Equestria Girls: Dark Duel Stories

Where… where am I?

I found myself lying in a field of soft, powdery snow, as more of the white dust fell from the sky. I wasn’t cold, though; even though I should have been freezing half to death right then and there, I felt as comfortable as I would on a spring afternoon. I looked around, confused; one moment, Lux puts his weird amulet around my neck, and the next I’m-

“Hello.”

I turned around sharply to see who the strange voice belonged to, and saw a slender girl standing a few feet away from me. She looked rather young - no older than sixteen - and had long, silky, silver hair. Her eyes were pale grey, and her face was meek and kind.

“Are you one of Lux’s friends?”

I nodded slowly. “Who… are you?” I asked the strange girl.

She giggled softly. “My apologies; it’s been a long time since I’ve met anyone new. My name is Avrenim,” she said, doing a slight curtsy with her white skirt. “You must be Rainbow Dash; is that correct?”

I nodded again. “Avrenim… where are we?” I asked, once again studying our surroundings - or, more accurately, lack of surroundings.

The girl sighed heavily. “I have come to call this place ‘home’,” she said quietly. “Others call it ‘The Key of Nightmares’, ‘The Key of Twin Souls’, and some even go as far as to call this place ‘The Shadow Realm’.”

I quickly turned back to my lone companion. “The Shadow Realm?” I asked eagerly, “A friend of mine was just trapped there! Could we find her?”

Avrenim shook her head. “This place’s nickname of ‘The Shadow Realm’ comes from false information; it is the other half of the Key of Twin Souls that leads to the Shadow Realm,” she explained. “This is simply a place of emptiness, where I am in control of the landscape; my own little patch of existence.”

I nodded slowly. “So, what exactly am I doing here?” I asked awkwardly.

Avrenim suddenly turned hostile. “You were hurting Lux just before you came here!” she snapped. “The only reason you’re here is because he knew the key would send you to me. But… there is another reason you’ve been sent here,” she added, her voice returning to it’s quieter tone. “You seek knowledge; knowledge of the Shadow Games.”

I nodded slightly. “Yeah, Lux seemed to know what they are; our friend lost her soul when she lost a Shadow Game to someone named ‘Umbra Timore’,” I explained. “What are the Shadow Games? Why and how can Umbra make people play them?”

Avrenim sat down slowly and sighed. “Well, this story has two parts; one of them takes place just a few years ago, and the other takes place long before our ancestors were born. It’s a rather lengthy story,” she warned.

I sat down beside her. “I’m listening,” I insisted. “If I’m going to save Sunset Shimmer, I need to know all that I can about these Shadow Games.”

Avrenim nodded. “Long ago, when the pyramids were still young, Egyptian kings played games of great and terrible power,” she began. “They did battle with magic and monsters for riches and glory, but these Shadow Games erupted into a war that threatened to destroy the world. Until a brave and powerful pharaoh locked the dark magic away, imprisoning it for all eternity within the mystical Millennium Items.” The girl suddenly laughed emptily. “At least, that’s what we were told.”

I stared as she went on: “I was friends with a boy who held a Millennium Item; along with him and his friends, we actually met several other people who also held Items of their own. Eventually, when we had all seven, we were able to travel back to ancient Egypt, and find out what really happened when the Shadow Games were sealed away.

“You see, Rainbow Dash, the Shadow Games are not just some kind of force; they are a being. A being that I helped imprison long ago, and if you don’t help Lux keep my half of this key safe, then he will be released from his prison, and he will use his powers shroud the world in endless darkness.”

I stared at her for a long time. “This is unbelievable,” I said slowly. “I mean, I’m not saying I don’t believe you, because I do, but how in the world can we stop this from happening?”

Avrenim looked me directly in my eyes. “Tell your friends what I have told you. You mustn’t let this ‘Umbra Timore’ get his hand on my half of the Key of Twin Souls. If he does, he will unite it with the other half, and use the completed key to release the Shadow Games. Then… everyone will lose,” she said sadly.

I nodded. “Okay, how do I get out of here?” I asked, rubbing my hands together eagerly and glancing around.

