She groaned, her body feeling heavy and weightless at the same time.
“Please, my Vanguard…”
She struggled to open her eyes, but she was just so tired…
“I am here, my Vanguard…”
She reached out for anyone, anything...and she felt something warm embrace her.
“Please Wake up, my Vanguard…”
Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes as she felt something wet fall on her cheek, only to be blinded by a brilliant flash of white light.
-----
Sunset blinked as she suddenly came to, holding her forehead to hopefully hold back the headache that was coming. The headaches had been more consistent recently, amongst other things. Before she could even begin to process, she was pushed over, sending her sprawling over the school’s steps.
“Stupid Demon Bitch.”
“Shoulda known she was just faking it.”
“Can’t believe we bought her act.”
“Hope she gets whats coming to her.”
Sunset froze at that. Ever since a certain web page had started spreading rumors and airing out the dirty laundry of the many students of Canterlot High, using her face no less, any good will she had built up was thrown out away. Ignoring her bleeding knee, she reached for her things, only for various students to get in her way or kick it out of reach. Sunset groaned quietly, pulling herself to her feet with the available handrail, holding herself steady as she was shoved and pushed around. After what seemed like forever, the flow of students slowly dwindled, leaving Sunset alone. With a pained grimace, she went about collecting her things, sighing as some of her books and whatever assignments she had done were ruined.
What a good way to start the weekend, right?
To make matters worse, the late bell’s shrill alarm signified that she was also late to Home Room. Biting back the urge to yell in frustration, she limped into the building, not caring about her dirty and messy look. As she finally made it, she ignored the looks, the glares and the harsh whispers around her, slumping into her seat with a pained groan of relief.
All she could do was just tune everything out. She could only shut herself away from everyone else, and endure.
When lunch finally rolled around, Sunset made her way behind the west wing of the building. Despite the cold weather and the blistering winds of winter (the coldest Canterlot ever had in years, oddly enough), Sunset found warmth in solitude. Classes were at least kept in line by the teacher, but for her, the cafeteria would be the equivalent of a sheep trying to eat in the middle of a forest full of wolves.
Yeah, she may have been passive ever since this whole mess started, but she wasn't a complete door mat. (Well, at least not to the extent of...her.)
Sunset shook her head, trying, but failing to, dislodge thoughts of the five who had abandoned her. The harsh words, the teary eyes and the disownment played in her mind, bringing tears to her eyes. Her sorrow turned to rage as she threw her salad in a random direction with an intelligible scream.
“Ow!”
Sunset’s rage quickly turned into confusion as she turned in the direction of the cry. Her confusion turned into horror when she realized what she had done. Sunset ran over to a pinked haired girl who was crouched over, sniffling as she held onto a rapid bruising mark on the girl’s forehead.
“I’m so sorry!” Sunset said, going into her bag. Pulling out a handkerchief, she made a makeshift ice pack, offering it to the girl. “I didn’t mean to hurt you! I was just so frustrated about something and I-!”
The sound of the girls sniffling cut Sunset off. She took Sunset’s offered makeshift ice pack, holding it where she was hit, but said nothing else. Taking a better look at the girl before her, Sunset could barely recognize her from anyone she knew at Canterlot High. Her pink hair was kept at shoulder length, but styled in the shape of a crescent moon. She wore a long sleeves maroon turtleneck sweater and dark grey short skirt under a dark purple jacket that reached her knees and a pair of leather boots. She looked at Sunset, her yellow eyes full of tears from the pain.
“I’m, I’m sorry,” Sunset said weakly, turning her eyes downward. Turning around, she walked back to where she sat.
“W-wait!” the other girl said, grabbing Sunset’s sleeve. Sunset turned around slowly, just to see the girl she had mistakenly injured looking at her with a determined look.
“Uh, yes?” Sunset said, a little taken aback. “I said I was sorry, so-!”
“Are you okay?” the other girl asked her.
Sunset blinked in response. “What are you talking about? I’m the one who should be asking you that!”
“I’m fine, but you don’t look so good,” the other girl said, looking straight into Sunset’s eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Sunset continued to stare the pinkette in disbelief. “No, I’m fine,” Sunset said after a pause. “Look, I’m sorry for accidentally hitting you with my lunch, and-” She was cut off when the pinkette pulled her into a hug, resting her chin on Sunset’s shoulder.
“I finally found you,” the pinkette said, her voice wavering. Sunset could feel the girl shaking in her arms, to her confusion. Just who was this girl?
“Um, who are you?” Sunset asked, awkwardly patting the pinkette’s back.
“Oh! Excuse me!” the girl said, pulling away quickly as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She took one of Sunset’s hands into her own, and smiled brightly. “My name is Harriet Magi. You can call me Hari.”
“Uh, pleasure to meet you Hari,” Sunset said, still nervous. “So, why have you been looking for me?”
Hari said nothing, but held onto Sunset’s hand gently. Despite her the awkward silence, Sunset couldn’t help but feel relaxed around this girl that she had literally met just now. Before the redhead could say anything, the ending period bell rang. Looking a bit disappointed, Hari let Sunset’s hand go and ran off towards the school, waving to the befuddled girl.
Sunset watched her go, before looking back at her own hand. To her surprise, the pinkette had left a card before she left. “Cardfight Vanguard?” Sunset read aloud, flipping the card over. To her surprise, she found a small hand drawn mini-map, complete with directions to go there after the school day ended and a card depicting a young (she assumed) pink haired boy wearing a dark blue stage magician outfit and a similarly colored top hat that had a small cartoonish bat-shaped eye patch over their right eye.
