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.
“Looks like she never changed.”
“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 last one. Ever since a the ‘Anon-A-Miss’ 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, Sunset turned away from the school. There was a limit how much she could take, and today just about brought that limit to its peak. Snarling in frustration, she threw her bag into the nearest trash can and limped away.
“Forget them,” she mumbled to herself, limping to the nearby bus stop and ignoring the biting pain on her knee. “They don’t want me there? Fine, I didn't want to be there anyways.” Getting on the next bus that arrived, she sighed as she took a seat, resting her head against the cold window.
A hot tear crawled down the window as she cried herself to sleep.
----------------------------------
“Sunset didn’t show up today,” Sweetie Belle said, finishing up another Anon-A-Miss post. This one was about Vinyl Scratch of all people; apparently, before she was a high-school DJ, she used to be a grade school ballerina dancer. That, while hilarious to think of on the surface, did nothing for Vinyl’s reputation.
“Have you seen how people are these days?” she continued, looking around the cafeteria. All the students were either glaring at each other, staying away from each other, or laughing at the latest target of their web page. “To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if she took off for the rest of the semester.”
“...Do you think we took it too far?” Sweetie Belle asked her friends, picking at her fruit salad. Scootaloo shrugged and Apple Bloom said nothing but ate her lunch. The school, once warm, vibrant, and, more importantly, united thanks to Twilight Sparkle, had gone back to its old self. People were angry at each other and no one rarely anyone smiled, despite Pinkie Pie’s efforts.
The three sighed as another fight in the cafeteria broke out.
----------------------------------
Sunset was woken up by an elderly woman. Coming to, Sunset found herself in the bus station within the City of the Big Apple. Glad her legs were no longer in pain, she thanked the older woman, helping her exit the bus before making her way out into the city proper. She winced at the bombardment of foul smelling odors that wafted over her, but all the lights and the sounds seemed to move that sensation to the back of her mind. She walked into the crowded streets, keeping her eyes forward, but was occasionally drawn to the bright flashing lights of the various signs and music of the different street performers.
Everything was just so overwhelming.
‘I wonder if I could move here,’ Sunset thought to herself, looking around at the high rise apartment buildings. ‘I’ve still got a good chunk of money and bits saved up, and these places don’t look that expensive.’
(If only she knew..)
As she continued to make her way down the snowy streets, taking in the sights, the sounds and the smells, her eyes came across a corner shop, named ‘C3’. The inside was brightly lit, with wall displays of various kinds of trading cards. There were a few kids inside, already deeply into a game by the looks of it. With a shrug, and eager to get out of the cold, she walked in, dusting off the snow from her head and shoulders.
A small grey cat with a dark red bandanna approached her, circling her a few times before sitting in front of the red head. Confused, Sunset reached down to pet the cat, only for said feline to jump up her arm and curl up on her neck. It purred contentedly as it nuzzled her cheek.
“Well that's a surprise,” said a woman’s voice. Looking up, Sunset saw a young woman dressed in a long black skirt and matching blouse approaching her. She wore a dark red apron with the emblem of the storefront on a chest pocket, and a lighter red bandanna over her light blonde hair. She smiled as she offered a hand to Sunset.
“Welcome to the Card Capital of Collectibles!” she said with a smile. “The names Quick Play, the owner and manager of the shop! Can I help you with anything?”
“Oh, no, I’m just browsing to get out of the cold,” Sunset said, taking her hand. “Oh, and who is this?” she continued, pointing at the cat happily purring on her shoulder.
Quick Play chuckled at that. “That’s Selene, the co-manager of the shop. It’s a rarity that she approaches anyone on her own.”
Sunset smiled a little as she brought up a hand to lightly rub her fingers against Selene’s chin. The cat purred and, in return, brought her tail under Sunset’s cheek.
“Just give me a call if you need anything,” Quick Play said with a smile, turning around to the where the other players were. Sunset let her small smile grow a little more, idly gently scratching Selene’s skin as she walked further into the shop. Looking at the walls, her brow furrowed as she squinted, taking in the sight of the quite colorful artwork and the small lines of text. She looked up at the name of the game, and nearly laughed at the given name.
“‘Future Card Buddyfight’?” Sunset said to herself, her voice a mix of amusement and confusion. Intrigued, she continued reading down the list of cards, not quite understanding all of the effects, but drawing educated guesses based on context.
Suddenly, Selene hopped off of Sunset’s shoulders and walked off towards the counter. She picked up a pack of unopened cards and walked back over to Sunset, looking up at the red head with an expectant look in her eyes.
“You want me to take this?” Sunset asked, kneeling as took the pack from the cat. Selene retook her perch on Sunset’s shoulder, as the girl looked the gift. “Is it okay for me to open this here?”
Selene ‘meowed’ back.
With a sigh (and making a silent mental note to pay for this pack later), Sunset tore open the pack. Before she could react, her vision was engulfed in a harsh bright light.
...and there was nothing left except the wrapper.
“Miss Quick Play! It happened again!” one of the boys said from the play area called out.
“Again!?” Quick Play exclaimed, running out from the back, picking up the wrapper “Oh for-! The least they could do is pick up after themselves!”
The Winter Holidays had come and gone. To the students of Canterlot High, the warmest time of the year had been tainted by the mudslinging MyStable blog called ‘Anon-A-Miss’, which had gone out of its way to expose embarrassing secrets of students and teachers alike. Needless to say, no one enjoyed their holiday break (despite one Pinkie Pie’s efforts to raise the holiday cheer) and no one wanted to return to school.
This was the attitude of one Flash Sentry. Unlike a grand majority of the school, he was one of the few that the Anon-A-Miss blog didn’t target. It was strange, especially given the bad blood between him and the supposed the owner of the blog. However, despite that, Anon-A-Miss still managed to hurt him. His closest friends, Heavy Bass and Sharp Beat, had gotten into a brutal fist fight that put one in jail and the other in ER, all over a secret that was two years old. (Something about Bass kissing Beat’s ex-girlfriend on the cheek.) With a sigh, he continued trudging along the snowy sidewalk of Canterlot.
Then, there was the supposed owner of the ‘Anon-A-Miss’ blog, his own ex-girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer. Not only was that the blog was stylized with her colors, but the profile picture was just her outline with a sloppily drawn red question mark. It was just so obvious that it was a set up!...almost too obvious, really. Flash sighed as he wrapped his scarf a little tighter around his neck, shivering as the cold wind blew through him.
If there was one thing he knew about his ex, it was that Sunset never left any clues. She was clean, calculated, and always had backup plans A to Z ready to go. Even if plan Z were to fail, she always made sure that she had some way out or fall guy ready. This whole situation just reeked of a set up, but unfortunately, he was alone in that opinion, given the sloppy nature of the situation. For all everyone else knew, the messy presentation was just another way of tossing off suspicion.
He wanted to prove that she was innocent, but he was too afraid to speak up. Ever since their break up, he felt as if he lost a backbone (that one time proving Princess Twilight’s innocence notwithstanding). When the mobs of angry students started swarming Sunset, harassing her, bullying her, effectively becoming more violent versions of Sunset’s past self (the ‘Purple Shirt days’ as he mentally dubbed them), Flash turned his back on her. Even after their flash mob had reduced Sunset to crying on her knees and begging for a chance, Flash did nothing.
His chest pocket started to vibrate, pulling him away from his thoughts. With a start, he reached into his jacket, pulling out a light yellow deck box, with a dark blue almond shaped shield emblazoned with a golden fleur de lis in the center on the front of the box. With a sigh, he flicked the top open with this thumb, as a small singular card floated out. It let out an ominous purple and red haze, and with a flash of blue light, took the form a small girl wearing a dark blue and white tunic with white fur lining edges that reached her ankles. She raised her head, letting her hood fall, revealing her long white hair and violet eyes. She was a good deal shorter than him, the top of her head just barely reaching his shoulders.
