Chapters Chapter 1: Back to Normal?
Paradox's Castle...
"But I had the power of the legendary dragons!", Paradox screamed as he was blasted apart by the true power of the legendary dragons wielded by Burst, Inferno, Ace, Gold, and Shadow! Starlight was released form the seal that bound her in place. She was falling but Shadow had caught her just in time.
"Hey beautiful.", Shadow said with a small smile. Starlight opened her eyes and kissed him.
"I knew you would come.", she said with a small smile. Soon the castle began to crumble!
"Come on lovebirds!", Burst said. "Chances are that when Paradox goes, this place goes too!" The group rushed to meet with the others at the main entrance. But before they could leave, Paradox had somehow survived the last attack!
"This place shall become your grave! None of you are leaving alive!" Burst and Inferno had other ideas as they charged up their blasters.
"Jackpot.", Burst and Inferno said as they fired twin charged shots that obliterated Paradox! Nothing was left of him when the blast cleared. Everyone made a mad dash for the exit, and made it out as the castle crumbled away into nothingness. Burst suggested that they celebrate their victory, and Pinkie was then busy planning the whole party. Celestia decided to hold the party at CHS. That night, Burst and the guys and their respective girlfriends gave a performance. Shadow had convinced Starlight to be a part of it too, and a good time was had all around. Shadow walked up to Starlight after the performance and gave her a hug.
"Welcome to the club Starlight."
"Thanks Shadow. I've got a good feeling about my time here..."
The next day....
Starlight was pretty nervous walking the hallways of CHS the next morning. Everyone seemed to be friendly towards her, but the feeling in her gut was telling her otherwise. 'Did they really forgive me that easily? Back when Paradox was using me for his dirty work, I stole legendary dragons from duelists. Not to mention that I attacked the school and I tried to take the dragons of those kids! ' Starlight frowned as those unpleasant memories flooded her mind. She was so occupied with her thoughts she barely noticed Sunset and Sonata heading her way.
"Hi Starlight!", Sunset greeted. "You okay? You look like something's got you pretty down."
"Oh. Nothing. Just...bad memories." Sunset and Sonata both gave a knowing glance at each other.
"Boy do we know what that feels like.", Sunset said. Starlight was surprised to hear this.
"Really? How can you two relate to what I'm going through?"
"I wasn't always the nicest person.", Sunset said as she remembered her own dark past. "But a friend of mine helped show me another way. And before I knew it, everyone started to accept me and I had made good friends."
"Ditto.", Sonata said with a smile. "My family and I tried to take over the whole school and Sunset and her friends had to stop us in a battle of the bands. I left to duel my troubles away and that seemed to make them get their act together. Soon people were able to move past that incident and I wound up getting a boyfriend out of it." Sonata fondly remembered her first date with Ace. "And I'm sure people would be willing to do the same for you too!"
"Thanks you two.", Starlight said with a small smile. 'I hope you're right... ' On her way to class, Starlight also ran into Shadow.
"Hey Star!", Shadow said with a big smile on his face. "How's your day going so far?"
"Oh! Great! Everyone seems pretty nice!", Starlight said as she tried to hide the fact she was still troubled. However, Shadow could see clearly past her facade.
'You're still hung up about what you did aren't you Star? ' "That's nice! I hope you're free Saturday night! I was wondering if you'd like to go out."
"I'd love to."
"Sweet! See ya around Starlight!" 'I hope Burst and Ace can help me find a way to help her move on. Those two have the most experience with girlfriends that were former villains. ', Shadow thought to himself.'I can't bear to see Starlight like this. There's got to be some way to show her that I love her no matter what.
Lunch period had arrived sooner than expected, and Shadow used this chance to talk to Burst and Ace. "Hey guys! What's up?"
"Hey Shadow!", Burst greeted. "So what brings you over here?"
"Well, I was hoping I could ask you and Ace for some...relationship advice."
"We'd be happy to help in anyway we can! Fire away bro.", Ace said.
"It's about Starlight. She seems to be having doubts that everyone's actually forgiven her. I could see it on her face even when she tried to hide it from me when I ran into her this morning. And I can't bare to see her like this. Both of you have experience with girls who've had some pretty bad pasts. So what should I do to show her that I don't care about what she did? That I love her no matter what."
"He's your family Ace. I think he should hear from you first.", Burst said.