“‘Masked Magician, Harri?’” Sunset read aloud, reading through the card’s effects. As she pocketed the card, her phone chimed with a message. Looking it over, she frowned. Rainbow, of all people, wanted meet her after school? Alone in the gymnasium? Sunset shut off her phone with a scowl; the prismatic haired jock was the last person she wanted to talk to.
------
After an hour long bus ride to the city (due to the snowy weather and icy roads), Sunset finally arrived. From the outside, it looked like a normal business building, with a backlit sign underneath the second floor windows proclaiming ‘CARD CAPITAL V-Z’ and an a-frame sign pointing out a stairwell leading store directly.
Taking a deep breath, she made her up the stairs, and into the pass the glass door that led inside. The first thing her eyes came across, after adjusting from the sudden dark to bright light, was the amount of cards sitting in glass cases against the walls to her left and in front of her. In front of her, the cases were separated by a wide screen smart television and a keyboard was underneath it. To her right, there was a small front desk with a register, and just behind the desk was a wall of premade decks, deck boxes, deck sleeves and various other supplies. There was no one manning the register, but a large dog (a Saint Bernard) of various colors (mainly white, brown and black) lay asleep.
“There she is! Sunset, over here!”
Sunset looked up, and found Hari sitting at a table by the window. There were other people around her, just as colorful and eccentric looking as her old friends did. Sitting next to Hari was a younger pale skinned girl with black hair styled in two buns, wearing a light green long sleeved shirt a yellow scarf around her neck, well worn jeans and a pair of loafers. She looked up as she cleaned her thin wireframe glasses. Sitting across from her was another girl, wearing a dark blue knee length, with a silver silken top that covered her shoulders and arms and a pair of dark brown boots over her feet. Her blonde hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, which kept it out of the way of her azure blue eyes. Finally, sitting across from Hari was another girl with fiery reddish hair, similar to Sunset’s own red, albeit a deeper shade of crimson, her eyes matching her hair in color. Despite the snowy weather, she wore a dark red and silver tube top that showed off her figure and left her shoulders and back bare, and a similarly colored dress that reached her ankles.
“I’m so glad you could make it!” Hari said, walking over to Sunset and leading her to the table. “Girls, this is Sunset, the one I told you about earlier!” The three other girls looked at Sunset with greater scrutiny, which unnerved her.
“Sunset, these are my friends Bamboo Sprite,” Hari started, pointing out the bespectacled girl with buns in her hair. The girl nodded to her politely, and then went back to her book.
“Greetings,” Sprite said softly, not sparing Sunset a small glance as she flipped a page.
“Across from her is Paige Gallant.” The blonde gave Sunset a polite smile and small wave.
“Hello!” Paige greeted, getting up and walking over to Sunset, offering her a hand. Sunset took it cautiously, and Paige gently shook.
“And next to her is Ardent Danseur.” The other redhead gave Sunset a cocky smirk.
“We’ve got one more with us, but they’re running late,” Ardent said with a shrug. “Come join us,” she continued, patting the chair next to her.
Sunset made her to way to the offered seat, only to squeak in surprise as the other red-head suddenly wrapped one of her arms around the pony girl’s shoulders. “No need to be so nervous!” Ardent said with a laugh. “We’re all friends here!” Sunset stiffened as her face was suddenly in the other girl’s chest.
“Ardent, your making the poor girl burn up,” Bamboo said softly from her book, flipping a page.
“Hmm? What do you mean? She’s fine!” Ardent said, looking at Sunset. “See? She’s fine!”
Sunset didn’t say anything, her face as red as a tomato. With a small push, she removed her face from the other girls bust, to Ardent’s bemused smile.
Hari, looking embarrassed, laughed uneasily before clearing her throat. “So, Sunset, thank you for joining us! I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it or not.”
Sunset turned her attention to the pink haired girl. “Well, when you said that you finally found me, I just needed to know what that was supposed to mean.”
Hari pushed her fingers together, looking a bit nervous. “Well, you see…”
“Um, not to be rude,” Paige spoke up. “But we have a game to finish, don’t we?” The blonde pointed down at the table between them, where a spread of cards was laid out.
“Ah, right! Sorry Paige!” Hari said, looking embarrassed. “I’ll explain more after this game, okay?”
Sunset nodded, and looked down at the cards. On Hari’s side was a single stack of cards, and on Paige’s side were six cards, in two rows of three.
“Oh, forgive my ignorance, but may I know what game is that?” Sunset said, nervously.
“Its called Cardfight Vanguard,” Ardent replied, as Hari drew a card from her deck. “Basically, its a game where we become Vanguards, the ones who lead, on the Planet Cray, and lead our units into battle against other Vanguards! The whole point of the game is to deal six points of damage to your opponent, which causes your opponent to lose their link with their Vanguard and lose the game.”
“What do you mean by, ‘lose their link’?” Sunset asked, confused.
“You see, when we play, we become the Vanguard,” Bamboo continued, flipping a page. “Like Ardent said, we are leading our own followers, or our ‘Rear-Guards’, into battle. When we lose the game, we lose our link, that is until the next game starts. Its as simple as that.”
“Final Turn!” Hari declared, pulling everyone’s attention back on her. Sunset’s vision became blurry, as everything else around her started to become hazy and unfocused.