“You are doing it again,” she said, her voice quiet and breathless as she looked into Flash’s eyes.
“What do you mean?” Flash asked with a sigh, pulling the girls hood back over her head to protect her from the snow.
“You are letting yourself fall once more,” the girl said gently, walking up to him and resting her head against Flash’s chest. “I, as a follower of the Parade, cannot let you, our Marshal, fall again. I will not allow it.”
Flash said nothing, putting his hands on her shoulder. She backed up and looked at him, her face blank and expressionless. With a smile, Flash embraced her gently. “Don’t worry about me. I won’t be going anywhere.”
“Do you remember the pact?” the girl asked softly.
“Of course not,” Flash said, stepping back. “When I finally find the ones who are actually behind this whole ‘Anon-A-Miss’ thing, I will personally feed them to Yamigeddo. Until then, I’ll keep looking for more energy to aid his return. That was our agreement.”
She looked at him with a critical, yet blank, expression. After a while, she smiled softly and nodded. “Until we are called, my Marshall.” In another flash of blue light, she turned into a card, and flew back into the deck box.
“Yeah,” Flash said to himself, putting the box away in his chest pocket and standing up straighter. “I will find whoever made Canterlot a living hell, and deal with them myself. After that, maybe I could face her again.”
With a deep sigh, he continued his walk down the snowy street.
----*-----*-----
“Are you sure you have to go?”
Sunset looked up from her packing. Walking in her room was a small girl in a dark purple and pink dress, holding a worn teddy bear to her chest.
“Why can’t you just stay here with us? Aren’t you happier here than that other place?” the little girl asked, tearing up slightly as she walked up to Sunset and hugged her leg.
“Oh, honey, it has nothing to do with that,” Sunset said, turning around, kneeling, and returning the hug. “This is just something I need to do. It's a part of growing up, you know?”
“But why?” the little girl cried, holding onto Sunset’s neck.
“Well,” Sunset started, lightly rubbing her back to calm her down. She trailed off, lost in her thoughts. ‘Why do I have to leave? The past two years here have been the happiest I’ve ever truly been! I really don’t-’ She stopped herself, lightly pulling the little girl away.
“If I don't do this,” Sunset continued, looking at the ceiling. “I’ll never really stop thinking about it, all the questions that'll pop up will just drive me nuts. I guess the Troupe Master put it best; if I don't finish this little tale, I'll never have a closure.”
Star frowned at that, but looked at Sunset. “Do you promise to come back, at least?”
Sunset let out a small laugh. “Starlight, this isn’t a goodbye.” At the younger girls confused look, Sunet pulled out a card from her chest pocket. “After all, we’re just a card away.”
The small girl wiped the tears away from her teal eyes, before taking the card and nodding. “So, I’ll see you later then?”
“That's a promise,” Sunset said, ruffling the young girls hair.
“Can I at least stay and help?” Starlight asked.
Sunset sighed and smiled. “Sure you can.”
After an hour of packing, the two emerged from a small tent, feeling just a little better. Sunset emerged wearing a pair of dark blue slacks, a white sleeveless blouse with a red sun hiding behind a grey cloud embroidered on her left chest pocket, and a pair of matching dark red fingerless arm sleeves. To finish the ensemble, her hair was tied back in a single ponytail by a singular red ribbon. The small girl soon followed, running out to grab Sunset’s hand.
“And right on time!” shouted a voice coming from above them. Sunset stopped and looked up at the night sky, seeing a young man floating down, using a his cane. The top of the cane had a small, cartoonishly devil shaped violet jewel, which was releasing small puffs of pink smoke that somehow slowed his descent. Flicking the cane one more time, the smoke enveloped him and flew down right in front of the two girls and slowly dispersed, revealing a form that had somehow fallen on his face, his overcoat sprawled over him.
“I thought I had the landing,” he groaned, pulling himself up. Standing at full height, the top of his head barely reached Sunset’s chin. After dusting himself off, he extended a gloved hand to Sunset with a smile. “So, today’s the day, isn’t it?”
Returning the smile, Sunset took the offered hand. “Yeah, it is, Troupe Master-!”
She was cut off by a childish pout. “Oh for-! Sunset! I told you over and over, just call me Harri!”
“Harri,” Sunset continued, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, I wanted to say thank you for the past two years and-!”
“Uhp uhp! None of that!” Harri said, turning his back only to point at her dramatically, while lowering the brim of his top hat over his eyes. “You are one of us! You are part of Pale Moon Performers, and we all help each other!”
Before Sunset could interject, he continued on. “If you really want to make it to us,” he said, pausing as he twirled his spun his cane with one hand and wrapped on his coat-turned-cloak over his shoulders, kneeling and gently lifting her hand. “You could make me your Buddy! Then we’d be all square!”
Everyone else within earshot froze and turned to Sunset, who looked a bit embarrassed, and Harri, who didn’t move from his kneeling position.
“Troupe Master! That’s cheating!” shouted a nearby attendant, who was holding a basket of fresh fruits and meats. She was young tanned skinned girl, with dark ruby red hair, wearing a faded yellow short sleeved dress and a white apron over it. She walked over, one hand on her hip, looking cross. “This is the one hundredth time you’ve tried this! If anything, I, Orchard Blossom, should be her Buddy!”
“Ha! You’re just a Life Point and Gauge replenisher!” scoffed another member of the Pale Moon, this one a young woman in a purple and white checkerboard patterned tuxedo, her white bow twitching as she lightly strummed a lute while she walked over. “I, the great Angel Troubadour , will be able to protect my dearest Buddy with my songs and wit!”
“With only 4000 Power? You’d be lucky to beat a size one!” said a third voice, this one coming from a young man dressed in a bright orange and dark purple striped gymnast bodysuit, with a thin cloth membrane resembling wings on between his inner arms and the sides of his torso. He raised his purple goggles over his eyes and smirked. “At least I can take a few a hit and redirect attacks, unlike you two!”
Sunset tried to speak up, as everyone else within ear shot jumped on the argument, all of them trying to get the coveted spot to be her Buddy. Little Starlight clung to Sunset’s leg, scared of all the shouting and occasional bursts of magic coming from the ever forming mob.
“Hold on tight to me!” Sunset told little Starlight, holding the girl close as she raised a glowing finger to the sky. Apparently, someone else had the same idea that she did, for as she released the collected magic in her finger with a loud bang, a flintlock pistol shot rang through the collected troupe of performers.
“I was only gone for half an hour, and already you lot are trying to weasel in on my Buddy!?” shouted an angry young woman, lowering her flintlock pistol to its holster. Her narrowed yellow eyes glared at the crowd, almost daring them to speak up. Her short blue hair was held back by a black tricone, where a dark blue rose rested. Her linen shirt accentuated her figure, more so with the dark blue doublet that left the top few buttons open. The breeches had a white diamond shaped pattern going down the sides, and black boots finished the ensemble. Behind her stood a crew of gangly pirates, some carrying heavy crates of supplies, others carrying weapons and such, but most of them sharing the same annoyed look. They all sported the same blue rose as their captain somewhere on their clothing.
“Ah, welcome back Nightrose dear!” Harri said, getting to his feet and rushing over. “Don’t mind this little, uh...I mean, we this was all in good fun, right everyone!?” Various calls of agreement came from the crowd, making this new face sigh in aggravation.
“Nighty!” Sunset called out, walking over, with little Starlight tailing her. The new face looked around, and a fang filled smile took her face as she saw Sunset approach.
“And there she is,” Nightrose said, smiling as she walked past Harri. She paused a bit as Sunset almost threw herself into her arms, and sighed Sunset embraced her. “So, today’s the day, eh? You sure you ready for this?”
Sunset nodded as she looked up to the slightly taller girl. “I’d like to think so.”
