Friendship is the Future!by Fear RipperChaptersA New Buddy in Town!A Buddy's Origin Story!Twilight's Magical Fight!The Laughing Dungeon!Time to Launch! Decker Drum is on the Scene!A New Buddy in Town!Author's Note Hey there people! It's Fear Ripper here with another fic that's been kind of occupying my mind for the longest time now. Now it's coming to fruition! Buddyfight! I love this game, but it's a shame it's not as popular as other games that don't deserve it (Cardfight Vanguard) I just hope you enjoy the fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. And Props to AspirantWriter for helping me with editing and other stuff. XD A New Buddy in Town! “Next stop: Ponyville.” The intercom of a train announced to the occupants. Said bullet train screeched to a stop at the designated station. The train doors opened letting out all the passengers who were getting off at the station. People of many shapes and sizes could be found, but one young man, in particular, stood out above the rest. He had jet black hair with a single red streak and standing at about 6 ft. in height, looking to be about fifteen to fourteen years old. Over his shoulder, he slung a plain brown satchel. He was wearing a bright red, assassin-style hoodie with grey outlines and the zipper off to the right of his torso instead of up the middle like most hoodies. His jeans were light blue, and he wore black sneakers. Around his waist was a brown belt, which on the side held a rectangular holster. From the look of his body structure, he had a lean, muscular frame. ‘Finally here! Man, sitting on that train for so long made my legs stiff.’ He spoke his mind with a smirk, before making his way out of the train station. On the way to his destination, he took in the scenery of the town he found himself in. A nice and quaint looking town with a nice amount of nature, but also keeping it modern. He passed by many shops and towers, and those around him looked like they were just enjoying their day in the beautiful town. “This town is so nice. Everywhere seems so peaceful.” He said wistfully. “Well it won’t be like that for long.” A sudden male voice rebutted. From the rectangular holster on the young man’s belt, a spark of light flew out and hovered next to him. “If our sources are correct, then we’ll be able to find them in this town. It’s probably likely that he is here as well. We gotta be careful Brave Heart.” The now named Brave Heart smiled confidently. “Don’t worry buddy. With you and I working together, nothing will get in our way!” He cheered. “But you can’t do it alone young Brave!” An elderly voice called out. Suddenly, seven more lights flew out of the holster. “Yeah! Ki! Don’t leave us out of the fight! Ki! We’ll give them a good pounding once we find buddies of our own. Ki!” A raspy childish voice challenged. Brave sighed.”Why can’t I just fight with all of you? Do we really need to drag civilians into our fight?” “We understand you’re reluctant Brave.” A deeper voice chimed in. “Under normal circumstances, I would wholeheartedly agree. But as skilled as you are, you can’t handle all of our styles at once. You and Drum are the most compatible out of all of us.” “Nin.” Another deep voice agreed. “Plus even with all of us, we’d still be at a disadvantage. There’s only eight of us plus you, and He has an army. It’s only fair that we have one of our own, no matter how small.” A raspy rocker voice added his opinion. “I just hope my buddy is a cute girl!” A joking voice laughed out. “As long as mine is strong I will fight by their side.” A deeper, raspy voice finished. Brave rubbed his nape and sighed. “Alright, I get it everyone, but for now I gotta find my new apartment. Everyone back in the deck.” The lights flew back into the holster on his waist. As he continued his trek through the city, he was stopped by a sudden yell. “I said no!” A girl’s voice rung in the air. He turned his attention to an alley he was passing by. There were three guys that had a girl backed against the wall. The thugs didn’t look like that much, just the generic teenage thug look. The girl, however, had caught Brave’s attention. She looked like she was about Brave’s age. Her hair was a dark purple color with a pink stripe on her right side. Her violet eyes were covered by a pair of black-rimmed glasses. She wore a simple lilac T-shirt with an image of a star surrounded by smaller stars on her shirt and a darker purple skirt that reached her knees. “C’mon girl, give us a chance. We’ll be sure to show you a good time.” The lead thug kept laying it on. The violet-haired girl glared at him. “I have better things to do than entertain you, now I’ll be leaving.” The thug snarled before smirking menacingly. “Oh really? Then I’ll have to charge you for wasting our time.” “I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Brave called out with a smirk. The four of them turned their attention to Brave. “Huh? What are you? Some kind of hero or something?” “Oh, I’m no hero. I prefer the title, “Heartful Fighter!” Brave announced. The thugs laughed, “The Hell is that supposed to mean? Well, you asked for it. Teach him a lesson.” The lead thug ordered his underlings. The two of them approached Brave, who only stood his ground. The two lackeys approached to attack Brave, only to be flipped onto their backs as they went in for a strike. The two lackeys tried to attack again and again, only for Brave to dodge and flip them around even more. Not only he made those two hit the ground, he even makes them strike each other. “Stop messing around guys! Take him out already!” The leader shouted. “Okay, whatever fighter, you’re gonna pay for that!” One of the lackeys shouted as he charged, only to be flipped around again. “Now I’m angry!” The leader pulled his phone out and started typing. He smirked before showing Brave his screen. “Fifty of my crew are on their way here now.” The girl cowered a bit. “Fifty!?” She squealed fearfully. “You’ll need a lot more than fifty,” Brave said confidently. “Being the warmth inside the darkness and being the light to lead the way to a better future, the Heartful fighter is here!” He announced. “What is this crap you are sprouting!?” The leader shouted confused. Brave smirked, “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time now to fight a hundred opponents at once. So go ahead, call a fifty more!” He challenged. Brave’s sheer confidence made the thug’s resolve waver. “This guy's crazy.” The leader said with a defeated look before he began to walk away. “C’mon guys, this ain’t worth our time.” His lackeys were confused at first, but they nevertheless obeyed and following his lead. Brave sighed in disappointment. “So it was just a bluff. Disappointing!” He said before noticing the girl, who had led out a breath of relief. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Brave asked as he approached the girl. “No, thank goodness.” She sighed before she smiled and bowed her head towards Brave. “Thank you for saving me from those bullies.” “No problem, just doing the duty of the Heartful Fighter! Catch ya later!” With that said, Brave ran off to his own devices. The thug leader was walking through the night streets without his entourage. “Tsk! That kid, that Heartful Fighter! Grrr! If I ever see him again I’ll show him who’s stronger.” He ranted to himself. “Is revenge what you seek?” An ominous voice hissed. Suddenly, a glowing card-shaped object appeared directly in front of the thug. “If that is true than accept the power of the Hundred Demons!” The card shined brighter as the thug’s eyes quickly became hollow and an evil grin then adorned his lips. (The Next Day) “*YAAAAWWWWWWN*!” The yawn of our young hero rung through the air as the morning sun shined above Ponyville. Brave was trekking through the streets as he made his way to his new school. Instead of his outfit from yesterday, he was wearing his new uniform, which consisted of a white, short sleeve dress shirt with maroon cuffs, along with maroon slacks and his regular red sneakers. However, still wore the brown belt with the holster. “Man, why do I gotta go to school? Shouldn’t all my time be spent searching for our enemies?” Brave complained. “You would think to fight for the fate of the world would get you more perks.” “Quit your whining kid.” The first voice, who was named Drum, spoke at the same speck of light flew out of the holster. “School is important. I would like it if we could be searching for the enemy as well as Them right now, but taking it easy is also healthy for you. You need to live a normal life too after all.” Brave rolled his eyes, “Alrighty mom. Well, at least I’ll be making more friends!” He chanted optimistically. While cheering, he didn’t notice another person intersecting his path. This caused them to bump into each other and while the collision wasn’t hard enough to knock them over, they stumbled a bit as the two regained their balance... “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Brave apologized to the one he bumped into, only to see it was the same girl he saved from yesterday. Instead of her casual outfit from yesterday, she too wore a school uniform. It consisted of a white blouse with a yellow vest over it that had maroon accents, as well as a maroon skirt. “No, it’s fine.” The girl said just before she recognized Brave as the boy from yesterday and smiled. “Oh! It’s you!” “You’re the girl from yesterday.” He said before he examined her uniform. “A Canterlot High uniform? Hey, that means we’re going to the same school.” “It would seem so.” The girl then held her hand out to him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you.” Brave smiled brightly as he shook her hand. “Name’s Brave Heart.Let’s be great friends!” While they were walking the trail to Canterlot High, another light speck flew out of the holster discreetly. “Ohhoho~! What is this?” The rocker voice teased. “The damsel in distress reunited with her knight. No! Could this be? A love of destiny!?” “Shut it, Asmodai!” Brave whispered harshly. “Get back in the deck before someone notices!” The now named Asmodai flew back into the holster and luckily, Twilight didn’t notice the light since she was focused on Brave. Seeing they both went to the same school, the two decided to walk there together while learning a bit about each other along the way. “So what grade are you in?” Brave asked. “I’m a freshman, I actually just transferred in this year. My family and I just moved here.” Twilight answered. “Wow! What a coincidence, so did I. I actually just got here yesterday before we had our little run in.” He joked. “Well, at least I’ll be going in with a friend now instead of heading straight into it alone.” “Friend?” Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Yup! From this point on, you and I are gonna be the best of friends!” Brave declared to her. Twilight chuckled nervously since she wasn’t sure how to feel about someone she just met saying suddenly that they are gonna be best friends. It didn’t help that she isn’t the most social of girls. “Hey!” A voice called out which sounded familiar to Brave and Twilight. They turned to see the thug leader from yesterday. “Oh, it’s you again. Come back with those hundred opponents you promised me?” Brave challenged him. “Shut up! I’m going to make you pay for humiliating me! Your little girlfriend too!” The thug yelled as he pulled out a glowing card from his pocket. Brave’s eyes widened in astonishment as looked upon the very card that the thug held in his hand. “That’s-!” Before he could finish, however, a strong gust of wind was shot from the card and towards the surprised duo. “Look out!” Brave shouted as he grabbed onto Twilight’s arm and pulled her towards him as he got away from the approaching wind. It was in a nick of time for where they once stood was suddenly engulfed in ice. “W-what!? How’d he do that!?” Twilight stammered as she looked at the frozen pavement that gust of wind created. If she or Brave didn’t get away in time, they would have ended up being encased in ice. “No time! We gotta move!” Brave yelled as he tightened his grip on her arm and led Twilight away from the thug as quickly as possible. “Running like a coward? Where’s that bravado from yesterday, so-called Heartful Fighter!?” The thug taunted as he gave chase while holding onto the card that brought forth that wind. Both Brave and Twilight manage to stay ahead of the thug while dodging the ice attacks that he threw at them. However, they couldn’t shake him off and the two ended up running down a random alleyway. However, the alleyway turned out to be a dead end and now the duo found themselves cornered by the thug. “Well, well, well, look at this.” The Thug approached them slowly with an evil grin. “Two pests caught in a trap. What are you gonna do ‘Heartful Fighter?’ Huh?” Twilight shook in fear as the thug kept lurching towards them, but Brave stepped forward. Standing his ground, he crossed his arms with a confident smirk on his face. “Actually, this is exactly where I wanted you. Obviously, a normal human couldn’t do what you just did. You’re just a puppet being controlled by your master. Show yourself, Hundred Demon!” Brave demanded to the thug or more specifically, the card that he had in his hand. Freeing itself from the thug’s grasp, that very card flew straight into the air as it begun shined brightly. What appeared in its place was a demonic-like figure. He had the appearance that is akin to a gargoyle with blue and purple scales covering his body along with four red eyes, as well as the fifth eye on his forehead. “W-w-what is that?!” Twilight cried out in fear as looked upon the unknown being that floated before her and Brave. “So you know my kind human? Well then let me introduce myself. I am Ice Prison Emperor, Cocytus Greed. And I must say, that female human is exerting a nice amount of fear. Although, you seem to lack it. Why is that?” Cocytus Greed asked, paying no heed to Twilight’s previous outburst. “This isn’t my first time running into one of your kind.” Brave then reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver, spherical object with a circuit-like pattern on it. “And it won’t be the last. Proto-barrier! Activate!” He threw the sphere into the air and while mid-air, the circuit-like pattern glowed green until it exploded in a burst of energy. The energy then started to enveloped Brave, Twilight, Cocytus Greed and the thug as a bright light blocked their sight. When the light faded, they found themselves in a completely different place. The space around them looked like space but filled with more universal colors. Twilight and Brave were standing on a pedestal made of silver octagonal panels, along with three other similar pedestals to the left, right, and center in front of them. Cocytus Greed and the thug were standing on a similar pedestal on the opposite side of them, only separated by a larger stage in between. “W-w-w-where are we?” Twilight panicked. “What’s going on here!? Am I going crazy!?” “Twilight, calm down,” Brave said as he rested his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry you got mixed up into this. But I promise you, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Okay?” Twilight hesitated for a moment, not quite sure how to feel about her situation. But after seeing the confident look in Brave’s eyes and the comforting feeling from his hand on her shoulder, she finally calmed down. She let out a deep breath before nodding to him. “Alright.” “Human!” Cocytus Greed shouted as it looked around. “Where have you brought me? A prison?” “Nope. This is a Proto-barrier, a pocket dimension I activated from the Proto-sphere. The only way out…” Brave reached for the holster on his hip and pulled out a red, metallic card deck case with a large blue jewel in the center. “Is to Buddyfight! We’ll only be free when one of us wins.” “Buddyfight?” Twilight questioned. “Finally! I can now take this deck out!” Drum’s voice rung out as a light speck flew out of Brave’s deck case. It began to shine before it formed into another monster. This one was a bipedal, humanoid dragon dressed in a cyan blue, Chinese brawler outfit. “A-another one?” Twilight backed away from it. “Don’t worry girl, I’m one of the good ones. I’m Brave’s buddy.” Drum confirmed. Twilight looked to Brave, who only gave her a thumbs up. “So you are the human that opposes the Crimson Master and Master Yamigedo. Very well human, prepare for defeat!” Cocytus GreeD announced before the thug also held up a deck case, but it was black. “Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize!” The deck case changed its form into a gauntlet that covered the thug’s right hand, but the blue jewel stayed intact in the center of his palm. Six cards floated directly in front of him as he finished announcing, “Hundred Ancient Warriors!” “Alright! Time to battle!” Brave cheered. “Blazing their way through the battlefield with hearts full of courage! Pave the path to victory! Luminize!” Brave’s deck also changed shape into a flame-shaped holster that was strapped to his chest right over his heart. There were also six cards in front of him. “Heart of Blazing Spirit!” “What are those devices?” Twilight asked. “They’re called Core Gadgets.” Another voice rang. Another light flew out of Brave’s holster and formed into another monster. This one looked more like a human male. Although he did have a demonic look to him with the light purple tone to his skin and the horns popping out of his head. “Hey, there cutie. The name’s Demon Lord, Asmodai. Since Brave and Drum will be busy with the fight I’ll be here to add commentary to the peanut gallery. Specifically you.” He introduced himself. “Oh right, I was explaining something. The Core Gadget takes the shape of an object that reflects a fighter's inner hopes and dreams, either taking the shape of a personal symbol of strength for that fighter. It also allows the user to Luminize their decks so they can fight where and whenever.” “Their decks? Then this is just a card game?” “There’s a little more to it than that, but yeah, it's a card game. I’ll explain everything along the way if you get confused. First of all, every fighter starts with ten life points and six cards.” Asmodai said as he started to explain the rules of the game to Twilight. “It’s time to raise the flags!” Brave and the thug announced. “I Fight for Dragon World!” Brave claimed as Drum waved the Dragon World Flag. “I fight for Ancient World!” Thug claimed with Cocytus Greed holding the Ancient World Flag. “Flags?” Twilight asked Asmodai. “In Buddyfight, each fighter raises a flag of the world they are fighting for. Which only allows them to use monsters that belong to that specific world. So Brave can only use Dragon World cards and his opponent can only use Ancient world cards, but both of them can use generic cards as well.” Asmodai explained. Turn 1: Brave [Brave: LP-10 G-2] [Thug: LP- 10 G-2] “I’ll be taking the first turn,” Brave announced. “Charge and Draw!” Brave took one of the cards from his hand and guided it to two larger cards that were floating higher above Brave. The card he sent to them also enlarged in size, as Brave drew another card from his deck. “What are those cards up there?” Twilight asked Asmodai. “That’s the Gauge. Some cards come with a cost of a certain amount of Gauge, so when they use that card they have to pay the number of Gauge specified. At the beginning of the fight, each fighter has two Gauge. Each fighter has to draw a card on their turn, but they do have the option of Charging, which is taking one of the cards from your hand and placing it in the Gauge. If the fighters do so, they can draw another card in its place. There’s a limit to Charging however and that it can only be used once per turn.” “I call Crimson Battler, Extreme Blow Dragon to the center!” Brave announced as a magic circle appeared on the center pedestal and came forth ared-scaled Dragonoid monster. This one was large and muscular with four horns on his head. Wearing gray and gold armor and armed with metal knuckles. “Let’s have a clean fight!” Extreme Blow called out. “Now go and attack the fighter!” Brave ordered. With a blazing fist of fire, Extreme Blow struck the thug in the chest. A hologram of the number ten appeared over the thug, which then decreased by three. “End of Move.” A mechanical voice announced out of Brave’s Buddy Gadget. Turn 2: Thug [Brave: LP-10 G-3] [Thug: LP-7 G-2] “And that’s how you cause damage in a fight,” Asmodai explained another mechanic of the game to Twilight. “You see each monster has what is called a Critical. The number of damage the fighter takes is equal to the amount of the Critical of the monster that dealt the damage. The fighter that goes first is only allowed to attack once, and when the fighters life points drop to zero they lose.” “Your move.” The same voice came out of the thug’s Buddy Gadget. “Draw. Charge and Draw.” the Thug added to his Gauge. “I call Demonic Fairy Dragon, Sorciere to the right. Blade Dragon Emperor, Vorpal Spartar to the center. Finally, Island Dragon of the Origin, Little Land Mu to the left.” Appearing from a magic circle on the thug’s right pedestal was purple Dragonoid whose body appeared to be made of some form of energy. The same manner of summoning also occurred on the center and left pedestals, which two dragons appeared. On the center was a large black-scaled dragon with blade-like spikes adorning its body while on the left was a smaller dragon with a flourishing island on its back. “Wait! He just called three monsters at the same time! Is that against the rules?!” Twilight asked in surprise. “Not really.” Asmodai chimed in. “You see, each monster has a size of either zero, one, two, or three. They can summon as many monsters as they want as long as the total size of them is equal to three. Seeing as Sorciere is size one, Spartar is size two, and Little Land Mu is size zero, they can all be summoned to the field all at once.” “Sorciere, attack the center monster!” The Thug ordered the Dragonoid roared as it flew straight at Extreme Blow before slashing its claws through him, causing that Dragonoid to disappear. “Now, Double Attack on the fighter!” Sorciere then flew toward Brave and attacked him as well with its claws. The gashes of its claws were shown on Braves body as red lights before they then disappeared. Brave’s own hologram of his Life Points appeared above as it went down by two. “It attacked twice?” Twilight said as she uncovered her face from the strong gust of wind that came from Sorciere’s attack. “All monsters can have different abilities when the conditions are met. Since Sorciere’s Power was higher than Extreme Blow’s Defence, it destroyed him. As for Sorciere’s ability, it gains Double Attack for this turn whenever it destroys a monster.” “Now Spartar and Little Land Mu! Attack the fighter as well!” The two monsters charged and delivered their own devastating attacks on Brave, which brought down his Life Points by three. “End of Move.” Like Brave’s Buddy Gadget, the one that the thug is using also spoke in a similar if colder manner. Turn 3: Brave [Brave: LP-5 G-3] [Thug: LP-7 G-3] “Nice turn dude. You manage to take out half my Life Points, but don’t think you’ve won just yet. Draw! Charge and Draw!” Brave increased his Gauge and drew a card from his deck. “I now call Break Shoulder Dragon to the left!” On Brave’s left pedestal was now another red-scaled Dragonoid, who appeared similar to Extreme Blow if not for his grizzled face and more fearsome armor. “And to the right, I call my buddy to the right! Crimson Battler Drum Bunker Dragon!” “Alright!” Drum shouted excited. He stabbed the Dragon World flag into the ground and jumped straight into the right pedestal. “Let me at this punk!” Brave’s Life Points appeared again, but this time it increased by 1. “He gained one life point? How?” Twilight asked. “You see, every fighter has to choose a buddy monster before the fight starts. Since Drum is Brave’s buddy, then the first time he is called to fight Brave gains one life point. It’s called Buddy Gift.” Asmodai answered. The thug laughed ominously. “Call whatever monsters you want, it won’t make a difference. I’ll take you down either way! I’ll prove I ain’t soft! That I’m stronger than you!” Brave said nothing as a serious expression adorned on his face. Moments later, it was replaced with his usual smirk. “You know, I never got your name.” That question surprised the thug for he was not expecting a response like that. “What’s it to you? Were in the middle of a fight here!” “Well if I don’t know your name, then we can’t be buds!” Brave announced cheerfully. Everyone except for Asmodai, who was chuckling, was shocked at what Brave said. “What in the world are you saying!?” Twilight shouted. “He’s just a street thug! He threatened me yesterday and attacked us with that demon! Yet you want to be friends with him!?” “Yeah! What the girl said!” The Thug yelled in agreement. “I’m the thug here! Aren’t you ‘hero’ types supposed to despise guys like me? Someone who bullies the weak and goes against your morals?” “Sorry to burst your bubble, you guys.” Drum interrupted. “But that's not the kind of black and white view Brave has. It’s not ‘The Way of the Heartful Fighter,’ or as he said.” “My buddy’s right,” Brave spoke out. “Everyone deserves to have a good bud in their life, no matter what. No matter what they've done or what they've said, no matter if their sins are uncountable, or if their greed is too great, even if they see the pleasure in hurting the innocent or harm those who live for the next day. They deserve, more importantly, they need friends. From what I can tell you didn’t always use to be this way. You just need a good bud to set you straight!” Twilight couldn’t help but gaze at Brave in awe as his words ring through her mind. ‘He sounds just like Big Sis Celestia.’ She pondered in her head. “Hahaha! Same old Brave.” Asmodai laughed. “The guy who’s gonna be friends with the entire universe. Or at least that’s what he says.” The thug was in a similar state of awe as Twilight. ‘No one’s ever spoken to me like that. He just, wants to be my friend, without even knowing me? Who I am, or what I’ve done?’ Cocytus Greed, however, could feel the negative energy fade from his vessel. To make sure he could still have influence over his puppet, he channeled his own negative energy and flowed it into the thug. He struggled for a moment before his face twisted in anger and his eyes glow green before yelling. “Just shut your trap and make your move! I’ll defeat you for Master Yamigedo!” Brave didn’t waver at the change of attitude. “Alright, but let’s make a deal. When I win, you gotta become my bud!” He challenged as she held up another card. “I pay one Gauge to equip on Crimson Fist, Dragoblaze!” On Brave’s right arm, a golden-armored gauntlet materialized. “What’s that card Asmodai?” Twilight asked the Demon Lord in wonder “That Twilight is what’s called an Item card. It’s a special card that allows the fighter to fight alongside their monsters.” Asmodai explained. “Although if you want to use an item you can’t have a monster in the center position and that would leave leaving the fighter wide open for a direct attack.” “Why’s that?” She asked. “Whenever monsters are in the center position, your opponent can’t directly attack until the center is empty.” He replied. “Also, when a fighter has a monster in both the right and left position and has an item equipped, it’s called the Triple Offensive Maneuver and that is Brave’s favorite move.” “Okay Drum, attack the Vorpal Spartar in the center!” Brave ordered. “It’s Crimson Time!” Drum announced before he lunged at Vorpal Spartar. “I don’t think so! I cast Dragon Flame Cascade!” The thug then activated a card and it destroyed both Break Shoulder Dragon and Drum. Before Twilight could even ask, Asmodai answered her question. “There are also Spell cards that can be used. Some are easier to use than others cause some of them come at a cost like monsters. The specific Spell he used was Dragon Flame Cascade, a counter Spell that destroys all monsters with two thousand or less Power or Defense.” “So that’s why Brave’s monsters are destroyed,” Twilight muttered before then she saw Drum reappear in a flash of green light. “Wait a minute? Drum’s back in play?” “That’s probably because of his own ability, Soulguard. It allows monsters to put other cards into its soul to withstand an attack. The number of cards in the soul is the number of how many attacks they can take before being sent to the drop zone.” “I’m back! Now say goodbye to Spartar!” Drum once again lunged towards Spartar to deliver a powerful attack with his drill gauntlets. “And thanks to my Penetrate ability, you take three damage!” True to his word, Drum delivered another attack on the thug and the hologram displaying his Life Points went down from seven to four. “Now it’s my turn!” Brave called out as he leaped from his position to strike the thug with his Dragoblaze. “I cast Dragon Prudent!” The thug countered Brave’s attack by casting a Spell, which a powerful gust of wind blew Brave away before he could lay a blow on him... “End of Move!” Turn 4: Thug [Brave: LP-6 G-5] [Thug: LP-4 G-3] “Your move.” It was now the thug’s turn. “Draw! Charge and Draw! I cast Dragon Emperor Legend!” The effect of the Spell was significant for it increased his Gauge and Life Points by one while allowing him to add another card to his hand. With that done, the thug’s Life Points and gauge both have a total of five. “I’ll now Buddy call! Ice Prison Emperor Cocytus Greed, to the center!” On command, Cocytus Greed then flew onto the center pedestal as one of Brave’s Gauge flew into the thug’s own. “What’s yours is mine and so is your Gauge! When I enter the field, one of your Gauge becomes mine!” He explained the thug then pointed a finger at Drum. “I pay three Gauge to activate Cocytus Greed’s other ability! When I pay the Gauge cost, Cocytus Greed can destroy one card in my opponent's field! SO say goodbye to your buddy!” Cocytus Greed’s astral hands surrounded Drum and encased him in a barrier of wind around him, slowly freezing his entire body. “Win this Brave!” That was all Drum said before he was destroyed. “Now Sorciere! Attack the fighter!” Sorciere delivered a slash attack at Brave, reducing his Life Points to four. “Now Little Land Mu…!!” “I cast Blue Dragon Shield!” Just before Little Land Mu could attack, a shield with a blue dragon head on it got in its way. The Spell not only nullified the attack but increased his Gauge by one. “You just got lucky. Cocytus Greed, attack the fighter!” “I will freeze you for eternity human!” Cocytus Greed flew towards Brave to attack. “I cast Blue Dragon Shield!” Brave cast the Spell once again, stopping the attack while increasing his Gauge by one. “He had another dragon shield!?” The thug was shocked that both of his attacks have failed. “End of Move!” Turn 5: Brave [Brave: Lp-4 G-4] [Thug: Lp- 5 G-3] “Even so, your luck has run out you bastard! You have no monsters left and your Life Points is low!” The thug taunted. “I got Cocytus Greed in the center along with two other monsters! Make your final move for I’ll take you down on my next turn!” “Sorry dude, but you won’t have the next turn!” Brave said back with a smirk as he raised his Dragoblaze-clad hand as it suddenly combusts into flames. With that said hand, he drew his card. “DRAW! CHARGE AND DRAW! I pay two Gauge and cast Dragonic Destroy! Now Cocytus Greed in the center is now destroyed!” A portal suddenly opened above Cocytus Greed and from it, a giant Dragonic hand descended down and grabbed him. “This isn't right! My life is my own, and yours is mine as well!” Cocytus Greed tried to reach for his fighter only to be dragged into the portal with the Dragonic hand, destroying him in the process. “Cocytus Greed has a Lifelink 1,” Asmodai noted. “Lifelink 1?” Twilight asked. “It is an ability that takes a fighter’s Life Points away when the monster is destroyed.” He answered. “Cocytus Greed Thug’s life decreases by one.” True to his word, the hologram displaying the thug’s Life Points went down to a total of four. “Next, I cast Dragonic Charge!” Brave cast his next Spell and that increase his Gauge by two, bringing it back up to five. The thug growled at the setback but remained confident that he would win on his next turn. “You only have one card left in your hand! Whatever monster you choose to call, it won’t matter in the end!” “FINAL PHASE!” Brave announced, which caught the thug off-guard. “What!?” Asmodai chuckled as Twilight look on confused. “Looks like Brave has this fight won.” “I cast my Impact Card!” Suddenly, an aura of red energy started blazing all over his body like a wildfire. “What’s an Impact Card?” Twilight questioned. “Alright, time for the final lesson.” Asmodai sighed. “An Impact Card is like a final move. While they are very powerful cards, Impact Cards come with a very specific set of conditions for them to be used. The one that Brave played is his Signature Move. To be used, his opponent's life has to be four or less, Brave has an item equipped, and neither of them has a monster in the center. Which mean all the conditions are met for-!” “CRIMSON!” Interrupted by Brave’s shout, Asmodai and Twilight turned to him as the aura around him flowed and condensed into Dragoblaze. “SOUL!” He reeled his arm back as he prepared to deliver the final blow to the thug. “GRENADE!” Finally, he threw his fist and shot forth the condensed ball of energy. The energy sphere struck the ground directly in front of the thug exploded in a mass of fire. With his Life Points fallen straight to zero, his flag, in turn, was destroyed and marked the ending the game. “Game Over! Winner: Brave Heart!” With that, the space around everyone began to glow brightly and enveloped them. When the light faded, Brave, Twilight, Asmodai, and the thug found themselves back in the alley they were in before. The thug was lying on the pavement unconscious and what lies beside him was a destroyed Core Deck Case. Among it was his cards along with the very one that caused Brave and Twilight much trouble today; Ice Prison Emperor Cocytus Greed. “Oh, thank goodness we’re back in the real world.” Twilight sighed in relief. As for Brave, he made his way towards the thug and scooped up the cards that were left by Cocytus Greed. The thug then started to stir awake and saw Brave standing directly above him. “You… you saved me from that thing. Even after what I did, how I acted.” The Thug said slowly as he recalled what happened... “Yup, and we had a deal.” Brave smiled before offering his hand to him. “The names Brave Heart and from now on, you and I are buds!” The thug hesitated for a moment before ultimately accepting Brave’s hand, who helped him up. “Steel Club.” He finally said his name, which made Brave smile. “Ahem!” The two of them turned to see Twilight giving them a stern look, which was mostly towards Brave. “I don’t want to intrude on your moment, but you still owe me an explanation of what just happened!” “Oh right, sorry about that Twilight.” Brave scratched his head in embarrassment. “Well, where to start?!” “Now I’m the one saying sorry for interrupting,” Asmodai spoke up. “But don’t you two have somewhere to be?” He motioned to his wrists as if checking a watch, which confused Brave for a moment. In a few seconds, it struck him when he pulled out his phone to check the time and saw it was 8:45. “Oh no! Classes start in fifteen minutes!” Brave panicked before he grabbed onto Twilight’s arm and started dragging her in a mad dash towards school. “C’mon Twilight! We can’t be late on our first day! Later Steel Club, we’ll see each other again!” With that, the two of them left the scene, leaving only Steel Club and Asmodai in the alleyway. “Well, there they go,” Asmodai said as he turned his gaze to Steel Club. “Now don’t go around causing trouble you here? Or else you have to deal with this Demon Lord! Hahaha!” That was all he said before turning back into a small light and begun following Brave and Twilight. “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. “Where we will be teaching you all you need to know about the world of buddyfight!” Twilight announced. “Today we’ll be talking about my awesome buddy, Crimson Battler, Drum Bunker Dragon!” Brave said as Drum’s card appeared on the monitor. “He’s a size 2 monster with 5000 power, 2000 defense, and a critical of 3. When you want to call him to the field you must pay one gauge and put the top card of your deck into his soul!” Twilight zeroed in on his stats. The screen shifts to the cards effects. “Plus, if you have an item with the word fist in its title, Drum gains the Penetration ability! What a great buddy huh?” Brave explained. Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. “That’s all for now class.” “Can you open a Buddy Rare card?” A Buddy's Origin Story!“*Huff! Huff!* We made it.” The party of Brave Heart and Twilight Sparkle had made it to their destination. Albeit tired and sweaty. Canterlot High School looked to be the run of the mill high school. Three stories tall, white building with windows all across the sides. “And with ten minutes to spare. Funny how fast you can go when you’re in a rush.” Brave joked. Only for Twilight to glare at him. “Well we did make it, but don’t forget you still have to explain what happened back there. What was that demon guy? How did you summon those monsters? Why did you have to play that game to set us free!?” “Yo! Yo! Let’s calm down a little, ya know?” The voice of Demon Lord Asmodai could be heard when a speck of light hovered between the two. “Asmodai?” Twilight questioned. “That’s right, Twilight!” Asmodai rapped. “Sorry we had to do the fight and run! Why don’t we save this talk for when school is done!” Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “I think he means we should wait until after school to talk. It’s kind of a long story after all. Why don’t we meet here when classes are done?” Brave answered. Twilight eyed him suspiciously. “How do I know you’re gonna show up and not just leave me hanging? I barely know you after all.” Before Brave could answer, Asmodai interrupted. “Trusting in a stranger can be pretty hard, so as a show of faith-!” Asmodai’s light suddenly turned into a card with a picture of him and his card effects on it and landed in Twilights hands. “Why don’t you hold on to my card?” Brave looked surprised, “Asmodai? Are you sure?” “It’s alright homes! She needs to trust us, so this is a good first step.” He stopped his rapping. Brave hesitated, “Are you okay with it Twilight?” he asked. “Hm… as long as he doesn’t cause me trouble it’s fine. This will make sure I get my answers.” She put Asmodai’s card in her shirt pocket. “Then it’s agreed.” Brave finished with his usual smirk. While the duo came to an agreement, they didn’t notice a cheerful, pink haired, young girl skip right by them. She was wearing the same uniform as Twilight, but she had pink and white striped knee socks and stood a good 5.6 ft in height to Twilights 5.3. She stopped in her tracks as she noticed the two new students. “Heeeeeey there!” The curly pink haired girl approached the both of them and started roughly shaking their hands. “You two are new, right?” “Huh? Uhm… yes, I’m new.” Twilight introduced awkwardly. “Yeah, so am I. How did you know?” Brave asked as the pink girl let go of their hands. Twilight rubbed her hand uncomfortable, but Brave seemed fine. “Because I know absolutely EVERYONE in this school. So what are your names? Mine’s Pinkie!” “T-Twilight.” “The name’s Brave! Also known as the Heartful Fighter!” “Oooh! Nice. To. Meet. You! Twilight! Brave! I’m sure we’ll be good friends in no time!” She went back to shaking their hands. “Me too. I can already tell you’ll be a blast to hang with.” Brave said optimistically. “Thanks! Oh, I have a great idea! This weekend I’ll throw you guys a big welcome party!” Pinkie suggested. “Awesome!” Brave cheered. “Sounds like a great way to make friends.” “I know right?” Pinkie agreed before turning to Twilight. “Nice surprise eh? Eh!?” “Um.. yeah, but I’m not really the loud kind. I’m more of a nice, quiet place kind of girl.” Twilight replied. “What? That’s silly. What kind of party could be had in silence? A boring one! With a party like the one, I’m thinking of you’ll make a lot of friends! You won’t have to be a sad, lonely girl, but instead a happy one with lots of friends!” ‘Does this girl ever stop talking?’ Twilight thought annoyed, and Brave was just smiling beside her. Enjoying their conversation with their new pink friend. Again, both were unaware of another girl running towards them at a tremendous speed. Although she didn’t show signs of stopping and would have probably knocked them over. Were it not for Brave being the first one in her path. The moment she collided with the Heartful fighter, she was immediately stopped in her tracks. Brave didn’t budge, but the girl was stuck cartoonishly on his back before slowly descending to the ground on her back. Brave curiously looked down at the person who had ‘bumped’ into him. She looked like a little girl with long rainbow hair and magenta eyes. She stood at about 4.8 feet tall, wearing the same uniform as the other two girls with him. Except her vest was open, she didn’t wear the ribbon around her neck, and a rainbow sash around her waist. “Did somebody get the number of that truck?” the fallen girl shook her head out of her dizzied expression. She looked up to see Brave offering his hand to her. “Are you okay little girl?” he asked. “LITTLE GIRL!?” she suddenly shot to her feet. “I’ll have you know I’m thirteen years old, bub!” “Oh, sorry about that. My mistake.” Brave scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “That’s right it’s your mistake! Don’t judge a girl by her size! You’ll regret making fun of me when I’m super famous! Remember the name Rainbow Dash!” she yelled. As she kept ranting, yet another girl casually walked by. She was about the same height as Pinkie while wearing the same Canterlot High uniform. Only she had a yellow sash around her waist and a Stetson cowboy had on her back. She had long blonde hair reaching down to her back, green eyes, and her cheeks were lightly dusted with freckles. She continued to walk while nose deep in the book in her hands. She was so engulfed with her book, that she didn’t notice she knocked over Rainbow Dash while she walked by. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Rainbow yelled at her. The blonde turned around to see who was speaking to her, but she didn’t look down enough to see Rainbow. “Hmm, nobody’s here.” She said dismissively as she walked away, continuing to read her book. “Nobody!? How dare you!” Rainbow yelled. But she was suddenly knocked over by a generic looking female student. “Why is everyone knocking me down today!?” “Make way for our beloved class president!” the female student commanded. Following her was another, more eye-catching female student. She stood at about 5.7 ft. in height. She had long, flowy, lavender hair, and a matching lavender scarf around her neck, flowing behind her like a tail. She was also wearing the same female uniform. “Come on now everyone, it’s school time! May everyone have a fabulous day!” the lavender girl announced to everyone in a French accent. As she and her entourage made their way into the school. “Who’s that?” Twilight asked. “That’s Rarity.” Pinkie answered. “She’s the most popular girl in school and elected the class president. Oh! She’s into fashion as well.” “She seems nice.” Brave Heart added. “Her entourage, not so much.” Yet another girl closed in on their location, but she was more focused on Rainbow Dash. She was just as tall Rarity and wearing the female uniform with a pink sash around her waist. Her long, light pink hair flowed behind her while her green eyes were fixated on the rainbow-haired girl. “What are you doing down there, Rainbow?” The light pink haired girl asked. Rainbow sighed as she stood back up. “Nothing at all. Let’s just get to our classroom, Fluttershy.” She commanded as she and the now named Fluttershy walked into the school. ‘What a timid girl.’ Twilight thought. “Speaking of classrooms,” Brave interjected. “We should probably get to ours. The class is gonna start any minute.” “Oh! That’s right!” Pinkie ran off into the school building. “See you in class you two!” “W-Wait!” Twilight followed her lead. “I’m comin’ too!” Brave Heart also followed. ‘Finally, the start of a new adventure!’ he thought to himself. (After School) “*Yawn* Well, classes are as boring as ever.” Brave talked to himself as he made his way to the front entrance. “So, anybody in this school looks like potential buddies?” This time he voiced his question to his bag. Which started to shin lightly. “It’s too soon to say young Brave.” The elderly sounding voice spoke. “Although, I can’t say the same for that Asmodai! How ill-mannered! To offer his own card up like that to a stranger!” “Easy there Blade.” Brave stopped the voices rant. “Even though this is a Demon Lord we’re talking about, I trust Asmodai. Plus, Twilight isn’t really a stranger. She already knows about us, so we can trust her with that much. Blade grumbled a bit before sighing. “Alright young Brave, I can at least trust your judgment. But I suggest we end our conversation here. Others are beginning to stare.” Brave was confused until he saw some of the fellow students looking at him weirdly. He realized to them he was practically talking to himself. ‘Great, now I look like a weirdo.’ He thought. Brave had exited the school and saw Twilight waiting for him at the front gate. She was talking to someone on her cell phone so she didn’t notice him yet. He quickened his pace and waved at her. “Hey, Twilight!” he shouted. She turned towards him and waved, but she still had her phone up to her ear. “Hello, Brave.” She responded. “Hehe, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your phone call.” “Hm? Oh, no I’m actually talking to Asmodai.” Twilight revealed Asmodai’s card over her phone. “I wanted to speak to him more about that ‘Buddyfight’ you had, but I didn’t want to be seen talking to a card like a weirdo.” “Ehehehehehe~.” Brave laughed awkwardly. “Anyways, let’s go.” Twilight lead the way. “Mom! Dad! I’m home, and I brought a classmate!” Twilight shouted through her family’s apartment. Twilight had lead Brave straight to her family’s apartment so that he could finally explain the situation she got wrapped up in. They had both walked into the living room, only to hear someone in the kitchen. “Oh, a classmate you say?” A woman's voice came out of the window to the kitchen. She learned to look out the window, revealing a middle-aged woman that looked like an older version of Twilight. Only with light purple hair with white stripes. He pleasant smile was replaced with a mischievous one. “Oh-ho-ho! Bringing a boy home on your first day? What would your father think of his little bookworm?” “Mom!” Twilight yelled with a blush on her cheeks. “We’re only classmates! He just asked if I could help him study.” “If you say so~!” she turned towards Brave. “Hello, young man. I’m Twilight mother, Velvet Sparkle.” “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am. My name is Brave Heart. Your daughter is a big help, and a great friend.” “My, my, how polite. Well, I’ll leave you kids to it while I prepare dinner.” Velvet leaned out of the window frame. “Oh and you’re father is working late tonight, Twilight. Just so you know.” Twilight sighed and started walking to her room. “C’mon Brave.” she beckoned. The both of them were standing in front of the room with Twilight’s name on it. She was about to open the door. “Wait.” Brave stopped her. “Hm? What’s the problem?” Twilight asked. “Are you sure this is okay?” Brave said awkwardly, and his cheeks were a bit red. “I’ve… never really been in a girls room before.” Twilight’s cheeks also started to blush. “D-d-don’t make this any weirder than it already is! It’s weird enough I have a Demon in my pocket! You still have a lot of explaining to do. Now come on.” She opened the door to a very clean and well kept purple room. Although, sitting at the desk in front of a laptop was a young boy with short green hair. He looked to be about thirteen years old, standing at about 5 feet tall, his eyes matched the color of his hair, and he wore a white shirt with purple jeans. “He-Hey Twilight.” The green haired boy greeted nervously. “Spike! What are you doing in my room!?” Twilight yelled as she pulled on the young boy’s face. “I was just using your computer!” He whined. “You weren’t snooping around were you?” She asked suspiciously, letting go of his face. “No, I just needed to look something up for a class.” Spike dismissed before he noticed brave. “Who’s this?” “This is my classmate Brave Heart. He asked me to help him with his studies.” “Hmm.” Spike eyed Brave suspiciously. “Alright… but you better not try anything funny with my sister. Ya hear me?” He tried to look intimidating, but the obvious difference in height made that difficult. “Spike!” His sister yelled. “Nah, it’s cool Twilight.” Brave dismissed, before turning to Spike. “You’re just looking out for your sister. Nothing but respect, little man. Wanna be my bud?” He rose his fist for a fistbump. Spike stared at him in confusion before smiling. “Sure!” He accepted cheerfully, returning the fistbump. “Oh, good your friends. Now, get out of my room!” Twilight swiftly shoved her little brother out of the room. “You’re family’s nice,” Brave said nonchalantly. “Ah great, he’s gone.” Suddenly, Asmodai’s card flew into the air before it turned into Asmodai himself. “Being in my card all day cramps my style.” He stretched his limbs, but due to his size, it was a bit difficult since he was almost as tall as the ceiling. “Hah~, if it wasn’t for yesterday I’d be more surprised.” Twilight sighed. “So are you going to start explaining NOW?” She said as she pulled out a notebook and pencil. “Yeah, it’s about that time,” Brave spoke, this time with his serious expression. “You may not believe this, but our world is actually connected to other parallel worlds.” Twilight was shocked. “Other Worlds? Is that even possible?” “Of course it is,” Asmodai answered. “I don’t see any demon lords in this world after all.” “Remember the name of the flags from my fight yesterday?” Brave asked. “Yes. Dragon World, and Ancient world I believe.” Twilight answered. “Those are only two of the worlds that are parallel to our own. As far as we know, there are ten different worlds besides our own. All filled with a multitude of different monsters and inhabitants.” “Really!? Highly fascinating!” Twilight scribbled down on her notebook. “And what are these worlds exactly.” “I think it’ll be better for them to explain it to you.” He gestured to his bag. “Who? “I think he means us.” Blade’s voice rang before seven lights flew out of Braves bag, before forming into seven miniature monsters. First was a child-sized ninja, wearing a black uniform with a silver helmet that had a crescent moon in the center and two golden horns. Next was a small bipedal, orange, dragon wearing a red leather vest. Then there was a light blue, jester-like monster with blades for hands. Surprisingly, Drum appeared in a miniature form of himself. After that, a spherical, green owl-like monster wearing a helmet where a blade rested. A three-headed, white-furred, canine monster. One had a full visor, another had a visor over one eye, and the center didn’t have one at all. And last was a green dragon with white mechanical armor over his body. “These seven, plus Asmodai, are all from different parallel worlds.” Brave introduced them. Drum stepped forward first. “You already met me yesterday, but I’m Drum Bunker Dragon Fang Slade Terrestrial XIV. Just call me Drum for short. I’m from Dragon World, where a wide variety of Armor Dragons and Dragon Knights inhabit.” “You know me, homegirl,” Asmodai spoke next. “Demon Lord Asmodai is who I am. Magic World is where you can find me and the rest of my Demon Fam! The 72 Pillars demons are my peeps, while Wizard and Witches will put you to sleep! Yo! Yo! Yo!” Asmodai started break dancing along with his rap. “Nin.” Was all the little ninja said before unraveling a series of scrolls, which altogether read, “I am Nanomachine Ninja Tsukikage. I hail from Katana World. The Sereine world where Cyber Ninjas, like myself, and Skull Warriors call home.” “Hey girly! Ki!” The little orange dragon spoke out. “I’m Dragon Kid Ricky! Ancient World is my stomping grounds! Ki! Filled to the brim of the most powerful dragons in all the parallel worlds. Ki! Like Dragon Lords, Wild Dragons, and Dragon Chiefs. Ki!” “It’s my turn!” The little jester interrupted. “The name’s Ice Blade Joker. Ice to meet you Twilight! I just want to be gla-sure you understand me, cause Legend World monsters are pretty cool! With monsters stemming from your worlds myths and legends! Like heroes, knights, fairies, and Asgardian monsters like m-ice-self.” He kept firing off puns, making those around him groan in annoyance. “How ill-mannered Joker!” The Green owl lectured. “This is a serious manner of introducing our worlds to a newcomer! Your poor sense of humor can wait for later! At least those of us from Dungeon World has more tact! From Adventurer’s who go through the dungeons for great adventures to Dungeon Enemies, such as I Bladewing Phoenix, who stand in their way. All in the name of adventure and well-mannered fun!” “*Bark!*” the three-headed canine caught their attention with his bark. “Stop wasting time so we can get to the point. I am Armorknight Cerberus, hailing from Danger World. A world where only the strong can survive. Monsters like the Duel Dragons who hone their skills through hellish training, to us Armorknights who choose to cybernetically enhance our bodies to perfection!” “And finally, there is me.” The green dragon announced. “I am Star Dragoner, Jackknife. But just call me Jack. Star Dragon World is a more futuristic version of Dragon World, consisting of Neodragons like me. Also the Dragonarms, who are cybernetic lifeforms that are created to fight alongside us, or enhance our abilities.” Twilight, all the while, was jotting down almost every world they were saying. “Aaaaand there! I got it. Wait, you said there were ten worlds. I only see eight of you.” Brave rubbed his neck nervously. “Well, you see the other two worlds are a bit difficult. The first is Hero World, which is as the name says, is full of Superheroes, and Brave machines. But also Dark heroes that do what they need to get the job done. And last is Darkness Dragon World, not a very friendly world as you might have guessed. A darker and more ominous version of Dragon world. Full of Death dragons, black dragons, etc. The reason why none of them are represented here is that neither world was there during the Omni-war.” “Wait, Omni-was? What happened then?” She asked. “Well, that takes us to the next part of our story.” Asmodai chimed in with a serious voice for once... “Which is also pretty much the reason why we’re in this world. You see, long before the Earth’s recorded history, there was a great evil threatening the existence of all worlds.” Twilight was a bit frightened, seeing Asmodai so serious for the first time. “A-a great evil? What would that be?” “Great Fiend, Yamigedo.” Blade answered, “Devourer of Worlds.” Jack continued, “It was a powerful and evil monster of unknown origins. It leads an army of a hundred demons to lower the world's defenses before it devoured them.” “It was horrible! Ki!” Ricky clenched his fist. “It consumed entire civilizations just to fulfill its insufferable hunger for power! Ki! It would have continued to eat until someone decided to do something. Ki!” “Armordeity Dynamis.” Drum spoke the name with immense respect. “Ruler of all Armordragons, and master weaponsmith. She knew something had to be done, but one world itself couldn’t stop Yamigedo. So she sought help from the most powerful beings in each world, which later were known as the Omni-Lords.” “She created what was known as Omni-Lord Emblems, which enhanced their powers even more,” Joker spoke, also in a surprisingly serious voice. “The Eight Omni-lords and their generals were to stop Yamigedo at the next world it stopped at. Which so happens to be Earth.” “Though Dynamis knew they couldn’t destroy Yamigedo, so they needed to seal its power on Earth. But knowing that, she warned the Omni-lords and their generals that if they chose to fight they couldn’t return to their worlds in fear of Yamigedo would one day break free. So they decided to seal themselves on Earth, waiting for the day that Yamigedo would be awoken.” Cerberus finished. “And that’s why they are here now.” Brave added, “Everyone in this room, was the general to their Omni-Lord of each world. Although, they are only awake because the seal trapping Yamigedo had been broken” “What!?” Twilight yelled in shock. “If a monster like that is running about right now then why isn’t the world devoured by now!? And why aren’t those ‘Omni-Lord’s doing anything about it!?” “It’s been millennia since any of us have been first sealed Twilight.” Asmodai put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Yamigedo needs time to regain its power. As for the Omni-Lords, they also sealed themselves off until we find them and release them.” “Us generals were supposed to be the first line of defense against Yamigedo when it was awoken. We volunteered ourselves to be sealed along with Yamigedo so we may find our Omni-Lords immediately. Our Omni-Lords gave us these.” Blade explained as he pulled out an orb-shaped object. “These are the Omni-Lord Emblems, which are to be used to unseal them from their bonds to fight Yamigedo once again.” “Great!” Twilight perched up. “Then you guys just need to go get the Omni-Lords and seal Yamigedo again, and the world will be saved! Right?” “Ehehe, that’s where our problems begin homegirl.” Asmodai laughed. “We don’t exactly remember where the Omni-Lords sealed themselves.” “How can you forget something as important as that!?” Twilight grabbed Asmodai’s collar and started shaking him. “Calm down! Ki! Like we said, it’s been millennia since we’ve all been out and about. Ki! So it’s no surprise that our memories are shot! Ki!” Ricky argued. “But not all hope is lost.” Drum interjected. “The Omni-Lord Emblems can also be used to locate the Omni-Lords. Plus, thanks to Brave’s connections, we were able to zero in on this town! Which is why we’re here in the first place.” Twilight stopped shaking Asmodai to take a deep breath, which left the demon lord with swirls in his eyes. “Okay. So if the other parallel worlds are able to come to Earth, how come we haven’t seen or heard of any of them?” She asked. “After we all sealed Yamigedo, the Parallel Worlds came into an agreement.” Asmodai started. “That they would leave the Earth on its own until the Omni-lords or their generals return. They didn’t want to risk any remnants of Yamigedo’s followers trying to unseal him.” Twilight nodded, still scribbling down notes. “And what about the card game? What is that about?” “Unlike in the Parallel Worlds, we don’t have access to our full powers for a long period of time,” Jack answered. “Except in a Buddyfight, which is a mutual style of battle shared between all of our worlds.” Drum continued. “In a Buddyfight, our powers and the powers of the cards are at their full potential, even on Earth. That’s why for us to defeat Yamigedo and his hundred demons, we need buddies to fight alongside us. Like Brave and I.” Brave sighed tiredly. “Alright, Twilight. I think that’s enough for tonight.” “B-but I still have more questions. Like about your Core deck case, and that proto-barrier dimension, and how are you involved in all of this?” Twilight stammered. “That’ll be a story for another time. We’ve done enough storytelling for tonight.” Asmodai dismissed. Before Twilight could press on, Her door suddenly starts to open. It was Spike with a tray of tea and cookies. “Hey Twilight, Mom told me to bring you some snacks, but I ate some.” He said although he didn’t notice the slight flash of light before he entered the room fully. He saw that his sister and their guest sitting on the floor, which had cards scattered everywhere. “Hey, you guys don’t look like you’re studying.” “Ah, well… we were…” Twilight tried to come up with an answer. “Alright Spike, you caught us.” Brave threw his hands up in defeat. Twilight looked at him shocked, ‘What!? Is he gonna tell him?’ She thought. “We weren’t studying, Twilight just wanted me to teach her how to play a card game so she can make more friends.” Brave chuckled, ignoring the glare he got from Twilight. “A card game?” He questioned before looking at the cards on the floor. “With these?” “Yup, it’s called Buddyfight.” “Buddyfight? Never heard of it.” Spike set down the tray and started picking up the cards. “Yeah, it actually hasn’t come out yet. Let’s just say I have friends in high placed, and they asked me to beta test the game with the “Younger Generation.” Or so they say. You know before they release it to the public.” As Spike picked up the last card, his gaze landed on the last card, which was Jack’s card. “This guy looks awesome! Star Dragoner, Jackknife?” Brave smiled. “Why don’t you take a seat Spike? I’ll show you how to play as well.” “Brave?” Twilight interrupted, “Is it really a good idea to teach him? Shouldn’t you, you know, ‘keep it a secret’ for the company?” She hinted. “There’s nothing to worry about Twilight.” He reassured. “Buddyfight isn’t just about defeating the enemy, it’s also about making friends with your opponent. Buddyfight his a great way of making new friends.” He turned his attention to Spike. “And if we fight, the two of us will be better friends!” “Yeah!” Spike cheered, while his sister just sighed. “Men.” (Later) The sun had gone down, so Brave and the Omni-generals decided it was time to leave the Sparkle family to their devices. Brave had just exited the apartment complex and began walking to his own home. “Well, that was nice,” Brave spoke to the generals in his bag. “Now we have someone to talk to about the mission. It would have been tough with the whole, super secret mission thing without another comrade.” “I agree.” Drum spoke from his card. “But do you really think it was a good idea to leave those two with them?” “I must concur, young Brave.” Blade interjected. “I understand you think of them as friends, but you have only just met them. Are you sure they are trustworthy?” “Of course.” Brave immediately answered. “Twilight is already involved in this because of our mistake, I’m sure we can trust she would keep our secret. Plus, Asmodai and Jack chose to stay behind.” He took one last glance towards the Sparkle families apartment complex before smiling. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of Twilight and Spike.” Blade sighed. “Alright then, I can at least trust your judgment.” “Thanks, Blade.” Brave then activated his Core gadget and strapped it to his heart. “Ready Drum?” “You got it, buddy!” “Buddy skill! On!” His core gadget said before the jewel shined. Suddenly, blazing red energy started firing out of the palms of his hands and the souls of his feet, as he started to fly like a certain genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. “WooooooHoooo! This never gets old!” our hero cheered, flying through the night sky. (Back at the Sparkle Residents) Twilight had changed into a purple night dress for the night. At the moment she decided to read a book before going to bet. Although she seemed pretty distracted with something. “So… any reason you decided to stay?” Twilight shifted her focus to a stack of cards sitting on the desk, as the top card slightly glowed. “Well for one, it’s to keep an eye on you. Just to make sure you don’t go blabbing to anyone about our mission.” Asmodai’s voice rung through the room. “I already promised I would keep quiet. It’s not like anyone would believe me even if I told them.” “Second, is just because I find you interesting.” “Interesting? I’m just a normal, high school girl. What could be interesting about me?” “There’s just this certain… Magic about you. Which is ironic since I’m from Magic World. For a girl who says she’s not that sociable and friendless, you readily welcomed Brave into your home.” “T-that was just to get the explanation about this morning.” “And when he was teaching you and Spike how to play, you seemed to really enjoy it all. You still gonna say that Brave isn’t a friend?” “We’re just classmates who met in unfortunate circumstances. That’s it. I’ve moved around with my family a lot in the past because of either my father or sister’s jobs. I learned pretty quickly it's better to just reject any attachments so it doesn’t hurt as much when it’s suddenly gone.” Twilight frowned. Asmodai sighed. “Twilight, you shouldn’t reject someone who actually wants to be your friend. Especially when all they want to do is make you smile. And knowing Brave, he’ll stop at nothing before he sees it. Just try the whole friend thing, alright?” Twilight hesitated for an answer, before sighing and putting her book down. “Alright. I’ll try.” she shuts the lights off in her room and got into her bed. “Hey, Asmodai. Thanks… for the talk. It’s been a while since I’ve had a heart to heart talk like that. Not even my own parents or siblings talk like that most of the time.” “No problem, homegirl.” Asmodai then thought, ‘What are buddies for?’ “Good night.” (In Spike’s Room) Spike was sitting at his room’s desk, looking through the cards that were given to him by Brave. “So if I crossnize Cavalier with Jackknife, he gains penetrate? Awesome!” Spike said to himself. Although, he was unknowingly being watched. At the corner of the desk rested the card of the real Jackknife Dragon. ‘This boy… he’s quite peculiar. I sense something within him, his spirit feels like that of a dragon. May he be my true buddy?’ Jack thought silently. (Elsewhere) In a very familiar alleyway, one of Steel Club’s underlings was hanging out. But he seemed irritated. “Damnit. The boss decided to go straight and leave us, then Deviant decided to go too. But what about me? How could they just drop me like that!? Grr! It must be because of that ‘Heartful Fighter’ guy. Next time I see him or his little girlfriend, I’ll show them who’s boss.” “Oh really? Is that what you desire?” Suddenly, another card appeared next to him. “Then how about I offer my aid, Skid Mark?” The card flew straight into the lackey’s body. He was surrounded by a dark aura before an ominous, evil smirk settled on his lips. “Sure, I’ll show that ‘Heartful Fighter’ who’s in charge around here.” “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. "Where we'll be teaching you all about the world of buddyfight!" "Today, we'll be discussing the great, First Crimson Chieftan, Greatest General! "It's a monster of Dragon World. Its size is 3, power 7000, defense 4000, and a critical of 3! "When you call it to the field it costs 2 gauge, but you can also put 2 cards in its soul for the Soulard ability. "It also has the Penetrate ability, and given its 3 critical it can do quite the amount of damage." Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. “That’s all for now class.” “Can you open a Buddy Rare card?” Twilight's Magical Fight!*Yawn!