When she came to, she found herself standing over a silver and blue pristine city scape. All the buildings around her matched those two colors, and any other color seemed to not exist in this place. However, in the center of it all, were several humanoid figures on two different sides. On one, there stood a lone figure clad in violet stage magician clothing, wearing an large top hat and wielding a black cane with a pink gem cut to look like a cartoon-ish looking bat. On the other side were three similarly armored women, all of them clad in silver and blue armor. In the center stood the tallest of the three, wielding a shield resembling the moon and silver spear the shape of a crescent moon. Her white cape waved in the wind, and her blonde hair was kept in place by a silver tiara. The figures to her left and right were nearly identical, except that the one to her left wielded a short sword, and the one to her right wielded a great-axe, both weapons having some semblance to a phase of the moon.
“What's this place?” Sunset asked, confused about what happened. Looking at her hands, her eyes widened and she nearly panicked at the fact they were see-through and ephemeral.
“Its over Hari!” the knight in the center declared, holding out her spear. “There’s nothing you can do!”
“We’ll see!” the lone child magician shouted back, smiling as she raised her scepter. “Now, let the true stars take the stage!” The staff’s mouth opened up and let out a thick purple smoke that enveloped her. A bright flash of light illuminated a taller, more imposing figure in the smoke, and one burst of wind revealed a taller and more majestic looking version the child before, while standing before a giant purple dragon.
“Come, performers of the Pale Moon Circus!” the older woman called out, removing her top hat with flourish. The same smoke from before pooled out of the hat and flooded the field, revealing a large chimera like creature to their left and a young woman in a dark black, red and purple dress, holding thin swords in between her fingers.
“Bring it on!” the shield-bearer knight yelled, hunkering down behind her shield.
A bright flash of light shot forth from their clash, making Sunset shield her eyes with hands.
“Sunset? Are you okay?”
She blinked. Looking around, she saw the concerned faces of the Hari, Ardent and Paige giving her looks of concern while Bamboo was giving her a bored stare.
“What, what happened?” Sunset asked, holding her head.
“You kind of spaced out there,” Ardent said, nodding to Hari, who went to a nearby vending machine for a cold drink. “That and your eyes got all strange and glowy.”
“Wait, what?” Sunset said, sharply looking up.
“Easy, easy,” Ardent said, patting Sunset’s back. “It just more or less confirms what we’re looking for.”
“What do you mean?” Sunset asked, her suspicion growing.
“Actually, here; it’d be easier if I just showed you. Look at these,” Ardent said, going into her pocket and pulling out six different cards. Sunset immediately recognized two of them, as they were just played in game just now, Masked Phantom, Hari and Blaster Blade, High Lady Gallant. On the other cards there various different creatures and humanoids. One depicted a young woman wearing a fiery red tube top that left her tanned skin exposed, and a deep reddish purple dress that exposed a lot of the woman’s legs. Their vermillion red hair was kept in place by a golden tiara, and lightning and fire danced around them. The next card depicted a bipedal panda, clad in robes befitting a professor, although the setting placed them in a garden. The next card depicted a woman wearing and skintight white and blue jumpsuit, something akin to classic superhero suits, that had an eagle motif, their identity being hidden behind a mask resembling the upper half of an eagle's beak. Finally, the last card depicted a woman clad in what Sunset could easily say was a pirate’s outfit, complete with cutlass and tricorn hat.
“Dragon Dancer of the Turbulent Skies, Tiamat,” Sunset read the names of the cards, each one sounding more and more familiar to her. “Nature Professor, Nimue. Hidden Hero, Taka-Wing. And...and...Vampire Princess of Starlight, Nightrose?”
Sunset clutched her head as a sharp pain shot through it...
“Please remember, my Vanguard…”
Sunset let out once last gasp before she lost consciousness...
“Captain on deck, you undead wretches! A good evening to you, Captain, sir!”
When she came to, she found herself on an old, decrepit yet still seaworthy vessel, sauntering from what she assumed were the Captain’s Quarters. The one addressing her, a man with deathly pale white skin, wearing a blood red leather harness over his bear chest, black leathers over his legs and feet as well as a black jacket over his shoulders like a cape. The man smirked to her, bearing rows of sharp looking fangs.
“Tis a good night indeed, my dear first mate Colombard!” Sunset heard her voice say, before taking a drink from the bottle she was holding. The coppery taste of blood flooded her mouth, yet, despite Sunset’s urge to vomit, whoever she was looking through seemed to enjoy it! She tossed the bottle to this ‘Colombard’, who smiled and took a swig from the same drink. Sunset walked over to the port side of the ship, pulling out a looking glass to gaze upon a small fortress looking island, protected by a neon green barrier.
“We’re almost upon them, Big Sis,” Colombard said softly, putting the bottle down as he approached. “The others have sent message that they are en-route as well, give or take several hours.”
“Has our scouts returned with anything?” Sunset...no, Nightrose...asked softly, putting her looking glass away.
“Other than their skulls without their bodies, no,” a new voice said. Colombard and Nightrose looked overboard and saw a young girl clad in similarly designed clothing as Nightrose, but was worn more conservatively than the captain. With a burst of water from the various octopus tentacles on her back, she landed on the deck with a bow.
“Parting Shade, Report,” Sunset said, her voice stern.
Before this new face could explain, everything faded away again…
When she came to, she found herself on her back, her head resting on someone’s lap.
“Are you alright?” a familiar voice asked softly.
Sunset winced at the bright light obscuring her vision. “Who…?”
“Rest, my Vanguard,” the voice said, a gentle hand placing itself on her forehead, giving some reprieve from the bright light. Sunset stiffened at the title given to her, but a new person took one of her hands in their own. Turning over, this new person had silvery white hair tied back in simple pony tail and was wearing a yellow tank top, black cargo pants and a black jacket over her waist.