“Then let us clear you of any doubts!” Harri announced dramatically, clapping his fingers as high beam lights shone over him. “Sunset Shimmer, I challenge you to a Buddyfight!”
“Hey, what is this!?” Nightrose yelled, going for his cutlass. “We had agreed that she could leave any time she felt she was ready!”
“Indeed we did!” Harri said in a dramatic fashion, pulling out a deck of cards from his chest pocket and shuffling them in the air. “However, she must have full confidence in her decision! Let this fight remove her doubts!”
“You little-!” Nightrose growled, only to be stopped by her Buddy. “What?”
“I accept your challenge!” Sunset called back, holding out her deck case. The case was a beige color, adorned with a map that had a chest with a torch and sword resting over it. Nightrose sighed as she recognized the look of determination in her Buddy’s eyes, the very same that she had when she got too bull-headed for her own good.
“I guess it can’t be helped,” Nightrose said with a small grin. She looked over at little Starlight, who was again hiding behind Sunset. “Oi, kiddo. You want to stick with us for this bout?”
Starlight looked up at Sunset and Nightrose, and nodded. Her formed began to glow white and in a flash, turned into a card and floated into the card case. Nightrose chuckled as she took a spot right behind Sunset, flag pole appearing in her hands.
Harri snapped his fingers a small stadium took form around them, with the seats filling up by the circus performers and pirates alike. “Lets begin!” he said, as he twirled his staff above him. “We who dance under the light the pale moon, the moonlight grants joy and pleasure to all! Luminize, Pale Moon Performance!” With a flick of his staff, a the purple gem turned white and developed markings resembling a dragon’s eye, as six translucent cards appeared before him, and two more appeared to his left.
Sunset’s deck case took the form of dark brown leather book with the Jolly Roger on one cover and a red and yellow sun on the other. “Reckless buccaneers bound by no land, lets rush to the sea and claim our prize! Luminize, Black Pearly Gates!” The book floated before Sunset, its pages glowing with a soft white light, and released six translucent cards from its pages, with two more appearing to her left.
“Now, lets Raise the Flag!” Sunset and Harri shouted, raising their hands
“I fight for Magic World!” Harri cried, as a light musical chime resonated behind him taking the form of a forest green standard depicting a magic circle covered by two different staves.
“I’m with Dungeon World!” Sunset responded, as Nightrose unfurled her flag and began to wave it, showing the same symbol that was on her deck case.
Turn 1: Harri [Harri: HC - 6 LP-10 G-2] [Sunset: HC - 6 LP- 10 G-2]
“As I am the challenger, I’ll take the first move!” Harri said. “I draw, then charge and draw!” Harri took one of the cards from his hand and lightly gestured, sending it to the two cards that were floating to his left. The card he sent to them also became translucent, as Harri drew another card from his deck.
“Now, I pay one Gauge and set the card, ‘The Show Must Go On!’!” Harri declared, holding the card above him. One of the translucent cards turned into a star and floated into the card in question and took the form of a large purple glowing orb with the name of the card on it. “This Set spell allows me to search my deck for any card with the <Pale Moon> Attribute and add it to my hand once per turn or add any card from hand into the Soul of any card that <Pale Moon> Attribute. For now, I will use the first effect to add ‘Ringleader’s Staff, Mystef’ to my hand!”
Harri raised one card again, as the last two translucent cards turned into stars and flew into it. With flash of white, it turned into a staff resembling Harri’s own, except it had a cartoonish looking devil face on the front. “Now that I have it Equipped, I activate its effect! I can take the top three cards of my deck and add any Monster with the <Pale Moon> Attribute to it into this card’s soul. In this case, all of them!” Three cards came from the white dragon eye staff and flew into the new one.
“Now, Mystef’s attack! Normally, Mystef only has 1000 Power and a critical of 1, but I remove one Monster from Mystef’s Soul and attack with its power and deal damage equal to its critical!” Harri grabbed Mystef and rose it over his head, releasing a ghostly image of a red dragon wearing a clown’s outfit, with bright yellow stars pointed over its eyes. It roared as it brought its claw down, disappearing afterwards. “And that wraps up my turn.”
Turn 2: Sunset [Harri: HC - 4 LP-10 G-0] [Sunset: HC - 6 LP- 8 G-2]
“Draw, Charge and Draw,” Sunset stated, going through the motions. Looking through her hand, she nodded and picked one card among. “I discard one card from hand to equip, Dragon-bone Cutlass!” One card from her hand dissolved into blue shards as another gave off an eerie green light, taking the shake of a cutlass made of sharp ivory white bone that had a pale green veiny membrane making up the back of the blade. Sunset gave it a test swing, then nodded.
“Using Dragonbone Cutlass’ effect, I look at the top five cards of my deck, add any two of them to hand that have the <Grand Blue> Attribute, and discard the rest,” she continued. The back of the blade shone with an emerald green light, as five cards came from her book. Looking at the five offered, she added two, and the remaining three were reduced to blue glowing shards.
“I call Sea Artist Swain to the left and Boatswain Gina to the right!” Sunset said, picking two cards in her from hand and casting them out. Two circles appeared in front of Sunset, one to her left and one to her right. In the left, a young bald man appeared, wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue leggings, boots and a red sash, with a pistol on his side. His eyes were bandaged with a black cloth, and he grinned savagely. To the right, a young woman with clad in a dark blue blouse with puffy sleeves and a pair of beige slacks appeared, holding onto a boat oar. Her hair was tied back by a red bandana and she appeared in a crouching position.
“Oi, captain!” Swain called out with a smirk, holding out a card and throwing it at her. “You forgot this!” Gina said nothing, but stood up straight, stretching as a singular star floated from her oar and a single card from Sunset’s hand dissolved into blue dust.
“Thank you, Swain,” Sunset said, taking the card. “Swain here is a size 1 Monster, with 5000 Power, 1000 Defense and a Critical of 1! When I summon him, I can search my deck for any item or spell card with the <Grand Blue> Attribute. Gina is a size 2 Monster, with 8000 Power, 4000 Defense and Critical of 2! When I summon her, my gauge increases by one, but I have to discard a card from my hand.”
“I pay one Gauge and one Life to equip the Item Swain retrieved for me, Sea Burst Flintlock!” Holding up one card, one translucent card turned into a star and flew into it, turning it into a red sash that carried a flintlock pistol that resembled the very same that Nightrose used earlier, as three more cards flew from Sunset’s book and dissolved into blue shards. “Normally, I can only have one item equipped, but thanks to its effect, I can keep it with Dragon-bone Cutlass as long as I discard the top three cards of my deck.”
“Swain, do a link attack with me!” Sunset said, holding up her flintlock and taking aim. Swain laughed as he followed her, firing at Harri in tandem with Sunset. Harri grimaced as he held his arms in front of him as the shots tore through him. (Sea Burst Flintlock: 3000 Power, Critical 2) His eyes widened in shock as one card appeared from his dragon-eye staff and disappeared into blue shards while Swain tossed another card to Sunset. “When Swain attacks or does a link attack,” Sunset explained with a smirk. “My opponent must discard the top card of their deck and I can take one card from my drop zone and add it to my hand.”
“Gina, you too, back me up!” Sunset said, putting the pistol back in the sash and holding out the ‘Dragonbone Cutlass’. With a yell, she dashed forward with Gina flanking her. They both ran Harri though, making him fall to a knee. (Dragonbone Cutlass: 2000 Power, Critical 1) “Gina, do your Double Attack!” She nodded, holding up her oar to the side and charged.
“Not this time!” Harri said, holding out a card. “I cast the spell ‘To Your Seats!’” A young minotaur usher appeared, holding up a sign that red stop sign. He held the sign in front of Harri, which created a barrier that stopped Gina. “Not only does this nullify the attack, I get one gauge and can send the attacking monster back to your hand!” The minotaur made polite gestures to Gina, which turned her back into a card and sent back into Sunset’s hand.