* “Tired already Twilight? I thought you would be more excited about another day of school.” It was the morning after Brave had told Twilight about his and the general's mission. She was just idly walking to school, albeit a little tired, along with Asmodai’s card in her shirt pocket. “I’m only like this because you woke me up early with a good morning rap!” She whispered harshly, so no one would suspect her of talking to herself. “It’s healthy to get up early in the morning! To get yourself ready for school where there are friends to be scoring!” Asmodai rapped. Twilight sighed irritated. “Remind me why I let you stay with me?” When she gets to school, she sees Pinkie standing in the entryway. ‘Oh no, it’s Pinkie! Yesterday was so tiring because of her.’ She thought. “Hey, hey! It’s the cheery girl from yesterday! Go on Twi, talk to her! You said you would try to make some friends today.” Asmodai encouraged. “Yeah, but it’s too early to be so worn out because of her, and you’re wake up call didn’t help. Maybe I can sneak by her.” She whispered to Asmodai. Pinkie was looking around and almost turn towards Twilights general direction. Twilight began to panic until… “Pinkie!” Brave’s voice called out, catching the pink haired girls attention. The Heartful Fighter waved at her, not noticing Twilight either. “Brave!” Pinkie cheered as she ran up to him. ‘Now’s my chance!’ She runs to find somewhere to hide but almost runs into another girl. It was the blonde girl with the cowboy hat from the other day. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there.” But the blonde cowgirl didn’t respond. ‘Hm? Maybe she didn’t hear me.’ Twilight thought. “C’mon Twi. Now’s your chance! Just say hi!” Asmodai cheered. “Um… Hi! My name’s Twilight and I…” “I don’t care.” Was all the cowgirl said before she walked off. “Dang, that’s a cold cowgirl.” “What’s wrong with her? Who is she anyway?” “Her name is Applejack. She just moved here last month. Truth is, nobody knows why she’s so serious all the time.” Pinkie said, suddenly appearing on Twilight’s right side. “Ah, so that’s her name,” Brave spoke from her left. “Gahhh! Where did you guys come from!?” Twilight shouted in surprise. “We were waiting for you by the entryway,” Brave answered. “You’re so silly! We were waiting right there and you didn’t even see us! Hahaha!” The pink haired girl laughed. “Yeah, ha-ha-ha,” Twilight said awkwardly as the school bell rang. “Oop! There’s the warning bell, we better get to class.” Brave and co. walked to their classes. (After School) The school day went by like it normally does, with Twilight studying intently and Pinkie and Brave falling asleep in class. After classes ended Pinkie wanted to walk home together. Brave wholeheartedly agreed while Twilight was a bit reluctant The sun was setting as the trio continued their casual walk “You sure you don’t want any, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, sucking on a lollipop. “Now I know why you’re so hyperactive.” Twilight sighed. “They’re pretty good,” Brave commented with a sucker of his own. After another moment of silence between the group, Pinkie suddenly spoke up. “Hey, guys? Do I… bother you?” Brave and Twilight looked at her curiously. “What do you mean?” Twilight voiced their mutual question. “For as long as I can remember, others don’t like to be around me very much. They say it’s because of my personality.” “Really? I would have thought you had lots of friends.” Twilight said. “But if you know they don’t like it then why don’t you, you know, change it?” “Because it’s my nature. I don’t want to change who I am just to please people. I want to make them smile as me, not someone I’m pretending to be. Especially my friends.” At that moment, Twilight remembered what Asmodai said to her. ‘you shouldn’t reject someone who actually wants to be your friend. Especially when all they want to do is make you smile.’ “You don’t bother me Pinkie. I’ve just never been very sociable. It’s hard for me to be around others. It’s not your fault.” Twilight reassured. “Totally!” Brave interjected. “They don’t know what they’re missing. You’re just a girl with a heart full of fun and laughter. One that I’m proud to call my friend.” Pinkie looked at the both of them with teary eyes and a quivering smile. Suddenly, she jumped up to both of them and brought them into a group hug. “Awwee! You guys are the best ever!” Pinkie cheered. “Hey, Twilight? Can I sleep over at your place tonight? There’s something super important I need yours and Brave’s help with!” “Um… Okay, Pinkie. That sounds like a great idea.” Twilight agreed. “Yay! I knew you’d like it!” Brave laughed. “Well, I’m a guy so I’m gonna have to pass.” “Don’t worry, we’ll skype.” Suddenly… “Well, looky here. The Heartful Fighter and his posse.” Skid Mark suddenly spoke from behind the trio. “Hey, I know you. You’re one of Steel Club’s friends.” Brave recognized him. “Used to be. After he met you he went soft and dropped us. Then Deviant said it wasn’t worth it without the boss, now I’m all alone again! It’s all your fault, and I’m here to make sure you pay!” Skid Mark yelled as his right fist started to glow. “Watch out!” Thinking fast Brave pushed Pinkie and Twilight out of the way before Skid Mark threw his fist forward towards him. Shooting a pulse of green energy at Brave. The impact of the attack made Brave fly back and smack into a nearby light post. “Brave!” Twilight and Pinkie rushed to his side. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Gah!” Brave clutched his right arm in pain. “Hahaha! I thought you were stronger than this. Consider it payback for yesterday.” Skid Mark’s attention turned to Twilight. “You’re next little girl.” He walked towards them slowly. “Stop!” Pinkie stood between them and Skid Mark. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but please stop hurting them! Can’t we just talk about this?” “Stay out of this pink! This is between me and them!” Skid Mark threw another pulse of energy towards Pinkie, which threw her back. She would have roughly landed on the concrete if Brave wasn’t there to catch her with his one good arm. “I’ll just finish you all right now! You can watch as your useless friends disappear!” He said to Twilight before he began to channel a lot more energy around his hand for one final blast. ‘No… Pinkie, Brave, they’re the only ones who approached me. The only ones who talked to me!’ She then threw herself into a defensive stance in front of her fallen friends. “I won’t let you harm my friends! No matter what!” “That’s the spirit Twilight!” Skit Mark fired his orb of energy, only to be deflected into the sky by none other than Asmodai. “Hey, now bro, fighting in the open like this is gonna disturb the neighbors. Why don’t we take this to the ring?” Asmodai looked back at Brave. “Hey Brave, I’m gonna borrow this for a bit. Hope you don’t mind.” Asmodai revealed the Proto-barrier generator in his hands before he threw it up into the sky. Covering the area with bright green energy. (Break) The Trio, Demon Lord, and Skid Mark found themselves at the Proto-arena they were in when Brave fought Steel Club. “Where are we?” Pinkie said surprised. “We’re in the Proto-arena. We’ll explain everything later Pinkie.” Brave attempted to rise to his feet. “Right now, it’s time to buddyfight!” “Hold up there dude.” Asmodai halted his actions. “You’re in no condition to fight.” “We don’t have a choice. I’m the only one here who can buddyfight.” “Not true.” Asmodai placed his hand on Twilights shoulder. “We’ll take over this one.” “What!?” Both Twilight and Brave shouted, with Pinkie just watching confused and sucking on another lollipop from who knows where. “Asmodai, she can’t fight! She doesn’t have a Core Deck case or even a buddy!” Brave argued. “Well, I know for a fact you’re always carrying around the extra Core Deck Cases for when the rest of us find out buddies. As for a buddy monster, she already has one right here!” Asmodai referred to himself. “Y-you want to be my buddy?” Twilight asked. “Of course! Twilight, from the short time I’ve gotten to know you I am one hundred percent sure that you are my buddy. You may not have a lot of practice, but you have a lot of strength to protect your friends the way you did. Sure you're a bit unsociable and introverted, but I guess I’ll be a real demon lord and be a bad influence to teach you how to let loose!” Asmodai cackled. Brave hesitated, before reaching into his school bag and taking out a gray Core Deck Case. “Twilight, I know I accidentally got you involved in this, but if Asmodai is sure about you being his buddy then I can’t deny him that. From our practice fights, I know that you have the skill and strength to fight.” He presented her with the case. “Will you join our mission?” Twilight looked longingly at the case, before taking out her own deck of cards. She turned towards Asmodai, who gave her a thumbs up. Then to Brave and Pinkie, the former smiling confidently at her and the latter copying the demon lord. “Yes.” She agreed firmly. She grabbed the Core Deck Case and placed her deck in the slot. In an instant, the gray metal turned into a lavender shade. “Register User: Twilight Sparkle! Recognized!” “Hey!” Skid Mark suddenly yelled from the other side of the arena. “Stop ignoring me and let’s get this fight on the road already!” “Hold your horse's bub, we’re coming! But first…” Asmodai waved his hand over Brave and Pinkie. Then in an instant, both of them disappeared in a flash of magic. (Break) Brave and Pinkie reappeared in a room with the same white hexagonal pattern as the Proto-arena. There were sofas lined up with a large monitor on the wall that showed the arena with Twilight and Skid Mark were standing in. Along with a table with control panned in the center. “Hm? Where are we now?” Pinkie asked. “We’re in the pit. It’s a room for spectators can see the fight without being in the way. We can also talk to Twilight from here.” Brave explained. He started pressing buttons on the control panel. “Twilight, can you hear us?” (Break) Besides Twilight, a holographic screen popped up with an image of Brave on it. “Brave? Where did you two go?” She asked. “I’ll explain later. Right now you have a buddyfight to worry about. I’ll do whatever I can from here to support you.” Suddenly Pinkie leaned into frame waving at her. “Good luck Twilight! Beat that meanie!” Pinkie cheered. “I’ll do my best.” With that, the screen disappeared. She looked up at Asmodai, “Are you sure I’m ready for this?” He asked with uncertainty. “Don’t worry, with the deck you and Brave built last night, we’ll beat this guy faster than I can rap.” The demon lord joked. “You finally ready?” Skid Mark asked impatiently. “Then let’s get started! Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize! Hundred Legend!” He announced as his Core Deck Case turned into the same gauntlet gadget as Steel Club. “Okay. The first fight, you can do this Twilight.” She spoke to herself before lifting her case. “Infinite knowledge and magic! And the devils that rule over it all! Lumanize!” Her Core Deck Case transformed into a metallic lavender book, where the blue jewel rested on the spine. “Magical Grimoire!” “It’s time to raise the flags!” Twilight and Skid Mark announced. “I fight for Magic World!” Twilight rose her flag. “I’m with Legend World!” Skid Mark did as well. “I’ll take the first move. Turn 1: Twilight [Twilight: LP-10 G-2] [Skidmark: LP- 10 G-2] “I’ll take the first move. Charge and Draw!” Twilight looked over her cards choosing one. “I’ll start by calling Fallen Angel of Rage, Beleth to the center!” On command, a magic circle appeared in the center pedestal before a muscular man with brown bird wings on his back appeared wearing red and gold roman warrior armor. In his arms were a tall spear and shield combination. “Beleth! Attack the fighter!” Twilight ordered. “Feel my wrath!” Beleth yelled before he flew from his position towards Skidmark. With one swing of his spear, Beleth decreased Skidmark’s life points from 10 to 7. “That’s the end of my turn.” “End of Move!” (Break) “Yeah! Go Twilight!” Pinkie cheered. “Let’s not celebrate too early Pinkie. In a Buddyfight, anything can happen.” Brave said, keeping a critical eye on the battle. “I just hope Twilight can utilize the deck the way we intended.” (Break) “Your Move!” It was now Skidmark’s turn. Turn 2: Skidmark [Twilight: LP-10 G-2] [Skidmark: LP- 7 G-2] “Draw! Charge and draw! I cast! Light Horn of the False Deity. By discarding one card in my hand, I can destroy one monster on your field and I choose Beleth!” Skidmark’s card turned into an orb of light, which shot towards Beleth. The attack connected, destroying Beleth and leaving the center open. “Now I buddy call! Bronze Giant, Talos to the center!” In Skidmark’s center appeared a very large, humanoid monster with green skin, pieces of golden armor as well as a helmet, and a large red cape. “With buddy gift, I gain one life point!” His Life Points raise to 8. “Now Talos, attack the fighter!” Talos followed through with the order and delivered a strong punch to Twilight, which caused her to fall to her knees and reducing her life points to 7. “End of Move!” “Your Move!” Turn 3: Twilight [Twilight: LP-7 G-3] [Skidmark: LP- 8 G-3] “C’mon Twilight. You got this girl!” Asmodai encouraged. Twilight got back to her feet. “Right! Draw! Charge and Draw!” She saw the card she drew and smirked. “I pay one gauge and set Solomon Great Barrier!” Her card turned into an orb with the image of the card in it and hovered next to her. (Break) “Nice move Twilight!” This time Brave was the one cheering. “Hm? Why’s that Brave?” Pinkie asked confused. “Solomon’s Great Barrier is a set spell, which is a spell that stays in the field after it’s used. Now that it’s here, all of Twilight’s monsters with the 72 Pillars attribute that are size 2 now become size one,” he answered. (Break) “Next I’ll buddy call Demon Lord, Asmodai to the center!” Twilight called. “It’s my time to shine!” Asmodai jumped from his position behind her to the center. “And with buddy gift, she gets one life point back.” In turn, her life points raise to 8. “Plus, by discarding one card when Asmodai is called, I can destroy one of you’re monsters!” Twilight did so. Asmodai disappeared in an instant, only to reappear behind Talos. “Dangerous Backdrop!” Asmodai grabbed Talos in a wrestling hold and threw him to the ground, destroying him. “Now I call Dance Asmodai to the right!” True to her word another Asmodai appeared in the right position, but this one was dressed in a black and red latin dancers outfit. “Dance is my life. Hang with me and you’ll see homie get his groove on, cause when I’m called Twilight gets to draw one card!” He said in a mock dancers voice. Then another card came out of Twilights Core Gadget and added itself to her hand. “Then I’ll call Let’s Play Asmodai to the left!” Yet another Asmodai enters the left position, but this one was dressed the same only decked out with equipment from multiple sports. “When we bust a move playing a sport, our hearts pump and give us energy! When I’m called to the field, Twilight gains another life point!” This on spoke in a more masculine, sporty voice as Twilight’s Life Points rise to 9. (Break) “Wow! So many Asmodai’s! Twilight must really like playing with her buddy.” Pinkie said in surprise. “Well, that’s the way we intended it. Twilight’s deck mostly consists of the 72 Pillar monsters as well as Asmodai and his different counterparts.” Brave explained. (Break) “Now, I think I’ll have Dance Asmodai attack!” Twilight ordered. “Ready to get dipped by a demon?” Dance Asmodai started twirling around. He spun faster and faster, flying towards Skidmark delivering a harsh tornado kick. “Gah!” Skidmark’s life falls to 6 with Dance Asmodai’s Critical of 2. “Next up is an attack by Let’s Play Asmodai!” “It’s a hit and a slam!” Let’s Play Asmoday attacks with a baseball bat, doing one damage. “Finally, Demon Lord Asmodai’s attack!” “Leave it up to me Twilight!” The Original Asmodai runs up and plants both his feet on Skidmark’s stomach. “Demon Drop Kick!” “End of Move!” (Break) “That’s right Twilight! Light him up!” Pinkie cheered, waving pom-pom’s that she got from, who-knows-where. “It was an aggressive series of attacks, let’s just hope that Twilight can keep it up,” Brave responded. (Break) “Your Move!” Turn 4: Skim Mark [Twilight: LP-9 G-2] [Skidmark: LP- 4 G-3] “That was pretty good girly, but here’s where I get serious!” Skidmark Growled. “Draw! Charge and draw! First I pay 1 gauge and equip Rune Staff!” A silver staff materialized in his hands. “Next I’ll pay 3 gauge and discard one hand card to activate Great Spell, Thunder of Zeus to destroy all your monsters with 4000 or less defense as well as deal you two damage! Thanks to Rune Staff, I don’t have to pay one life when I cast a Great Spell.” The spell card flew out of his hands into the air, which then turned into three bolts of lightning. To which struck all three Asmodai’s. “Gah! Celestial forces are something that demons shouldn’t be messing with Twi!” Asmodai cried as he and his counterparts were destroyed. “No, Asmodai! Gah!” Twilight shouted as she was then struck by the fourth bolt of lightning reducing her Life Points to 7. “I call Divine Stallion, Pegasus, and Moon Celestial Selene to the left and right!” Skidmark ordered. On the right appeared a white pegasus wearing regal, golden armor. Then on the left was a female monster with long sky blue hair, wearing a regal white dress with frills of multiple colors. A crescent moon mask was upon her face, and in her hands was a silver bow. “And I call Bronze Giant, Talos to the center!” Talos returned to the Center position. “Now, Selene and Pegasus attack!” Pegasus charged forward and headbutted Twilight while Selene shot an arrow of light from her bow. The two attacks knocked Twilight’s life points down to 3. “Talos! Finish her off!” Talos went in for the finishing blow. “I cast! Solomon’s shield!” Twilight cast her spell, and a golden shield of energy interrupted Talos’s attack. “End of Move!” (Break) “Whew, that was a close one.” Pinkie wiped the sweat off her brow. “If Talos’s attack hit with his critical of 3 that would have made Twilight lose.” Brave looked at the pink haired partier in surprise. “You already know how the game works?” “I was picking it up as the fight went on.” She gave him a thumbs up and a smile. He only shrugged and returned his attention to the fight. “But Twilight is in a tough situation. Skidmark has a full field with Talos in the center. Magic World is known for its spells and not it’s power, so there aren’t many monsters that can beat Talos’s 6000 defense.” (Break) “Your move!” Turn 5: Twilight [Twilight: LP-3 G-2] [Skidmark: LP- 4 G-0] “You got lucky there girly. But next turn you're done! Then your boyfriend and the pink haired friend are next.” Skidmark threatened. “Why are you doing this? I know it’s not just the Demon inside of you making you, so why attack me and my friends?” Twilight asked. “It’s because after that little scene with you and ‘The Heartful Fighter’ they cut me loose! Steel said he needed to go straight and Deviant went along with him. The three of us were always together, sure we were thugs but it was how we met and how it was always supposed to be! Then they just dropped it all like yesterdays trash, with me along with it.” Skidmark shook in anger as the dark energy around him began to blaze harder. “Those two were all I had, and now they don’t want anything to do with me. Because of him!” He referred to Brave. “You can’t really believe that can you?” Twilight retorted. “Just because they didn’t want to be street thugs anymore, it didn’t mean they wanted to stop being friends with you. Did you ever think that you could have been with them even if you weren’t playing thugs?” “That was our way of life for as long as we’ve been friends. Don’t lecture me, it's not like you know what its like to not have any!” “Yes, I do!” Twilight shouted. “For as long as I can remember, I haven’t been the same anti-social girl I’ve always been. I only ever had my family to talk to. Just until recently I was enjoying it, but now…” She closed her eyes, thinking of Brave, Asmodai, and Pinkie. “Now I can’t imagine what it would be like without them.” (Break) Pinkie shed a tear while bringing Brave into a one-armed hug. “Awe, she does love us!” Pinkie cheered, to which Brave only smiled in response. (Break) From the void fo the Dropzone, Asmodai looked up at an orb that showed the fight as it was going on. A sincere smile crept its way to his lips. “Same Twi.” He spoke to himself. (Break) “If they really are your friends, then it’s not too late to reconnect with them. A single heart to heart can change everything, and I’ll prove it by winning! Draw! Charge and Draw!” Twilight drew her cards, but one caught her eye making her smile. “I pay one gauge and cast Bye Bye Later! I can any size 2 or lower monster from the field into the gauge, and I choose Talos in the center!” Talos was forcefully pulled from the center into Skidmark’s gauge. “You increased my gauge? What are you helping me for?” He asked suspiciously. “I’m not helping, I just needed him out of the way. And now…” Twilight then rose one card in the air, which shined brighter than the rest. “Final Phase!” (Break) “Yes! She called it!” Brave shouted excitedly. “It’s time for Twilight’s Impact!” (Break) “Impact!” Twilight called as her entire hand disappeared and was replaced with 5 new cards. “I can reveal 5 cards from the top of my deck, and deal you one damage plus the number of cards revealed to have the name “Asmodai” in its title.” The cards revealed themselves in order. “Chillax! Let’s Play Asmodai! Key of Solomon, Second volume! Dance Asmodai! And Finally Demon Lord Asmodai! I count three Asmodai’s, Which means four damage is done directly to you!” Suddenly, Asmodai returned to the field with a sly grin on his face. “I’m back!” The three Asmodai cards in Twilight’s hand flew into Asmodai, which caused Asmodai to exert a blazing aura of energy! “It’s time for my impact move, which goes a little something like this!” Like before, Asmodai disappeared and reappeared behind Skidmark as well as his monsters. “Asmodai Eternal Rolling Back-Drop!” He threw all of them do the ground. Destroying all his monsters, as well as decreasing his life points to 0. The flag of Legend world was destroyed, and the space around everyone began to glow brightly and enveloped them. (Break) They all found themselves back in the real world, with Skidmark on the ground with a broken core gadget and scattered cards. Twilight sighed in relief. “That was more difficult than I thought it would be.” “Twilight!” Pinkie suddenly wrapped Twilight in a tight hug. “You won! That was one of the greatest things ever!” “That was a great fight Twilight.” Brave praised. “Looks like that deck we built works great.” “Definitely, even with the circumstances, that was really fun!” Twilight smiled. They paused their celebration when Skidmark stirred awake. He looked up to see the group looking at him cautiously. “I… I’m sorry,” Skidmark said regretfully. “I was so angry, and it let that monster control me. But that doesn’t excuse what I did, or what I tried to do.” Silently, Twilight walked up to him. Pinkie tried to stop her but was stopped by Brave. She looked at him confused, but Brave only nodded. She got the message. Twilight stood in front of Skidmark who looked down in shame before she offered her hand. “No harm was done, it’s alright.” Skidmark looks at her surprised. “But, I-.” “I know, but a certain thick-headed ‘Heartful Fighter’ told me. Everyone deserves a second chance. Just like I know you’re friends will give you one.” She joked. Skidmark hesitated, before accepting the hand up. “Thanks. Sorry, but I got some work to do.” He said abruptly before running off. “Sooooo…” Pinkie interrupted. “Is anybody going to tell me what just happened?” “Gah! We forgot Pinkie doesn’t know!” Twilight panicked. “Darn it, we really need to get better about keeping this a secret.” Brave facepalmed, only with his injured arm. “Ow!” “Oh no! Are you okay?” Pinkie asked worriedly. “Yeah, I’m alright. It’s just a sprain.” Brave replied nervously before Twilight softly grabbed his arm. “Ow!” “That’s a pretty serious sprain,” Twilight said flatly and grabbed his good arm. “Come on, we’ll patch you up at my house. You come to, Pinkie!” “Okie Dokie!” (Break) (Somewhere Unknown) In a very dark place, where you can barely register seeing anything. The only source of light was an orb that showed Twilight and Skidmark’s buddyfight. Sitting in front of the orb was a shadowy figure, that appeared to be eating a club of roasted meat. “So, he’s finally making his move. Good. Soon the Omni-lords will appear, and we can finally quench our hunger. Isn’t that right, Yamigedo?” The figure spoke, as six glowing red eyes appeared behind him. “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. “Where we will be teaching you all you need to know about the world of buddyfight!” Twilight announced. "Today we'll be breaking down Twilight's new buddy, Demon Lord Asmodai." "He's a size 1 monster from Magic World. His power is 5000, defense 1000, and a critical of 1." "By discarding one hand card, Asmodai can destroy one monster on the field from either side." "When you get past his constand rapping and dancing, he's a pretty cool buddy! Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. “That’s all for now class.” “Can you open a Buddy Rare card?” The Laughing Dungeon!“And that’s about all of it.” It was the next day after Twilight’s Buddyfight with Skidmark. The trio of Brave Heart, Twilight, and Pinkie was sitting at the side of a lake at the local park. The night before the trio went to Twilight’s families apartment to patch up Brave’s injured arm as well as explain the situation to Pinkie. They completed their first objective, but the latter was interrupted by Twilight’s family always being around. They even invited the two guests to have dinner with them, and by the time they finished, it was late. As a result, they decided to wait till now to tell Pinkie in a more out of the way place where no one would overhear them. Then brings us to the present. Brave and Twilight had explained the history of Yamigedo and the Omni-lords, as well as the present mission to find them and buddies for the other generals. To which the Generals came out of their cards in their mini forms, except for Asmodai. As a result, Pinkie gushed over how cute they were. It took quite a bit of effort to separate them from her bone-crushing hugs, although she kept a hold on Blade. Said bird monster was resting in her lap as she continued to pet his feathers, and the others returned to their cards. “So if you guys don’t find these Omni-lord guys, then a giant monster is gonna gobble up the world like a huge cake?” Pinkie asked. “Yep. Pretty much the gist of the whole situation.” Twilight answered. “But Buddyfight looks so fun and exciting! How can a game like that be associated with something so scary and sad?” “We may be battling this evil through Buddyfight, but that is not the games true nature!” Blade suddenly announced from his position on her lap. “What Blade says it’s true,” Brave added. “Yes, Buddyfight is how those in the parallel worlds settle their disputes and defend themselves, but it’s a game to bring others together. That’s why, even if they’re possessed by the Hundred, I’ll always try to befriend my opponents. Because that’s what Buddyfight is all about. Although, with Yamigedo still at large, that’s a bit strained.” “That sounds fantastic!” Pinkie cheered, throwing Blade into the air before catching him. “How ill-mannered, young lady!” Blade yelled flapping his wings in an attempt to escape her arms. “Don’t just toss things into the air so suddenly! Especially if that something is a living being!” “Oopsies! Sorry Blade.” Pinkie apologizes, petting him again to calm him down. “Hey! Hey! Brave! Can I learn how to play too?” Brave, Twilight, and Blade looked at her surprised. “You want to learn how to Buddyfight?” Twilight asked. “You did hear the part about fighting demons and a world-eating monster right?” “Oh, course I heard you silly! And I don’t know about the whole saving the world thing, but I do want to play. Like Brave said, he wants to befriend all his opponents, so if we play with each other we’ll be even better friends! We can make even more friends in the future through Buddyfight, cause it’s the most fun game ever!” Pinkie cheered. Everyone stared at her shocked. To hear such a story and see what she has, she answered in the most cheerful and nonchalant way. None was more surprised than Blade. ‘What a peculiar human. She is more focused on making friends rather than the dreaded situation at hand. Turley a strange girl.’ Blade thought. Brave smiled brightly, “Hell yeah! That’s what Buddyfight is all about! You wanna learn, then I’ll teach you.” “Yay! Thank you Brave!” Pinkie thanked as the two of them high fived. Twilight sweatdropped. “*Sigh* It’s exhausting dealing with them individually. Now I have to hang out with both of them together.” Suddenly, Asmodai appeared behind her dancing. “Come one Twilight! Take a page out of their book and let go! Having fun with your friends is all you need to know! Yo! Yo! Yo!” “And you’re not making it any easier!” Twilight growled. When the group had calmed down a bit, it was time to get to business. Brave dug around in the back that he brought with him and pulled out a metal toolbox. “A toolbox?” Pinkie asked. “Not exactly,” Twilight said before Brave opened the box revealing dozens upon dozens of cards on each layer of the box. “Over his time of dealing with the Hundred, Brave’s acquired quite the collection of cards. This is how we built my ‘Magical Grimoire” deck.” “So you want to Buddyfight right? The first thing you need to do is choose a world, so we know which kind of cards to put together.” Brave explained. Pinkie struck a thinking pose. “Hm, what to choose?” She then looked down at the bird in her arms. “What world is Blade from? I’ll use that one.” “I am a monster of Dungeon World, Miss Pinkie.” Blade answered. “So Dungeon World it is.” Brave took out the cards specific to Dungeon World. “And I’m guessing you want Blade as your Buddy as well?” Pinkie nodded, and he closed his eyes to think. “So we’re building a deck for Blade. It’s imperative that a deck is well balanced so the player can do what they want with the cards they have. The synergy between the attributes of the cards is important to so they work well together.” As Brave kept thinking, he didn’t notice Pinkie messing with the cards in front of her. “Done!” She yelled, holding up the deck she just threw together. Brave snapped out of his rant surprised. He sighed before taking the cards out of her hand to look through them. “Pinkie, you can’t just through cards together randomly.” He began looking through the deck. “You have to take into account attributes, abilities, and… and...” he looked at the cards confused, before shuffling through the deck more fiercely with wide eyes. “Um, Brave? Is everything alright?” Twilight asked curiously. “The balance and synergy of this deck, it’s perfect!”He said shocked. “H-how did you put together such a well build deck in an instant!?” He asked their pink friend. Pinkie just laughed nonchalantly, “I just picked the coolest looking ones.” Was all she said. Her two friends just laughed nervously at her relaxed attitude. Brave shook his head and smiled. “Well, now that you have a deck there’s only one way to test it out! Let’s Buddyfight!” “What do you mean I’m off the team!?” An outraged yell rang through the air of Ponyville. Two people stood at the edge of the baseball field, while a team was practicing on the actual field. One was an adult man wearing a red tracksuit with a white cap. Standing in front of him was an enraged teen boy about fifteen years old, who is presumed to be the one who yelled. The teen was wearing a white and black striped baseball uniform and a navy cap on top of his blonde hair. “Answer me, coach!” The teen demanded of the man. “It’s just as I said, Home Run. Your bad attitude towards your teammates is beginning to make trouble. If you can’t change that then I can’t let you hinder the team anymore.” The coach lectured. “My attitude!? They’re the ones not taking the game seriously.” “It’s because you keep trying to be a one-man show.” The coach countered. “Always trying to hit it out of the park and not following any of the deciding plays. Always blowing up on your teammates for mistakes that could have been avoided if you just worked well with the team. Not even having fun out there.” “What’s fun got to do with this?” Home Run growled. “We’re trying to get scouted right? To get into the big leagues and be real pro’s.” “But like you said before, it’s a game. Sure getting scouted in great, but games are supposed to be fun. Having a good time with your teammates at the opposing team, because you couldn't even participate without them. Sorry, but until you fix that attitude of yours, I can’t have you on my team.” With that, the coach walked away to join his team. Leaving an enraged Home Run, shaking in anger and stomping away. Back with our heroes, Brave, Twilight, and Pinkie were casually walking through the park they were currently at. After some time of teaching Pinkie out to Buddyfight, they decided to take a break and grab a snack. Conveniently they bought ice cream from a passing by ice cream truck. “You’re a natural with Dungeon World Pinkie.” Brave complimented while eating his fudge bar. “I know right!? I even beat Twilight a couple times.” Pinkie bragged waving around her rocket pop. “Hey! We’re both rookies, and we’re tied with two wins and two losses!” Twilight grumbled, enjoying her soft serve vanilla. “Now, Now Twilight, we both had fun right? Besides, neither of us beat Brave.” Pinkie said as both girls lightly glared at their male friend. “Hey, just because you two are beginners doesn’t mean I can go easy on you.” Brave puffed his chest out in pride. “That would be disrespectful to you, me, and Buddyfight!” “Says the guy that doesn’t lose.” Pinkie joked and Brave stuck his tongue out. “Damnit!” They suddenly heard an angry yell. They looked for the source, to see Home Run sitting on a nearby park bench. With a dejected look on his face. Twilight tilted her head in confusion, “What’s up with that guy? It’s probably best to leave him be.” Although when she didn’t hear a response, she turned to see that her two friends had vanished from her side. She then saw her friends making their way towards the angered Home Run. “Why do I bother?” she sighed before following her friends lead. Home Run just sat on the bench. His head lowered and hair shadowing his eyes. ‘This is trash! I was the best on the team and they decide to knock me off!? And what’s with this fun crap? This is serious to me, this is my career!’ he thought. “Hey bud, everything alright?” Home Run looked to his left to see Brave sitting on the same bench. “Yeah! Why not turn that frown, all the way around!” To his right was Pinkie, also sitting on the bench. Startled by their sudden appearance, he leaned off of the fence and backed away. “Guys!” Twilight run to her friend's side, “Don’t just leave me behind!” “Sorry Twi.” The energetic duo said in unison. “Who the heck are you!?” Home Run shouted angrily. “Whoa, calm down, bud. We just wanted to ask why you were upset. I’m Brave by the way, and that’s Pinkie.” Brave said. Home Run just growled at them. “Why should you care? I don’t even know who you are.” “We just saw how upset you were, so we came to see if we can help with your mood. Maybe be friends too!” Pinkie cheered. Twilight sighed, “You two.” She turned to Home Run, “Believe it or not, they’re serious. They are also relentless so it's a lot more effort to just talk.” The baseball player’s expression softened, only slightly, and he sighed. “Well if you must know, I was just kicked off of my baseball team.” The trio looked at him with sympathy. “That sucks. Why did they do that?” Brave asked. “Cause of my stupid teammates!” He started his rant, “Apparently they didn’t like playing with me, even though I’m the best on the team! Then they snitched on me to the coach. He went on about taking all the fun out of the games! What does fun matter when you’re trying to go pro! I’m the only one taking the games seriously, there’s no room for fun in the big leagues.” Brave and Twilight slightly rose their brows in confusing, while Pinkie giggled. Hearing her laugh, Home Run glared at her. “Something funny to you!?” He growled. “It’s just what you said silly!” She answered in her usual cheerful voice. “There’s no room for fun in a game? Games are all about having fun!” Home Run just looked at her confused. “She’s right you know,” Twilight added. “It’s great that you want to be a pro, but if you can’t enjoy what you do when you do it then is it really worth it?” “Plus you aren’t the only one out there.” Brave threw his two cents in. “You can’t play baseball without a team, or opponents. You talk as if you’re the only one playing, but that ain’t true. If you take the fun out of a game, then it’ll drive your teammates away. What’s the point of playing a game if you can’t enjoy it?” Home Run was taken aback by their responses, only to get more frustrated. “You’re just like the rest of them.” He argued. “The only thing that matters in this world is winning! All this nonsense about fun and friendship? Screw it all!” Brave put his hands up in defense, “Take it, easy man. We’re only-!” “Shut up!” He yelled. “I don’t need this. I’m out of here.” In that fit of anger, Home Run stomped away from the trio. “Geez, he was rude.” Twilight huffed with her arms crossed. “Yeah, we were only trying to help. He didn’t need to be such a meanie about it.” Pinkie pouted. “Don’t worry girls. He’s just frustrated, he’ll come around sooner or later.” Brave stretched his arms before taking out his deck. “Well, that’s enough of a break. How about another round!?” Home Run continued his angry trek while muttering to himself. “Stupid, whoever they were. The only point to a game is winning, and that’s that.” He muttered. “You’re anger is delightful, human.” a deep muffled voice came out of nowhere. Suddenly, a card appeared in front the baseball player. “Letting go of such rage is pointless. Use it to make those who wronged you pay! All you need to do is accept my power.” Said card flew closer to Home Run. Hesitating only for an instant, Home Run grabbed the card. The moment he did, his eyes glowed for a moment before he began radiating a menacing aura. “I’ll show them all what fun really is.” “Ah!” Brave dramatically clutched his heart. “You took three of my life points!” “Hahaha!” Pinkie laughed maniacally, fanning herself with her cards. “I’ve got you this time Brave! Now I attack with Gummy Slime!” Brave smirked, “Not so fast! I cast! Green Dra-!” *Boom!* A sudden loud boom interrupted their match. “What was that?” Twilight asked alertly. Then suddenly Asmodai, Blade, and Drum’s cards started to glow. “Heads up Twi, I’m sensing a monster nearby.” Asmodai spoke from his card. “It must be one of the Hundred Demons!” “We got to go after it.” Blade and Drum as well. The trio nodded in agreement before grabbing their decks and rushing to the scene. At the baseball field, Home Run’s former teammates were all huddled and backed against the fence including their coach. The field around them was completely wrecked. Craters and burns completely covered the field around them. Who stood straight across from the team was Home Run. He was covered in a thick violet aura, and in his hands was a demonic-style greatsword. It was a dull grey and the blade was scared with multiple scratches in the metal. On the hilt was a bat with a single glowing red eye. Home Run smirked sinisterly at them. “So, what do you think of my attitude now coach?” He rose the sword and slashed to the right, sending out a wave of energy that only narrowly missed his former teammates. “Yes, take out your rage on those who have wronged you!” The hundred demon ordered. “Alright, it’s time I stop messing around and get serious. Just like how it I was in the games!” Home Run rose his blade again, only for his swing to be interrupted by someone grabbing his wrist. Before he could react, said person flipped him over their shoulder and threw him quite a ways away. Home Run landed on his back, but when he looked up he saw that who flipped him was Brave. Brave stood firm defensively in front of the baseball team, and Pinkie and Twilight ran to his side. Home Run’s former team stared at them confused before Asmodai appeared in front of them. “Sorry, Y'all. But you’re gonna have to go to sleep.” The demon waved his hand over them, and they all drifted off to sleep. Back with the trio and Home Run, who had recovered from the throw. “This has gone too far!” Brave announced. “Do you really think this is the way? I know you’re upset, but accepting a demons power and hurting people isn’t going to make you feel any better.” “Oh really? I’m feeling pretty good right about now.” Home Run counter smugly. “Seeing them cower like the weaklings they are, it makes me sorry that I ever offered them my skills! I just showed them what they’re missing out on, the skills and power that could have made the whole team champions!” “This isn’t right!” Pinkie suddenly shouted. “They were your teammates, weren’t they? You played games with them and won with them! It couldn’t have meant nothing to you! Didn’t you have at least a little bit of fun?” Home Run only smirked at her. “They were only a means of getting to the top to me. I only played with them cause I wanted to win and get scouted. But you’re right about one thing. I was having fun seeing them cower before me! Hahaha!” He laughed maniacally. The trio glared intently at him, and Brave took out the proto-sphere. “I’ve heard enough. We have to end this right now!” Brave said preparing to toss the Proto-sphere, but he was stopped by Pinkie. Surprisingly, her usual cheerful expression was replaced with a much more serious one. “Brave, let me fight this time.” She requested. Both Twilight and Brave looked at her surprised. “What do you mean, Pinkie? You know what’s at stake right?” Twilight asked. “And once you start, you can’t back out,” Brave warned. “I only have so many Core Deck Cases, and once it registers you as its user then it will only work for you. No one else. Do you really want to join our fight?” Pinkie was silent for a moment, her curly pink locks shadowed her eyes. In an instant, she looked up with a confident smile. “I’ve only ever wanted to make other people smile. Even though I know how much sadness is in the world, or when others push me away, I never want to stop trying. These demons will only make things worse, and make the world sadder. If beating these guys will make the world a happier place, no matter how small of a change, that's enough of a reason for me to fight!” Her friends were shocked at her speech before Brave smiled. “If that’s your choice, then I can’t deny you that. And I know you’ll be a great fighter.” “I completely agree!” Blade suddenly appeared in his mini-form. “Blade?” Pinkie asked. “Miss Pinkie, I will not lie when I first laid my eyes on you, I thought you were an impatient, hyperactive, uncouth girl. But the more I spent time with you, the more I realized you were so much more. A girl with solid conviction to make those around her smile, no matter how much they pushed you away. Always wanting to spread happiness and laughter, and honed the true meaning of Buddyfight! I would be honored if you would accept being my buddy.” Pinkie started to tear up, never before hearing such kind words said to her. She wiped her tears away and nodded in agreement. “Of course, Buddy!” “Pinkie! Catch!” Brave threw her a blank Core Deck case. Pinkie pulled out her deck and nodded at Blade. “It’s time to fight Miss Pinkie.” Was all he said before turning back into his card and adding himself to the deck. Pinkie took a deep breath, before inserting her deck into the case. “Register User: Pinkamena Diane Pie! Recognized!” The Core Deck Case light up before its grey color changed into a bright pink hue. Pinkie smiled before nodding towards Brave. He also nodded, “Proto-barrier activate!” he threw the sphere into the air, and it let loose the green energy. Pinkie and Home Run were standing atop their individual pedestals across from each other in the proto-arena. A screen appeared beside Pinkie, which showed Brave and Twilight in the Pit. “Okay Pinkie, this will be your first real fight. Are you ready for this?” He asked. Pinkie winked at them, “Don’t worry guys. I’ll show him what fun really is! Right, Blade?” Blade in his mini-form appeared, “Let’s be rid of this ill-mannered mongrel!” He announced before turning into his true form. “Wow! So that’s what you really look like? So cool!” Pinkie cheered before pouting. “But I like your mini-form, I can’t cuddle you like this.” “Ahem!” Home Run caught their attention. “If you’re done, I have the fight to win.” He bragged smugly. “You ill-mannered mongrel!” Blade yelled. “The winner isn’t named until the fight is over, and I can assure you that you will not be it!” “Yeah, yeah whatever fried chicken. Let’s get it started.” Home Run rose his Core Deck Case as it turned into a black gauntlet, same as the ones before. “Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize! Hundred Legends! Plus, my Buddy is Corpse Spirit, Draogul!” What appeared behind him was a humanoid monster that shared the same style as the sword he was wielding. Pinkie smirked as she also rose her case. “Traps, surprises, and monsters around every corner! I’m the final boss of this dungeon, and you’ll be smiling all the while! Luminize! Laughing Dungeon!” She announced her deck as her case transformed into a bouquet of pink balloons with the center balloon holding the blue, oval gem. “It’s time to raise the flags!” “Legend World!” Home Run announced with the Flag levitating behind him. “Dungeon World!” Pinkie stabbed her own flag into the ground behind her. Turn 1: Home Run [Home Run: LP-10 G-2] [Pinkie: LP- 10 G-2] “I’ll be taking the first move.” Home Run rose one of his six hand cards. “Charge and draw! I call Waweldrache to the center!” In the center appeared to be an ominous, dragon monster that looked to be made of black vines. “Now Waweldrache, attack the fighter!” He ordered. Waweldrache flew straight towards Pinkie, slashing her with its claws and reducing her life by 1. “End of move!” “Huh?” Brave sounded confused. “What’s the matter Brave?” Twilight asked. “Well, even with a bad hand one point is pretty weak. Something’s up.” He explained. Twilight struck a thinking pose, “Is he just that overconfident to go easy on Pinkie?” “If he is, then this will be a short fight.” Turn 2: Pinkie [Home Run: LP-10 G-3] [Pinkie: LP- 9 G-2] “It’s my turn now!” Pinkie cheered, “Draw! Charge and draw! I call Fledgling Warrior, Ocker Glaser to the center! Gummy Slime to the right, and Scout Criticizing Kirwa to the left!” In the center and left appeared two humanoid monsters wearing adventurers garb, and to the right was a pink, gelatinous monster with eyes and small wings. “And as a finishing touch! I pay 1 gauge and set, Mission Card: Defeat Monsters!” A sphere with the card’s name appeared and hovered next to Pinkie. Home Run rose his brow, “And what does that do?” Pinkie smiled, “Mission Cards are set spells that are specific to Dungeon World. If I complete the requirements, then I get a bonus! For this one, I have to defeat two for your monsters, and I’ll start with Waweldrache! Ocker and Kirwa, attack the center!” Ocker slashed through Waweldrache with his sword and Kirwa attacked with his wipe, destroying the plant monster. “And since Ocker link attacked with Kirwa, he gains the Penetrate ability!” True to her word, Ocker charged towards Home Run and struck him with 1 damage. “Why did she link attack?” Twilight asked confused. “Ocker could have destroyed Waweldrache on his own. If she attacks individually then she could have cleared the center and attacked with both Gummy Slime and Kirwa.” “It’s because she’s thinking strategy all the way,” Brave answered. “What kind of strategy could she be thinking of?” Brave chuckled, “C’mon Twilight, you should give Pinkie a little more credit. It’s still the very start of the fight and they both have full hands, so there’s a chance that Home Run has a counterspell to increase Waweldrache’s defense. By doing a link attack it ensures that the attack goes through, and does damage by Ocker’s effect.” Twilight looked surprised, “Wow, she really did think this one through.” “And now, Gummy Slime attack the fighter!” Pinkie ordered. “Gummi-mi!” Gummy Slime called as it bounced its way to Home Run. It smothered his face and reduced his life points to 7. “End of move!” Turn 2: Home Run [Home Run: LP-7 G-3] [Pinkie: LP- 9 G-2] “I hope you liked those free shots, cause that’s all your gonna get!” Home Run said confidently. “Draw! Charge and Draw! I call King of Forest Zlatorog to the center, and Waweldrache to the right!” Waweldrache appeared in the right position, and a green beast monster appeared in the center. “Waweldrache, attack the Ocker in the center!” Waweldrache slashed his claws sending out a slashing wave of wind towards Ocker, destroying him. “Now Zlatorog, attack the fighter!” Zlatorog let out a fierce roar before charging at Pinkie and wiping her with its tail. “Gah!” When the attack hit it send Pinkie falling on her backside comedically. With it’s critical, the attack dealt 2 damage. “End of move!” “Your Move!” Turn 3: Pinkie [Home Run: LP-7 G-3] [Pinkie: LP- 7 G-2] “Hahaha! How do you like that girly?” He gloated, but he didn’t expect her response. “Hahaha! That was a good move! Now we’re tied for life points.” Pinkie laughed nonchalantly. “But now it’s my turn! I call another Gummy slime to the center!” A second Gummy Slime appeared, but this one was orange instead of pink. “Now Kirwa, attack Zlatorog!” Kirwa attacked with his whip, destroying Zlatorog as well as sending the top card in Pinkie’s deck into “Defeat Monsters” soul. “And now that I’ve destroyed two of your monsters, my mission is complete and I get two cards!” The Set spell disappeared and true to her word, two cards added themselves to her hand. Increasing her hand cards to 5. “Now Gummy Slimes, attack the fighter!” Both Gummy Slimes pounced onto Home Run, reducing his life to 3. “End of move!” “He’s not using any counterspells?” Twilight asked suspiciously. “He’s at quite a disadvantage, but at least now Pinkie has the upper hand.” “I don’t think so,” Brave interjected. “If he’s not worried about his life points dropping further than something else is coming.” “Your Move!” Turn 4: Home Run [Home Run: LP-3 G-3] [Pinkie: LP- 7 G-3] “Well, it’s been nice toying with you, but now I’m gonna end this! Draw! Charge and Draw! I cast, Elixer of Aesculapius, and increase my life and gauge by one!” His life points increased to 4, and his gauge to 5. “Now I pay one gauge to call Wind Fairy Sylph to the left!” In his center appeared a very small fairy monster, with pink hair, fairy wings, and wearing a white dress. “Next I Buddy Call, Corpse Spirit Draogul to the center!” Draogul switched from his place behind Home Run to the left position. “Finally, I pay three gauge and cast, Decree of Dullahan! Giving all my Wydar Sarkal monsters Double attack!” All of Home Run’s monsters started to glow with a blazing orange aura around them. “Now Draogul, attack the center Gummy Slime!” With one swing of his blade, Draogul cleaved right through the slime. “Double attack the fighter!” “Feel my wrath, human!” The hundred demon yelled before slashing Pinkie, reducing her life points to 5. “Now Sylph!” Wind Fairy Sylph seemed to cast her own spell, sending furious winds Pinkie’s direction. Reducing her life by 1. “Double attack!” He commanded. “I pay one gauge and cast, Divine Protection of Shalsana!” A shield appeared to protect her and increased her life to 5. Brave cheered, “Nice! Not only did she stop the spell, but she gained another life point as well.” “But she’s still got Waweldrache to deal with, so it’s safe to assume that they’re gonna be tied with 4 life points.” Twilight speculated. “Waweldrache, attack the Gummy Slime and Kirwa!” They heard Home Run through the screen. “What? Why did he direct his attention to her monsters?” Twilight asked. “It’s because of her counterspell. He wanted to drop her life points more than she already has, but because of her counter, he couldn’t. He destroyed Gummy Slime and Kirwa so she will have a harder time dealing with all his monsters next turn.” Brave explained. Twilight sighed, “It looks like I underestimated both of them. I didn’t think he would be thinking strategically as well.” Brave nodded, “But still, Pinkie is at a disadvantage. All her monsters are gone, and he’s got a full field.” “End of move!” Turn 5: Pinkie [Home Run: LP-3 G-0] [Pinkie: LP- 5 G-2] “You got lucky with that counter, but come next turn you’re finished!” Home Run shouted irritated. He grew even more angered when he saw Pinkie continuously smiling. “What’s with that look on your face?” “Because I’m having so much fun!” She cheered. “Buddyfight is the most fun and exciting game ever! I get what Brave was saying about the rush he gets.” “Fun?” Home Run clenched his fist. “What are you talking about? Do you even know what’s at stake here?” “Of course I do, but even with the circumstances, I’m having a blast. I can tell you’re having fun too, even a little. No matter how serious the game gets, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s something I enjoy and love to do. Isn’t that how you feel about baseball?” She asked. Home Run was about to rebuttal, but the words got caught in his throat. He didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. Even after all his talk, that was just him being stubborn and angry. Truthfully he did enjoy the game, it’s why he chose to go pro in the first place. His ambition got the better of him though, making him more aggressive towards his goal and in turn his teammates. Leading to him being kicked off the team. “Human!” Draogul called out to Home Run. “Don’t forget why you accepted my power. You wanted vengeance on those who wronged you. Do not forget your goal!” “Hey! Corpse guy!” Pinkie shouted at Draogul. “So you’re the Hundred Demon that’s been making him do bad things?” “Don’t be foolish little girl. I am not forcing him to do any such thing. I am merely encouraging him to take his revenge on those who have wronged him. With the rage, he is exerting and the fear he caused from the other humans, he’s providing quite the bounty of negative energy for me to take. Once we are finished here we will spread even more fear, enough to revive Master Yamigedo!” “Sorry, but I can’t let that happen. Draw! Charge and Draw!” Pinkie countered confidently as she looked at her 5 hand cards. “First I’ll Buddycall, Bladewing Phoenix to the right!” The blade flew from his position behind Pinkie to the right. “It’s about time I get to ruffle some feathers!” Blade taunted. “Now I discard one hand card to equip, Brave Equipment, Glory Seeker!” A navy and gold shield appeared in her hand with a matching sword. “Next, I cast Reset Button! If there are one or more cards in my gauge, I can put them all back into my deck and set four new cards into my gauge!” She explained as her gauge increased from 2 to 4. “Yes! She’s setting herself up perfectly!” Twilight cheered. Brave smiled and nodded, “She must have drawn her impact. Looks like she’s ready to finish it up.” “Final Phase!” Pinkie rose the last card in her hand. “Impact! Phoenix Radiation! Since I have a Dungeon Enemy monster in my field, and I have an adventurer item equip I meet the requirements for this Impact. Not only can I destroy all the monsters on your field, but I can also deal you 3 damage!” Blade’s body suddenly burst into green flames. “I am the undying bird of flames that will wipe out all! Phoenix Radiation!” Blade opened his beak and let loose a fierce stream of green flames, burning all of Home Run’s monsters to cinders. Home Run covered his face because of the intensity of the flames. When he uncovered his face, he saw Pinkie charge towards him with her flame coated Glory Seeker. “Game Over!” Was the last words she said before slashing Home Run, dropping his life points down to zero and destroying his flag. “Game Over! Winner: Pinkie Pie!” The fight had ended and deactivated the Proto-barrier, returning all the teens to the real world. Home Run was on his knees with scattered cards around him, and a broken Core Deck Case. “Yay! I won!” Pinkie cheered, pulling her two friends into a group hug. After a moment of celebration, the group approached Home Run. “Man… I messed up.” Home Run sulked. Pinkie just smiled and crouched to his level, “Yeah, but hey who hasn’t?” She giggled. “Sure you did some bad stuff, but now that you’ve seen the error of your ways you can make it up. Maybe starting with your teammates and playing with them again?” He sighed, “Probably, if they ever forgive me for attacking them.” “You don’t have to worry about that dude.” Suddenly, Asmodai walked up to the group. “While all of you were in the Proto-barrier, I used some of my magic to wipe their memories. They won’t be remembering anything about the attack when they wake up.” Home Run looked at them with hope-filled eyes as he stood up and bowed to them. “Thank you, for saving me and my team.I owe you guys a lot.” “No problem! It was a fun fight anyways, so you don’t owe us anything. Now go play some ball!” Pinkie cheered, with Home Run nodding and trotted towards his teammates. Another fight won, another crisis averted, but one question lingered in Brave’s mind. “Wait, Asmodai, you can wipe memories this whole time?” The Dragon World Fighter asked. Asmodai scoffed, “Of course. It’s only a small foot for a Demon Lord like me.” “Wha-! Then why didn't you do that before!? We could have kept other people from getting involved!” “Ahem” He turned to see Twilight and Pinkie glaring at him because of his implication. Brave shook nervously, “N-not that I don’t appreciate you girls for joining the fight. I’m just saying…” While the trio of heroes was bantering, they didn’t notice they were being watched. In a tree a distance away, there on the branches sat a girl. She had short, navy hair and amber eyes. She wore dark blue jeans with a black tank top with a black and yellow vest over it. Around her neck was a black scarf that split into two sides behind her. “Another demon down the drain. Doesn’t matter though. As long as they do their job and collect negative energy from Lord Yamigedo and Master Crimson, then they are disposable.” She said to herself. She suddenly pulled out a card, it began to shine as a portal opened below her. She dropped from the branch she sat on and fell in, making the portal disappear in an instant. The sun started to set as Brave was walking home. Brave sighed, “Now that Pinkie’s joined, our small army is growing stronger.” “That’s a good thing.” Drum suddenly appeared in his mini-form. “Now you have comrades you can rely on. No use not wanting them not to get involved now.” “I know partner. I just hope they’ll be ready for the dangerous and demons ahead.” Drum halted the both of them. “Speaking of Demons, don’t you have something to do with the demon the pink human defeated?” “Oh right.” Brave pulled out Draogul’s card and handed it to Drum. Brave closed his eyes and pressed the palms of his hands together. “Heart-clan Secret Art! Purify!” He thrust his arm forward and pressed his thumb on the demon symbol on the card. After a moment of silence, the Symbol had disappeared. “Well, that takes care of that. Time for you to go home Draogul.” The card flew out of Drum’s and disappeared in a flash of light. “So, are you ever gonna tell the others about your clan? Or how you found all of us?” Drum asked his buddy. Brave hesitated before sighing. “I prefer to wait till we get the other’s buddies first. I don’t exactly want to repeat my story over and over.” “I’m just saying Brave, they are going to get curious about your story and the amount of technology we have. It’s better to tell them sooner than later, but I guess it not my place to tell you what to do.” Drum then turned back into a card and flew into Brave’s holster. “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. Suddenly, Pinkie entered the frame. "Where we'll be teaching you about the world of buddyfight!" "Pinkie!? What are you doing in our classroom?" "Because I heard that you're gonna talk about my new buddy, Bladewing Phoenix!" "That's right Pinkie. This is Bladewing Phoenix! He has a power of 5000, defense of 1000, and a critical of 2! "He also had the Double Attack ability, which lets him attack twice during a turn." "My buddy's so cool! When he's not nagging me about homework." Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. Pinkie was standing beside Twilight, holding up another booster pack. "That;s all for now class!" "Can you open a buddy rare card?" Time to Launch! Decker Drum is on the Scene!The sun had just risen to start the new day. Most of the citizens of Ponyville would still be asleep or just waking up. Although, that isn’t the case for the resident Heartful Fighter. In his quiet apartment, he was sitting at his desk sorting through his cards while Drum was asleep on the bed behind him. He kept sorting threw his cards until he put together a full deck. “Hah~! That should do it.” Brave sighed in relief. “*Yawn!*” A yawn escaped from Drum as he sat up on the bed. “Why so loud in the morning kid?” “Check it out Drum, I finished the new deck!” Brave showed his buddy excitedly. Drum rubbed his eyes, “That’s great kid, but it’s been pretty quiet lately. It’ll be awhile before we try it out in an actual fight.” Brave shrugged, “You never know when they’ll show up. Best to be prepared for whatever kind of tricks they throw at us.” Brave then noticed the time on the wall clock. “It’s almost time for school. Better get ready.” Deep within the darkness of what looks to be a cave, a young man sat atop of a stone. Overlooking a transparent orb that showed various images. The young man looked to be about fourteen years old, standing at 5.5 feet tall. He had short black hair with red tips, and his eyes were colored amber. He wore a large red hooded cape over a grey t-shirt with a red collar, maroon jeans, and black steel-toed boots. He continued to watch the images on the orb whilst eating a club of roasted meat. Suddenly, a portal opened behind and the same navy-haired girl who was spying on Brave and the others. She knelt down and bowed to the boy on the stone. “Master, you wished to see me?” She asked. “Nightingale,” The boy started, “You’ve been doing a fine job of gathering negative energy with the Demons.” “Thank you, Master.” “But it isn’t enough.” he interrupted. “The amount of negative energy so far isn’t even enough for a snack for Yamigedo!” Sparks of purple lightning flew off his body as he raised his voice. Nightingale slightly trembled as a bold narrowly missed her. “My apologies Master. What do you suggest I should do?” Once he stopped generating electricity, he sat silently before he stood up with a card in his hands. He suddenly threw it into the air, and a magic circle appeared around it. “Power of Darkness! Power of Evil! Power of the Hundred Demons!” The Master chanted as a monster appeared. It was a two-headed hound with black fur, wearing golden armor around his legs, head, and chest. Along with red ribbons attached to the chest plate. “We are The Twin-Headed Hellhound, Orthrus!” The left head spoke. “Hey! I was supposed to say it this time!” The right head argued before biting the left's neck. “Hey, that hurt!” The two heads began to argue with each other. Nightingale looked at the Demon nervously. “They seem a bit… unstable.” “It’s because of their unstable relationship that will help you gain more negative energy. The two of them influence aggression to those around them. The best part is you won’t have to possess a human to cause havoc. I want you to take Orthrus and get more negative energy!” Nightingale bowed, “It will be done, Master.” It’s been a week since Brave and his friends run in with Home Run. Since then there haven’t been any signs of the Hundred, so the three of them continued their normal school days. Though, not without keeping up with their Buddyfight practice. The trio and their buddies were always practicing after school or when they had spare time. The school day had just ended, relieving the students from their torment to do whatever. Brave, Twilight, and Pinkie were still in their classroom, idly chatting away before they decided to head out. “Hey, why don’t we go by the park later for more practice matches? I got a new deck I wanted to test out.” Brave asked enthusiastically. He expected the same enthusiasm from his comrades, but he was meet with Twilight twirling her hair nervously and Pinkie sighing with her chin propped up with her arms. “No offense Brave, but haven’t things been feeling kind of stale to you?” Twilight asked. Brave tilted his head confused. “Hm? What do you mean?” Pinkie sighed again, “It’s not that we don’t like Buddyfight anymore. It’s just that it’s only been between the three of us over and over. Things are starting to get stale with me and Twilight’s continuing tie, and you always win!” She glared. The Heartful Fighter closed his eyes and thought, “Hm, yeah you two do have a point. We basically know each other's styles inside and out now. But it’s not like Buddyfight is public yet so no one has cards besides us.” He continued to think until he overheard a group of female students talking. “Hey, have you two joined any clubs yet?” The girl with the long, blonde hair asked. “I haven't decided yet, there’s just so many to choose from.” The girl with the black, princess cut hair replied. “I joined the Literature Club already. You two should join me! The other members are really cool, and it’ll be more fun with you two!” The redhead replied. Back to the trio of fighters, Brave suddenly sprang up in excitement. “That’s it! Let’s start a club! The Buddyfight club!” Twilight and Pinkie looked at him in surprise. “You want to start a club for Buddyfight?” The Magic World fighter asked. “Yeah! It’ll be a great way to attract other students to Buddyfight and make new friends. We can teach them how to build decks and play the game. Then we’ll have more friends to battle against and sharpen our skills.” “That sounds awesome!” Pinkie cheered, but her cheer was replaced with a thoughtful look. “But that won’t be easy. To start a club we have to fill out an application for the student council. And they almost never approve of any clubs besides the normal ones. Like the theater or glee club.” “I’m sure we can convince them if we talk it out. Let’s go right now!” Brave said running out of the classroom, leaving his comrades behind. “Does he know where the student council office is?” Twilight asked. “Probably not!” Pinkie answered in her usual cheerful way. Seconds later, Brave opened the door with a sheepish look on his face. “Hey, so either of you knows where the Student Council office is?” The trio was idli walking through the halls of Canterlot High School, making their way to the student council office. “So Pinkie, the student council President is that Rarity girl right?” Brave asked. “Right-o! Rarity Belle, President of the student council and the most popular girl in school!” Pinkie said. Twilight sighed, “Then this will be more difficult than we thought.” “What do you mean?” “It’s well known that popular girls are selfish and only care about their appearance. Maybe that’s why most club applications are rejected.” Twilight stated. Although, Brave disagreed and waved it off. “That’s just a stereotype Twilight. I’m sure she’s a good person, and will be a great friend!” The book worm’s brows furrowed, “Have you even talked to her?” “I don’t think many people have.” Pinkie interjected. “She’s always with the Board of Students since she’s president, and they don’t let anybody near her. Come to think of it, it’s rare to not see her without them.” ‘Hm, suspicious.’ Brave though. The trio continued their walk and was about to turn a corner. Then all of a sudden. “Kyaa!” (Moment Earlier) The Student Council President herself, Rarity, was currently standing on a step ladder in front of a bulletin board. She was having a bit of difficulty because the only available spot for the posters she needed to post was at the very top. ‘Why did I agree to do this again?’ she thought. ‘Oh right. It was Rachel’s job today but she asked me cause she had ‘urgent plans’ to tend to. *Sigh* I’m too generous for my own good.’ She had just stuck the last of her posters about to step off of the later. Until she lost her footing and began to fall backward. “Kyaa!” she shrieked. She shut her eyes prepared to hit the hard ground, but the pain never came. Instead, she felt herself land into two strong arms. She opened her eyes to see the surprised face of the resident ‘Heartful Fighter’ Brave. The moment the made eye contact her heart started racing, and she could feel her face heat up. “Uh, hey.” he greeted. “Hello.” she greeted back. “Ahem!” a cough broke their thought. Behind Brave stood Pinkie and Twilight. The former giggling at the two and the latter was glaring and pouting at them. Brave immediately let Rarity down, and the Student Council President dusted off her uniform. Rarity cleared her throat and calmed her blush. “Uh, thank you for catching me…” “Oh! I’m Brave Heart. These are my friends, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle.” He introduced. “Hiya!” “Hello.” “It’s nice to meet you three. My name is Rarity Belle.” Brave smiled, “Nice to meet you. Actually, we were on our way to the Student Council Room to talk to you.” “Hm? What about?” she slightly tilted her head. “Well, we wanted to-!” “Stop right there!” Another girls voice called out. Suddenly, a group of generic looking female students with student council armbands surrounded Rarity. Getting in between their President and the trio of heroes. “Who gave you permission to talk to President Rarity?” The lead girl asked. Twilight raised her brow. “We need permission to talk to one of our fellow students?” The lead scoffed at her, “Don’t lump her in the same category as you nobodies. She’s our beloved Class President. She’s far too busy to waste time talking to a bookworm, a party girl, and some punk!” Pinkie pouted, “Hey, that’s mean. We didn’t do anything wrong!” “Plus, I’m pretty sure Rarity has the right to talk to whoever she wants to talk to.” Brave argued, “We were just gonna ask her about a new club idea we had.” “Then go the office for a club application form. Once you fill it out bring it to the Student Council Room for use to file under, “Never gonna happen!” With that, the student council girls walked away, also pulling Rarity away with them. Leaving behind a fuming Twilight, a pouting Pinkie, and an irritated Brave. Later that day, our trio of heroes were idly sitting on a bench at the park they often hang out in. The sun was setting on the day as the three of them were still miffed about their previous encounter with the student council. Twilight was reading a book, Pinkie sat upside down beside her friends, and Brave sat with them eating a box of strawberry pokey he just bought. “Man, we got denied!” Pinkie suddenly spoke. “It’s just like I told you two,” Twilight says, still reading her book. “Popular girls are selfish. I bet Rarity was laughing at us along with her Council friends.” “Let’s not jump to conclusions Twi.” Asmodai’s voice rang out as a speck of light floated next to her. “That Rarity girl sounded like a genuinely nice person. It was those friends of hers that were the problem.” “Asmodai’s right Twilight,” Brave interjected. “She actually took the time to hear us out, unlike the others. I have a feeling there’s more to this than meets the eye.” Twilight sighed, “That may be, but we still have to deal with them. If what they said was true then even if we submit our club idea, they won’t even look at it.” “Well, since Rarity is the President the decision is up to her for club acceptance.” Pinkie added, “If only we had a chance to talk to her without her entourage.” She then looked up to Brave who had half a pokey stick in his mouth. “Can I have some?” Brave held out the box for her to pick out of, but a mischievous smirk crept on the party girls lips. She quickly leaned up and bit down on the pokey Brave was currently eating, and plucked it right off his lips. Both her friends looked surprised with blushes on their cheeks. “Pinkie!?” They both shouted. “What? He said I could have some.” She joked and munched on the pokey. In the corner of her eyes, she caught the familiar sight of long, lavender hair. “Hey look! It’s Rarity!” Her friends looked to see she was right. Said Student Council President was walking idly by herself past them. “What’s she doing out so late? And alone at that.” Brave asked. “Yeah, isn’t she usually with the Board of Students?” Twilight continued. They watched as Rarity got further away from them until Pinkie Smirked. “Let’s follow her!” Her two friends looked at her bewildered. “Pinkie! We can’t do that, it’s invading her privacy!” Twilight objected. “Ah c’mon, aren’t you guys even a little bit curious why she’s going? Since her entourage isn’t around now we can use this opportunity to get to know her better.” Pinkie said before she thought, ‘Plus, maybe we can find a weakness so we can get our club.’ Twilight still looked reluctant, but Brave spoke up first. “Hm, I am curious. Alright! Let’s do it!” He cheered. “Yay!” Pinkie also cheered. She then suddenly wrapped a pink scarf over her nose and mouth and put her hands in a hand sign. “Let’s do this, ninja style!” “Nin!” Mini-Tsukikage appeared next to her, unrolling a scroll with “ninja style!” written on it. While her two friends sped off towards Rarity’s direction, Twilight just sighed. “I knew this would happen.” After a series of comical spying scenes, reluctantly in Twilight’s case, they saw their Student Council President enter a homeless shelter. The trio continued to observe from the perspective of a bush, with Tsukikage returning to card form. “What’s she doing here? This is a shelter.” Brave asked in a whisper. “Let’s go in. Maybe she’s volunteering or something.” Pinkie suggested as they started to walk in. Twilight shrugged, “I highly doubt that. Why would the popular girl “waste her time” and volunteer here?” As she said that, they opened the door to see Rarity wearing an apron and chopping vegetables in the kitchen. ‘She really is volunteering!?’ Twilight thought. “Hey, Rarity!” Pinkie waved to her, “Hello!” The lavender haired girl looked up in surprise. “Brave? Pinkie? Twilight? What are you three doing here?” Her eyes suddenly widened and she smiled. “Oh! I know, you’re here to volunteer, right?” “What!?” Twilight asked surprised. Before she could protest she felt her two friends clutch her shoulders behind here. “Yeah! We’re here to help!” Pinkie and Brave said simultaneously. “Wonderful!” Rarity cheered as she went to fetch aprons for the trio. “Thank you very much! Please put these on and I’ll tell you what to do.” She let the trio prepare themselves while she continued to chop the vegetables. “Guys, what are you doing?” Twilight whispered sharply. “Don’t you think helping her here is a better way of understanding her?” Pinkie asked. Brave agreed, “Yeah, and maybe you can learn that not every popular girl isn’t like you imagine.” Twilight sighed, “I guess so. Hand me the apron.” So Brave, Twilight, and Pinkie helped Rarity with her duties in the shelter. They learned that she volunteers every Wednesday to serving the homeless food. They also realized how hard the job was, considering how many people were there. Night had arrived and the kitchen was now empty. While Rarity was washing dishes with the shelter's director, the trio of heroes was resting in the back. “*Sigh* Not even in my house have I ever served that many dishes.” Twilight sighed in exhaustion. “But it was fun, don’t you guys think?” Pinkie asked. “Hm, I admit it does feel nice.” Brave nodded, “Helping those less fortunate than us makes us more grateful for what we have. Seeing their smiles was worth all the effort.” “I would have to agree with you there, darling.” Rarity agreed as she approached the heroes. “I’m glad you three came when you did. We don’t get many volunteers on this day. Most of the time it's usually me and the director.” “Rarity? Why aren’t your other friends from the Student Council with you?” Pinkie asked. The Student Council President let out a sigh, “They aren’t my real friends, they are only classmates. In fact, I never actually had real friends.” Brave rose his brow, “Why don’t you consider them real friends?” “Well, I always help them. But when I asked them for their help in return they always find an excuse not to, like here at the shelter.” Her expression saddened. “I guess I hang out with them just to not feel lonely.” “Anyways,” Twilight wanted to change the subject. “What are you doing here? This is the last place I thought we’d find you in.” Rarity smirked, “Oh? And what did you think? I’m a popular girl that only thought of my appearances?” “Um, well… Uh.” Twilight stuttered. “Yup! That’s exactly what she thought!” Pinkie answered for her. “Pinkie!” Twilight whined and Brave chuckled. “Hahaha.” Rarity giggled. “Well I don’t like admitting it, but I was just like how you would imagine when I was thirteen. I only cared about being the center of attention and my looks. But all that changed when my mother was in a terrible accident a long time ago. She desperately needed a transfusion, but she had a rare blood type that the hospital didn’t have enough of. My father put up adds almost everywhere. Radio, Newspapers, even T.V, but no one came for hours.” A gentle smile crept onto her lips. “Until late at night, and old, homeless man walked in and volunteered his owned blood that was a match. They quickly made the transfusion, and my mother was saved. His generosity amazed me, especially since no one else offered after all that time. This man had nothing, and yet he gave his blood to help us. I just had to ask why, and what he said next simply amazed me.” (Flashback) The old man simply smiled and placed his hand on the young Rarity’s shoulder. “Little girl, why shouldn’t have I done it? You mother asked for help and I offered it. I don’t have much, but she needed my blood and I gave it to her. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they came from, not if they are rich or poor, we are all human beings. Always be generous and never deny your help to those in need.” (Flashback end) “And I never saw him again.” Rarity continued. “His words awoken something within me, something I’ve never felt before. Because of that, I decided to help those who are in need of it. Not only to thanks that old man, but it felt like it was what I was meant to do. Because of that, I work as a volunteer every Wednesday, handing out food to the homeless. On the weekends I work at a boutique. The money I earn I split between buying food for the shelter and fabric for my own fashion designs. But I know what I’m doing just isn’t enough.” As she finished her tale, the trio of heroes could only smile at the generous girl's conviction. “Rarity, I’m sorry for getting the wrong idea about you. Your generosity changes my mind, and taught me not to judge a book by its cover.” Twilight apologized sheepishly. “I always knew you were a good person,” Brave said with a smirk. “It’s those other Student Council members that are a problem. Maybe if they were a little friendlier than others wouldn’t get the wrong idea. You should say something.” Rarity sighed again, “You do have a point, but I guess I’m a little afraid to. If I say something they may not want to hang around anymore, and I’ll be all alone again.” “No, you won’t!” Pinkie suddenly cheered. “Cause you got a few friends right here!” The lavender haired fashionista’s eyes widened in surprise. “You… want to be friends with me?” “Of course,” Brave added. “A girl who takes on all this responsibility with a smile on her face, just because of her generous heart? Sounds like someone who would make a great friend. Right girls?” “Positive!” “Indeed.” Pinkie and Twilight answered. Rarity could only stare in shock. This group that she just met immediately wanted to be her friends, no strings attached. She smiled endearingly with small tears welling up in her eyes. “Thank you, all of you. I will gladly be your friend.” Night fell as our heroes and their new friend hailed a taxi to drive them home. All except Brave who decided to walk home. Brave was trotting along the night streets of Ponyville, mostly unoccupied due to the late hours. Then suddenly, a light flew out of his backpack and turned into Ice Blade Joker in his mini form. “Freeze!” Joker announced. “Joker? What are you doing out of your card?” Brave asked. “It’s that young lady from earlier,” Joker answered in a surprisingly serious voice. “You mean Rarity?” “Yes. Even when people treat her like an ice queen, she still bears a smile warm enough to melt even my cold heart. To be so generous just for the sake of generosity. I think I understand what Asmodai felt when he met Twilight.” “Are you saying that Rarity could be your buddy?” Brave asked surprised. “It’s hard to say. I do feel like I have a connection, but then again she could give us the cold shoulder and refuse. All I can say is, there is a definite chill in my spine when I saw here and heard her story.” Brave thought for a moment. “Alright. I’ll have to talk to the others to decide our next course of action. Now you should probably get back into your card. You never know who could be watching.” With a nod, Joker flashed back into his card and flew into Brave’s backpack. When Brave continued his walk, he was suddenly bumped into by a hooded person. Their face was covered by a baggie blue hood, so he couldn’t identify if they were male for female. The person fell on the floor while Brave was off balance for a second. “Oh, sorry. Are you okay?” Brave offered his hand, which they took. “Yeah, I am. Sorry, it was my fault.” The person said in a feminine sounding voice. “I’ll be going then.” Before Brave could say anything else, the hooded figure bolted away. After a confused pause, Brave just shrugged off the encounter and continued his trek home. With the hooded figure, they ducked behind a corner. They removed their hood to reveal Nightingale, who was smirking victoriously. She reached into her pocket to reveal a deck of Buddyfight cards. “Let’s see how he fairs against Orthrus without his deck.” She smirked sinisterly. The next morning. It was the start of another school day, Brave, Twilight, and Pinkie were making their way towards school. When suddenly they heard a familiar voice. “Good Morning~!” Rarity sang as she approached the trio. “Morning Rarity.” The three said simultaneously. “Not walking with the Student Council this morning?” Pinkie asked. “Oh, I texted them that I’ll meet them later. This morning I wanted to walk to school with my new friends!” She said sweetly. The group of friends trotted along making idly conversation before they found themselves at the front gates of Canterlot High. “Miss President!?” A shocked voice called out to them. The other members of the Student Council approached the group, with the lead being a generic-looking girl wearing the same uniform as them with brown, bob-cut hair.”What are you doing hanging around this riff-raff?” she pointed accusingly at Brave, Pinkie, and Twilight. Rarity rose her eyebrow. “What is the problem, Rachel? Is it against the rules to walk to school with friends?” “Friends!?” Rachel asked shocked. “What do you mean friends? We’re all the friends you’ll ever need. Plus if you hang around with a group like this, your reputation will go down significantly.” The trio narrowed their eyes at her. Twilight was about to retort but was stopped by Brave to stay quiet for now. Rarity looked surprised. “Rachel, that is no way to talk to our fellow students. Why shouldn’t I be friends with them? The three of them actually lent me a helping hand, which is more than what any of you had done for me in return. I demand you apologize to them now.” The Student Council members looked gobsmacked at their President actually demanding something from them. When none of them noticed though is the light fog that started coating the ground beneath them. Then Rachel’s expression suddenly turned from shocked to enraged. Her eyes suddenly flashed oranged only for a moment, as it went unnoticed by everyone. “I’ve done nothing for you!? If it wasn’t for me you’d still be just that pretty faced nobody like the day I found you! We made you the most popular girl in school! We made you Student Council President!” Rachel yelled. The group of friends was taken aback at her outburst. Then beside Brave, a light floated next to him. “Brave! I smell Demon!” Drum’s voice called out. “Hey watch it, you moron!” Another students voice rang out. This caught the group's attention, then they saw two male students get into a fight. Then one by one they see all the students around them get into full-blown fist fights, even the other Student Council Members. All the while the fog coated the school grounds. “What’s going on? Why is everyone fighting?” Rarity asked shocked. “This is almost as bad as Pizza Thursdays and there’s only one slice left,” Pinkie added. Twilight looked towards their Dragon World fighter, “Brave, does this mean what I think it means?” He nodded, “Yeah, there’s a Hundred Demon close by.” “How right you are.” A female voice rung through the air. A portal opened a few feet away from them. Nightingale walked through with Orthrus following behind. Brave, Pinkie, and Twilight took a defensive stance, while Rarity just looked shocked and confused at the new arrivals. “Who are you?” Brave demanded. “I am Nightingale, a humble servant to the Crimson Master and Lord Yamigedo.” She bowed. “Are you the one making everyone fight?” Twilight asked. Nightingale smirked, “That would be the work of my Buddy, Twin-headed Hellhound Orthrus. He has the ability to increase the aggression of those around him. But it doesn’t seem to work on your lot since you all have your Buddies protection. But…” She then glared at Rarity. “Why is this girl unaffected?” Rarity just stood, still in shock at all that’s happening. Then her friends stood defensively in front of her. “We won’t let you hurt our new friend!” Pinkie shouted with her friends nodding in agreement. “Now, why don’t you stop your control over our fellow students? Or we’ll have to settle this with a Buddyfight.” Brave demanded. Nightingale laughed smugly, “And how are we supposed to fight without your deck?” She pulled out a familiar deck of Dragon World cards. The heroes were shocked to see Brave’s cards in her hands. Brave reached into his holster for his Core Gadget, only to see it empty. “H-how did you-!?” “I guess you already forgot about me, but I guess it was an abrupt meeting last night.” Nightingale interrupted. His eyes widened as he realized that she was the one who he bumped into the other night. “Then one of us will fight you instead,” Twilight said as she and Pinkie pulled out their core gadgets. “No,” Brave spoke in a serious voice. He slowly walked forward, his eyes were shadowed by his hair. He looked up and glared at Nightingale. “For a fighter, their deck is just as important as their life. They pour their soul into building their decks to fight their own original styles. Stealing another fighters deck? You bring dishonor to Buddyfight!” Nightingale glared back. “Talk all you want. I have your deck, so you can’t even fight to claim it back.” Brave smirked confidently. “A fighter isn’t limited to only one deck. I have a deck right here!” He reached into his backpack and pulled out another deck, which he then placed into his Core Deck Case. “Now, I challenge you to a Buddyfight!” “Tsk!” Nightingale clicked her tongue. “Very well. But we’ll do it on my turf!” She pulled out what looks like a black dragon skull small enough to fit in her hands. “Darkness Barrier! Enshroud and confuse!” She threw it up into the air as it exploded and surrounded the area in a dark haze. When the darkness cleared, Brave and Nightingale were standing on opposite ends of a Buddyfight Arena. Although it was very different from the Proto-Barrier. They were inside a purple stone dome lined with sharp looking bones. In the center of the ceiling and four random parts of the floor was a pattern of three purple demon eyes. The pedestals were in the same position as the Proto-barrier, but at the left and right sides of the arena were two huge dragon skulls. On the lower pedestal was Brave and then the higher one was Nightingale. “Welcome to the Darkness Barrier,” Nightingale said. “It’s the Crimson Master’s variation of your Proto-Barrier, but better.” In another room, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity were standing atop a stone pillar surrounded by a purple ocean. Above them was a large floating orb that showed Brave and Nightingale in the arena. “This must be the Buddy-pit for this barrier,” Twilight concluded. “I like the Proto-Barriers Buddy-pit better. This place is kinda creepy.” Pinkie shivered. “Um…” Rarity suddenly spoke up. “Can either of you explain what is happening here? One minute we were at school and next we are here in this dreadful place. And what is Buddyfight? And the monsters?” Twilight sighed, “I’m sorry that you got caught up in all of this Rarity. We’ll explain everything later. Right now, all you need to know is that if we want to get it, then Brave has to win.” “Now, if you and your friends want to leave, you will have to defeat me!” Nightingale pulled out a navy Core Deck Case. “Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize! Hundred Legend Beasts!” “Then let’s get to it!” Brave placed his new deck in his case. “Protectors of the right! Defenders swore to fight! Luminize! Hearts of Righteous Justice!” “It’s time to raise the flags!” “I fight for Legend World!” Nightingale announced with Orthrus howling behind her. “I fight for Hero World!” Brave announced as the Hero World Flag rose behind him. “Hero World!?” Twilight and Pinkie shouted in surprise, but Rarity looked confused. “Hm? What’s the matter darlings?” She asked. Twilight starts to explain, “In buddyfight, the fighter has to choose which world to fight for to entail what kind of cards they will use.” “Brave usually fights for Dragon World,” Pinkie added. “We’ve never seen him use a Hero World deck. Plus we don’t know much about Hero World ourselves.” “Freeeeze!” Suddenly behind them, Ice Blade Joker appeared in his normal size. “Eeeek!” The girl shrieked. “Joker!” Twilight shouted. “Don’t just appear out of nowhere! You’ve frightened Rarity.” Rarity rose her brow, “You know this one, Twilight?” “Apologies m’lady.” Joker extended his hand/blade to rarity. “Nice to meet you. I am Ice Blade Joker, a resident of Legend World! I know it must be cool to meet such an icy character. But let’s chill for now!” Pinkie was laughing at his puns while the other two just sweatdropped. “Why are you here Joker?” Twilight asked. “Well, considering that you and Pinkie don’t know much about her world I’ve come to act as the commentator of this Buddyfight!” “Okay then, but could you turn into your mini form? I think Rarity would be more comfortable that way.” Pinkie suggested. “If I must.” Joker shifted into his miniature form. “Eeeeh!” A squeeze escaped Rarity as she pulled Joker into a cuddle. “How adorable!” Joker grunted, struggling in the tight hold. “This is not cool.” Turn 1: Nightingale [Nightingale: LP-10 G-2] [Brave: LP- 9 G-2] “Ladies first.” Gale started. “Charge and draw! I call King of Forest Zlatorog to the center, and with his ability, I gain two gauges! Now attack the fighter! The Zlatorog charged towards Brave and caused him two damage. “I end my turn.” “End of move!” “Your move!” Turn 2: Brave [Nightingale: LP-10 G-5] [Brave: LP- 8 G-2] “It’s my turn now!” Brave announced. “Draw! Charge and draw! Let’s see how you handle this! I pay one gauge, and Transform!” A coat of green energy formed around Brave’s body. When it dispersed, it revealed Brave in a high-tech suit of armor. He wore a black bodysuit with silver gauntlets and boots, and silver wings on his back. What looked like red police lights were placed on his shoulders and knees. “Explosive Takedown, Rampage Sonic!” “Whoa! Brave’s a Superhero now!” Pinkie cheered excitedly. “Oh my, what dashing armor.” Rarity remarked. “What kind of ability is that, Joker?” Twilight asked the Legend World Monster. “Frosty isn’t it!?” Joker cackled. “The Transform ability is unique Hero World monster. It’s an ability that lets the fighter equip a monster card like it’s an item card, so the fighter can join the fray.” “Nice costume, but it’s not gonna help you beat me,” Nightingale smirked confidently. Brave pounded his fist together with an equally confident smile. “A hero always needs back up. I call Cyber Police, Assault Leader to the left!” “Now, making his Hero World debut! I Buddycall to the right, Buddypolice Decker Drum!” “Time to spring into action!” Drum announced as he appeared in the right position. But his appearance is different from before. “Justice will be served!” Using his new wings, Brave flew to the center position. “It’s hero time!” “Drum looks different. Did he get a haircut recently?” Pinkie asked, while Twilight sweatdropped. “Or maybe because he’s in a new form, plus he’s fighting for another world besides Dragon World. How is that possible?” Twilight asked Joker. “You see, some monsters from the parallel worlds go to other worlds to train or master their crafts. Which makes them able to fight for the world they trained in. A good example is the Dragowizards, monsters from Dragon World training in the mystic arts of Magic World.” Joker explained. “I cast! Hyper Energy!” Brave cast a spell, increasing his gauge of 1 to 5. “Now I’ll use Decker Drum’s ability, to destroy the Zlatorog in the center!” “On it!” Drum agreed as a dark ball of energy started to gather in front of his drill until it turned into a shimmering electric blue. “Whenever Brave pays two gauge, I can destroy one of the opponent's monsters.” The blue sphere launched towards Zlatorog, destroying it and opening the center to attack. “Assault Leader, attack Nightingale!” The Assault leader rushed towards Nightingale, shooting his assault rifle and reducing her life points to eight. “Your turn Drum!” “Gladly!” Drum’s drill started to spin rapidly, sending a harsh tornado towards Nightingale. “Cyclone Bunker!” He announced and dropped her life to five. “And finally, it’s my turn!” Brave flew up with his wings and dove towards Nightingale. “Not so fast. I cast! Holy Grail!” Nightingale cast, as a golden grail stopped Brave in his tracks. “Darn!” Brave floated back to his side of the field. “End of Move!” “Your Move!” Turn 3: Nightingale [Nightingale: LP-5 G-5] [Brave: LP- 9 G-3] “You're putting up a good fight, but let me show you what real power is. Draw! Charge and Draw! I call Waweldrache to the left, and Buddycall Twin-headed Hellhound Orthrus to the right!” Waweldrache and Orthurus appeared in their respective positions, as well as Nightingale gaining one life through Buddy gift. “I equip, Famous Sword Hrunting!” “Finally, I’ll cast, Decree of Dullahan!” She paid three gauge, and her monsters were covered in blazing energy. “Uh-oh. That’s not good.” Pinkie said. “What do you mean, Pinkie?” Rarity asked. Twilight bit on her thumbnail. “That’s a very troubling spell. It gives all of her monsters with the Wydar Sarkal attribute the double attack ability, which means they can all attack once more.” “Waweldrache, do a link attack with me!” Nightingale and Waweldrache charged towards Brave. With their combined power of 8000, it overpowered Braves 3000 defense and dealt him four damage. Reducing Brave’s life to 5. “Now Orthrus, attack the fighter!” Nightingale ordered. Orthrus charged towards Brave, baring his sharp fangs “This old dog does know a few new tricks! / We can destroy a monster or an item when we do damage!” “I cast! I’ve seen through your moves!” Brave cast a spell and dodging the attack from Orthrus. “And Brave stops the attack with a well-timed counterspell!” Joker commentated. “That spell nullifies an attack only if it's your opponent's turn, and if your center is empty. But don’t be so glad-sure that this is over folks!” The girls just looked at him confused. ‘Who is he talking to?’ “Attack again Orthrus!” Nightingale ordered as the demon charged again. “Then I cast again! I’ve Seen Through Your Moves!” Brave dodged once again. Nightingale growled irritated. “Fine! Waweldrache, attack the Assault Leader!” She ordered as Waweldrache destroyed said Hero World monster. “End of Move!” Turn 4: Brave [Nightingale: LP-5 G-5] [Brave: LP- 5 G-3] “Your Move!” “Alright,” Brave said seriously as his right, armored fist combust into flames. “My heart is burning bright! DRAW! CHARGE AND DRAW!” He drew his cards with his flaming fist. “I activate Decker Drum’s ability. Destroy Waweldrache!” “Locking on!” Drum aimed his drill towards Waweldrache. “Fire!” In an instant, Waweldrache was destroyed by a ball of lighting. “Now Drum, attack the Orthrus!” Brave ordered as Drum charged up his drill, sending a cyclone to destroy Orthrus. “Now it’s my turn!” Brave dove towards Nightingale once again, this time striking her and reducing her five life points to three. Nightingale smirked. “So much for finishing me on this turn. I’ll show you how to finish a fight on my next turn.” “My turn isn’t over yet!” Brave announced as he held up his last card. “Final Phase!” “Yes! He called it!” Pinkie and Twilight cheered. Rarity tilted her head, as she looked down at the Legend World monster in her arms. “What does that mean, Joker?” “When a fighter calls a “Final Phase,” it usually means they are about to land a finishing blow. By the looks of it, Brave had drawn just the card.” Joker explained. “Impact!” Brave called out as both him and Drum started flying in the air, both being surrounded by red and green energy. “When two or more of your monsters are destroyed during this turn.” Drum started “And by paying two gauge, this Impact can be activated to deal three damage.” Brave finished. Both Braves and Drum's fists were glowing with energy as they reeled their fists back. “Superior Justice Driver!” Both of them yelled, driving towards Nightingale and delivering the final blow. A large explosion of energy filled the Darkness Barrier. The Legend World Flag was destroyed “Game Over. Winner: Brave Heart!” The Brave and the others were back in the courtyard of Canterlot High. Looking around, it would seem the rage induced students were now either passed out or fatigued and confused. Across from them, Nightingale was on one knee breathing heavily. From her deck case, Orthrus’s card flew out and landed in Braves hand as the group approached her. She looked up to see a smiling Brave with his hand held out. “Now that you're not possessed by the demon anymore, we could have a nice conversation now,” he said in a friendly voice. *Slap!* A sharp ring sent silence through the air. Nightingale had just slapped away Brave’s offering hand. Which shocked not only the Heartful Fighter but his friends as well. “You’re just as foolish as the Master said,” Nightingale growled as she got to her feet. “The demon was not possessing me, it was given to me. I chose to follow The Crimson Master and Lord Yamigedo!” This shocked the group of heroes. “Why would you want to align yourself with a being like Yamigedo!?” Twilight shouted. Pinkie nodded in agreement. “Yeah! You know what’s one his daily diet? Worlds!” Nightingale sneered as she opened a portal beneath her. “Lord Yamigedo and The Crimson master will Liberate this disgusting world.” She said as she slowly descended into the portal. She turned her attention to Brave. “The master has a message for you Brave Heart. He said, ‘See you soon.’” Was all she said as she and the portal vanished. The heroes could only stare at where Nightingale once was in shock. They couldn’t believe that someone could align themselves with a monster such as Yamigedo. The only question they could think of was ‘Are there more?’ But the last statement shook Brave to the core. ‘I guess we’ll be fighting sooner than later. I can only hope I’m ready this time.’ Brave thought to himself. “Um, excuse my darlings?” The voice of their Student Council President snapped them out of their trance. “I know that it was a quite serious moment there, but can anyone please tell me what just happened? I am quite confused as of now.” Twilight just sighed exasperatedly. “Here we go again.” "Welcome to the Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight, Brave, and Pinkie stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. “Where we’ll be teaching you all about the world of Buddyfight!” “Yeah, we decided to drop the ‘Brave and Twilight’s’ part since there will probably be more of us here in the future.” “Now today we’ll be talking about the newest form of my awesome buddy! Buddy Police Decker Drum! “This is another form of our friend Drum, fighting for Hero World!” “He’s a size 2 Hero World monster. 5,000 power and defense, and with a critical of 3. A very formidable card.” “And by paying two of your gauge, he can destroy one of your opponent's monsters!” “When Decker Drum is on the scene, justice will always prevail!” Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. Pinkie was standing beside Twilight, holding up another booster pack. "That's all for now class!" "Can you open a buddy rare card?"