“We came running as soon as Paige called us!” the silver haired girl said, smiling at Sunset. “My name is Eagle Eye, by the way.”
Sunset pulled herself up from a lying down, and sat herself upright against the wall. Holding onto her head head, she looked to her right, only for her eyes to widen at the sight of girl with dark blue hair, kept short (by her nape) and yellow eyes, wearing a dull yellow jacket over a black and white shirt that had a purple butterfly on her chest, and a white skirt.
“Nightrose…?” Sunset asked, the name slowly coming from her lips.
The blue haired girl smiled and nodded slowly. “Its been a while, hasn’t it?”
Sunset pulled herself up from lying down, and sat herself upright against the wall. Holding onto her head head, she looked to her right, only for her eyes to widen at the sight of girl with dark blue hair, kept short (by her nape) and yellow eyes, wearing a dull yellow jacket over a black and white shirt that had a purple butterfly on her chest, and a white skirt.
“Nightrose…?” Sunset asked, the name slowly coming from her lips.
The blue haired girl smiled and nodded slowly. “Its been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Wha-How-?” Sunset stammered, as the blue haired girl giggled into her hand.
The blue haired girl said nothing, but took Sunset’s hand in her own. Sunset felt herself go red, but the other girl smiled and said, “It's been a while, hasn’t it?”
“What do you mean?” Sunset asked.
“Ya see,” Ardent spoke up, approaching the three. “We aren’t exactly, how shall we we say...from this world? If that makes any sense?”
“Oh… Like me? I wasn't even from here in the first place,” said Sunset.
“That is both correct and wrong at the same time,” Bamboo Sprite said, flipping a page. She went into her bag, producing a black tablet and turning it on. The screen flickered, and showed two planets connected by two streams of white lights.
“This is what we mean,” she continued, pointing to the two planets. “The one on the left is Planet Earth, and the one on the right is Planet Cray. We,” she said, gesturing to the six other girls, “Are from Planet Cray.”
Sunset witnessed it amazed, “Wow, Twilight would sure have a lot of questions for you.”
“Who?” Hari asked, tilting her head.
Sunset noticed Hari, “Oh! She is… from the same place I'm from.”
“Anyways, the cards Ardent showed you earlier,” Bamboo continued slowly, as Ardent held up the six cards again. “Are our true forms. When we crossed over,” Bamboo pointed on the white streams of light connecting the planets. “We took these forms.”
“What she said,” Ardent said with a shrug. “I was just going to say ‘Magic, don’t question it’, but Hari over here would get upset.”
“I would not!” Hari exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment.
That made Sunset giggle, “It’s ok. Don't worry.” Then, she looked at the tablet again, “I want to know: what's your planet like?”
“Well,” Eagle Eye started, “Its both dangerous yet peaceful, fantastical yet nonsensical, and realistic but otherworldly. In a way, it's kinda like this one.”
“However, our world’s fate is greatly affected by the actions taken in this one,” the blue haired girl continued.
“So… if we make something bad here, your world breaks or something?” Sunset asked.
“Not quite,” Paige said, pulling a card from her deck and showing it to Sunset. “Conflicts and their outcomes are decided by battles in our world.” She handed the card while it was facedown to Sunset. “The people who play this game lead us Vanguards, and their victory is our victory. And their loss is our loss.” Sunset flipped the card over, revealing it to be ‘Blaster Blade, High Lady Gallant’.
Sunset thought for herself, “And to think that, in my world, Twilight and her friends would make anything to solve any problem…” She continued looking at the card, “Who is it? I mean, her other form.”
Paige smiled at her.
Sunset felt wordless, “Wait… You??” She tried to process the information, “This is too much for me…” Looking around, Sunset saw the other girls holding up cards. Ardent proudly held up ‘Dragon Dancer of the Turbulent Skies, Tiamat’. Bamboo Sprite lazily held up ‘Nature Professor, Nimue’ in between her fingers. Eagle Eye spun a card on her finger, before catching it in between her pointing and middle fingers, revealing ‘Hidden Hero, Taka-Wing’. Hari held up ‘Masked Phantom Hari’ in between both of her hands. Finally, the unknown girl held up ‘Vampire Princess of Starlight, Nightrose’ towards Sunset.
Sunset saw the card, “Hold on, I think I remember!” She continued looking at it.
“What do you remember?” the blue-haired girl asked.
Sunset answered, “When I fainted before, I kinda saw something. It was a battle, and there was every card you showed me. And I was Nightrose!”
Hari and the other girls exchanged surprised looks. “Do you recall anything else? Like why the battle was being held? What happened? How it-”
“Enough!” the blue haired girl snapped, cutting Hari off. “You shouldn’t be pushing so-”
Sunset tried to recall, “Well, all I remember is some knights, something about 'The Pale Moon Circus’, a flash of light… No idea how the battle ended. Oh, and a pirate ship. And there was this man, Colombard, and a scout called Parting Shade…”
“Do you remember our clan’s name?” the blue haired girl asked
Sunset rubbed her head, “Hmm…What was the name?”
The blue haired girl sighed. “Think harder. I know you know it.”
“And you tell us not pressure her into remembering stuff,” Ardent mumbled.
“I guess it had something to do with 'Pirate Clan’? What was the first word?” Sunset thought harder, “Red… No, Blue… Wait! ‘Granblue’!”
“Good,” the blue haired girl said, smiling softly.
Suddenly, Sunset remembered, “Wait, what about the battle I saw a few minutes ago? Who were those knights? And those performer looking people?”
“Those were my Royal Paladins,” Paige replied.