“Well, that ends my turn then,” Sunset said, nodding to the Troupe Master.
Turn 3: Harri [Harri: HC - 3 / LP - 4 / G - 1] [Sunset: HC - 7 / LP- 7 / G-3]
“Draw, followed by Charge and Draw! After that, I activate ‘The Show Must Go On!’s effect, taking one card from my deck and adding it to Mystef’s soul!” Harri said. After a moment’s pause, he chose one card and threw it above him. “Then, I call Tender of Beasts, Orchard Blossom, to the left! She is a Size 0 Monster, with 2000 Power, 1000 Defense and a Critical of 1!” In a flash of light, several circles swirled around each other creating an orb that released the girl with the same name as before, except this time she was wearing a red, yellow and green striped short skirt, matching blazer over a white dress shirt, and a pair of black shoes. She clapped her hands, forming a top hat in between them. With a twirl, she tossed it in front of her, as three stars flew from the inside and joined the translucent cards to the side. With a bow, she turned into white mist and flew into Mystef.
“When Orchard Blossom is called, as long as I have either an Item or a Monster with the <Pale Moon> Attribute, I can gain three gauge,” Harri explained. “When I use that effect, I have to send her into the soul of any <Pale Moon> Monster or Item. But thanks to her, I have enough Gauge to Buddy Call myself to the center, The Leader of the Pale Moon Circus, Phantom of the Masque, Harri!” He held up another card, as the last four translucent cards turned into small yellow stars and flew into it, creating a giant circle of light. When the light died down, it revealed Harri, but this time wearing a full formal suit, but with a midnight blue cape with the inside being a bright ruby red. The called Harri raised his gloved hands, making a small ballroom masque appear in one hand, and a cane resembling Mystef in the other.
“I am a Size 3 Monster, with 5000 Power, 5000 Defense and Critical of 1,” the Buddy called Harri stated, flicking his cane. “Not only does my caller get one life with Buddy Gift, but when I am called, the player adds five cards from the top of their deck into my Soul.” Five translucent cards emerged from the the dragon-eye staff and flew into him, making him glow. “For every Monster or Item with the <Pale Moon> attribute, I can add their power and critical to my own!” His small form began to glow with a bright red light, and he laughed as he jumped up and grabbed a swinging trapeze.
“Now take this! With all my performers and supporters giving me their power, I have a 18000 Power and a Critical of 6!” the swinging Harri yelled, letting go and spinning as he came down, foot first. Sunset, reacting quickly, picked a card from her and threw it before her. The card depicted a giant woman standing above the the clouds and reaching out, creating a huge wave in front of a small pirate ship.
“I cast, ‘Blessing of Calypso’!” Sunset said. She raised her hands in front of her, grunting as harsh winds formed a wall to block Harri’s incoming foot. “I send two cards from the top of my deck into the drop zone to negate the attack!” Harri grunted, kicking off wall of wind and landing right back in the center position.
“Not bad, but I have Double Attack!” he said, raising his cane above his head. Spinning the cane, he swung it forward, releasing a wave of dark purple energy that struck Sunset in the gut, knocking her down.
“Sunset!” Nightrose yelled, moving to help her.
“I’m fine!” Sunset said, getting back up, a little shaky on her feet.
“And this is my Triple Attack!” the Buddy Harri said, raising his cane and pointing at Sunset, releasing a beam of dark purple energy.
“I cast, ‘Blessing of Calypso’ again!” Sunset said, bracing herself as the winds picked up and blew the attack away.
“For the finishing act, here’s Mystef’s attack!” the original Harri said, raising his staff, making a phantom of Orchard. “This Item can attack with its effect, even if there’s a Monster in my center! This is game over, Sunset!” The phantom or Orchard pulled out a small dagger from her sleeves and threw it in one deft motion.
“I cast, ‘The Sea Witch’s Blessing’!” Sunset yelled, raising a card depicting a small girl dressed in a white dress, her attire messy with seaweed, sea bream and various sea shells, holding out a wine glass of glowing green liquid. The girl on the card appeared, tossing a said green liquid on the flying dagger, melting it in midair. “I discard one card to block the attack and gain one life!”
“Good job surviving my attacks,” Harri said, both of them clapping in tandem. “But what will do you do now? You don’t have that many hand cards, only two life points, and just barely enough gauge to pay for your bigger monsters.”
Turn 4: Sunset [Harri: HC - 4 / LP - 5 / G - 0] [Sunset: HC - 3 / LP- 1 / G - 3]
“But that doesn’t cut me out just yet,” Sunset said. The winds picked up, as Sunset closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Behind her, Nightrose smiled as the winds picked up and made the pages of the book sprawl flicker. “Now, I Draw, and then Charge and Draw!”
“I pay two gauge and Buddy Call to the right, the toughest captain ever to rule the seas, The Fangs of the Sea, Nightrose!” Sunset declared. Two translucent cards turned into yellow stars, and Nightrose slammed the standard into the ground and leapt in the right area, holding out a matching cutlass and flintlock pistol that Sunset had. “Nightrose is a Size 2 Monster, has 7000 Power, 4000 Defense and a Critical of 2!”
“Now that I’m here, this game is as good as ours!” Nightrose declared. “Not only does Sunset get one life back thanks to Buddy Gift, when I appear on the field, I can take any number of <Granblue> Monsters from the drop zone and call them to the field! When they are called this way, they are treated as Size 0 but they retreat at the end of their respective battles!” Nightrose turned around and raised her pistol, firing it in the air, “Alright you lot, get on outta here!”
Swain nodded and began to glow yellow, turning into a burst of yellowing red rectangles. In his place, a young man in a pure white shirt, black slacks and black boots, with a dark blue buccaneer’s jacket over his shoulders, appeared. He raised a flintlock rifle and smirked. In the center, Starlight appeared, looking a little older and wearing a baggy faded shirt, black pants and boots, her hair held back by a dark blue bandana, holding onto a pirate standard like a small pike.
“I pay one life and to call to the right, First-Mate of the Night, Nightmist,, and to the center, I call Raven Nest Keeper, Starlight, both from the drop zone!” Sunset said. “Nightmist is a size 3 Monster with 9000 Power, 2000 Defense and a Critical of 2. When I call him, I can send one card from the top of my deck to the drop zone to increase his Critical by one for this turn. Starlight is a Size 0 Monster with 1000 Power, 1000 Defense and a Critical of 1. When she’s called, if there is at least one other <Granblue> Monster on the field, I can draw one card, and since I called her from the drop zone, all Monsters with the <Granblue> Attribute on my side of the field now have Penetrate!”
Nightmist smirked as he loaded a silver round into his rifle, and Starlight raised her Jolly Roger and waved. The sky overhead turned dark, as a pale blue moon appeared and bathed both Nightmist and Nightrose in a soft light, making their eyes glow red.
“Nightrose, attack the center!” Sunset yelled.
“You got it!” Nightrose yelled, leaping forward, raising her cutlass. Starlight followed her, as Nightmist took aim.
“I cast, ‘Three-Card Monte’!’” Harri said, raising a card as one translucent card turned into a star and flew into it. Three large top hats appeared with bright neon colored question marks over them, hiding the Buddy Harri in one of them. They moved and shuffled, before finally coming to a stop. “Now, pick a target, dear Nightrose. If you guess wrong, your attack misses!”
“I’m still going for the center one!” Nightrose said, bringing her blade down, only to cut through an empty hat. “Dammit! Fine, I’ll use my Double Attack on the one to the right!” She leapt up and slashed down, only to find it empty again. “Oh, come on!”
Sunset sighed, looking at her four remaining cards, but shook her head. “Nightmist, destroy the last one!”
“Aye aye, captain!” Nightmist said, taking aim with his rifle. With a loud bang, pierced through the last hat, causing the Harri inside to fall face down. The bullet continued through, shooting through the second Harri. With his shot done, Nightmist bowed and dissolved into blue mist.