A New Buddy in Town!Author's Note Hey there people! It's Fear Ripper here with another fic that's been kind of occupying my mind for the longest time now. Now it's coming to fruition! Buddyfight! I love this game, but it's a shame it's not as popular as other games that don't deserve it (Cardfight Vanguard) I just hope you enjoy the fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. And Props to AspirantWriter for helping me with editing and other stuff. XD A New Buddy in Town! “Next stop: Ponyville.” The intercom of a train announced to the occupants. Said bullet train screeched to a stop at the designated station. The train doors opened letting out all the passengers who were getting off at the station. People of many shapes and sizes could be found, but one young man, in particular, stood out above the rest. He had jet black hair with a single red streak and standing at about 6 ft. in height, looking to be about fifteen to fourteen years old. Over his shoulder, he slung a plain brown satchel. He was wearing a bright red, assassin-style hoodie with grey outlines and the zipper off to the right of his torso instead of up the middle like most hoodies. His jeans were light blue, and he wore black sneakers. Around his waist was a brown belt, which on the side held a rectangular holster. From the look of his body structure, he had a lean, muscular frame. ‘Finally here! Man, sitting on that train for so long made my legs stiff.’ He spoke his mind with a smirk, before making his way out of the train station. On the way to his destination, he took in the scenery of the town he found himself in. A nice and quaint looking town with a nice amount of nature, but also keeping it modern. He passed by many shops and towers, and those around him looked like they were just enjoying their day in the beautiful town. “This town is so nice. Everywhere seems so peaceful.” He said wistfully. “Well it won’t be like that for long.” A sudden male voice rebutted. From the rectangular holster on the young man’s belt, a spark of light flew out and hovered next to him. “If our sources are correct, then we’ll be able to find them in this town. It’s probably likely that he is here as well. We gotta be careful Brave Heart.” The now named Brave Heart smiled confidently. “Don’t worry buddy. With you and I working together, nothing will get in our way!” He cheered. “But you can’t do it alone young Brave!” An elderly voice called out. Suddenly, seven more lights flew out of the holster. “Yeah! Ki! Don’t leave us out of the fight! Ki! We’ll give them a good pounding once we find buddies of our own. Ki!” A raspy childish voice challenged. Brave sighed.”Why can’t I just fight with all of you? Do we really need to drag civilians into our fight?” “We understand you’re reluctant Brave.” A deeper voice chimed in. “Under normal circumstances, I would wholeheartedly agree. But as skilled as you are, you can’t handle all of our styles at once. You and Drum are the most compatible out of all of us.” “Nin.” Another deep voice agreed. “Plus even with all of us, we’d still be at a disadvantage. There’s only eight of us plus you, and He has an army. It’s only fair that we have one of our own, no matter how small.” A raspy rocker voice added his opinion. “I just hope my buddy is a cute girl!” A joking voice laughed out. “As long as mine is strong I will fight by their side.” A deeper, raspy voice finished. Brave rubbed his nape and sighed. “Alright, I get it everyone, but for now I gotta find my new apartment. Everyone back in the deck.” The lights flew back into the holster on his waist. As he continued his trek through the city, he was stopped by a sudden yell. “I said no!” A girl’s voice rung in the air. He turned his attention to an alley he was passing by. There were three guys that had a girl backed against the wall. The thugs didn’t look like that much, just the generic teenage thug look. The girl, however, had caught Brave’s attention. She looked like she was about Brave’s age. Her hair was a dark purple color with a pink stripe on her right side. Her violet eyes were covered by a pair of black-rimmed glasses. She wore a simple lilac T-shirt with an image of a star surrounded by smaller stars on her shirt and a darker purple skirt that reached her knees. “C’mon girl, give us a chance. We’ll be sure to show you a good time.” The lead thug kept laying it on. The violet-haired girl glared at him. “I have better things to do than entertain you, now I’ll be leaving.” The thug snarled before smirking menacingly. “Oh really? Then I’ll have to charge you for wasting our time.” “I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Brave called out with a smirk. The four of them turned their attention to Brave. “Huh? What are you? Some kind of hero or something?” “Oh, I’m no hero. I prefer the title, “Heartful Fighter!” Brave announced. The thugs laughed, “The Hell is that supposed to mean? Well, you asked for it. Teach him a lesson.” The lead thug ordered his underlings. The two of them approached Brave, who only stood his ground. The two lackeys approached to attack Brave, only to be flipped onto their backs as they went in for a strike. The two lackeys tried to attack again and again, only for Brave to dodge and flip them around even more. Not only he made those two hit the ground, he even makes them strike each other. “Stop messing around guys! Take him out already!” The leader shouted. “Okay, whatever fighter, you’re gonna pay for that!” One of the lackeys shouted as he charged, only to be flipped around again. “Now I’m angry!” The leader pulled his phone out and started typing. He smirked before showing Brave his screen. “Fifty of my crew are on their way here now.” The girl cowered a bit. “Fifty!?” She squealed fearfully. “You’ll need a lot more than fifty,” Brave said confidently. “Being the warmth inside the darkness and being the light to lead the way to a better future, the Heartful fighter is here!” He announced. “What is this crap you are sprouting!?” The leader shouted confused. Brave smirked, “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time now to fight a hundred opponents at once. So go ahead, call a fifty more!” He challenged. Brave’s sheer confidence made the thug’s resolve waver. “This guy's crazy.” The leader said with a defeated look before he began to walk away. “C’mon guys, this ain’t worth our time.” His lackeys were confused at first, but they nevertheless obeyed and following his lead. Brave sighed in disappointment. “So it was just a bluff. Disappointing!” He said before noticing the girl, who had led out a breath of relief. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Brave asked as he approached the girl. “No, thank goodness.” She sighed before she smiled and bowed her head towards Brave. “Thank you for saving me from those bullies.” “No problem, just doing the duty of the Heartful Fighter! Catch ya later!” With that said, Brave ran off to his own devices. The thug leader was walking through the night streets without his entourage. “Tsk! That kid, that Heartful Fighter! Grrr! If I ever see him again I’ll show him who’s stronger.” He ranted to himself. “Is revenge what you seek?” An ominous voice hissed. Suddenly, a glowing card-shaped object appeared directly in front of the thug. “If that is true than accept the power of the Hundred Demons!” The card shined brighter as the thug’s eyes quickly became hollow and an evil grin then adorned his lips. (The Next Day) “*YAAAAWWWWWWN*!” The yawn of our young hero rung through the air as the morning sun shined above Ponyville. Brave was trekking through the streets as he made his way to his new school. Instead of his outfit from yesterday, he was wearing his new uniform, which consisted of a white, short sleeve dress shirt with maroon cuffs, along with maroon slacks and his regular red sneakers. However, still wore the brown belt with the holster. “Man, why do I gotta go to school? Shouldn’t all my time be spent searching for our enemies?” Brave complained. “You would think to fight for the fate of the world would get you more perks.” “Quit your whining kid.” The first voice, who was named Drum, spoke at the same speck of light flew out of the holster. “School is important. I would like it if we could be searching for the enemy as well as Them right now, but taking it easy is also healthy for you. You need to live a normal life too after all.” Brave rolled his eyes, “Alrighty mom. Well, at least I’ll be making more friends!” He chanted optimistically. While cheering, he didn’t notice another person intersecting his path. This caused them to bump into each other and while the collision wasn’t hard enough to knock them over, they stumbled a bit as the two regained their balance... “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Brave apologized to the one he bumped into, only to see it was the same girl he saved from yesterday. Instead of her casual outfit from yesterday, she too wore a school uniform. It consisted of a white blouse with a yellow vest over it that had maroon accents, as well as a maroon skirt. “No, it’s fine.” The girl said just before she recognized Brave as the boy from yesterday and smiled. “Oh! It’s you!” “You’re the girl from yesterday.” He said before he examined her uniform. “A Canterlot High uniform? Hey, that means we’re going to the same school.” “It would seem so.” The girl then held her hand out to him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you.” Brave smiled brightly as he shook her hand. “Name’s Brave Heart.Let’s be great friends!” While they were walking the trail to Canterlot High, another light speck flew out of the holster discreetly. “Ohhoho~! What is this?” The rocker voice teased. “The damsel in distress reunited with her knight. No! Could this be? A love of destiny!?” “Shut it, Asmodai!” Brave whispered harshly. “Get back in the deck before someone notices!” The now named Asmodai flew back into the holster and luckily, Twilight didn’t notice the light since she was focused on Brave. Seeing they both went to the same school, the two decided to walk there together while learning a bit about each other along the way. “So what grade are you in?” Brave asked. “I’m a freshman, I actually just transferred in this year. My family and I just moved here.” Twilight answered. “Wow! What a coincidence, so did I. I actually just got here yesterday before we had our little run in.” He joked. “Well, at least I’ll be going in with a friend now instead of heading straight into it alone.” “Friend?” Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Yup! From this point on, you and I are gonna be the best of friends!” Brave declared to her. Twilight chuckled nervously since she wasn’t sure how to feel about someone she just met saying suddenly that they are gonna be best friends. It didn’t help that she isn’t the most social of girls. “Hey!” A voice called out which sounded familiar to Brave and Twilight. They turned to see the thug leader from yesterday. “Oh, it’s you again. Come back with those hundred opponents you promised me?” Brave challenged him. “Shut up! I’m going to make you pay for humiliating me! Your little girlfriend too!” The thug yelled as he pulled out a glowing card from his pocket. Brave’s eyes widened in astonishment as looked upon the very card that the thug held in his hand. “That’s-!” Before he could finish, however, a strong gust of wind was shot from the card and towards the surprised duo. “Look out!” Brave shouted as he grabbed onto Twilight’s arm and pulled her towards him as he got away from the approaching wind. It was in a nick of time for where they once stood was suddenly engulfed in ice. “W-what!? How’d he do that!?” Twilight stammered as she looked at the frozen pavement that gust of wind created. If she or Brave didn’t get away in time, they would have ended up being encased in ice. “No time! We gotta move!” Brave yelled as he tightened his grip on her arm and led Twilight away from the thug as quickly as possible. “Running like a coward? Where’s that bravado from yesterday, so-called Heartful Fighter!?” The thug taunted as he gave chase while holding onto the card that brought forth that wind. Both Brave and Twilight manage to stay ahead of the thug while dodging the ice attacks that he threw at them. However, they couldn’t shake him off and the two ended up running down a random alleyway. However, the alleyway turned out to be a dead end and now the duo found themselves cornered by the thug. “Well, well, well, look at this.” The Thug approached them slowly with an evil grin. “Two pests caught in a trap. What are you gonna do ‘Heartful Fighter?’ Huh?” Twilight shook in fear as the thug kept lurching towards them, but Brave stepped forward. Standing his ground, he crossed his arms with a confident smirk on his face. “Actually, this is exactly where I wanted you. Obviously, a normal human couldn’t do what you just did. You’re just a puppet being controlled by your master. Show yourself, Hundred Demon!” Brave demanded to the thug or more specifically, the card that he had in his hand. Freeing itself from the thug’s grasp, that very card flew straight into the air as it begun shined brightly. What appeared in its place was a demonic-like figure. He had the appearance that is akin to a gargoyle with blue and purple scales covering his body along with four red eyes, as well as the fifth eye on his forehead. “W-w-what is that?!” Twilight cried out in fear as looked upon the unknown being that floated before her and Brave. “So you know my kind human? Well then let me introduce myself. I am Ice Prison Emperor, Cocytus Greed. And I must say, that female human is exerting a nice amount of fear. Although, you seem to lack it. Why is that?” Cocytus Greed asked, paying no heed to Twilight’s previous outburst. “This isn’t my first time running into one of your kind.” Brave then reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver, spherical object with a circuit-like pattern on it. “And it won’t be the last. Proto-barrier! Activate!” He threw the sphere into the air and while mid-air, the circuit-like pattern glowed green until it exploded in a burst of energy. The energy then started to enveloped Brave, Twilight, Cocytus Greed and the thug as a bright light blocked their sight. When the light faded, they found themselves in a completely different place. The space around them looked like space but filled with more universal colors. Twilight and Brave were standing on a pedestal made of silver octagonal panels, along with three other similar pedestals to the left, right, and center in front of them. Cocytus Greed and the thug were standing on a similar pedestal on the opposite side of them, only separated by a larger stage in between. “W-w-w-where are we?” Twilight panicked. “What’s going on here!? Am I going crazy!?” “Twilight, calm down,” Brave said as he rested his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry you got mixed up into this. But I promise you, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Okay?” Twilight hesitated for a moment, not quite sure how to feel about her situation. But after seeing the confident look in Brave’s eyes and the comforting feeling from his hand on her shoulder, she finally calmed down. She let out a deep breath before nodding to him. “Alright.” “Human!” Cocytus Greed shouted as it looked around. “Where have you brought me? A prison?” “Nope. This is a Proto-barrier, a pocket dimension I activated from the Proto-sphere. The only way out…” Brave reached for the holster on his hip and pulled out a red, metallic card deck case with a large blue jewel in the center. “Is to Buddyfight! We’ll only be free when one of us wins.” “Buddyfight?” Twilight questioned. “Finally! I can now take this deck out!” Drum’s voice rung out as a light speck flew out of Brave’s deck case. It began to shine before it formed into another monster. This one was a bipedal, humanoid dragon dressed in a cyan blue, Chinese brawler outfit. “A-another one?” Twilight backed away from it. “Don’t worry girl, I’m one of the good ones. I’m Brave’s buddy.” Drum confirmed. Twilight looked to Brave, who only gave her a thumbs up. “So you are the human that opposes the Crimson Master and Master Yamigedo. Very well human, prepare for defeat!” Cocytus GreeD announced before the thug also held up a deck case, but it was black. “Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize!” The deck case changed its form into a gauntlet that covered the thug’s right hand, but the blue jewel stayed intact in the center of his palm. Six cards floated directly in front of him as he finished announcing, “Hundred Ancient Warriors!” “Alright! Time to battle!” Brave cheered. “Blazing their way through the battlefield with hearts full of courage! Pave the path to victory! Luminize!” Brave’s deck also changed shape into a flame-shaped holster that was strapped to his chest right over his heart. There were also six cards in front of him. “Heart of Blazing Spirit!” “What are those devices?” Twilight asked. “They’re called Core Gadgets.” Another voice rang. Another light flew out of Brave’s holster and formed into another monster. This one looked more like a human male. Although he did have a demonic look to him with the light purple tone to his skin and the horns popping out of his head. “Hey, there cutie. The name’s Demon Lord, Asmodai. Since Brave and Drum will be busy with the fight I’ll be here to add commentary to the peanut gallery. Specifically you.” He introduced himself. “Oh right, I was explaining something. The Core Gadget takes the shape of an object that reflects a fighter's inner hopes and dreams, either taking the shape of a personal symbol of strength for that fighter. It also allows the user to Luminize their decks so they can fight where and whenever.” “Their decks? Then this is just a card game?” “There’s a little more to it than that, but yeah, it's a card game. I’ll explain everything along the way if you get confused. First of all, every fighter starts with ten life points and six cards.” Asmodai said as he started to explain the rules of the game to Twilight. “It’s time to raise the flags!” Brave and the thug announced. “I Fight for Dragon World!” Brave claimed as Drum waved the Dragon World Flag. “I fight for Ancient World!” Thug claimed with Cocytus Greed holding the Ancient World Flag. “Flags?” Twilight asked Asmodai. “In Buddyfight, each fighter raises a flag of the world they are fighting for. Which only allows them to use monsters that belong to that specific world. So Brave can only use Dragon World cards and his opponent can only use Ancient world cards, but both of them can use generic cards as well.” Asmodai explained. Turn 1: Brave [Brave: LP-10 G-2] [Thug: LP- 10 G-2] “I’ll be taking the first turn,” Brave announced. “Charge and Draw!” Brave took one of the cards from his hand and guided it to two larger cards that were floating higher above Brave. The card he sent to them also enlarged in size, as Brave drew another card from his deck. “What are those cards up there?” Twilight asked Asmodai. “That’s the Gauge. Some cards come with a cost of a certain amount of Gauge, so when they use that card they have to pay the number of Gauge specified. At the beginning of the fight, each fighter has two Gauge. Each fighter has to draw a card on their turn, but they do have the option of Charging, which is taking one of the cards from your hand and placing it in the Gauge. If the fighters do so, they can draw another card in its place. There’s a limit to Charging however and that it can only be used once per turn.” “I call Crimson Battler, Extreme Blow Dragon to the center!” Brave announced as a magic circle appeared on the center pedestal and came forth ared-scaled Dragonoid monster. This one was large and muscular with four horns on his head. Wearing gray and gold armor and armed with metal knuckles. “Let’s have a clean fight!” Extreme Blow called out. “Now go and attack the fighter!” Brave ordered. With a blazing fist of fire, Extreme Blow struck the thug in the chest. A hologram of the number ten appeared over the thug, which then decreased by three. “End of Move.” A mechanical voice announced out of Brave’s Buddy Gadget. Turn 2: Thug [Brave: LP-10 G-3] [Thug: LP-7 G-2] “And that’s how you cause damage in a fight,” Asmodai explained another mechanic of the game to Twilight. “You see each monster has what is called a Critical. The number of damage the fighter takes is equal to the amount of the Critical of the monster that dealt the damage. The fighter that goes first is only allowed to attack once, and when the fighters life points drop to zero they lose.” “Your move.” The same voice came out of the thug’s Buddy Gadget. “Draw. Charge and Draw.” the Thug added to his Gauge. “I call Demonic Fairy Dragon, Sorciere to the right. Blade Dragon Emperor, Vorpal Spartar to the center. Finally, Island Dragon of the Origin, Little Land Mu to the left.” Appearing from a magic circle on the thug’s right pedestal was purple Dragonoid whose body appeared to be made of some form of energy. The same manner of summoning also occurred on the center and left pedestals, which two dragons appeared. On the center was a large black-scaled dragon with blade-like spikes adorning its body while on the left was a smaller dragon with a flourishing island on its back. “Wait! He just called three monsters at the same time! Is that against the rules?!” Twilight asked in surprise. “Not really.” Asmodai chimed in. “You see, each monster has a size of either zero, one, two, or three. They can summon as many monsters as they want as long as the total size of them is equal to three. Seeing as Sorciere is size one, Spartar is size two, and Little Land Mu is size zero, they can all be summoned to the field all at once.” “Sorciere, attack the center monster!” The Thug ordered the Dragonoid roared as it flew straight at Extreme Blow before slashing its claws through him, causing that Dragonoid to disappear. “Now, Double Attack on the fighter!” Sorciere then flew toward Brave and attacked him as well with its claws. The gashes of its claws were shown on Braves body as red lights before they then disappeared. Brave’s own hologram of his Life Points appeared above as it went down by two. “It attacked twice?” Twilight said as she uncovered her face from the strong gust of wind that came from Sorciere’s attack. “All monsters can have different abilities when the conditions are met. Since Sorciere’s Power was higher than Extreme Blow’s Defence, it destroyed him. As for Sorciere’s ability, it gains Double Attack for this turn whenever it destroys a monster.” “Now Spartar and Little Land Mu! Attack the fighter as well!” The two monsters charged and delivered their own devastating attacks on Brave, which brought down his Life Points by three. “End of Move.” Like Brave’s Buddy Gadget, the one that the thug is using also spoke in a similar if colder manner. Turn 3: Brave [Brave: LP-5 G-3] [Thug: LP-7 G-3] “Nice turn dude. You manage to take out half my Life Points, but don’t think you’ve won just yet. Draw! Charge and Draw!” Brave increased his Gauge and drew a card from his deck. “I now call Break Shoulder Dragon to the left!” On Brave’s left pedestal was now another red-scaled Dragonoid, who appeared similar to Extreme Blow if not for his grizzled face and more fearsome armor. “And to the right, I call my buddy to the right! Crimson Battler Drum Bunker Dragon!” “Alright!” Drum shouted excited. He stabbed the Dragon World flag into the ground and jumped straight into the right pedestal. “Let me at this punk!” Brave’s Life Points appeared again, but this time it increased by 1. “He gained one life point? How?” Twilight asked. “You see, every fighter has to choose a buddy monster before the fight starts. Since Drum is Brave’s buddy, then the first time he is called to fight Brave gains one life point. It’s called Buddy Gift.” Asmodai answered. The thug laughed ominously. “Call whatever monsters you want, it won’t make a difference. I’ll take you down either way! I’ll prove I ain’t soft! That I’m stronger than you!” Brave said nothing as a serious expression adorned on his face. Moments later, it was replaced with his usual smirk. “You know, I never got your name.” That question surprised the thug for he was not expecting a response like that. “What’s it to you? Were in the middle of a fight here!” “Well if I don’t know your name, then we can’t be buds!” Brave announced cheerfully. Everyone except for Asmodai, who was chuckling, was shocked at what Brave said. “What in the world are you saying!?” Twilight shouted. “He’s just a street thug! He threatened me yesterday and attacked us with that demon! Yet you want to be friends with him!?” “Yeah! What the girl said!” The Thug yelled in agreement. “I’m the thug here! Aren’t you ‘hero’ types supposed to despise guys like me? Someone who bullies the weak and goes against your morals?” “Sorry to burst your bubble, you guys.” Drum interrupted. “But that's not the kind of black and white view Brave has. It’s not ‘The Way of the Heartful Fighter,’ or as he said.” “My buddy’s right,” Brave spoke out. “Everyone deserves to have a good bud in their life, no matter what. No matter what they've done or what they've said, no matter if their sins are uncountable, or if their greed is too great, even if they see the pleasure in hurting the innocent or harm those who live for the next day. They deserve, more importantly, they need friends. From what I can tell you didn’t always use to be this way. You just need a good bud to set you straight!” Twilight couldn’t help but gaze at Brave in awe as his words ring through her mind. ‘He sounds just like Big Sis Celestia.’ She pondered in her head. “Hahaha! Same old Brave.” Asmodai laughed. “The guy who’s gonna be friends with the entire universe. Or at least that’s what he says.” The thug was in a similar state of awe as Twilight. ‘No one’s ever spoken to me like that. He just, wants to be my friend, without even knowing me? Who I am, or what I’ve done?’ Cocytus Greed, however, could feel the negative energy fade from his vessel. To make sure he could still have influence over his puppet, he channeled his own negative energy and flowed it into the thug. He struggled for a moment before his face twisted in anger and his eyes glow green before yelling. “Just shut your trap and make your move! I’ll defeat you for Master Yamigedo!” Brave didn’t waver at the change of attitude. “Alright, but let’s make a deal. When I win, you gotta become my bud!” He challenged as she held up another card. “I pay one Gauge to equip on Crimson Fist, Dragoblaze!” On Brave’s right arm, a golden-armored gauntlet materialized. “What’s that card Asmodai?” Twilight asked the Demon Lord in wonder “That Twilight is what’s called an Item card. It’s a special card that allows the fighter to fight alongside their monsters.” Asmodai explained. “Although if you want to use an item you can’t have a monster in the center position and that would leave leaving the fighter wide open for a direct attack.” “Why’s that?” She asked. “Whenever monsters are in the center position, your opponent can’t directly attack until the center is empty.” He replied. “Also, when a fighter has a monster in both the right and left position and has an item equipped, it’s called the Triple Offensive Maneuver and that is Brave’s favorite move.” “Okay Drum, attack the Vorpal Spartar in the center!” Brave ordered. “It’s Crimson Time!” Drum announced before he lunged at Vorpal Spartar. “I don’t think so! I cast Dragon Flame Cascade!” The thug then activated a card and it destroyed both Break Shoulder Dragon and Drum. Before Twilight could even ask, Asmodai answered her question. “There are also Spell cards that can be used. Some are easier to use than others cause some of them come at a cost like monsters. The specific Spell he used was Dragon Flame Cascade, a counter Spell that destroys all monsters with two thousand or less Power or Defense.” “So that’s why Brave’s monsters are destroyed,” Twilight muttered before then she saw Drum reappear in a flash of green light. “Wait a minute? Drum’s back in play?” “That’s probably because of his own ability, Soulguard. It allows monsters to put other cards into its soul to withstand an attack. The number of cards in the soul is the number of how many attacks they can take before being sent to the drop zone.” “I’m back! Now say goodbye to Spartar!” Drum once again lunged towards Spartar to deliver a powerful attack with his drill gauntlets. “And thanks to my Penetrate ability, you take three damage!” True to his word, Drum delivered another attack on the thug and the hologram displaying his Life Points went down from seven to four. “Now it’s my turn!” Brave called out as he leaped from his position to strike the thug with his Dragoblaze. “I cast Dragon Prudent!” The thug countered Brave’s attack by casting a Spell, which a powerful gust of wind blew Brave away before he could lay a blow on him... “End of Move!” Turn 4: Thug [Brave: LP-6 G-5] [Thug: LP-4 G-3] “Your move.” It was now the thug’s turn. “Draw! Charge and Draw! I cast Dragon Emperor Legend!” The effect of the Spell was significant for it increased his Gauge and Life Points by one while allowing him to add another card to his hand. With that done, the thug’s Life Points and gauge both have a total of five. “I’ll now Buddy call! Ice Prison Emperor Cocytus Greed, to the center!” On command, Cocytus Greed then flew onto the center pedestal as one of Brave’s Gauge flew into the thug’s own. “What’s yours is mine and so is your Gauge! When I enter the field, one of your Gauge becomes mine!” He explained the thug then pointed a finger at Drum. “I pay three Gauge to activate Cocytus Greed’s other ability! When I pay the Gauge cost, Cocytus Greed can destroy one card in my opponent's field! SO say goodbye to your buddy!” Cocytus Greed’s astral hands surrounded Drum and encased him in a barrier of wind around him, slowly freezing his entire body. “Win this Brave!” That was all Drum said before he was destroyed. “Now Sorciere! Attack the fighter!” Sorciere delivered a slash attack at Brave, reducing his Life Points to four. “Now Little Land Mu…!!” “I cast Blue Dragon Shield!” Just before Little Land Mu could attack, a shield with a blue dragon head on it got in its way. The Spell not only nullified the attack but increased his Gauge by one. “You just got lucky. Cocytus Greed, attack the fighter!” “I will freeze you for eternity human!” Cocytus Greed flew towards Brave to attack. “I cast Blue Dragon Shield!” Brave cast the Spell once again, stopping the attack while increasing his Gauge by one. “He had another dragon shield!?” The thug was shocked that both of his attacks have failed. “End of Move!” Turn 5: Brave [Brave: Lp-4 G-4] [Thug: Lp- 5 G-3] “Even so, your luck has run out you bastard! You have no monsters left and your Life Points is low!” The thug taunted. “I got Cocytus Greed in the center along with two other monsters! Make your final move for I’ll take you down on my next turn!” “Sorry dude, but you won’t have the next turn!” Brave said back with a smirk as he raised his Dragoblaze-clad hand as it suddenly combusts into flames. With that said hand, he drew his card. “DRAW! CHARGE AND DRAW! I pay two Gauge and cast Dragonic Destroy! Now Cocytus Greed in the center is now destroyed!” A portal suddenly opened above Cocytus Greed and from it, a giant Dragonic hand descended down and grabbed him. “This isn't right! My life is my own, and yours is mine as well!” Cocytus Greed tried to reach for his fighter only to be dragged into the portal with the Dragonic hand, destroying him in the process. “Cocytus Greed has a Lifelink 1,” Asmodai noted. “Lifelink 1?” Twilight asked. “It is an ability that takes a fighter’s Life Points away when the monster is destroyed.” He answered. “Cocytus Greed Thug’s life decreases by one.” True to his word, the hologram displaying the thug’s Life Points went down to a total of four. “Next, I cast Dragonic Charge!” Brave cast his next Spell and that increase his Gauge by two, bringing it back up to five. The thug growled at the setback but remained confident that he would win on his next turn. “You only have one card left in your hand! Whatever monster you choose to call, it won’t matter in the end!” “FINAL PHASE!” Brave announced, which caught the thug off-guard. “What!?” Asmodai chuckled as Twilight look on confused. “Looks like Brave has this fight won.” “I cast my Impact Card!” Suddenly, an aura of red energy started blazing all over his body like a wildfire. “What’s an Impact Card?” Twilight questioned. “Alright, time for the final lesson.” Asmodai sighed. “An Impact Card is like a final move. While they are very powerful cards, Impact Cards come with a very specific set of conditions for them to be used. The one that Brave played is his Signature Move. To be used, his opponent's life has to be four or less, Brave has an item equipped, and neither of them has a monster in the center. Which mean all the conditions are met for-!” “CRIMSON!” Interrupted by Brave’s shout, Asmodai and Twilight turned to him as the aura around him flowed and condensed into Dragoblaze. “SOUL!” He reeled his arm back as he prepared to deliver the final blow to the thug. “GRENADE!” Finally, he threw his fist and shot forth the condensed ball of energy. The energy sphere struck the ground directly in front of the thug exploded in a mass of fire. With his Life Points fallen straight to zero, his flag, in turn, was destroyed and marked the ending the game. “Game Over! Winner: Brave Heart!” With that, the space around everyone began to glow brightly and enveloped them. When the light faded, Brave, Twilight, Asmodai, and the thug found themselves back in the alley they were in before. The thug was lying on the pavement unconscious and what lies beside him was a destroyed Core Deck Case. Among it was his cards along with the very one that caused Brave and Twilight much trouble today; Ice Prison Emperor Cocytus Greed. “Oh, thank goodness we’re back in the real world.” Twilight sighed in relief. As for Brave, he made his way towards the thug and scooped up the cards that were left by Cocytus Greed. The thug then started to stir awake and saw Brave standing directly above him. “You… you saved me from that thing. Even after what I did, how I acted.” The Thug said slowly as he recalled what happened... “Yup, and we had a deal.” Brave smiled before offering his hand to him. “The names Brave Heart and from now on, you and I are buds!” The thug hesitated for a moment before ultimately accepting Brave’s hand, who helped him up. “Steel Club.” He finally said his name, which made Brave smile. “Ahem!” The two of them turned to see Twilight giving them a stern look, which was mostly towards Brave. “I don’t want to intrude on your moment, but you still owe me an explanation of what just happened!” “Oh right, sorry about that Twilight.” Brave scratched his head in embarrassment. “Well, where to start?!” “Now I’m the one saying sorry for interrupting,” Asmodai spoke up. “But don’t you two have somewhere to be?” He motioned to his wrists as if checking a watch, which confused Brave for a moment. In a few seconds, it struck him when he pulled out his phone to check the time and saw it was 8:45. “Oh no! Classes start in fifteen minutes!” Brave panicked before he grabbed onto Twilight’s arm and started dragging her in a mad dash towards school. “C’mon Twilight! We can’t be late on our first day! Later Steel Club, we’ll see each other again!” With that, the two of them left the scene, leaving only Steel Club and Asmodai in the alleyway. “Well, there they go,” Asmodai said as he turned his gaze to Steel Club. “Now don’t go around causing trouble you here? Or else you have to deal with this Demon Lord! Hahaha!” That was all he said before turning back into a small light and begun following Brave and Twilight. “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. “Where we will be teaching you all you need to know about the world of buddyfight!” Twilight announced. “Today we’ll be talking about my awesome buddy, Crimson Battler, Drum Bunker Dragon!” Brave said as Drum’s card appeared on the monitor. “He’s a size 2 monster with 5000 power, 2000 defense, and a critical of 3. When you want to call him to the field you must pay one gauge and put the top card of your deck into his soul!” Twilight zeroed in on his stats. The screen shifts to the cards effects. “Plus, if you have an item with the word fist in its title, Drum gains the Penetration ability! What a great buddy huh?” Brave explained. Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. “That’s all for now class.” “Can you open a Buddy Rare card?”