"I think so too. Let me tell you about my first date with Sonata. I had dueled Burst over here to get her to notice me. And when I did she thought I was under the same spell she and her family used to control the students. And she didn't want to break my heart so she went on our date to see whether or not I was. She told me what she and her family had tried to do. And I told her that I didn't care about that. Then she told me about what she was afraid had happened to me and why I tried to get her attention. I knew what she was getting at. But the truth was I was under her siren's song before she even sang, and I kissed her after I told her that. She even wound up getting her singing voice back because I loved her regardless of her past. So my advice would be to speak from your heart. I think he's ready to hear from you now Burst. You won't be disappointed by his advice. Trust me."
"In my case, the girl would be Moon. You see, I knew she wasn't from our world thanks to my dragonic powers. Her energy felt like it was from Equestria, like how Sunset's energy felt. But i hadn't known about her past. When she had teamed up with Dark Ice, he told her about the consequences that her actions would wreak. And the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. You see in Equestria, Moon was nothing more than the dark persona of Princess Luna. She was born from her jealousy of Princess Celestia and took over Luna's body to bring eternal night to make Luna's subjects love her just as much as Celestia. But she ended up causing nothing but pain for Luna and Celestia because Celestia had to banish her and Luna to the moon for 1000 years. After that time she returned, but Luna was purged of her and Celestia got her little sister back. And Moon was nothing more than a cloud of magical mist. That is, until Inferno and I wound up in Equestria when we tried to help Princess Twilight fix the portal between our worlds. However, I had no idea that I'd left a strong amount of residual magic from my temporary stay. Moon used that magic to make herself a new body and came to our world through the same portal. Originally, she had the same plans for Earth as she had for Equestria and she even stayed at my house for a day or two. But after she realized the truth of the possible consequences , she had horrible nightmares about what would have happened if she had won and also old nightmares about her banishment. She told me everything about her. But most of all, she told me that she didn't want to be feared or hated. She didn't want to be alone anymore. I already knew she wasn't from here, and I pulled her into a hug. She thought I would hate her. But I didn't Whatever she had done or tried to do didn't matter. Here she had a fresh start, and a chance to not be alone. I told her that as long as she had me, she'd never be alone. My advice to you Shadow? Stay with Starlight no matter what people think of her, or what they think of you for staying with her. She needs you Shadow, because you see the best of her when she sees only the worst. That's why she needs you, and why you need to remind her that she's not alone."
"Thanks guys. I'll tell her on our date this weekend.", Shadow said with a determined gaze. "I'll make sure she knows that I love her no matter what."
As Shadow sat down with the guys, Starlight went to meet up with the girls. "Hey everyone!"
"Hi there Starlight!", Moon greeted. "Care to sit with us?"
"Sure. In fact, there's something I want to ask all of you."
"Ask away darling.", Rarity said. "We'll be glad to help answer any way we can."
"How do you know that your boyfriends really love you?", Starlight asked as she blushed.
"Starlight. Shadow charged in to save you from Paradox and carried you out in his arms. If that isn't love I don't know what is.", Sunset said. "As for how I know Gold loves me, I told him about my past and he didn't care a bit. And to show me how much I meant to him he gave me his late adopted mother's ring. The last one isn't as important though."
"I think not Sunset!", Rarity said shocked. "I think it's rather romantic that Gold gave you such a sentimental item! In my case, Inferno beat back an unwanted suitor for my affection. He was willing to fight for me no matter what." Rarity sighed blissfully at the memory. "And he gave me the most beautiful necklace!" Rarity was nearly drooling at this point.
"Well she'll be out of this world for a moment.", Moon giggled. "I suppose my case is quite similar to Sunset's. I told Burst about my past, and the things I tried to do. I was sure he would hate me for it, and that he'd want nothing to do with me. But to my surprise, he held me close and told me that none of that mattered. That I had a fresh start here, and as long as I had him I'd never be alone. He was my first friend, and he introduced me to the best girls I've ever known." The whole table collectively 'aawwed'.
"Speaking of Burst, isn't he also dating Celestia?", Starlight asked.
"Actually he's dating both of us.", Moon replied with a smile. "Celestia was more than willing to share, but I did luck out in one area."
"And that is?"