“If you think that was enough to put me down, wrong!” the Buddy Harri said, getting up as his form glowed green. “I have the Soulguard ability! Furthermore, when a Monster is removed from my soul for any reason, I can call it to the field as a Grade 0 at no cost and they remain on the field until the end of the next turn!”
“Correct, my oh so dashing doppelganger!” the card fighter Harri said. “Now, from my double’s soul, I call Angel Troubadour to the left! She is a Size 2 Monster, has 7000 Power, 4000 Defense and Critical of 1. When I call her to the field from the, I gain can give any <Pale Moon> Monster or Item immunity to destruction effects until the end of my next turn.” Angel Troubadour appeared in a puff of smoke, lightly strumming her lute. Sea green and blue notes flew around the Buddy called Harri and herself before disappearing.
“Even if Starlight there had more power, she wouldn’t be able to even scratch Harri or Troubadour,” Harri said, smirking.
“You sure about that?” Sunset said, a cocky grin appearing on her face. She pulled off the ribbon holding her hair back, and twirled it around her wrist. She held up a card that depicted a small child dressed as a cabin boy, running off with a huge chest of gold. “I cast, ‘Plundered Treasures’! Whenever I destroy an opposing Monster and deal damage at the same instance, I can cast this spell. It lets me gain gauge equal to the grades of the Monster was destroyed and the Monster that had attacked from the drop zone! In this case, I gain six gauge!”
“What are you planning?!” Harri exclaimed, looking a bit panicked. “Starlight cannot hope to breach my self’s or Troubadour’s defense, and Nightrose has already attacked!” Nightrose, Sunset and even Starlight smirked in response
“Final Phase!” Sunset declared, holding out another card as she was engulfed in a dark violet-blue light. “I pay three gauge and Impact Call to the left, transforming Nightrose into an Impact Monster!”
Nightrose let out a primal roar as three stars flew into her, causing her body to be engulfed in the same light that illuminated Sunset. Her base form faded away, and was replaced with an older looking, slumped over figure wearing tight black pants, brown long boots, and a revealing corset that showed off her endowed chest. The figure stood up straight and slashed through the light with a cutlass made of what looked like the wings of a bat, with a thin green veiny membrane making up the back of the blade. A blood red overcoat wrapped itself around her shoulders, as a second blade formed in her other hand. To finish off the ensemble, a blood red tricone appeared on her head, holding back her long black locks from her eyes.
“I am the Misty Phantom Queen of the Sea, Nightrose the First!” this new Nightrose declared, holding out her arms before her as two black bat wings shot out from her back, the wing membrane turning the same green color as her blades. “I am a Size 3 Impact Monster, with 9000 Power, 8000 Defense and Critical of 3! I also have Triple Attack ability!”
“And now I activate her ability!” Sunset said, reaching out to dispel the light around her. “I pay 2 gauge to choose one other Monster on my side of the field, and replace it from something from the drop zone, treating them as a Grade 0 until the end of this turn turn. In this case, I swap Raven Nest Keeper, Starlight from the field into the trusted advisor of the Granblue clan, Sea Witch of the Constellations, Starlight Fade, to the right position!”
(Nightrose walked over to Starlight, taking Starlight into her arms and dipping down. A white light shone over the two, as Nightrose bared her fangs and bit into Starlight’s neck. The light exploded over the two, and Nightrose let go after a few seconds, stepping back as she wiped her bloody lips with a smirk.. The light faded, revealing a barefoot woman clad in a midnight blue gown that reached her ankles. Her long violet hair was held back by an obscuring dark blue veil. Her bare arms were adorned with various tattoos and markings, as a gnarled wooden staff appeared in her hands.)
“Starnight is normally a Size 3 Monster, but thanks to Nightrose’s effect, she is treated as a Size 0 for until the end of my turn. Furthermore, she has 10000 Power, 3000 Defense and has a critical of 3! Normally, she requires five gauge to play from hand, but since I called from the Drop Zone from an effect and evolved her from Starlight, she can be called at no cost,” Sunset explained. As Starnight raised her staff, Sunset continued, “And now for Starnight’s effect! When she’s called, I can pay two gauge to negate the effects of my opponents Monsters!”
“Moonbane’s Blight!” Starnight said, raising her staff. The top of the wooden staff released a pale white light, enveloping the Buddy Called Harri and Angel Troubadour. The light brought the two to their knees, with barely any strength to stand.
“Starnight, attack Angel Troubadour!” Sunset ordered. With a nod, Starnight raised her staff and released a burst of lightning, turning Angel Troubadour into a burst of reddish orange cards.
“I’ll open up the center! I link attack with Dragonbone Cutlass and Sea Burst Flintlock!” Sunset continued. With a yell, Sunset dashed forward and brought her blade down on the Buddy called Harri’s stomach, bringing the flintlock pistol under his chin and pulling the trigger. The Buddy called Harri let out a cry of pain as he turned into cluster of reddish orange squares.
“Nightrose, finish it!” Sunset yelled as she jumped back.
“Like you need to ask?!” Nightrose retorted, bringing up her blades. “Misty Tempest!” With a roar, Nightrose turned into a pale blue mist and engulfed Harri, appearing behind him and stabbing with her blades. Harri slumped over as his life points were reduced to zero.
The crowd around her went wild, cheering for her as the stage faded away.
“And that makes me the winner!” Sunset said, flicking her wrist to re-tie her hair. Nightrose and Starnight reverted to their normal forms, wrapping Sunset in their collective embrace.
“Well, a deal’s a deal,” Harri said, getting up, albeit a little woozy. He made his way to Sunset and offered a hand. “It was a magnificent fight.”
Sunset took his offered hand graciously, only be handed a deck by him. Confused, she looked at him, asking. “Why are you giving me this?”
“Just a little token so you can remember us by,” Harri explained, snapping his fingers. The magic from his fingers shot forth and flew over her tent, shrinking it and compressing to the point where it looked like a small bag.
“Hey! I hope you haven’t forgotten about us!” shouted a another voice. Sunset looked up, seeing several young women clad in various forms of clothing. One was wearing a fiery red tube top that left her tanned skin exposed, in a deep reddish purple dress that exposed a lot of the woman’s legs with their vermillion red hair kept in place by a golden tiara. The next woman had a seemed to resemble a small panda, clad in robes befitting a professor, yet she seemed slightly tired and sleepy. The final woman of the group was wearing a skintight white and blue jumpsuit, something akin to classic superhero suits, that had an hawk motif, their identity being hidden behind a helmet resembling the upper half of an hawk's beak.
“Tiamat! Nimue! Taka!” Sunset exclaimed, holding her arms open. “I was hoping to see you girls before I left!”
“Ha! Looks like we made it just in time then!” Tiamat said with a wide smile.
“We’d be here faster if you didn’t take so long preparing. Next time prepare better,” Nimue said with a small yawn.
“Oh come on Nimue, be nice,” Taka said, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, we wanted to give you these before you left.” She pulled out a small blue box from seemingly nowhere and handed it to Sunset, Nimue offered a large backpack that seemed great for climbing a mountain, and Tiamat gave a her a small black jewelry case.
“The backpack has a small hammer space dimension,” Nimue said with a shrug and a yawn. “I had assumed you’d be swamped with all sorts of things, so i figured this would help.” Sunset immediately went to work, putting in her belongings and tent into the bag. To her surprise, it all fit and had even more room remaining!
“My gift is something I think you’ll be able to use even on a practical level,” Taka explained, removing her helmet and letting long white hair fall down to her shoulders as Sunset tore the gift open. Inside was a pair of keys on a silver key fob, much to Sunset’s confusion.