Avrenim giggled slightly. “I’ll wake you up,” she said cheerfully. “But when you do, please give me back to Lux; without me to guide him, I don’t think he’ll be able to help you very much. In fact, without me, you wouldn’t even know him in the first place,” she added thoughtfully.

I gave her a strange look. “What?” I asked, bewildered.

Avrenim smiled cleverly. “Lux is a rather… antisocial person, and was never good at making friends because other children singled him out for his shyness. When Sunset Shimmer offered him a chance to spend time with you girls, I was the one who urged him to accept. It’s good to see him making new friends and coming out of his shell a little bit,” she explained. “Anyways, farewell, Rainbow Dash. I do hope to speak to you again, only under less dire circumstances,” she said kindly.

I nodded. “It was nice meeting you too, Av-”

~-~-~-~-~

“-Renim.” I said suddenly as my eyes snapped open. I was lying on the gym floor, and I could hear a high-pitched squealing noise, accompanied by confused moaning. I looked up to see Pinkie Pie - who was the source of the squealing - holding Lux, - the source of the moaning - by the collar of his shirt, shaking him back and forth violently.

“YOU BETTER WAKE RAINBOW DASH UP RIGHT NOW!” she demanded in a screechy, angry voice.

“I...told...you...I...can’t!” Lux said between shakes. “She’ll...wake...up....soon!”

I rose to my feet, and Pinkie suddenly stopped shaking the poor boy and tackled me in a big hug. “OHMYGOSH, I THOUGHT WE LOST YOU, TOO!” she wailed happily, and I laughed as I patted my friends poofy, pink hair.

“It’s fine, Pinkie,” I said suddenly looking up at Lux, who squirmed under my glance. “Why didn’t you tell us about Avrenim?” I asked him softly, taking the necklace off and handing it to him

He rubbed his neck, still red from Pinkie’s interrogation, and put the necklace back on, hiding the broken key underneath his shirt. “I was afraid you’d think I was crazy, and wouldn’t spend any more time with me” he said quietly. “Until you girls came along, she was my only friend.”

Applejack spoke up. “Uh, am I missing something here? Who’s ‘Avrenim’?” she asked, looking back and forth between me and Lux like we were insane.

I laughed. “I’ll tell you when we get to class, A.J.” I said slowly, “this is quite the tale.”

“You know I love a good story, Rainbow Dash, darling, but what about Sunset Shimmer?” she pointed out. “We have to rescue her from that terrible place!”

I sighed heavily. “I know,” I said sadly, “but there isn’t anything we can do right now except make sure Umbra doesn’t get his hands on Lux’s key,” I explained. “Let’s just carry on with our day, and we’ll meet up after school; maybe Lux and Avrenim can tell us more about the Shadow Games and the Shadow Realm. I promise, we’ll figure out a way to get Sunset back.”

~-~-~-~-~

“What do you mean, ‘she didn’t have the key’?” Umbra’s hooded contact spat angrily. “I put my faith into your little hunch, which you were so certain was true, and you immediately prove to me that my faith was wrongly-placed!”

Umbra held up his hands calmingly. “Now, I know I’ve made a mistake, but there’s no need to be upset…”

The man laughed. “‘Upset’?” he asked harshly, “I’m far beyond ‘upset’. After a failure like this, I should…” he trailed off. “Wait… your duel with the girl… you said her friends were brought to the Shadow Realm with you?” he asked slowly.

Umbra nodded. “Yes. I don’t know why; my theory is they’re connected on some level so powerful that even a Shadow Game cannot separate them from each other,” he explained.

The man chuckled darkly. “Umbra, I believe I have a new plan,” he said slowly. “The new students at Canterlot High… befriend them. Learn their strengths and weaknesses, and form a group of hunters. If this girl’s friends want to team up and hide the key from you, then you’ll just have to make a team of your own to take it from them!”

Umbra gave him an uncertain look. “But… sir, how will I gain their trust? How will I provide incentive for them to join me?” he asked nervously.

The man darted his glaring eyes to the boy’s face. “Have you forgotten who I am?” he asked angrily, “Simply tell them who they’ll be working for; that should be incentive enough,” he replied. “Go, now; you have work to do.”