"I share a bed with Burst.", Moon said with a sly smile. Everyone else at the table immediately was speechless. "He makes a great pillow. Plus I'm more pleasant to wake up to than an alarm clock. Of course the best part of our relationship is when he, Celestia, and I go out. He's usually between the both of us, so we both get to be close to him."
"My turn!", Sonata chirped. "With me and Ace, it was when took me out on our first date. I was worried that he was still under my family's spell after the Battle of the Bands, but he wasn't. I found out he really loved me when he first kissed me. In fact, him loving me no matter what gave me back my singing voice. And since then, I really can't imagine myself with anyone else."
"That's so sweet!", Starlight said. "What about you and Steel, Rainbow?"
"W-what?! No! I-It's not like I like him!", Rainbow stuttered as she blushed furiously. Everyone couldn't help but giggle at the sight.
"Face the facts sugarcube.", Applejack said with a smile. "You've got a thing for him. Is this because he stole a kiss? Maybe you're more of a mushy stuff kind of girl than you think."
"Sh-shut up!"
"Well thanks girls. I think I've got a good idea of telling how much Shadow loves me."
"And if you need help planning a date, I've got that covered!", Pinkie chirped as she pulled out a notebook. "I've kept track of your relationships and the first dates you've went on!"
"Wait...you kept track of our dates? Why?"
"In case a situation like this happened silly! Also, because I want to know just how to patch your relationships up if you hit a rough patch.", Pinkie said with a smile.
"....Pinkie. Never change."
"Before we consult Pinkie's record book. Can any of you give me some ideas of a good first date?"
"Well you currently don't have a deck, so dueling is ruled out.", Sunset said. "You could convince him to go shopping with you."
"Sunset. I know no guy would want to go through that. I wouldn't want to go through that AND I'm a girl.", Rainbow countered.
"I think I'll leave before this escalates.", Starlight said nervously.
"Good plan.", Applejack whispered.
Saturday had come, and both Shadow and Starlight were panicking! They had both been told how to let the other one know how they loved them and how they would know they were loved respectively. But they had no clue how to act on their dates! Shadow called up the guys and asked for how he should act, and they all gave the same response: "Just be you man. That's the person you want her to love. No one else." Starlight on the other hand, didn't have the same unified opinion from the girls. Rarity suggested she act like a proper lady, Rainbow said to tell Shadow about "all things awesome about you", Sunset, Moon, and Sonata were the only realistic ones and told her to just act like herself, and Aj told her to slap Shadow if he so much as tried to "cop a feel". Needless to say, Starlight got pretty confused after hearing all of the conflicting advice. 'Please don't let all this advice mess up our date! ', she mentally pleaded as she heard a knock at the door. When she opened it, she found Shadow waiting to pick her up.
"Hey Star! Ready to go?"
'Okay! What was Rarity's advice? Act like a proper lady! ' "Of course darling.", Starlight said as she tried to pull of the tone Rarity gracefully pulls off. However, it only confused Shadow.
"Why are you trying to act like Rarity?"
'Ack! Recovery! Recovery! ' "Oh no reason!", Starlight said with a nervous smile.
"Okay. Wanna grab something to eat and see where things go from there?"
"Sounds wonderful!" 'Please don't let things get awkward! ' The couple grabbed a slice of pizza. As they ate, Starlight had the idea to put Rainbow's advice to use. "So anyway....I've pulled off a really sick top score at the arcade! You should see how good I am at fighting games!" 'Please don't take me up on that! '
"Really? I'd like to go a round with you and see your skills live!", Shadow said with a smile.
'Dang it! ' "Oh! No. No you really shouldn't...", Starlight spilled her drink on herself as she was panicking.
"Hold on. Let me help get you cleaned up.", Shadow said as he got some napkins. But as he tried to assist her, Starlight panicked and resorted to using Aj's advice and slapped him. "Ow! If you wanted to do it yourself Star you could've said so."
"I'm sorry! It's just...I've never been in a relationship before. And I didn't know how to act on a date! So I called up the girls and they had different advice! Rarity said to act like a lady, Rainbow told me to tell you how awesome I was, and Aj told me to slap you if you tried to feel me up! Moon, Sunset and Sonata told me that I should just act like myself. Maybe I should have just gone with the last one."
"Is that what this is about? Oh, Starlight. You don't need to adopt some behavior or act a certain way to get me to like you.", Shadow said with a comforting smile. "Being yourself is the best option because that's the you I love. Just like me being myself is the me I want you to love."