“Its a motorcycle, to replace the one that was lost to you all that time ago,” Taka continued. “I know you’ll be able to drive it perfectly, with all the autopilot systems and safety precautions that Hero World could offer, all preinstalled.” When she saw Sunset staring at her with literal stars in her eyes, Taka blushed and continued, “I didn’t really know what else to get, and I recalled you enjoyed going on rides and-!” she was cut off when Sunset jumped in her arms with a happy cry.
“Thank you!” Sunset said repeatedly.
“Don’t forget about mine!” Tiamat said, pouting playfully as she placed the her gift in Sunset’s hand. Curious, Sunset untied the bow and opened the case, gasping the contents. Inside was a dark orange cloth necklace, with a blood red ruby that resembled a dragon’s eye.
At Sunset’s confused look, Tiamat puffed her chest, looking proud. “That there was made by one of the dragon eyes of my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-Grandfather’s uncle from my mother’s side.”
“Its...lovely?” Sunset, looking a bit queasy. “What does it do?”
“Other than looking really nice and fancy? Think of it as a way to communicate and travel between your world and the various parallel worlds,” Tiamat explained. “Not only that, it can make itself inconspicuous to anyone else other than its wearer.”
Sunset smiled, giving the other redhead a hug. “Thank you, Tia. I’ll treasure it always.” The Dragon Dancer giggled in response, returning the hug and resting her head on Sunset’s shoulder.
“Sunset!” Nightrose called out as a white portal opened up. “Its time!”
“Coming!” Sunset called back, looking to the other three girls and holding out a hand. “Well, this is it girls. Until next time?”
“Whenever you need us, we’ll come running,” Taka said, putting a hand over Sunset’s while giving her a thumbs up.
“Or you can just use that pendant I gave you!” Tiamat said, doing the same with a smile.
“Just be safe, alright?” Nimue said, doing the same with a small yawn.
With their hands together, Sunset nodded and pulled away, grabbing her new bag as she walked over to Nightrose, who extended her own hand. Sunset smiled gently and took her Buddy’s hand, as her vision was slowly engulfed in a bright light.
Canterlot High School had seen much better days. That much Rainbow thought.
The prismatic jock angrily and solemnly walked down the halls of the school, keeping her head up. It was hard for her to even understand why this was happening. Why did Sunset have to go back to being that manipulative bitch/wench/(insulting term here) demon? Hadn’t they gotten through to her, with all the sleepovers, the parties or just by being pleasant with her? Was she plotting this backstab all along?
Rainbow growled at that. Yeah, Shimmer had this all planned out.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang. She came across Sweetie Belle being accosted by Gilda, the de facto bully Canterlot High (after Sunset). The older girl had the freshmen pinned against a locker and held up by her shirt with one hand.
“Want to say that again, you little punk!?” Gilda snarled, her fist ready. “Just ‘cause some crap about me gets posted, you think you’re better than me!?”
Rainbow sighed, slinging her bag to the wall as she walked up. Anon-A-Miss had recently posted that morning that Gilda was a girl scout as a child. The tough girl persona that she had crafted over the years had dissolved faster than a sugarcube in hot tea, and no one took her or her threats seriously anymore. (That is, until they were re-introduced to her fist by a knuckle sandwich).
And from the looks of things, it was Sweetie who had said something to incite Gilda’s wrath.
Just as Rainbow was about to intervene, a blur shot past her and grabbed Gilda’s raised arm. The dark blue hawk-like helmet made it hard to see who it was, but the prismatic haired girl could make out a dark blue cloth poncho, a fingerless gloved hand that held had grabbed Gilda’s fist, and that was about it.
“Picking on the young, now, Gilda?” came a heavily modulated voice.
Who the heck was this guy!?
-----*-----*-----
Sweetie Belle was not having a good day.
The young freshman, one of the three ‘masterminds’ behind the Anon-A-Miss blog, had woken up late, (thanks to Scootaloo insisting that they post more and more of the dirt that was being given to them), missed going to school with her sister and had to resort to using public transportation (which was a nightmare itself) and had that feeling of gnawing guilt constantly plaguing her mind ever since she had seen Sunset run away in tears that day before the Winter Break. To make matters worse, her phone had died on the way to school, so she had no idea what the reactions were to the latest post about Gilda (or watch her favorite cartoon on the way to school).
There was only so much someone could take before they were at the brink of snapping.
Unfortunately, that's exactly what she did. Cold, wet, tired, stressed and exasperated beyond belief, Sweetie trudged up the school steps, nearly slipping over a few times on the school steps. She could feel herself growling at nearby students who approached her, heck, she even snarled at poor Button Mash who had only wanted to greet her.
Then came Gilda Grimmfeather, who had rudely shoved her aside. That was when her mouth went faster than her brain.
“Watch if you moron! Unlike you, some people actually need to get to places!” she snapped.
It was at that moment she knew she had messed up.
Her vision became as blur as someone, presumably Gilda, grabbed her by her neck and slammed her against the lockers, knocking the wind out of her. Looking up, she saw the crazed look in Gilda’s eyes and a fist cocked, most likely aimed for her own face.
“Want to say that again, you little punk!?” Gilda snarled, her fist ready. “Just ‘cause some crap gets about me gets posted, you think you’re better than me!?”
Sweetie couldn’t say anything, choking in the vice like grip. She struggled, trying to kick the taller girl off, but to no avail. Sparing a glance, she saw other students just staring at her situation, some of them even pulling out their phones and recording it! What was wrong with these people!? She was being assaulted and all they did was watch!?
Sweetie just closed her eyes and tensed, bracing for the incoming pain.
“Picking on the young, now, Gilda?” asked a modulated voice.
Sweetie, still tense, looked up and saw what she guessed was a helmet that looked like a hawk staring at Gilda, while the wearer of said helmet held Gilda’s arm back.
“Now, let the girl go and we won't have any problems,” the masked person said. “That is, if you prefer to do it the hard way…”
“What’s it to you?” Gilda snarled, letting her go. Sweetie fell to the ground with a light thud, knocking whatever air was left in her lungs. Despite that, she still looked up at her savior, feeling a small blush come to her face. Whoever this was, they had become her knight in shining armor, their rescuer when no one else dared to step up.
“I just don’t like seeing people hurting kids, that’s all,” the unknown person said, still holding onto Gilda’s arm. “Now back off and walk away.”
“And what if I don’t?” Gilda asked, turning around and yanking her arm back.
“Then we’ll have a problem,” the masked figure said, revealing a sleeveless yellow arm from underneath their dark blue poncho.
“Then we have a problem!” Gilda yelled, throwing a punch aimed at the person’s gut.
-----*-----*-----
Gilda was not having a good day.
Her reputation as one of Canterlot High’s biggest badasses was in the pits, all because that damned Anon-A-Miss page had somehow figured out that she, Gilda Grimmfeather, had a learning disorder that made it hard for her to even write things down. All the fear, all of her power, everything she worked up was gone in a flash, instead replaced with jeers and insults. (That is, until she reminded people why she was feared)
There was that, and the mind splitting headache (most likely due to a hangover) that she was suffering through. As she had trudged through the snow ladened streets of the city, she froze as a hooded figure walked in front of her from around a corner.
“Gilda Grimmfeather,” the hooded figure said, looking up slightly to show his dark yellow eyes and masked face. “I have been expecting you.”
“What for?” Gilda asked, the cold winter air making it easier for her to keep her bearings. “You want to have a crack at me for that Anon-A-Miss post!?”
“No,” the hooded figure said, raising a gloved hand, offering a black box. “I have come to strike a deal.”
“A deal? Look, man, if you’re offering the good stuff, I already have a supplier and-” Gilda was cut off when the hooded figure tossed the box to her. It flew at her through the harsh winds, and she just barely stopped it from hitting her in the face. “The hell! You looking to pick a fight, punk!?”
“Again, incorrect, Miss Grimmfeather,” the hooded person said. “I am offering you a chance at, as people used to say, ‘getting even’.”