A Buddy's Origin Story!“*Huff! Huff!* We made it.” The party of Brave Heart and Twilight Sparkle had made it to their destination. Albeit tired and sweaty. Canterlot High School looked to be the run of the mill high school. Three stories tall, white building with windows all across the sides. “And with ten minutes to spare. Funny how fast you can go when you’re in a rush.” Brave joked. Only for Twilight to glare at him. “Well we did make it, but don’t forget you still have to explain what happened back there. What was that demon guy? How did you summon those monsters? Why did you have to play that game to set us free!?” “Yo! Yo! Let’s calm down a little, ya know?” The voice of Demon Lord Asmodai could be heard when a speck of light hovered between the two. “Asmodai?” Twilight questioned. “That’s right, Twilight!” Asmodai rapped. “Sorry we had to do the fight and run! Why don’t we save this talk for when school is done!” Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “I think he means we should wait until after school to talk. It’s kind of a long story after all. Why don’t we meet here when classes are done?” Brave answered. Twilight eyed him suspiciously. “How do I know you’re gonna show up and not just leave me hanging? I barely know you after all.” Before Brave could answer, Asmodai interrupted. “Trusting in a stranger can be pretty hard, so as a show of faith-!” Asmodai’s light suddenly turned into a card with a picture of him and his card effects on it and landed in Twilights hands. “Why don’t you hold on to my card?” Brave looked surprised, “Asmodai? Are you sure?” “It’s alright homes! She needs to trust us, so this is a good first step.” He stopped his rapping. Brave hesitated, “Are you okay with it Twilight?” he asked. “Hm… as long as he doesn’t cause me trouble it’s fine. This will make sure I get my answers.” She put Asmodai’s card in her shirt pocket. “Then it’s agreed.” Brave finished with his usual smirk. While the duo came to an agreement, they didn’t notice a cheerful, pink haired, young girl skip right by them. She was wearing the same uniform as Twilight, but she had pink and white striped knee socks and stood a good 5.6 ft in height to Twilights 5.3. She stopped in her tracks as she noticed the two new students. “Heeeeeey there!” The curly pink haired girl approached the both of them and started roughly shaking their hands. “You two are new, right?” “Huh? Uhm… yes, I’m new.” Twilight introduced awkwardly. “Yeah, so am I. How did you know?” Brave asked as the pink girl let go of their hands. Twilight rubbed her hand uncomfortable, but Brave seemed fine. “Because I know absolutely EVERYONE in this school. So what are your names? Mine’s Pinkie!” “T-Twilight.” “The name’s Brave! Also known as the Heartful Fighter!” “Oooh! Nice. To. Meet. You! Twilight! Brave! I’m sure we’ll be good friends in no time!” She went back to shaking their hands. “Me too. I can already tell you’ll be a blast to hang with.” Brave said optimistically. “Thanks! Oh, I have a great idea! This weekend I’ll throw you guys a big welcome party!” Pinkie suggested. “Awesome!” Brave cheered. “Sounds like a great way to make friends.” “I know right?” Pinkie agreed before turning to Twilight. “Nice surprise eh? Eh!?” “Um.. yeah, but I’m not really the loud kind. I’m more of a nice, quiet place kind of girl.” Twilight replied. “What? That’s silly. What kind of party could be had in silence? A boring one! With a party like the one, I’m thinking of you’ll make a lot of friends! You won’t have to be a sad, lonely girl, but instead a happy one with lots of friends!” ‘Does this girl ever stop talking?’ Twilight thought annoyed, and Brave was just smiling beside her. Enjoying their conversation with their new pink friend. Again, both were unaware of another girl running towards them at a tremendous speed. Although she didn’t show signs of stopping and would have probably knocked them over. Were it not for Brave being the first one in her path. The moment she collided with the Heartful fighter, she was immediately stopped in her tracks. Brave didn’t budge, but the girl was stuck cartoonishly on his back before slowly descending to the ground on her back. Brave curiously looked down at the person who had ‘bumped’ into him. She looked like a little girl with long rainbow hair and magenta eyes. She stood at about 4.8 feet tall, wearing the same uniform as the other two girls with him. Except her vest was open, she didn’t wear the ribbon around her neck, and a rainbow sash around her waist. “Did somebody get the number of that truck?” the fallen girl shook her head out of her dizzied expression. She looked up to see Brave offering his hand to her. “Are you okay little girl?” he asked. “LITTLE GIRL!?” she suddenly shot to her feet. “I’ll have you know I’m thirteen years old, bub!” “Oh, sorry about that. My mistake.” Brave scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “That’s right it’s your mistake! Don’t judge a girl by her size! You’ll regret making fun of me when I’m super famous! Remember the name Rainbow Dash!” she yelled. As she kept ranting, yet another girl casually walked by. She was about the same height as Pinkie while wearing the same Canterlot High uniform. Only she had a yellow sash around her waist and a Stetson cowboy had on her back. She had long blonde hair reaching down to her back, green eyes, and her cheeks were lightly dusted with freckles. She continued to walk while nose deep in the book in her hands. She was so engulfed with her book, that she didn’t notice she knocked over Rainbow Dash while she walked by. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Rainbow yelled at her. The blonde turned around to see who was speaking to her, but she didn’t look down enough to see Rainbow. “Hmm, nobody’s here.” She said dismissively as she walked away, continuing to read her book. “Nobody!? How dare you!” Rainbow yelled. But she was suddenly knocked over by a generic looking female student. “Why is everyone knocking me down today!?” “Make way for our beloved class president!” the female student commanded. Following her was another, more eye-catching female student. She stood at about 5.7 ft. in height. She had long, flowy, lavender hair, and a matching lavender scarf around her neck, flowing behind her like a tail. She was also wearing the same female uniform. “Come on now everyone, it’s school time! May everyone have a fabulous day!” the lavender girl announced to everyone in a French accent. As she and her entourage made their way into the school. “Who’s that?” Twilight asked. “That’s Rarity.” Pinkie answered. “She’s the most popular girl in school and elected the class president. Oh! She’s into fashion as well.” “She seems nice.” Brave Heart added. “Her entourage, not so much.” Yet another girl closed in on their location, but she was more focused on Rainbow Dash. She was just as tall Rarity and wearing the female uniform with a pink sash around her waist. Her long, light pink hair flowed behind her while her green eyes were fixated on the rainbow-haired girl. “What are you doing down there, Rainbow?” The light pink haired girl asked. Rainbow sighed as she stood back up. “Nothing at all. Let’s just get to our classroom, Fluttershy.” She commanded as she and the now named Fluttershy walked into the school. ‘What a timid girl.’ Twilight thought. “Speaking of classrooms,” Brave interjected. “We should probably get to ours. The class is gonna start any minute.” “Oh! That’s right!” Pinkie ran off into the school building. “See you in class you two!” “W-Wait!” Twilight followed her lead. “I’m comin’ too!” Brave Heart also followed. ‘Finally, the start of a new adventure!’ he thought to himself. (After School) “*Yawn* Well, classes are as boring as ever.” Brave talked to himself as he made his way to the front entrance. “So, anybody in this school looks like potential buddies?” This time he voiced his question to his bag. Which started to shin lightly. “It’s too soon to say young Brave.” The elderly sounding voice spoke. “Although, I can’t say the same for that Asmodai! How ill-mannered! To offer his own card up like that to a stranger!” “Easy there Blade.” Brave stopped the voices rant. “Even though this is a Demon Lord we’re talking about, I trust Asmodai. Plus, Twilight isn’t really a stranger. She already knows about us, so we can trust her with that much. Blade grumbled a bit before sighing. “Alright young Brave, I can at least trust your judgment. But I suggest we end our conversation here. Others are beginning to stare.” Brave was confused until he saw some of the fellow students looking at him weirdly. He realized to them he was practically talking to himself. ‘Great, now I look like a weirdo.’ He thought. Brave had exited the school and saw Twilight waiting for him at the front gate. She was talking to someone on her cell phone so she didn’t notice him yet. He quickened his pace and waved at her. “Hey, Twilight!” he shouted. She turned towards him and waved, but she still had her phone up to her ear. “Hello, Brave.” She responded. “Hehe, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your phone call.” “Hm? Oh, no I’m actually talking to Asmodai.” Twilight revealed Asmodai’s card over her phone. “I wanted to speak to him more about that ‘Buddyfight’ you had, but I didn’t want to be seen talking to a card like a weirdo.” “Ehehehehehe~.” Brave laughed awkwardly. “Anyways, let’s go.” Twilight lead the way. “Mom! Dad! I’m home, and I brought a classmate!” Twilight shouted through her family’s apartment. Twilight had lead Brave straight to her family’s apartment so that he could finally explain the situation she got wrapped up in. They had both walked into the living room, only to hear someone in the kitchen. “Oh, a classmate you say?” A woman's voice came out of the window to the kitchen. She learned to look out the window, revealing a middle-aged woman that looked like an older version of Twilight. Only with light purple hair with white stripes. He pleasant smile was replaced with a mischievous one. “Oh-ho-ho! Bringing a boy home on your first day? What would your father think of his little bookworm?” “Mom!” Twilight yelled with a blush on her cheeks. “We’re only classmates! He just asked if I could help him study.” “If you say so~!” she turned towards Brave. “Hello, young man. I’m Twilight mother, Velvet Sparkle.” “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am. My name is Brave Heart. Your daughter is a big help, and a great friend.” “My, my, how polite. Well, I’ll leave you kids to it while I prepare dinner.” Velvet leaned out of the window frame. “Oh and you’re father is working late tonight, Twilight. Just so you know.” Twilight sighed and started walking to her room. “C’mon Brave.” she beckoned. The both of them were standing in front of the room with Twilight’s name on it. She was about to open the door. “Wait.” Brave stopped her. “Hm? What’s the problem?” Twilight asked. “Are you sure this is okay?” Brave said awkwardly, and his cheeks were a bit red. “I’ve… never really been in a girls room before.” Twilight’s cheeks also started to blush. “D-d-don’t make this any weirder than it already is! It’s weird enough I have a Demon in my pocket! You still have a lot of explaining to do. Now come on.” She opened the door to a very clean and well kept purple room. Although, sitting at the desk in front of a laptop was a young boy with short green hair. He looked to be about thirteen years old, standing at about 5 feet tall, his eyes matched the color of his hair, and he wore a white shirt with purple jeans. “He-Hey Twilight.” The green haired boy greeted nervously. “Spike! What are you doing in my room!?” Twilight yelled as she pulled on the young boy’s face. “I was just using your computer!” He whined. “You weren’t snooping around were you?” She asked suspiciously, letting go of his face. “No, I just needed to look something up for a class.” Spike dismissed before he noticed brave. “Who’s this?” “This is my classmate Brave Heart. He asked me to help him with his studies.” “Hmm.” Spike eyed Brave suspiciously. “Alright… but you better not try anything funny with my sister. Ya hear me?” He tried to look intimidating, but the obvious difference in height made that difficult. “Spike!” His sister yelled. “Nah, it’s cool Twilight.” Brave dismissed, before turning to Spike. “You’re just looking out for your sister. Nothing but respect, little man. Wanna be my bud?” He rose his fist for a fistbump. Spike stared at him in confusion before smiling. “Sure!” He accepted cheerfully, returning the fistbump. “Oh, good your friends. Now, get out of my room!” Twilight swiftly shoved her little brother out of the room. “You’re family’s nice,” Brave said nonchalantly. “Ah great, he’s gone.” Suddenly, Asmodai’s card flew into the air before it turned into Asmodai himself. “Being in my card all day cramps my style.” He stretched his limbs, but due to his size, it was a bit difficult since he was almost as tall as the ceiling. “Hah~, if it wasn’t for yesterday I’d be more surprised.” Twilight sighed. “So are you going to start explaining NOW?” She said as she pulled out a notebook and pencil. “Yeah, it’s about that time,” Brave spoke, this time with his serious expression. “You may not believe this, but our world is actually connected to other parallel worlds.” Twilight was shocked. “Other Worlds? Is that even possible?” “Of course it is,” Asmodai answered. “I don’t see any demon lords in this world after all.” “Remember the name of the flags from my fight yesterday?” Brave asked. “Yes. Dragon World, and Ancient world I believe.” Twilight answered. “Those are only two of the worlds that are parallel to our own. As far as we know, there are ten different worlds besides our own. All filled with a multitude of different monsters and inhabitants.” “Really!? Highly fascinating!” Twilight scribbled down on her notebook. “And what are these worlds exactly.” “I think it’ll be better for them to explain it to you.” He gestured to his bag. “Who? “I think he means us.” Blade’s voice rang before seven lights flew out of Braves bag, before forming into seven miniature monsters. First was a child-sized ninja, wearing a black uniform with a silver helmet that had a crescent moon in the center and two golden horns. Next was a small bipedal, orange, dragon wearing a red leather vest. Then there was a light blue, jester-like monster with blades for hands. Surprisingly, Drum appeared in a miniature form of himself. After that, a spherical, green owl-like monster wearing a helmet where a blade rested. A three-headed, white-furred, canine monster. One had a full visor, another had a visor over one eye, and the center didn’t have one at all. And last was a green dragon with white mechanical armor over his body. “These seven, plus Asmodai, are all from different parallel worlds.” Brave introduced them. Drum stepped forward first. “You already met me yesterday, but I’m Drum Bunker Dragon Fang Slade Terrestrial XIV. Just call me Drum for short. I’m from Dragon World, where a wide variety of Armor Dragons and Dragon Knights inhabit.” “You know me, homegirl,” Asmodai spoke next. “Demon Lord Asmodai is who I am. Magic World is where you can find me and the rest of my Demon Fam! The 72 Pillars demons are my peeps, while Wizard and Witches will put you to sleep! Yo! Yo! Yo!” Asmodai started break dancing along with his rap. “Nin.” Was all the little ninja said before unraveling a series of scrolls, which altogether read, “I am Nanomachine Ninja Tsukikage. I hail from Katana World. The Sereine world where Cyber Ninjas, like myself, and Skull Warriors call home.” “Hey girly! Ki!” The little orange dragon spoke out. “I’m Dragon Kid Ricky! Ancient World is my stomping grounds! Ki! Filled to the brim of the most powerful dragons in all the parallel worlds. Ki! Like Dragon Lords, Wild Dragons, and Dragon Chiefs. Ki!” “It’s my turn!” The little jester interrupted. “The name’s Ice Blade Joker. Ice to meet you Twilight! I just want to be gla-sure you understand me, cause Legend World monsters are pretty cool! With monsters stemming from your worlds myths and legends! Like heroes, knights, fairies, and Asgardian monsters like m-ice-self.” He kept firing off puns, making those around him groan in annoyance. “How ill-mannered Joker!” The Green owl lectured. “This is a serious manner of introducing our worlds to a newcomer! Your poor sense of humor can wait for later! At least those of us from Dungeon World has more tact! From Adventurer’s who go through the dungeons for great adventures to Dungeon Enemies, such as I Bladewing Phoenix, who stand in their way. All in the name of adventure and well-mannered fun!” “*Bark!*” the three-headed canine caught their attention with his bark. “Stop wasting time so we can get to the point. I am Armorknight Cerberus, hailing from Danger World. A world where only the strong can survive. Monsters like the Duel Dragons who hone their skills through hellish training, to us Armorknights who choose to cybernetically enhance our bodies to perfection!” “And finally, there is me.” The green dragon announced. “I am Star Dragoner, Jackknife. But just call me Jack. Star Dragon World is a more futuristic version of Dragon World, consisting of Neodragons like me. Also the Dragonarms, who are cybernetic lifeforms that are created to fight alongside us, or enhance our abilities.” Twilight, all the while, was jotting down almost every world they were saying. “Aaaaand there! I got it. Wait, you said there were ten worlds. I only see eight of you.” Brave rubbed his neck nervously. “Well, you see the other two worlds are a bit difficult. The first is Hero World, which is as the name says, is full of Superheroes, and Brave machines. But also Dark heroes that do what they need to get the job done. And last is Darkness Dragon World, not a very friendly world as you might have guessed. A darker and more ominous version of Dragon world. Full of Death dragons, black dragons, etc. The reason why none of them are represented here is that neither world was there during the Omni-war.” “Wait, Omni-was? What happened then?” She asked. “Well, that takes us to the next part of our story.” Asmodai chimed in with a serious voice for once... “Which is also pretty much the reason why we’re in this world. You see, long before the Earth’s recorded history, there was a great evil threatening the existence of all worlds.” Twilight was a bit frightened, seeing Asmodai so serious for the first time. “A-a great evil? What would that be?” “Great Fiend, Yamigedo.” Blade answered, “Devourer of Worlds.” Jack continued, “It was a powerful and evil monster of unknown origins. It leads an army of a hundred demons to lower the world's defenses before it devoured them.” “It was horrible! Ki!” Ricky clenched his fist. “It consumed entire civilizations just to fulfill its insufferable hunger for power! Ki! It would have continued to eat until someone decided to do something. Ki!” “Armordeity Dynamis.” Drum spoke the name with immense respect. “Ruler of all Armordragons, and master weaponsmith. She knew something had to be done, but one world itself couldn’t stop Yamigedo. So she sought help from the most powerful beings in each world, which later were known as the Omni-Lords.” “She created what was known as Omni-Lord Emblems, which enhanced their powers even more,” Joker spoke, also in a surprisingly serious voice. “The Eight Omni-lords and their generals were to stop Yamigedo at the next world it stopped at. Which so happens to be Earth.” “Though Dynamis knew they couldn’t destroy Yamigedo, so they needed to seal its power on Earth. But knowing that, she warned the Omni-lords and their generals that if they chose to fight they couldn’t return to their worlds in fear of Yamigedo would one day break free. So they decided to seal themselves on Earth, waiting for the day that Yamigedo would be awoken.” Cerberus finished. “And that’s why they are here now.” Brave added, “Everyone in this room, was the general to their Omni-Lord of each world. Although, they are only awake because the seal trapping Yamigedo had been broken” “What!?” Twilight yelled in shock. “If a monster like that is running about right now then why isn’t the world devoured by now!? And why aren’t those ‘Omni-Lord’s doing anything about it!?” “It’s been millennia since any of us have been first sealed Twilight.” Asmodai put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Yamigedo needs time to regain its power. As for the Omni-Lords, they also sealed themselves off until we find them and release them.” “Us generals were supposed to be the first line of defense against Yamigedo when it was awoken. We volunteered ourselves to be sealed along with Yamigedo so we may find our Omni-Lords immediately. Our Omni-Lords gave us these.” Blade explained as he pulled out an orb-shaped object. “These are the Omni-Lord Emblems, which are to be used to unseal them from their bonds to fight Yamigedo once again.” “Great!” Twilight perched up. “Then you guys just need to go get the Omni-Lords and seal Yamigedo again, and the world will be saved! Right?” “Ehehe, that’s where our problems begin homegirl.” Asmodai laughed. “We don’t exactly remember where the Omni-Lords sealed themselves.” “How can you forget something as important as that!?” Twilight grabbed Asmodai’s collar and started shaking him. “Calm down! Ki! Like we said, it’s been millennia since we’ve all been out and about. Ki! So it’s no surprise that our memories are shot! Ki!” Ricky argued. “But not all hope is lost.” Drum interjected. “The Omni-Lord Emblems can also be used to locate the Omni-Lords. Plus, thanks to Brave’s connections, we were able to zero in on this town! Which is why we’re here in the first place.” Twilight stopped shaking Asmodai to take a deep breath, which left the demon lord with swirls in his eyes. “Okay. So if the other parallel worlds are able to come to Earth, how come we haven’t seen or heard of any of them?” She asked. “After we all sealed Yamigedo, the Parallel Worlds came into an agreement.” Asmodai started. “That they would leave the Earth on its own until the Omni-lords or their generals return. They didn’t want to risk any remnants of Yamigedo’s followers trying to unseal him.” Twilight nodded, still scribbling down notes. “And what about the card game? What is that about?” “Unlike in the Parallel Worlds, we don’t have access to our full powers for a long period of time,” Jack answered. “Except in a Buddyfight, which is a mutual style of battle shared between all of our worlds.” Drum continued. “In a Buddyfight, our powers and the powers of the cards are at their full potential, even on Earth. That’s why for us to defeat Yamigedo and his hundred demons, we need buddies to fight alongside us. Like Brave and I.” Brave sighed tiredly. “Alright, Twilight. I think that’s enough for tonight.” “B-but I still have more questions. Like about your Core deck case, and that proto-barrier dimension, and how are you involved in all of this?” Twilight stammered. “That’ll be a story for another time. We’ve done enough storytelling for tonight.” Asmodai dismissed. Before Twilight could press on, Her door suddenly starts to open. It was Spike with a tray of tea and cookies. “Hey Twilight, Mom told me to bring you some snacks, but I ate some.” He said although he didn’t notice the slight flash of light before he entered the room fully. He saw that his sister and their guest sitting on the floor, which had cards scattered everywhere. “Hey, you guys don’t look like you’re studying.” “Ah, well… we were…” Twilight tried to come up with an answer. “Alright Spike, you caught us.” Brave threw his hands up in defeat. Twilight looked at him shocked, ‘What!? Is he gonna tell him?’ She thought. “We weren’t studying, Twilight just wanted me to teach her how to play a card game so she can make more friends.” Brave chuckled, ignoring the glare he got from Twilight. “A card game?” He questioned before looking at the cards on the floor. “With these?” “Yup, it’s called Buddyfight.” “Buddyfight? Never heard of it.” Spike set down the tray and started picking up the cards. “Yeah, it actually hasn’t come out yet. Let’s just say I have friends in high placed, and they asked me to beta test the game with the “Younger Generation.” Or so they say. You know before they release it to the public.” As Spike picked up the last card, his gaze landed on the last card, which was Jack’s card. “This guy looks awesome! Star Dragoner, Jackknife?” Brave smiled. “Why don’t you take a seat Spike? I’ll show you how to play as well.” “Brave?” Twilight interrupted, “Is it really a good idea to teach him? Shouldn’t you, you know, ‘keep it a secret’ for the company?” She hinted. “There’s nothing to worry about Twilight.” He reassured. “Buddyfight isn’t just about defeating the enemy, it’s also about making friends with your opponent. Buddyfight his a great way of making new friends.” He turned his attention to Spike. “And if we fight, the two of us will be better friends!” “Yeah!” Spike cheered, while his sister just sighed. “Men.” (Later) The sun had gone down, so Brave and the Omni-generals decided it was time to leave the Sparkle family to their devices. Brave had just exited the apartment complex and began walking to his own home. “Well, that was nice,” Brave spoke to the generals in his bag. “Now we have someone to talk to about the mission. It would have been tough with the whole, super secret mission thing without another comrade.” “I agree.” Drum spoke from his card. “But do you really think it was a good idea to leave those two with them?” “I must concur, young Brave.” Blade interjected. “I understand you think of them as friends, but you have only just met them. Are you sure they are trustworthy?” “Of course.” Brave immediately answered. “Twilight is already involved in this because of our mistake, I’m sure we can trust she would keep our secret. Plus, Asmodai and Jack chose to stay behind.” He took one last glance towards the Sparkle families apartment complex before smiling. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of Twilight and Spike.” Blade sighed. “Alright then, I can at least trust your judgment.” “Thanks, Blade.” Brave then activated his Core gadget and strapped it to his heart. “Ready Drum?” “You got it, buddy!” “Buddy skill! On!” His core gadget said before the jewel shined. Suddenly, blazing red energy started firing out of the palms of his hands and the souls of his feet, as he started to fly like a certain genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. “WooooooHoooo! This never gets old!” our hero cheered, flying through the night sky. (Back at the Sparkle Residents) Twilight had changed into a purple night dress for the night. At the moment she decided to read a book before going to bet. Although she seemed pretty distracted with something. “So… any reason you decided to stay?” Twilight shifted her focus to a stack of cards sitting on the desk, as the top card slightly glowed. “Well for one, it’s to keep an eye on you. Just to make sure you don’t go blabbing to anyone about our mission.” Asmodai’s voice rung through the room. “I already promised I would keep quiet. It’s not like anyone would believe me even if I told them.” “Second, is just because I find you interesting.” “Interesting? I’m just a normal, high school girl. What could be interesting about me?” “There’s just this certain… Magic about you. Which is ironic since I’m from Magic World. For a girl who says she’s not that sociable and friendless, you readily welcomed Brave into your home.” “T-that was just to get the explanation about this morning.” “And when he was teaching you and Spike how to play, you seemed to really enjoy it all. You still gonna say that Brave isn’t a friend?” “We’re just classmates who met in unfortunate circumstances. That’s it. I’ve moved around with my family a lot in the past because of either my father or sister’s jobs. I learned pretty quickly it's better to just reject any attachments so it doesn’t hurt as much when it’s suddenly gone.” Twilight frowned. Asmodai sighed. “Twilight, you shouldn’t reject someone who actually wants to be your friend. Especially when all they want to do is make you smile. And knowing Brave, he’ll stop at nothing before he sees it. Just try the whole friend thing, alright?” Twilight hesitated for an answer, before sighing and putting her book down. “Alright. I’ll try.” she shuts the lights off in her room and got into her bed. “Hey, Asmodai. Thanks… for the talk. It’s been a while since I’ve had a heart to heart talk like that. Not even my own parents or siblings talk like that most of the time.” “No problem, homegirl.” Asmodai then thought, ‘What are buddies for?’ “Good night.” (In Spike’s Room) Spike was sitting at his room’s desk, looking through the cards that were given to him by Brave. “So if I crossnize Cavalier with Jackknife, he gains penetrate? Awesome!” Spike said to himself. Although, he was unknowingly being watched. At the corner of the desk rested the card of the real Jackknife Dragon. ‘This boy… he’s quite peculiar. I sense something within him, his spirit feels like that of a dragon. May he be my true buddy?’ Jack thought silently. (Elsewhere) In a very familiar alleyway, one of Steel Club’s underlings was hanging out. But he seemed irritated. “Damnit. The boss decided to go straight and leave us, then Deviant decided to go too. But what about me? How could they just drop me like that!? Grr! It must be because of that ‘Heartful Fighter’ guy. Next time I see him or his little girlfriend, I’ll show them who’s boss.” “Oh really? Is that what you desire?” Suddenly, another card appeared next to him. “Then how about I offer my aid, Skid Mark?” The card flew straight into the lackey’s body. He was surrounded by a dark aura before an ominous, evil smirk settled on his lips. “Sure, I’ll show that ‘Heartful Fighter’ who’s in charge around here.” “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. "Where we'll be teaching you all about the world of buddyfight!" "Today, we'll be discussing the great, First Crimson Chieftan, Greatest General! "It's a monster of Dragon World. Its size is 3, power 7000, defense 4000, and a critical of 3! "When you call it to the field it costs 2 gauge, but you can also put 2 cards in its soul for the Soulard ability. "It also has the Penetrate ability, and given its 3 critical it can do quite the amount of damage." Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. “That’s all for now class.” “Can you open a Buddy Rare card?”