“And my Pale Moon Circus Troupe,” Hari added.
“What were they doing? Why were they even fighting?” Sunset asked, concern creeping into her voice.
“Nothing serious, really. Those two were just settling who got the last cookie with a Card Fight,” Bamboo said dryly, putting away her tablet. Hari and Paige looked away, a little red.
“Well, at least Pinkie is not the only one,” Sunset thought for herself. “It's curious knowing that. But what about you, Bamboo? What were you doing meanwhile?”
“I was just reading,” Bamboo said simply, pulling out her tome-like book again. “Waiting for you.”
“...thats it?” Sunset asked. Bamboo merely nodded as she flipped a page.
A tense silence soon followed. Sunset awkwardly read through a book of rules, with the blue haired girl sitting contently besides her explaining the more specific details of the game to her. Eagle Eye and Hari went to a nearby vending machine, while Paige opened up her own book.
“Ah, enough sitting around and thinking!” Ardent exclaimed, making everyone else jump. Pulling out a deck of her own, she pointed at Sunset, saying, “Let’s fight right now!”
“She just got here, was told about our world, and has just a bare understanding of the basics,” Eagle Eye said, returning with drinks for everyone. “If your so eager for a fight, I’ll happily oblige.”
“I actually want to try the game myself,” Sunset said slowly. Before she could get up, the blue haired girl offered Sunset a a deck of cards. The back of the cards matched the one’s Sunset had already seen, a black and blue back with the card’s name written in a futuristic looking font, over a white circle that, to Sunset, looked like a mix of a magic ritual and electronic circuitry at the same time. “The crew has awaited your arrival, Captain.”
As Sunset took the deck in her hands, she felt an odd sensation of warmth and cold tingling through her body. Looking at through the deck, it was full of various ghosts, zombies and all forms of undead beings, but for some reason, she wasn’t disturbed or creeped out by them. Instead, she felt a sense of familiarity as a cacophony of voices all shouted to her, welcoming and greeting her.
“Alright, lets do this!” Ardent exclaimed, a happy smile on her face. She led Sunset to a standing table, which lit up to reveal two identical playing fields. After pressing a few buttons, Ardent placed her deck on the table, and when gestured to, Sunset did the same. Both decks were engulfed in bright light shuffled by, and left a single card in the Vanguard Circle of both players. Both players drew their initial hand, and after determining who went first, the game was ready to start.
Sunset’s vision was blinded by an instant flash of bright white light. When the light faded, she found herself standing on a dark starlit beach, next to a large pirate galleon...and she was glowing a soft white light while still being transparent.
“Where am I?” Sunset asked aloud, walking along the beach. The beach didn’t resemble anywhere she had recognized, nor did the moon look exactly right either.
“Right now we’re spirits on the Planet Cray,” came Ardent’s voice across from her. Sunset looked ahead, and saw the girl in the same state as her. “The moment we reveal our Vanguards, our battle begins!”
Sunset nodded, as she and Ardent faced off. Ardent smirked, and for some reason, Sunset found herself mimicking her.
“STAND UP/WAKE UP, VANGUARD!”
Magic circles resembling the back of the cards formed underneath them. A burst of lightning surrounded Ardent, just as a bubble of water formed around Sunset. The two elements subsided after a while with a flash of red and blue light. Where Ardent stood was a young girl wearing a dark red sash over her shoulders that tied into the fans she carried in both hands, which covered the dark red silken chest wrap and an ankle length sarong over knee length tan colored tights. Her black-red hair was tied back in an elegant ponytail by a golden circlet that also kept her eye covered. Where Sunset once stood there was now a young humanoid woman clad in black pants, a white button up shirt underneath a black overcoat, and a tricone hat over their white hair with an eyepatch over their left eye.
“Dragon Dancer Trainee, Amane!” camed Ardent’s voice from the girl as she did a small twirl.
“Undying Departed, Grenache!” came Sunset’s voice from the humanoid, spinning a knife in her hand.
“Ride, Dragon Dancer Initiate, Kino!” Ardent yelled, as the circle appeared underneath her. In a flash of fire, Amane’s form was replaced by a similarly dressed girl, albeit a bit older looking, but holding onto a single large fan, had light brown hair with red highlights and their main color was dark blue instead of red. In another burst of flame, Amane appeared behind her.
“Ride, Parting Shade!” Sunset called out, as translucent form was burst out of Grenache. She was engulfed by a waterspout and with a slash of steel, Sunset’s new form was revealed. She was clad in a similar outfit and build as Grenache, except it was a dark blue instead of black and she wielded two fish shaped guns, one pink and one blue. Her skin was pitch black and wispy, and several pink octopus tentacles extended from her back. Grenache appeared behind her, reappearing as a male, in a similar waterspout, spinning his dagger.
“Well, come on!” Ardent taunted, beckoning Sunset with her finger.
Sunset smirked, twirling both guns in her hands. She charged forward, raising both guns as Grenache followed behind her. As she fired, a pale girl clad in a black dress, had messy greenish-blonde hair that had strands of seaweed in it, and a black eye-patch appeared behind her. She took in a deep breath and let out an ear-piercing shriek. The shriek caused Ardent to drop her guard, just as both shots hit their mark.
“Not bad,” Ardent grunted, standing back up with a smirk. Her form began to glow, and it burst in brilliant plume of red flames. The flames were split by a swing of crimson and ebony halberd wielded by a young blonde woman in dark red bikini and translucent black silken skirt.