“You saying what’s in this little box will help?” Gilda asked, looking a little dubious and confused. When she saw the hooded figure nod, she slowly opened the box, but was confused to see a deck of cards. “Seriously? A freaking kids card game? How the hell’s that supposed to help anyone!”
Looking up, the hooded figure was nowhere to be seen.
“Tch, what a joke,” Gilda grunted, closing the box. She was about to throw them, but the when the box started glowing, she stopped. Curious, she opened the box up again, only to see a faint purple glow coming from one of the cards.
Before she could react, the light came together and formed an misty vapor that began swirling around her and entering through her mouth, nose and ears. She could barely scream before everything faded to black…
“And just like that, you’re mine.”
...until she found herself on the school steps. Her headache was more painful than before, but to make matters worse, she started hearing voices. She looked up and saw other students talking, but their lips didn’t match up to what they were saying to each other. It got louder and louder, to the point where she wanted to scream. She felt as if she had come down with a bad case of vertigo, accidentally running into someone as she stumbled along.
‘Anon-A-Miss posted again? Glad it wasn’t on me.’
‘HA! I knew Gilda was stupid, but seriously?’
‘I wonder who Anon-A-Miss will post about next?’
“Watch if you moron! Unlike you, some people actually need to get places!” Gilda heard a young girl snap. Looking down, it was some freshman she didn’t recognize, nor did she appreciate the tone. Her body reacted faster than her mind, grabbing the kid by their throat and slamming them against the closest wall. She cocked back her fist, ready to teach the brat a lesson in manners, when someone grabbed her arm in a vice like grip.
“Picking on young freshmen now, Gilda?” asked a modulated voice. Gilda spared a glance to turn around, nearly flinching at the sight of some helmet wearing freak in a blue poncho. “Now let the girl go and we won't have any problems. That is, if you prefer to do it the hard way…”
“What’s it to you?” Gilda snarled, dropping the brat. Internally, she was freaking out at the sight of her reflection on the helmet’s surface. Her left eye, normally a shade of pale yellow, was emitting some sort of black and purple haze and was a deep green color.
“I just don’t like seeing people hurting kids, that’s all,” the unknown continued, seemingly unaffected by her glowing eye yet still holding onto Gilda’s arm. “Now back off and walk away.”
“And what if I don’t?” Gilda asked, turning around and yanking her arm back.
‘What is wrong with me?! Why can’t I stop!?’ Gilda thought. Her own body wasn’t even obeying her!
“Then we’ll have a problem,” the helmet wearing person said, not moving.
“Then we have a problem!” Gilda heard herself yell. To her horror, her body threw a haymaker aimed at the person’s gut.
‘Wait, what!? Stop it, me!,’ Gilda thought, trying to pull her own arm back. ‘What is going on!? Somebody, anybody! Help me!’
The helmet wearing person sidestepped Gilda’s punch, stepping behind the white haired girl and wrapping both of their arms around her waist. Before anyone could react, the unknown person leaned back, slamming Gilda on the ground behind them. The crowd let out a mix of cheers, groans and cries of disbelief as Gilda slumped over her shoulders, face on the floor.
Everyone gaped as the other person pulled themselves up from the floor, their helmet left on the ground. Rainbow felt her breath hitch as her shock turned into anger, seeing who was underneath the helmet. Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened as she realized who her savior was. Gilda laid on the floor, knocked out.
All the while, Sunset Shimmer picked up her helmet, her eyes cold as she pulled herself up. Putting her helmet underneath her arm, she walked around Gilda, approaching Sweetie Belle and kneeling down.
“Are you alright, Sweetie Belle?” Sunset asked, offering a hand to the young freshman. Still shellshocked, Sweetie Belle took it, noting how calloused the older girl’s fingers felt. She stumbled when brought to her feet, only for the older redhead to stand firm and let her rest against her. Standing next to her, Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but notice that Sunset was significantly taller than she was before the break; before, the top of Sweetie’s head could reach Sunset’s shoulders. Now, her the top of head barely reached Sunset’s elbows!
“Do you need help getting to the nurse’s office?” Sunset asked, offering arm to keep Sweetie steady on her feet. The young girl couldn’t do anything but nod, holding onto the older girl’s arm.
“As for the rest of you,” Sunset said, glaring at the crowd. “Sure, you can all think I’m still the bad girl posting your petty little secrets online, but if you all believe yourselves so much better than me, where were you when this girl was about to get pummeled!? What, were you all hoping that whoever Anon-A-Miss was (oh wait, you still think it’s me) would have grabbed a picture and made a stupid little quip about a girl getting beaten up!?”
No one in the crowd of students said anything. Some even looked ashamed.
“Well, it wouldn’t have been the first time you did it!” Rainbow shouted, stepping through the crowd. “Remember Rarity’s attempt at trying to win the Fall Formal back in Sophomore year? Or that time you embarrassed Fluttershy that she could barely come to school for a month!?”
“And I’ve told you time, and time again,” Sunset said, turning away from Rainbow Dash. “I’m not that kind of person, not anymore. I thought that countless hours of community work, both in and out of school, would be enough to change that. Apparently, I was wrong.”
“What is going on here!?” shouted one Vice-Principal Luna, stepping out after hearing all the sounds of the commotion. She froze at the sight of Sunset Shimmer, who Sweetie Belle was clinging too, with an angry Rainbow Dash looking as she was about to hurt someone, an unconscious Gilda Grimmfeather on the floor, and a crowd of students either trying to get away or watch what was going to happen next.
Feeling a migraine coming on, Luna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Is anyone going to explain what happened here?”
“Shimmer just piledrived Gilda out of nowhere!” a boy from the crowd shouted. The crowd started buzzing with whispers, and Luna could clearly hear the words ‘Anon-A-Miss’ and ‘finally expelled’ being tossed around.
“Yeah, she was just walking by and she attacked like a crazy-!” a girl said, as other students started shouting other things that were along the same vein.
“Thats enough!” Luna shouted over the crowd, her expression hardened. Turning to Sunset Shimmer, she continued, “Miss Shimmer, these are serious accusations being levied against you. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
“She didn’t attack Gilda!” Sweetie Belle shouted, stunning the crowd. She stumbled forward, Sunset catching her and keeping her standing upright. “Gilda attacked me, slamming me against a locker when I lost my temper when she bumped into me! She was about to punch me, but Sunset stepped in and stopped her! Sure, it was a tid bit much what she did, but Gilda was about to attack her, so Sunset just defended herself!”
Raising an eyebrow, Luna looked at a stunned Sunset. A small smile gracing her features, Luna asked, “Well Miss Shimmer? Do you have anything to say?”
Sunset took in a small breath, and nodded. “What Sweetie said was the truth, ma’am.”
“I see,” Luna said, nodding slowly. “Well, for this one instance, as it was in self-defense, I believe you can walk away without consequence.” When the other students voiced their disapproval, she continued. “For the rest of you who spoke up with lies and slander in an attempt to get another student expelled, you all get detention for the rest of the week, effective immediately. Now get to class, all of you! And you, Miss Dash, please help Gilda get to the infirmary!”
The crowd of students dispersed, except for Rainbow Dash, who took Gilda by her arm and hoisted the taller girl her over shoulders. All the while, she glared at Sunset’s back, who followed behind Vice-Principal Luna.
Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, held onto Sunset. The young girl was confused, her thoughts going over the events of what had happened. Part of her was glad that she was saved from Gilda, but another part of her felt guilty.
She couldn’t help but feel as if things were going to become more complicated from here on out...
The walk to infirmary was short and painless, yet Sunset found it odd that Sweetie was reluctant to let go of her hand when she turned to leave. She ignored Rainbow’s glare on her back as she left, and followed Vice-Principal Luna to her office.
“So, Miss Shimmer,” Luna started, slowing slightly, letting the redhead catch up. As her student approached her, she continued. “Where have you been over the winter break? My sister and I have been worried sick ever since you had left that day and we found your belongings in the trash bin.”