"Thanks. I think I needed to hear that. So what now?"
"Well lunch was ruined with our little incident earlier. Might as well salvage it with dessert! Ice cream at Sugar Cube Corner?"
"You read my mind. And I think I'll try that five scoop combo you usually go for."
"Trust me. You won't be disappointed." The two of them went, and Starlight finally saw what made the five-scoop combo Shadow usually got so good. "I think I've tasted ice cream heaven!"
"Just try not to eat it too fast or else you might get..." Starlight hadn't heeded his warning. And now she was facing the consequences. "Brain freeze."
"Nnnh. I'm good.", Starlight said with a weak smile. "Just wish you told me earlier though."
"I won't lie. I'm certainly having a good time with you."
"Because we could make a viral video out of how bad this date's gone?"
"Because I get to be with you." Starlight blushed at hearing this.
"Y-yeah! Me too! Some events may have been less than ideal, but I'm glad I got to be with you."
"No one I'd rather be with Star!" Starlight smiled, but her face soon turned serious.
"Hey Shadow? You love me right? Even despite....what I did?"
Shadow sighed. "I knew you were still hung up about that. But I want you to know that no one blames you. Everyone was willing to accept you and they did. And even if they weren't you still have me and the others. I'll stay with you no matter what people think of you, or what they think of me for standing by you when nobody else will." Shadow pulled her into a hug. "I charged right in to rescue you from Paradox. If that doesn't say that I love you, then this will." Shadow caught Starlight off-guard when he leaned in and kissed her! Starlight was surprised at first, but melted into the kiss. "You'll never be alone with me. I'm your shadow. I'll always be around you, watching over you." Shadow said as he pulled out of the kiss.
"You don't know how much that means to me.", Starlight said with a smile. "So do you wanna see what else we can do before the day ends?"
"Nothing I'd rather do.", Shadow said with a smile.
Starlight and Shadow's date had gone on into the night. Fortunately, things were looking up. The rest of the date was going better than when it started, and the stars were just starting to come out. "You know Starlight, your name really suits you."
"What makes you say that?"
"Your eyes twinkle a little when the stars come out. It's pretty cute!" Starlight blushed at hearing this.
"Th-thanks. Hm? Is it me? Or is one of those stars shining really brightly?" Starlight said as she pointed at a bright blue star that seemed to be glowing brighter than the others.
"I think you're right. Wait. Why does it look like it's moving?" Shadow had no idea how right he was. In fact, the star looked like it was headed right towards them! "Star. I think we might want to step a few hundred feet back!" The star was heading for them at top speed, but came to a halt in front of Starlight.
"What the? Why did it just stop in front of me?" Starlight's question was answered as the light condensed into a new form. A dragon that seemed to be made of light formed once the light fully condensed. Its eyes were swirling galaxies.
"Are you Starlight Glimmer?", it asked.
"Y-yes. That's me. Who are you and why are looking for me?"
"Nice to finally meet you! Name's Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon! And starting today I'm your new monster partner. Even brought a new deck with me for you to use.", Photon said with a goofy smile.
"Um? Thanks?"
"No problem!", Photon said as he returned to card form. Starlight smiled as she looked over her new deck.
"This one definitely feels like a much better fit than the malefics. Can't wait to see what it can do!"
"Maybe we should wait until tomorrow. I'd better get you home. And there's only one way to get you there fast. Come on out Dragluon!", Shadow shouted as his monster partner was summoned.
"One express trip coming up. Hold on tight lovebirds!", Dragluon said as Shadow and Starlight boarded him. Dragluon took off like a rocket! Arriving at Starlight's home in under a minute. "Thank you for flying Dragluon Air. We apologize in advance for any discomfort. I always wanted to say that.", Dragluon said with a grin.
"Thanks for a good time. Despite, you know, how bad things started.", Starlight said as she kissed Shadow goodnight. "See you tomorrow."
"Sweet dreams Starlight.", Shadow said as he rode Dragluon home.
The next day...
"Lets see what your new deck can do!", Shadow boasted.
"Bring it!", Starlight said as she activated her duel disk.
Shadow: 8000 Starlight: 8000
"I've got the first move!", Starlight said. "I special summon Photon Thrasher since I control no monsters! Now I can also summon Photon Crusher! Then I'll set a card and end my turn."