“Dragon Dancer of Steel, Luxia!” came Ardent’s voice from this new body. She waved her spear as bolts of lightning struck the sandy beach, revealing two identical women wearing dark metal crowns that had white masks over their eyes and wore white dresses, both wielding steel fans. “Dragon Dancer of Lighting, Meika!”
Sunset braced herself for the incoming onslaught, bring her arms and tentacles in front of her. Both women threw their fans, cutting Sunset’s tentacles off, sending her reeling. Luxia followed up, pole-vaulting off her spear and kicking Sunset square in the face. The force of the kick sent her flying into the water, crashing against the oncoming waves.
With a bit of a struggle, Sunset pushed herself up into a standing position. Tossing both guns in the air, she yelled out, “Ride, Pirate Swordsman Colombard!”
A pale white blue circle appeared overhead and underneath her, engulfing her with in a bubble of dark blue water. A sword burst through the bubble, revealing its wielder to be a pale skinned white woman wearing a dark brown leather cuirass, dark blue pants and a dark blue and red pirate coat over her shoulders.
“Come on out, ye scallywags!” Sunset yelled, smirking as her hair and headband blew around wildly in the churning winds. “Skeleton Cannoneer! Witch Doctor of Languor, Negrolazy! Get out here!” To her left and right, the waters burst upwards as two figures emerged from the depths. To her left, a skeleton in a bloody red tunic, bandana and worn blue leggings pushing a cannon emerged. To her fight, a taller and lankier figure appeared, wearing black, blue and purple robes with various pits of teal claw-shaped coral hanging in several places, and wielding a short golden stave and a moldy spellbook.
“Attack!” Sunset ordered, rushing forward. Skeleton Cannoneer let out a cackling laugh as it lit the cannon, releasing a blast against one of Meikas, turning her to dust. Sunset leapt up and brought her blade down, only to be blocked by the other Meika, who fended her off before fading away. Even the Witch Doctor’s attack was deflected, by a young red headed girl clad in priestess robes, using a length of cloth.
“Dammit,” Sunset grumbled, as she landed on her feet.
“Don’t feel too bad,” Ardent said, as her body began to glow. Stabbing the spear into ground, she traced a circle in the sand as she was engulfed in fire. “Now the true leader of the Dancers of the Dragon Empire to take the stage! Ride, Dragon Dancer of the Turbulent Skies, Tiamat!”
The orb of fire exploded outwards, revealing the same young woman that Sunset had seen on the card earlier. This time, the lightning and fire swirled on her back, forming on red and golden wings.
“Come join me on the stage, Dragon Dancer of The Winds, Marianne!” Ardent’s new form snapped its fingers, calling more allies to her side. To the left, a young woman clad in white and green cloth armor appeared in a burst of flame, her long hair held back by a white turban. She pulled a large, emerald studded wing shaped fan off of her back and fell into a fighting stance. To her right, the Dragon Dancer of Steel, Luxia appeared once more in a flash of lightning.
Before she could react, Sunset found herself impaled by Luxia’s spear. As she cried out in pain, she was flung upwards and trapped in a whirlwind created by Marianne’s fans. Barely clinging onto her consciousness, Sunset’s eyes snapped open as she saw Ardent flying right at her, Tiamat’s legs bursting with fire and lightning. The force of the of the kicks sent Sunset crashing against the beach, leaving a crater from the impact. Sunset barely clung to consciousness, but a small white ball with greenish purple eyes, holding onto a torch burning with a purple flame and stuck its tongue out at Ardent in a childish fashion.
“T-thanks Rick?” Sunset said as she tried to even her breathing, as the purple flames healed her stomach wound. The little ball gave Sunset a small wave and disappeared. The Skeleton Cannoneer helped Sunset to her feet, as Negrolazy gave her a reaffirming nod.
“Now, lets win this,” Sunset said, holding her blade high. Tracing a circle in the air, Sunset kneeled on one knee as a waterspout formed and engulfed her. After a few moments a pale green blade shot out of the water and sliced it wide open, revealing a new form. This new face wore a dark blue petticoat that opened up around her chest, matching tricone hate, black leggings and was accompanied by two green ghosts wearing black bandanas emblazoned with a skull and crossbones.
“To the roses of the bloodstained moon, your princess of the night shall lead you all to glory!” Sunset yelled, standing straight. “Ride, Vampire Princess of the Night Fog, Nightrose!”
‘Welcome back, my Vanguard.’
Sunset blinked, as she felt an oddly familiar presence behind her. She felt the presence lightly rest on her shoulder, and Sunset found herself reaching over her shoulder to grasp it. Looking up, she raised her sword and raised it at Ardent, who was smiling back at her.
“Well, are you just gonna stand there and pose or are you going to attack?” Ardent called out, making a ‘come hither’ motion towards Sunset.
“Parting Shade, Fatal Shade, get out here!” the pirate princess yelled. Behind Skeleton Cannoneer, a Parting Shade appeared, raising their guns. Behind Negrolazy, a female ghost wearing a white and blue dress took shape, their ashy black hands gripping onto two flintlock pistols. With a battle cry, Sunset dashed on towards the Ardent, flanked by her rearguards.
As she clashed against Ardent, Sunset found her vision fading away into a dull grey haze. Her eyes grew heavier and heavier, before she lost consciousness…
Sunset groaned, her head aching as she slowly opened her eyes. When she came to, Sunset found herself once again on her back, a warm touch of someone’s hand against her forehead and another hand lightly scratching her head through her hair. The warmth helped alleviate her headache somewhat, and the soft lap she was resting against was quite comfortable. (If she had her pony ears, they would be flapping in delight)
“Are you alright?” Sunset heard Hari’s voice asked. Sunset looked up and saw the pink haired girl looking down at her, Hari’s yellow eyes wide in concern. Sunset slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, holding her head. Ardent was in the corner, being chewed out Paige, Eagle Eye and the blue haired girl. Bamboo was off to the side, reading her book, but she was still glaring at Ardent from the corner of her eye.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sunset said with a small grimace. “What happened? Who won?”