“I was in the Big Apple,” Sunset said with a shrug. “I had enough of the whole Anon-a-mess for the time being, and with everyone so dead set against me, I needed a change in scenery. I made a few friends there, and they let me stay with them until the break was over.”
“I see?” Luna said, sounding concerned. Looking at her student, she also noticed how she had grown over a mere two weeks. Sunset barely managed to reach her shoulders, but now she stood eye to eye with herself. The two continued on in an awkward silence, walking past a few late students who was rushing to get to class.
“How about you and Principal Celestia? This whole Anon-A-Mess aside, how were you two?” Sunset asked, casually putting her arms behind her head. Her blue poncho rolled back over her shoulders, revealing her sleeveless arms and fingerless gloved hands.
“Well, we could have been better,” Luna replied with a sigh. “The winter break was a small reprieve, yes, but I fear my sister has been slowly losing her mind.”
“What do you mean?” Sunset asked, sounding concerned. “Did something happen?”
“Well, she’s letting this whole Anon-A-Miss incident get to her,” Luna said. “She’s actually gone to an, shall we say, old acquaintance, to get this whole thing resolved. Granted, I don’t necessarily approve of the methods, but any resolution at this point would be appreciated.”
“What, is this ‘old’ acquaintance’ an ex of hers or yours or something?” Sunset said with a small chuckle. When Luna didn’t say anything but blush and look away, her smile slowly morphed into a look of horror. “Wait, wait! I was just joking!”
The Vice-Principal continued to say nothing, but walked further ahead. After a few minutes, she stopped in front of the administration's office, coughing into her hand to compose herself. “Miss Shimmer, no, Sunset,” Luna started, making Sunset stop. “When you left that day, you had left behind your journal. Thankfully, my sister was able to recover it, but due to a written language barrier between us and Princess Twilight Sparkle, we could not respond to any nor all messages she had sent.”
“How many did she send?” Sunset asked after a pause.
“Well, she almost filled the whole journal,” Luna replied dryly. “The book has been buzzing nonstop since the holiday break. I’m going to hazard a guess and say she’s been worried about you these past two weeks.”
“I never really thought about it,” Sunset said, bring her arms under her poncho. “I mean, I was been writing to her for several days nonstop, but I never got a response. I had just assumed that-”
“What have I always told you about ‘assumptions’?” Luna asked, cutting her off with a raised eyebrow.
Sunset said nothing, but looked down. Taking that as her cue to continue, Luna did. “Regardless, the if the journal’s non-stop buzzing has been any indication, let alone what the Princess did just a few days ago, well; I’d say she’s been quite the worrywart as of late.” She opened the door, standing aside to let Sunset enter first.
“Wait,” Sunset started, going in. “What did she do?” She froze in her tracks at the sight of the secretary sitting at her desk, looking serene yet deeply troubled at the same time. From the look of her immaculately clean desk, she was all caught up with the paperwork and such. That in itself was an oddity; for the entire time that Sunset knew her, the secretary Raven Quill was always behind with her paperwork.
“Miss Quill?” Sunset asked, getting the secretary’s attention.
“Ah, Miss Shimmer!” the secretary exclaimed, getting up, walking over to Sunset and giving the still shellshocked girl a tight, but not quite bone shattering hug. “It’s so good to see you again! Do you know how worried we all were!?”
“Miss Raven! I have the documents for Princes-I mean, Principal Celestia!” called out a familiar voice. Sunset looked around, spotting a large dog holding onto a batch of files with its mouth. She couldn’t tell what kind of breed it was at a glance, but the purple body and green ears gave it away. Before she could react, the dog dropped their files and ran at Sunset, jumping into her arms and knocking the girl over. As she recovered, she felt the dog’s tongue licking every part of her face.
“Spike, it’s nice to see you too, but get off!” Sunset said, laughing as she pushed the heavy dog off of her. The former dragon, now dog, got off and sat in front of her, tail wagging wildly. Ignoring Luna’s and Raven’s laughter, Sunset pulled herself back to her feet. “So...I remember you being a lot smaller before. Hit a growth spurt or something?”
“Ha ha, very funny,” Spike said with a deadpan. “Twilight fixed me with a spell that would me change my size at well, seeing as my little puppy self could barely traverse the snow. Oh! That reminds me!” Spike ran off to the other room, coming back with a leather bound moleskine notebook that had a dark purple feather quill nestled in a small compartment built into the book’s spine.
“Twilight asked me to give you that, and to stay with you for a while,” Spike said, wagging his tail.
“Wait, why stay? Is something happening?” Sunset asked, looking concerned.
“Nope!” Spike replied. He gave Sunset a cheeky grin, in the way only a dog could. “She just wants me to watch over you.” Sunset rolled her eyes and just scratched the back of his ears.
“Well this is all nice and well,” Raven started, “But-”
“Oh, I already did all the filing and sorting of the miscellaneous files you told me about,” Spike said, nuzzling into Sunset’s hand. “And I already notarized those statements, sorted out the mess that was the budget for the rest of the school year, and mailed out those letters you mentioned.”
“Oh, well, thank you, Spike,” Raven said, sounding hollow. “What kind of world do I live in where a magical talking dog is more efficient at my own job?” She took her seat and looked rather pensive. Sunset blinked at the sight; if she squinted, she could see a spot light over the secretary, shadows cast over her face.
“Did you really do all that?” she asked Spike, who let out a low whimper as she removed her hand.
“Yep! This was actually pretty easy, compared to what I do for Twilight,” the dog replied, casually scratching the back of his ears.
“As interesting as this discussion is, Celestia will want to meet with you,” Luna interrupted. As she turned to the Principal’s office, Spike sprinted in front of her.
“I wouldn’t go in there right now,” he said, looking worried. “She’s seeing someone right now.”
“Why is that an issue? I’m sure she’d love to see Sunset right now,” Luna said, sounding confused.
“No, she’s seeing someone right now,” Spike repeated, looking a bit uneasy. “She forgot to put a hat on her door.” Luna stared for a moment, then blushed at the implication.
“Wait, what?” Sunset asked, looking a bit lost as she looked in between Spike and Luna.
“Lets just say there’s a reason we moved the intercom from her office to mine,” Luna said lowly, looking annoyed as she blushed. Sunset stared, still confused, but eventually understood as she too blushed and looked away.
“Anyways!” Luna said, coughing into her fist as she walked away from Celestia’s office. “My sister’s deviancy aside, we still have the matter of dealing with your sudden disappearance from the school.” She raised a hand, cutting off Sunset. “I understand why you did it, but the fact of the matter is that you left school grounds during school hours without any notice, nor was it approved by any of the teachers, myself or my sister.”
Sunset looked down, lowering her head. Spike made a low whining sound and walked over to her, rubbing his head against her hand.
“Your punishment for truancy and your attack on Miss Gilda Grimmfeather (you did go beyond what is a reasonable amount of force when dealing defending yourself) is as such; effective immediately, you are placed in in-school suspension for the rest of the week,” Luna said. “You will receive your classwork here, and do everything in my or (if she ever finishes) my sister’s office, but you may take your lunch in the cafeteria if you so desire. Furthermore, you will serve detention with me after school is over until the end of the week. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Vice-Principal Luna,” Sunset said, looking down. Deep down, she knew this was coming; the administration couldn’t afford to play favorites after all. With a sigh, she looked back up, but noticed that Spike and Raven were trying to hide their snickering. She looked at where Spike was pointing, the calendar, and saw that it was a Friday.
“Now with that out of the way, let me be the first to welcome you back, Sunset,” Luna said, her serious facade dropping as she smiled.
It took a bit, but Sunset felt a smile creep on her face as she laughed with Spike and Raven. Rubbing a tear from her eye, she said, “Its good to be back.”