage, as Pinkie described, sported heterochromic eyes, the left green and the right a fiery orange.

“Odd-Eyes Dragon?” Sunset muttered aloud the name. Where did I get this one…? A realization dawned on her.

There was something Sunset had steadfastly refused to disclose to the others. During her time in the Underground, Sunset had injured multiple opponents through the Ghouls’ inhumane practices bordering on blood sports. The Underground had been a lucrative venture for her, earning thousands of dollars regularly for all her victories, and they had no qualms of Sunset taking cards off the foes she defeated as trophies and mementos, particularly rare ones, as a show of status and superiority. This Odd-Eyes Dragon was one of those that she hadn’t had time or bothered to pawn.

Whatever she had done that caused the local Ghoul chapter’s base of operations to burn down, she had no clue. The most she could remember was being in a rigged match against Spring Steel, during which she lost control during a moment of desperation to the entity, after which she’d woken up in her apartment. She already caused enough pain for CHS, so they did not need to know of her involvement with the Underground on top of everything else. The Ghouls were very much done for in Canterlot City, and it was for the better.

“Barring Pinkie’s little slip there, I think that’s a great card to go on!” said Fluttershy. “With this you can start with a clean slate, away from those awful Archfiends.”

“And to top it all; dragons are a symbol of nobility: Using a more visually noble set of cards will help flesh out your image for the better,” commented Rarity. “Hmm, though I suppose the dichromatism could also account for your, let’s say, dual nature…”

“Well, sure; I’m down for it,” said Sunset, despite the unease of the reason how this particular card was in her possession in the first place. Hopefully any negative resonance from being taken from its owner might be rectified if I used it with good intentions.

“Then let’s get lookin’ for whatever dragons we can find,” proclaimed Applejack, having fanned out Sunset’s stack of extras atop her coffee table. “Ooh, Ah’ found a whole bunch already!”

And thus, the six got to work, going over any dragon-type card and anything that seemed it would work in harmony with Sunset’s new deckmaster. Between Pinkie’s remarks about certain oddities in the naming conventions of some cards and Rarity’s mention of an alleged new teacher seen going into Principal Celestia’s office, to Applejack having playfully ensnared her in an embrace when she made note about him being cute, leading to a tickle tussle between the two, which had everyone laughing, Sunset felt having the girls over was very enjoyable. In the end, as the evening wore on, they all took a long time simply talking with one another about, well, very much anything; very mundane, and Sunset welcomed the peace of it.

Of course, a certain someone seemed to not share as much in the respite: Rainbow Dash. Slouching lazily on Sunset’s futon, while responding when addressed, she seemed downright separated from the rest of the girls.

Comments

[Jlargent]

I have a Dark Magician Deck with enough heavy hitters to make most players hesitate to face me on a good day. If you want I could PM you what's in it and you can work from there.

[DDDDDDDDD23]

will endymion come as a spirit. and will twilight come back

[Brony-wan-kenobi]

Don't know how I feel about a magic counter deck for Sunset. Feels like something more geared for Twilight. I like what Darthvalgaav did a bit better, giving one of the Sunset's a Magical Musketeer deck. If you were going for a non extra deck type of deck

[Twinny]

Damn, looks like we have a subplot centered on Rainbow's process of gaining Sunset's trust?

[jen_lee_hattie]

Charming… Thought Sunset, opening her locker to put away her unneeded material for the first period. Not quite as inventive as the one where I was being fucked up the ass by Summoned Skull, but still.

Who ever did the summoned skull one is my favorite so far.😂

[jen_lee_hattie]

Turner grinned sheepishly, before pointing a hand towards the door in a grandiose fashion, “Allons-y, everybody!” he declared, to which Celestia opened the door for him to leave.

ALL BOW DOWN TO THE ALL MIGHTY DOCTOR WHO!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry could not help being a doctor who fun.

[jen_lee_hattie]

The reasonable compromise, coupled with Pinkie’s aid to the negotiation made the athlete sigh in defeat, “Fine. Just have something other than ramen unlike last time, kay?”

but ramen is gods food.