"My turn! I draw! I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn!"
"I think my Photon Thrasher should take a stab at it! Attack his face-down monster!" Photon Thrasher charged at Shadow's monster, but it's attack didn't destroy his monster! "Must have good defense. I end my turn with another face-down."
"My defense mode was Keeper of the Shrine! Now I tribute him to summon Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! Now I'll special summon Clear Vice Dragon from my hand! Now I'll attack Photon Thrasher! And when Clear Vice attacks a monster his attack becomes double the attack of the target during damage calculation! Reflector Stream!" Clear Vice let out a white stream of energy that obliterated Photon Thrasher! "I'll set a card and end my turn."
Shadow: 8000 Starlight: 6900
"My turn! I play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster to draw two cards! Now I summon Galaxy Knight and I can normal summon him since I control a "Photon" monster! Now I'll activate his effect! I'll target Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon in my graveyard and special summon him! The only downside is that Galaxy Knight loses 1000 attack points. But I'm not done yet! I play Galaxy Expedition to special summon a level five or lower "Galaxy" or "Photon" monster from my deck in face-up defense mode since I control a level five or higher "Galaxy" or "Photon" monster! I special summon Galaxy Dragon! Now I overlay him with Photon Crusher to xyz summon Starliege Paladynamo! Now I'll detach his two overlay units to activate his effect! I target Red Eyes Darkness Metal and make his attack zero and his effects are negated! Paladynamo destroys REDMD, Galaxy Knight will take down Clear Vice, and Galaxy Eyes attacks you directly!" Paladynamo and Galaxy Knight destroyed Shadow's monster with swift strikes from their blades while Galaxy Eyes unleashed a beam of pure light that collided with Shadow's life points! "I end my turn. Now Galaxy Knight's attack points return to normal. Hope you're not upset that your girlfriend is handing your butt to you."
Shadow: 1200 Starlight: 6900
"You kidding? I like a girl who can kick my butt!", Shadow said with a smile. "I play the Return of the Dragon Lords that I set earlier to revive Clear Vice Dragon! Now I can normal summon Parsec, the Interstellar Dragon at no cost! Now I overlay my two monsters to xyz summon Number 46: Dragluon!"
"He won't be here for long! I activate my face-down card! Photon Stream of Destruction! And since I have Galaxy Eyes Photon on my field, I can activate this card during your turn! I target and banish one card you control, and the only one on your field is Dragluon!"
"Not a bad move. I set a card and end my turn."
"Time to finish this with a bang! I draw! I play Galaxy Cyclone to destroy your set card, and now I overlay my two monsters to bring out Galaxy Eyes' true form! Come on out Number 62: Galaxy Eyes Prime Photon Dragon! Attack him directly! Prime Photon Stream!"
"How's this for lightening up?", Galaxy Eyes Prime said as his whole body glowed with blue light, and unleashed a gigantic stream of photon energy that wiped out the last of Shadow's life points! The attack was so powerful that it even knocked him down.
"Starlight. I think I'm in love with you more now. Especially since you were able to nearly OTK me." Starlight giggled at this as she helped him up.
"Glad to hear you're not a sore loser.", she said with a smile. "How about ice cream to celebrate my victory?"
"And risk you getting brain freeze again?", Shadow said with a smirk.
"You're never going to let me live that down are you?"
"Nope!"
"Well at least it was a memorable first date."
Starlight was finally happy. Her mind was no longer plagued with doubts about whether she was really forgiven, and it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders. Not to mention she had a loving boyfriend and plenty of good friends who accepted her no matter what. But she always wondered one thing. Shadow loved her no matter what, but she couldn't exactly figure out what he saw in her when she had doubted herself. As luck would have it, she saw him in the hallway and decided to ask him the burning question. "Hey Shadow?"
"Yeah Star? Is there something I can help you with?"
"When I was doubting myself, just what was it that made you stick with me?"
Shadow gave her a loving smile. "It's simple Starlight. It takes a shadow to see hoe bright the light in someone truly burns.", he said as he pulled her into a hug. "I'd like to carry this on longer, but shouldn't we be getting to class?"
"Oh man! Gotta run!" Starlight made a mad dash for her next class, and Shadow couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked when she was embarrassed. Starlight smiled to herself as she rushed to class. 'Thanks for always being with me Shadow. '