“Well,” Hari started, frowning slightly that Sunset had gotten up. “To answer your second question, you had lost the game. (Understandable really, since it was your first time ever playing.) But in regards to your first, we don't know. You were pretty spaced out during the entire game, but you collapsed when you took the last bit of damage.”
Sunset groaned, sighing as cool relief came in the form of a cold canned drink pressed into her hands by Hari.
“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Sunset started, opening the canned juice. “But what is her name?” She took a quick sip, before she pointed to the blue haired girl. It was at that moment that she felt saw a symbol on the back of her hand. It resembled the top half a skull, but surrounded by two flowing blue lines. It was glowing with a deep blue color, before it slowly started to fade. ‘What is this? When did this get here?! When did...no, no, calm down. More questions to ask for later.’ Sunset thought, taking a deep breath.
“Well you already know,” Hari said slowly, tilting her head to the side. At Sunset’s deadpan stare, Hari’s eyes widened in realization, as she said, “Oh, you meant her name while here!”
“Yes,” Sunset said with a deadpan.
Hari, looking embarrassed, gave a small laugh and said, “She’s going by ‘Rosey Nights’ here.”
“...really?” Sunset asked, looking at the Nightrose card, keeping her deadpan going. Hari shrugged in response.
Before either girl could say anything else, a massive Saint Bernard from behind the counter walked up to the two, breathing heavily as it sat in front of Sunset. The red head blinked in confusion, as she read the collar “Sub-Manager, Raymundo", and nearly yelped when the dog rest its head on her lap, drooling a little. Hari giggled a little as the big dog wagged its tail as it looked at Sunset rather expectantly. Giving Hari a confused look, the pink haired girl mimed a petting motion on the dogs head, which Sunset mimicked the best she could. If the dog’s fast wagging tail was any indication, she was doing it correctly.
“Heh, it's rare that Ray likes someone the first time he’s seen someone,” said a young man wearing a green apron, chuckling as he walked up. With a whistle, the Saint Bernard got up and walked towards him. Underneath the apron he wore a pair dark brown slacks and a long sleeved white shirt, and kept his long hair dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail.
Pushing his glasses back up onto his nose, he smiled and offered Sunset a hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Fair Play, and I'm the owner of this humble shop. And you've already my old friend and backup manager when I'm not around, Ray.” The Saint Bernard let out a low bark and gave Sunset the equivalent of a smile.
“It's nice to meet you as well,” Sunset said, taking the offered hand. “My name, if the other girls haven't told you yet, is Sunset Shimmer.”
“Well met, Miss Shimmer,” Fair Play said, smiling as he shook her hand. Looking over to the other girls, he cleared his throat and called out, “Girls, I'm closing up in ten minutes! Please clean up before you leave!” Ray let out a louder bark, as if an alarm for those who didn't hear his owner speak.
The other three gave their acknowledgments, Ardent more relieved than the others, and approached Hari and Sunset after collecting their belongings. Ardent looked as if she had gone through the ringer, with Rosey Nights and Eagle Eye looking annoyed.
“I’m sorry for going all out against you in our cardfight!” Ardent exclaimed, rigidly bowing to Sunset. “Its just, I get a little caught up in it and I sorta forgot you were still learning it and-"
“Its fine, its fine,” Sunset said, raising her hands in a calming manner. “I appreciated that you decided to not treat me like an absolute beginner; I actually learn better by being thrown into the thick of things, really.”
“HA! SEE!? I told you so!” Ardent said, snapping back upright and pointing at Rosey and Gallant.
“Girls, five minute warning!” Fair Play called out from a nearby storage closet.
“We’re going, we’re going!” Eagle Eye called back, sliding her jacked on. After saying their goodbyes to Raymundo and his owner, the seven girls made their way out to the city streets. The air was cold and grey, and a light flurry of snow was making its way down.
“I didn’t think it would be this late,” Sunset said, getting the time from a nearby automated sign. “I’ll be lucky if I can it home by midnight in this weather.”
“Where do you live, anyway?” Eagle Eye asked, pulling out her helmet from her bag.
“Ponyville Commons,” Sunset said without thinking.
“That’s, hmm,” Eagle Eye started, moving her head from side to side as she mentally calculated the distance. “That’s not too far from the city, actually. If you want, I can drive you home.”
“Wait, what?” Sunset asked, eyes widening as Eagle Eye walked around the corner. Seconds later, a silver motorcycle came around, parking next to the group. Pulling off her silver helmet, Eagle Eye offered it to Sunset.
“So, want a ride?” Eagle Eye asked over the engine, pulling a second helmet from her bag.
Sunset looked at the helmet, and then at the other girls. Hari and Nightrose gave her her a thumbs up, Ardent nodded happily, while Bamboo and Paige just smiled at her. With a small sigh, Sunset pulled the helmet on, and took her seat behind Eagle. “Will I see you girls here tomorrow?” she asked.
“I suspect you’ll see us sooner than that,” Ardent said with a wink. “Have a good night!”
“Hold on tight, Sunset!” Eagle Eye said, revving up her engine before Sunset could respond. “Here we go!” Sunset screamed as she Eagle Eye took off, going from 0 to 60 mph in a few seconds.