Umbra nodded and stalked out of the alleyway and marched down the dimly-lit city street. As he did, his shadowy companion appeared by his side. “Simetra, please,” he said dismissively, “now is not the time for that sort of talk. All we need to do is do that old bastard’s work for him, and when our job is finished, we will be rewarded with enough power to make a king feel inadequate.”

~-~-~-~-~

“So, you’re telling me that there’s a young girl’s spirit trapped in that broken key?” Rarity asked slowly.

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s Avrenim,” I affirmed. We were in the center of the park, gathered near the fountain that Sunset and Lux had dueled near the previous day.

“And she and her friends battled an evil spirit over five thousand years ago?” Applejack inquired, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

I nodded again. “Yes, the evil spirit that controls the Shadow Games,” I explained.

“And after sealing away the evil, she was trapped in half of the ‘Key of Twin Souls’?” Pinkie asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

I rubbed my forehead impatiently. “Yes, that’s exactly what I just told you all!” I snapped. “Avrenim is the only one who knows anything about the Shadow Games. She’s the only one who can tell us how to get Sunset Shimmer back.”

I turned to Lux, who was sitting with his back against the fountain. “Is there any way we can speak to Avrenim?” I asked gently. “I mean, without putting the necklace on and knocking us out,” I added humorously.

Lux rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, there is one thing we’ve been trying to work on,” he said slowly. “We’ve been experimenting with possession. I figured it would be nice to let her use my body every once in a while so she could experience things as if she were still alive. The only problem is… we haven’t really gotten it to work just yet,” he explained nervously.

I nodded quickly. “Well, could you give it a try?” I asked hopefully. “Please, Lux; for Sunset?”

Lux sighed and took off the key necklace and gripped it tightly in his hand. “Here goes nothing,” he said uncertainly, and closed his eyes. There was a few moments of silence as we all stood around, waiting for anything to happen, when Lux’s breathing suddenly became labored.

“Lux… what are you doing…” he said worriedly, “You know I don’t have the strength for this just yet.”

Lux’s neck suddenly twitched. “I’m sorry, Avrenim, but my friends need to talk to you. They need your help to save their friend, who was lost in the Shadow Realm. How can we get her back?”

Lux’s neck twitched again, and I could see beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead and around his brow. “You have to challenge him to a Shadow Game for Sunset’s soul,” he said simply. “I wouldn’t advise it, for as long as Umbra does not know you have the key, he will most likely stay away from you. But, if you really wish to save your friend, that is the only way.”

Suddenly, Lux pitched forward and fell on his stomach, gasping heavily. “Sorry,” he said breathlessly. “We’ve been trying new ways to do that, but so far she can only speak through me.” He wiped his face on his sleeve as Pinkie and Fluttershy helped him to his feet. “I’d like to be able to give her full control, but I just don’t see it happening anytime soon.”

Fluttershy patted him gently on the shoulder. “You did your best,” she said gently.

I nodded. “And, we figured out how to get Sunset out of the Shadow Realm!” I cried excitedly.

Lux looked up at me uncertainly. “Yes, but that means putting myself and Avrenim in danger,” he pointed out in a low voice. “If I duel Umbra, he learns who has the key, and if he wins… it’s all over.”

We all stood silently for a moment. “Alright, I’ve got it!” I said suddenly. “We avoid Umbra for the duration of the tournament, and lay low until the finals. Then, when it’s down to you and him, that’s when you challenge him!”

Rarity nodded. “We’re going to need all the help we can get, though,” she said thoughtfully. “I’m not sure how many people would be willing to make an alliance with us when those powerful cards are up for grabs.”

I glanced over at Applejack. “Sunset Shimmer gave you her locker combination, right?” I asked hopefully.

Applejack nodded. “Yeah, just in case she was sick and needed me to bring her homework to her after school,” she said slowly.

I cracked my knuckles craftily. “Alright, girls,” I said with a dangerous grin. “We’re breaking into the school.”

Lux looked up suddenly. “What? Why?” he asked, panicking. “We could get into serious trouble!”

“If we get caught,” I pointed out. “Besides, we’re in a magic-related situation, and we need a helping hand bad. There’s only one person I can think of that can help us in a time like this,” I explained, motioning for the others to follow me.