“Do you think we should have told her?” Hari asked.
“Nah, its more fun this way,” Nightrose said with a smirk.
“Lets go ladies,” Ardent said, leading the crew down the street. “Our Vanguard awaits…”
---0---0---
The Next Morning
Sunset woke up with a small scream, kicking off her blanket and falling off her bed with a small groan.
“Where am I!? What happened!? What-!?” she yelled, breathing heavily as she pulled herself back onto the bed. Looking around, she found herself in her two floor studio, in her own bedroom loft. She was wearing her pajamas that she could not recall changing into. “How did I get home…?”
The smell of breakfast wafted from the small kitchenette in her little studio, underneath her loft. Sunset slowly made her way downstairs, her phone in her hand with emergency services on speed dial, only to stop at the sight of Eagle Eye, clad in a loose fitting sleeveless shirt and baggy sweatpants. She hummed to herself, flipping a pancake onto a nearby plate.
“Uh, Eagle Eye?” Sunset cautiously called out. The white haired girl turned to her in surprise.
“Oh, morning there Sunset,” Eagle Eye greeted, putting two plates of pancakes on the table. “I figured the least I for letting me crash her last night was make some breakfast. Hope you like chocolate chip pancakes.”
Sunset found herself moving towards to the table, where it was already set, as the plate was put before her. She sat there for a few seconds, watching the other girl gleefully dig in to her own stack, after pouring enough syrup that would even give Pinkie Pie pause. Reaching for the hot cup of coffee, she took a small sip, letting the caffeine wake her slightly,
“How did I get home last night?” Sunset asked.
“I drove you home?” Eagle Eye said slowly.
“But, I remember getting onto you bike, but then everything was a blur,” Sunset said, looking down.
“Oh. You had passed out after we went from zero to 120 on the highway,” Eagle Eye said casually, taking a bit as Sunset stared at the girl. “Although, I gotta say, you’ve got one hell of a pair of lungs on you! Granted, I had to slow down when you passed out, but I say we made good time getting here before midnight.” She paused to take another bite, before continuing, “When we got here, I asked you if it was alright to stay the night here, and you had said ‘yes’, or something that sounded like it. You were pretty out of it when we got here.”
“I see,” Sunset said slowly, looking at her phone. Today was Friday, and it was only 8:00 AM. Sunset took a long swig of coffee and placed it on the table softly. That was fine. Everything was fine.
It actually wasn’t fine.
“I’M GOING TO BE LATE!” Sunset screamed, running upstairs. Seconds later, Sunset came running back down, clad in the same outfit as the day before. “Eagle! Can you drive me to school!?”
“I don’t have a problem, but aren’t you gonna eat breakfast?” the white-haired girl asked, pointing at the untouched food.
“I don’t have any time!” Sunset said. “My classes start at 8:30!”
Eagle Eye nodded, getting up to grab her jacket and a pair of helmets. “You sure you okay without breakfast?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Sunset said, accepting the helmet.
After another hair-raising, high-speed drive through town, Eagle Eye made it Canterlot High School with only ten minutes to spare. Giving the white haired girl back the helmet, Sunset made a mad dash toward to the school gates.
‘Ok, just need to keep my hood up and make it to my locker, that shouldn’t be too hard.’ Sunset thought to herself, keeping her head down and her signature red and gold hair in her black hood.. ‘Just keep walking, head down, eyes forward and-’
“You’ve got some damn nerve, showing your ugly mug here after that crap you posted yesterday!” yelled the voice of one Rainbow Dash behind her. Sunset nearly flinched, but kept her head down, lest she end up making a scene like the one several weeks ago.
“Oh? Well your a rude one, aren’t you? I can guarantee you that we’ve never met before,” replied a familiar voice.
“Trying to pull the whole ‘I don’t know you’ shtick? Really? What, did the fact your a friendless freak finally break your brain?” Rainbow snarled back.
Wait, that wasn’t directed at her? Sunset, despite herself, couldn’t help but feel a tad bit curious. Doubling back, she peeked around the corner and saw the Rainbooms, with Rainbow as the instigator, yelling at...Ardent Blaze?
‘What is she doing here!?’ Sunset thought to herself, pulling back behind the corner. It wasn’t just Ardent; the other girls from last night were standing behind her! What was going on?
“Is that how you students of Canterlot High welcome new students?” Sunset heard the voice of Hari ask. Sunset risked another peek, seeing the pinkette hiding behind Paige.
“No, this is how we deal with secret stealing skanks like her!” Rainbow snarled, stepping forward to shove Ardent back. “You can change however you look, or even bribe these new girls to follow you around, but everyone else knows who you truly are, Shimmer!”
Ardent raised an unamused eyebrow, smacking Rainbow’s offending hands away off her shoulders. “First thing, my name is not Shimmer. Second thing, I don’t much care about you or your own little posse behind you.” She glared the other girls, where only Fluttershy seemed to wilt as she stood behind Applejack. “Last thing, if you approach me or my friends like this again, I don’t care when, where or why, I will throw you down to the dirt, got it?” She walked past Rainbow, roughly shoving her aside with her shoulder.
Sunset turned slowly turned around, feeling a migraine coming on. Why were they here? What were they doing here? HOW WERE THEY HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!?
The warning bell snapped her out of her thoughts, pushing her forward towards her homeroom. Today was going to be one of those days.
At least they wouldn’t be able to cause a problem in the school.
This is not a new chapter, but a notice that the story is being changed and reworked to fit a different game. The overall premise will stay the same, but the story will shift from being a game based on Cardfight Vanguard to Future Card Buddyfight.