Twilight's Magical Fight!*Yawn!* “Tired already Twilight? I thought you would be more excited about another day of school.” It was the morning after Brave had told Twilight about his and the general's mission. She was just idly walking to school, albeit a little tired, along with Asmodai’s card in her shirt pocket. “I’m only like this because you woke me up early with a good morning rap!” She whispered harshly, so no one would suspect her of talking to herself. “It’s healthy to get up early in the morning! To get yourself ready for school where there are friends to be scoring!” Asmodai rapped. Twilight sighed irritated. “Remind me why I let you stay with me?” When she gets to school, she sees Pinkie standing in the entryway. ‘Oh no, it’s Pinkie! Yesterday was so tiring because of her.’ She thought. “Hey, hey! It’s the cheery girl from yesterday! Go on Twi, talk to her! You said you would try to make some friends today.” Asmodai encouraged. “Yeah, but it’s too early to be so worn out because of her, and you’re wake up call didn’t help. Maybe I can sneak by her.” She whispered to Asmodai. Pinkie was looking around and almost turn towards Twilights general direction. Twilight began to panic until… “Pinkie!” Brave’s voice called out, catching the pink haired girls attention. The Heartful Fighter waved at her, not noticing Twilight either. “Brave!” Pinkie cheered as she ran up to him. ‘Now’s my chance!’ She runs to find somewhere to hide but almost runs into another girl. It was the blonde girl with the cowboy hat from the other day. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there.” But the blonde cowgirl didn’t respond. ‘Hm? Maybe she didn’t hear me.’ Twilight thought. “C’mon Twi. Now’s your chance! Just say hi!” Asmodai cheered. “Um… Hi! My name’s Twilight and I…” “I don’t care.” Was all the cowgirl said before she walked off. “Dang, that’s a cold cowgirl.” “What’s wrong with her? Who is she anyway?” “Her name is Applejack. She just moved here last month. Truth is, nobody knows why she’s so serious all the time.” Pinkie said, suddenly appearing on Twilight’s right side. “Ah, so that’s her name,” Brave spoke from her left. “Gahhh! Where did you guys come from!?” Twilight shouted in surprise. “We were waiting for you by the entryway,” Brave answered. “You’re so silly! We were waiting right there and you didn’t even see us! Hahaha!” The pink haired girl laughed. “Yeah, ha-ha-ha,” Twilight said awkwardly as the school bell rang. “Oop! There’s the warning bell, we better get to class.” Brave and co. walked to their classes. (After School) The school day went by like it normally does, with Twilight studying intently and Pinkie and Brave falling asleep in class. After classes ended Pinkie wanted to walk home together. Brave wholeheartedly agreed while Twilight was a bit reluctant The sun was setting as the trio continued their casual walk “You sure you don’t want any, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, sucking on a lollipop. “Now I know why you’re so hyperactive.” Twilight sighed. “They’re pretty good,” Brave commented with a sucker of his own. After another moment of silence between the group, Pinkie suddenly spoke up. “Hey, guys? Do I… bother you?” Brave and Twilight looked at her curiously. “What do you mean?” Twilight voiced their mutual question. “For as long as I can remember, others don’t like to be around me very much. They say it’s because of my personality.” “Really? I would have thought you had lots of friends.” Twilight said. “But if you know they don’t like it then why don’t you, you know, change it?” “Because it’s my nature. I don’t want to change who I am just to please people. I want to make them smile as me, not someone I’m pretending to be. Especially my friends.” At that moment, Twilight remembered what Asmodai said to her. ‘you shouldn’t reject someone who actually wants to be your friend. Especially when all they want to do is make you smile.’ “You don’t bother me Pinkie. I’ve just never been very sociable. It’s hard for me to be around others. It’s not your fault.” Twilight reassured. “Totally!” Brave interjected. “They don’t know what they’re missing. You’re just a girl with a heart full of fun and laughter. One that I’m proud to call my friend.” Pinkie looked at the both of them with teary eyes and a quivering smile. Suddenly, she jumped up to both of them and brought them into a group hug. “Awwee! You guys are the best ever!” Pinkie cheered. “Hey, Twilight? Can I sleep over at your place tonight? There’s something super important I need yours and Brave’s help with!” “Um… Okay, Pinkie. That sounds like a great idea.” Twilight agreed. “Yay! I knew you’d like it!” Brave laughed. “Well, I’m a guy so I’m gonna have to pass.” “Don’t worry, we’ll skype.” Suddenly… “Well, looky here. The Heartful Fighter and his posse.” Skid Mark suddenly spoke from behind the trio. “Hey, I know you. You’re one of Steel Club’s friends.” Brave recognized him. “Used to be. After he met you he went soft and dropped us. Then Deviant said it wasn’t worth it without the boss, now I’m all alone again! It’s all your fault, and I’m here to make sure you pay!” Skid Mark yelled as his right fist started to glow. “Watch out!” Thinking fast Brave pushed Pinkie and Twilight out of the way before Skid Mark threw his fist forward towards him. Shooting a pulse of green energy at Brave. The impact of the attack made Brave fly back and smack into a nearby light post. “Brave!” Twilight and Pinkie rushed to his side. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Gah!” Brave clutched his right arm in pain. “Hahaha! I thought you were stronger than this. Consider it payback for yesterday.” Skid Mark’s attention turned to Twilight. “You’re next little girl.” He walked towards them slowly. “Stop!” Pinkie stood between them and Skid Mark. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but please stop hurting them! Can’t we just talk about this?” “Stay out of this pink! This is between me and them!” Skid Mark threw another pulse of energy towards Pinkie, which threw her back. She would have roughly landed on the concrete if Brave wasn’t there to catch her with his one good arm. “I’ll just finish you all right now! You can watch as your useless friends disappear!” He said to Twilight before he began to channel a lot more energy around his hand for one final blast. ‘No… Pinkie, Brave, they’re the only ones who approached me. The only ones who talked to me!’ She then threw herself into a defensive stance in front of her fallen friends. “I won’t let you harm my friends! No matter what!” “That’s the spirit Twilight!” Skit Mark fired his orb of energy, only to be deflected into the sky by none other than Asmodai. “Hey, now bro, fighting in the open like this is gonna disturb the neighbors. Why don’t we take this to the ring?” Asmodai looked back at Brave. “Hey Brave, I’m gonna borrow this for a bit. Hope you don’t mind.” Asmodai revealed the Proto-barrier generator in his hands before he threw it up into the sky. Covering the area with bright green energy. (Break) The Trio, Demon Lord, and Skid Mark found themselves at the Proto-arena they were in when Brave fought Steel Club. “Where are we?” Pinkie said surprised. “We’re in the Proto-arena. We’ll explain everything later Pinkie.” Brave attempted to rise to his feet. “Right now, it’s time to buddyfight!” “Hold up there dude.” Asmodai halted his actions. “You’re in no condition to fight.” “We don’t have a choice. I’m the only one here who can buddyfight.” “Not true.” Asmodai placed his hand on Twilights shoulder. “We’ll take over this one.” “What!?” Both Twilight and Brave shouted, with Pinkie just watching confused and sucking on another lollipop from who knows where. “Asmodai, she can’t fight! She doesn’t have a Core Deck case or even a buddy!” Brave argued. “Well, I know for a fact you’re always carrying around the extra Core Deck Cases for when the rest of us find out buddies. As for a buddy monster, she already has one right here!” Asmodai referred to himself. “Y-you want to be my buddy?” Twilight asked. “Of course! Twilight, from the short time I’ve gotten to know you I am one hundred percent sure that you are my buddy. You may not have a lot of practice, but you have a lot of strength to protect your friends the way you did. Sure you're a bit unsociable and introverted, but I guess I’ll be a real demon lord and be a bad influence to teach you how to let loose!” Asmodai cackled. Brave hesitated, before reaching into his school bag and taking out a gray Core Deck Case. “Twilight, I know I accidentally got you involved in this, but if Asmodai is sure about you being his buddy then I can’t deny him that. From our practice fights, I know that you have the skill and strength to fight.” He presented her with the case. “Will you join our mission?” Twilight looked longingly at the case, before taking out her own deck of cards. She turned towards Asmodai, who gave her a thumbs up. Then to Brave and Pinkie, the former smiling confidently at her and the latter copying the demon lord. “Yes.” She agreed firmly. She grabbed the Core Deck Case and placed her deck in the slot. In an instant, the gray metal turned into a lavender shade. “Register User: Twilight Sparkle! Recognized!” “Hey!” Skid Mark suddenly yelled from the other side of the arena. “Stop ignoring me and let’s get this fight on the road already!” “Hold your horse's bub, we’re coming! But first…” Asmodai waved his hand over Brave and Pinkie. Then in an instant, both of them disappeared in a flash of magic. (Break) Brave and Pinkie reappeared in a room with the same white hexagonal pattern as the Proto-arena. There were sofas lined up with a large monitor on the wall that showed the arena with Twilight and Skid Mark were standing in. Along with a table with control panned in the center. “Hm? Where are we now?” Pinkie asked. “We’re in the pit. It’s a room for spectators can see the fight without being in the way. We can also talk to Twilight from here.” Brave explained. He started pressing buttons on the control panel. “Twilight, can you hear us?” (Break) Besides Twilight, a holographic screen popped up with an image of Brave on it. “Brave? Where did you two go?” She asked. “I’ll explain later. Right now you have a buddyfight to worry about. I’ll do whatever I can from here to support you.” Suddenly Pinkie leaned into frame waving at her. “Good luck Twilight! Beat that meanie!” Pinkie cheered. “I’ll do my best.” With that, the screen disappeared. She looked up at Asmodai, “Are you sure I’m ready for this?” He asked with uncertainty. “Don’t worry, with the deck you and Brave built last night, we’ll beat this guy faster than I can rap.” The demon lord joked. “You finally ready?” Skid Mark asked impatiently. “Then let’s get started! Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize! Hundred Legend!” He announced as his Core Deck Case turned into the same gauntlet gadget as Steel Club. “Okay. The first fight, you can do this Twilight.” She spoke to herself before lifting her case. “Infinite knowledge and magic! And the devils that rule over it all! Lumanize!” Her Core Deck Case transformed into a metallic lavender book, where the blue jewel rested on the spine. “Magical Grimoire!” “It’s time to raise the flags!” Twilight and Skid Mark announced. “I fight for Magic World!” Twilight rose her flag. “I’m with Legend World!” Skid Mark did as well. “I’ll take the first move. Turn 1: Twilight [Twilight: LP-10 G-2] [Skidmark: LP- 10 G-2] “I’ll take the first move. Charge and Draw!” Twilight looked over her cards choosing one. “I’ll start by calling Fallen Angel of Rage, Beleth to the center!” On command, a magic circle appeared in the center pedestal before a muscular man with brown bird wings on his back appeared wearing red and gold roman warrior armor. In his arms were a tall spear and shield combination. “Beleth! Attack the fighter!” Twilight ordered. “Feel my wrath!” Beleth yelled before he flew from his position towards Skidmark. With one swing of his spear, Beleth decreased Skidmark’s life points from 10 to 7. “That’s the end of my turn.” “End of Move!” (Break) “Yeah! Go Twilight!” Pinkie cheered. “Let’s not celebrate too early Pinkie. In a Buddyfight, anything can happen.” Brave said, keeping a critical eye on the battle. “I just hope Twilight can utilize the deck the way we intended.” (Break) “Your Move!” It was now Skidmark’s turn. Turn 2: Skidmark [Twilight: LP-10 G-2] [Skidmark: LP- 7 G-2] “Draw! Charge and draw! I cast! Light Horn of the False Deity. By discarding one card in my hand, I can destroy one monster on your field and I choose Beleth!” Skidmark’s card turned into an orb of light, which shot towards Beleth. The attack connected, destroying Beleth and leaving the center open. “Now I buddy call! Bronze Giant, Talos to the center!” In Skidmark’s center appeared a very large, humanoid monster with green skin, pieces of golden armor as well as a helmet, and a large red cape. “With buddy gift, I gain one life point!” His Life Points raise to 8. “Now Talos, attack the fighter!” Talos followed through with the order and delivered a strong punch to Twilight, which caused her to fall to her knees and reducing her life points to 7. “End of Move!” “Your Move!” Turn 3: Twilight [Twilight: LP-7 G-3] [Skidmark: LP- 8 G-3] “C’mon Twilight. You got this girl!” Asmodai encouraged. Twilight got back to her feet. “Right! Draw! Charge and Draw!” She saw the card she drew and smirked. “I pay one gauge and set Solomon Great Barrier!” Her card turned into an orb with the image of the card in it and hovered next to her. (Break) “Nice move Twilight!” This time Brave was the one cheering. “Hm? Why’s that Brave?” Pinkie asked confused. “Solomon’s Great Barrier is a set spell, which is a spell that stays in the field after it’s used. Now that it’s here, all of Twilight’s monsters with the 72 Pillars attribute that are size 2 now become size one,” he answered. (Break) “Next I’ll buddy call Demon Lord, Asmodai to the center!” Twilight called. “It’s my time to shine!” Asmodai jumped from his position behind her to the center. “And with buddy gift, she gets one life point back.” In turn, her life points raise to 8. “Plus, by discarding one card when Asmodai is called, I can destroy one of you’re monsters!” Twilight did so. Asmodai disappeared in an instant, only to reappear behind Talos. “Dangerous Backdrop!” Asmodai grabbed Talos in a wrestling hold and threw him to the ground, destroying him. “Now I call Dance Asmodai to the right!” True to her word another Asmodai appeared in the right position, but this one was dressed in a black and red latin dancers outfit. “Dance is my life. Hang with me and you’ll see homie get his groove on, cause when I’m called Twilight gets to draw one card!” He said in a mock dancers voice. Then another card came out of Twilights Core Gadget and added itself to her hand. “Then I’ll call Let’s Play Asmodai to the left!” Yet another Asmodai enters the left position, but this one was dressed the same only decked out with equipment from multiple sports. “When we bust a move playing a sport, our hearts pump and give us energy! When I’m called to the field, Twilight gains another life point!” This on spoke in a more masculine, sporty voice as Twilight’s Life Points rise to 9. (Break) “Wow! So many Asmodai’s! Twilight must really like playing with her buddy.” Pinkie said in surprise. “Well, that’s the way we intended it. Twilight’s deck mostly consists of the 72 Pillar monsters as well as Asmodai and his different counterparts.” Brave explained. (Break) “Now, I think I’ll have Dance Asmodai attack!” Twilight ordered. “Ready to get dipped by a demon?” Dance Asmodai started twirling around. He spun faster and faster, flying towards Skidmark delivering a harsh tornado kick. “Gah!” Skidmark’s life falls to 6 with Dance Asmodai’s Critical of 2. “Next up is an attack by Let’s Play Asmodai!” “It’s a hit and a slam!” Let’s Play Asmoday attacks with a baseball bat, doing one damage. “Finally, Demon Lord Asmodai’s attack!” “Leave it up to me Twilight!” The Original Asmodai runs up and plants both his feet on Skidmark’s stomach. “Demon Drop Kick!” “End of Move!” (Break) “That’s right Twilight! Light him up!” Pinkie cheered, waving pom-pom’s that she got from, who-knows-where. “It was an aggressive series of attacks, let’s just hope that Twilight can keep it up,” Brave responded. (Break) “Your Move!” Turn 4: Skim Mark [Twilight: LP-9 G-2] [Skidmark: LP- 4 G-3] “That was pretty good girly, but here’s where I get serious!” Skidmark Growled. “Draw! Charge and draw! First I pay 1 gauge and equip Rune Staff!” A silver staff materialized in his hands. “Next I’ll pay 3 gauge and discard one hand card to activate Great Spell, Thunder of Zeus to destroy all your monsters with 4000 or less defense as well as deal you two damage! Thanks to Rune Staff, I don’t have to pay one life when I cast a Great Spell.” The spell card flew out of his hands into the air, which then turned into three bolts of lightning. To which struck all three Asmodai’s. “Gah! Celestial forces are something that demons shouldn’t be messing with Twi!” Asmodai cried as he and his counterparts were destroyed. “No, Asmodai! Gah!” Twilight shouted as she was then struck by the fourth bolt of lightning reducing her Life Points to 7. “I call Divine Stallion, Pegasus, and Moon Celestial Selene to the left and right!” Skidmark ordered. On the right appeared a white pegasus wearing regal, golden armor. Then on the left was a female monster with long sky blue hair, wearing a regal white dress with frills of multiple colors. A crescent moon mask was upon her face, and in her hands was a silver bow. “And I call Bronze Giant, Talos to the center!” Talos returned to the Center position. “Now, Selene and Pegasus attack!” Pegasus charged forward and headbutted Twilight while Selene shot an arrow of light from her bow. The two attacks knocked Twilight’s life points down to 3. “Talos! Finish her off!” Talos went in for the finishing blow. “I cast! Solomon’s shield!” Twilight cast her spell, and a golden shield of energy interrupted Talos’s attack. “End of Move!” (Break) “Whew, that was a close one.” Pinkie wiped the sweat off her brow. “If Talos’s attack hit with his critical of 3 that would have made Twilight lose.” Brave looked at the pink haired partier in surprise. “You already know how the game works?” “I was picking it up as the fight went on.” She gave him a thumbs up and a smile. He only shrugged and returned his attention to the fight. “But Twilight is in a tough situation. Skidmark has a full field with Talos in the center. Magic World is known for its spells and not it’s power, so there aren’t many monsters that can beat Talos’s 6000 defense.” (Break) “Your move!” Turn 5: Twilight [Twilight: LP-3 G-2] [Skidmark: LP- 4 G-0] “You got lucky there girly. But next turn you're done! Then your boyfriend and the pink haired friend are next.” Skidmark threatened. “Why are you doing this? I know it’s not just the Demon inside of you making you, so why attack me and my friends?” Twilight asked. “It’s because after that little scene with you and ‘The Heartful Fighter’ they cut me loose! Steel said he needed to go straight and Deviant went along with him. The three of us were always together, sure we were thugs but it was how we met and how it was always supposed to be! Then they just dropped it all like yesterdays trash, with me along with it.” Skidmark shook in anger as the dark energy around him began to blaze harder. “Those two were all I had, and now they don’t want anything to do with me. Because of him!” He referred to Brave. “You can’t really believe that can you?” Twilight retorted. “Just because they didn’t want to be street thugs anymore, it didn’t mean they wanted to stop being friends with you. Did you ever think that you could have been with them even if you weren’t playing thugs?” “That was our way of life for as long as we’ve been friends. Don’t lecture me, it's not like you know what its like to not have any!” “Yes, I do!” Twilight shouted. “For as long as I can remember, I haven’t been the same anti-social girl I’ve always been. I only ever had my family to talk to. Just until recently I was enjoying it, but now…” She closed her eyes, thinking of Brave, Asmodai, and Pinkie. “Now I can’t imagine what it would be like without them.” (Break) Pinkie shed a tear while bringing Brave into a one-armed hug. “Awe, she does love us!” Pinkie cheered, to which Brave only smiled in response. (Break) From the void fo the Dropzone, Asmodai looked up at an orb that showed the fight as it was going on. A sincere smile crept its way to his lips. “Same Twi.” He spoke to himself. (Break) “If they really are your friends, then it’s not too late to reconnect with them. A single heart to heart can change everything, and I’ll prove it by winning! Draw! Charge and Draw!” Twilight drew her cards, but one caught her eye making her smile. “I pay one gauge and cast Bye Bye Later! I can any size 2 or lower monster from the field into the gauge, and I choose Talos in the center!” Talos was forcefully pulled from the center into Skidmark’s gauge. “You increased my gauge? What are you helping me for?” He asked suspiciously. “I’m not helping, I just needed him out of the way. And now…” Twilight then rose one card in the air, which shined brighter than the rest. “Final Phase!” (Break) “Yes! She called it!” Brave shouted excitedly. “It’s time for Twilight’s Impact!” (Break) “Impact!” Twilight called as her entire hand disappeared and was replaced with 5 new cards. “I can reveal 5 cards from the top of my deck, and deal you one damage plus the number of cards revealed to have the name “Asmodai” in its title.” The cards revealed themselves in order. “Chillax! Let’s Play Asmodai! Key of Solomon, Second volume! Dance Asmodai! And Finally Demon Lord Asmodai! I count three Asmodai’s, Which means four damage is done directly to you!” Suddenly, Asmodai returned to the field with a sly grin on his face. “I’m back!” The three Asmodai cards in Twilight’s hand flew into Asmodai, which caused Asmodai to exert a blazing aura of energy! “It’s time for my impact move, which goes a little something like this!” Like before, Asmodai disappeared and reappeared behind Skidmark as well as his monsters. “Asmodai Eternal Rolling Back-Drop!” He threw all of them do the ground. Destroying all his monsters, as well as decreasing his life points to 0. The flag of Legend world was destroyed, and the space around everyone began to glow brightly and enveloped them. (Break) They all found themselves back in the real world, with Skidmark on the ground with a broken core gadget and scattered cards. Twilight sighed in relief. “That was more difficult than I thought it would be.” “Twilight!” Pinkie suddenly wrapped Twilight in a tight hug. “You won! That was one of the greatest things ever!” “That was a great fight Twilight.” Brave praised. “Looks like that deck we built works great.” “Definitely, even with the circumstances, that was really fun!” Twilight smiled. They paused their celebration when Skidmark stirred awake. He looked up to see the group looking at him cautiously. “I… I’m sorry,” Skidmark said regretfully. “I was so angry, and it let that monster control me. But that doesn’t excuse what I did, or what I tried to do.” Silently, Twilight walked up to him. Pinkie tried to stop her but was stopped by Brave. She looked at him confused, but Brave only nodded. She got the message. Twilight stood in front of Skidmark who looked down in shame before she offered her hand. “No harm was done, it’s alright.” Skidmark looks at her surprised. “But, I-.” “I know, but a certain thick-headed ‘Heartful Fighter’ told me. Everyone deserves a second chance. Just like I know you’re friends will give you one.” She joked. Skidmark hesitated, before accepting the hand up. “Thanks. Sorry, but I got some work to do.” He said abruptly before running off. “Sooooo…” Pinkie interrupted. “Is anybody going to tell me what just happened?” “Gah! We forgot Pinkie doesn’t know!” Twilight panicked. “Darn it, we really need to get better about keeping this a secret.” Brave facepalmed, only with his injured arm. “Ow!” “Oh no! Are you okay?” Pinkie asked worriedly. “Yeah, I’m alright. It’s just a sprain.” Brave replied nervously before Twilight softly grabbed his arm. “Ow!” “That’s a pretty serious sprain,” Twilight said flatly and grabbed his good arm. “Come on, we’ll patch you up at my house. You come to, Pinkie!” “Okie Dokie!” (Break) (Somewhere Unknown) In a very dark place, where you can barely register seeing anything. The only source of light was an orb that showed Twilight and Skidmark’s buddyfight. Sitting in front of the orb was a shadowy figure, that appeared to be eating a club of roasted meat. “So, he’s finally making his move. Good. Soon the Omni-lords will appear, and we can finally quench our hunger. Isn’t that right, Yamigedo?” The figure spoke, as six glowing red eyes appeared behind him. “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. “Where we will be teaching you all you need to know about the world of buddyfight!” Twilight announced. "Today we'll be breaking down Twilight's new buddy, Demon Lord Asmodai." "He's a size 1 monster from Magic World. His power is 5000, defense 1000, and a critical of 1." "By discarding one hand card, Asmodai can destroy one monster on the field from either side." "When you get past his constand rapping and dancing, he's a pretty cool buddy! Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. “That’s all for now class.” “Can you open a Buddy Rare card?”
The Laughing Dungeon!“And that’s about all of it.” It was the next day after Twilight’s Buddyfight with Skidmark. The trio of Brave Heart, Twilight, and Pinkie was sitting at the side of a lake at the local park. The night before the trio went to Twilight’s families apartment to patch up Brave’s injured arm as well as explain the situation to Pinkie. They completed their first objective, but the latter was interrupted by Twilight’s family always being around. They even invited the two guests to have dinner with them, and by the time they finished, it was late. As a result, they decided to wait till now to tell Pinkie in a more out of the way place where no one would overhear them. Then brings us to the present. Brave and Twilight had explained the history of Yamigedo and the Omni-lords, as well as the present mission to find them and buddies for the other generals. To which the Generals came out of their cards in their mini forms, except for Asmodai. As a result, Pinkie gushed over how cute they were. It took quite a bit of effort to separate them from her bone-crushing hugs, although she kept a hold on Blade. Said bird monster was resting in her lap as she continued to pet his feathers, and the others returned to their cards. “So if you guys don’t find these Omni-lord guys, then a giant monster is gonna gobble up the world like a huge cake?” Pinkie asked. “Yep. Pretty much the gist of the whole situation.” Twilight answered. “But Buddyfight looks so fun and exciting! How can a game like that be associated with something so scary and sad?” “We may be battling this evil through Buddyfight, but that is not the games true nature!” Blade suddenly announced from his position on her lap. “What Blade says it’s true,” Brave added. “Yes, Buddyfight is how those in the parallel worlds settle their disputes and defend themselves, but it’s a game to bring others together. That’s why, even if they’re possessed by the Hundred, I’ll always try to befriend my opponents. Because that’s what Buddyfight is all about. Although, with Yamigedo still at large, that’s a bit strained.” “That sounds fantastic!” Pinkie cheered, throwing Blade into the air before catching him. “How ill-mannered, young lady!” Blade yelled flapping his wings in an attempt to escape her arms. “Don’t just toss things into the air so suddenly! Especially if that something is a living being!” “Oopsies! Sorry Blade.” Pinkie apologizes, petting him again to calm him down. “Hey! Hey! Brave! Can I learn how to play too?” Brave, Twilight, and Blade looked at her surprised. “You want to learn how to Buddyfight?” Twilight asked. “You did hear the part about fighting demons and a world-eating monster right?” “Oh, course I heard you silly! And I don’t know about the whole saving the world thing, but I do want to play. Like Brave said, he wants to befriend all his opponents, so if we play with each other we’ll be even better friends! We can make even more friends in the future through Buddyfight, cause it’s the most fun game ever!” Pinkie cheered. Everyone stared at her shocked. To hear such a story and see what she has, she answered in the most cheerful and nonchalant way. None was more surprised than Blade. ‘What a peculiar human. She is more focused on making friends rather than the dreaded situation at hand. Turley a strange girl.’ Blade thought. Brave smiled brightly, “Hell yeah! That’s what Buddyfight is all about! You wanna learn, then I’ll teach you.” “Yay! Thank you Brave!” Pinkie thanked as the two of them high fived. Twilight sweatdropped. “*Sigh* It’s exhausting dealing with them individually. Now I have to hang out with both of them together.” Suddenly, Asmodai appeared behind her dancing. “Come one Twilight! Take a page out of their book and let go! Having fun with your friends is all you need to know! Yo! Yo! Yo!” “And you’re not making it any easier!” Twilight growled. When the group had calmed down a bit, it was time to get to business. Brave dug around in the back that he brought with him and pulled out a metal toolbox. “A toolbox?” Pinkie asked. “Not exactly,” Twilight said before Brave opened the box revealing dozens upon dozens of cards on each layer of the box. “Over his time of dealing with the Hundred, Brave’s acquired quite the collection of cards. This is how we built my ‘Magical Grimoire” deck.” “So you want to Buddyfight right? The first thing you need to do is choose a world, so we know which kind of cards to put together.” Brave explained. Pinkie struck a thinking pose. “Hm, what to choose?” She then looked down at the bird in her arms. “What world is Blade from? I’ll use that one.” “I am a monster of Dungeon World, Miss Pinkie.” Blade answered. “So Dungeon World it is.” Brave took out the cards specific to Dungeon World. “And I’m guessing you want Blade as your Buddy as well?” Pinkie nodded, and he closed his eyes to think. “So we’re building a deck for Blade. It’s imperative that a deck is well balanced so the player can do what they want with the cards they have. The synergy between the attributes of the cards is important to so they work well together.” As Brave kept thinking, he didn’t notice Pinkie messing with the cards in front of her. “Done!” She yelled, holding up the deck she just threw together. Brave snapped out of his rant surprised. He sighed before taking the cards out of her hand to look through them. “Pinkie, you can’t just through cards together randomly.” He began looking through the deck. “You have to take into account attributes, abilities, and… and...” he looked at the cards confused, before shuffling through the deck more fiercely with wide eyes. “Um, Brave? Is everything alright?” Twilight asked curiously. “The balance and synergy of this deck, it’s perfect!”He said shocked. “H-how did you put together such a well build deck in an instant!?” He asked their pink friend. Pinkie just laughed nonchalantly, “I just picked the coolest looking ones.” Was all she said. Her two friends just laughed nervously at her relaxed attitude. Brave shook his head and smiled. “Well, now that you have a deck there’s only one way to test it out! Let’s Buddyfight!” “What do you mean I’m off the team!?” An outraged yell rang through the air of Ponyville. Two people stood at the edge of the baseball field, while a team was practicing on the actual field. One was an adult man wearing a red tracksuit with a white cap. Standing in front of him was an enraged teen boy about fifteen years old, who is presumed to be the one who yelled. The teen was wearing a white and black striped baseball uniform and a navy cap on top of his blonde hair. “Answer me, coach!” The teen demanded of the man. “It’s just as I said, Home Run. Your bad attitude towards your teammates is beginning to make trouble. If you can’t change that then I can’t let you hinder the team anymore.” The coach lectured. “My attitude!? They’re the ones not taking the game seriously.” “It’s because you keep trying to be a one-man show.” The coach countered. “Always trying to hit it out of the park and not following any of the deciding plays. Always blowing up on your teammates for mistakes that could have been avoided if you just worked well with the team. Not even having fun out there.” “What’s fun got to do with this?” Home Run growled. “We’re trying to get scouted right? To get into the big leagues and be real pro’s.” “But like you said before, it’s a game. Sure getting scouted in great, but games are supposed to be fun. Having a good time with your teammates at the opposing team, because you couldn't even participate without them. Sorry, but until you fix that attitude of yours, I can’t have you on my team.” With that, the coach walked away to join his team. Leaving an enraged Home Run, shaking in anger and stomping away. Back with our heroes, Brave, Twilight, and Pinkie were casually walking through the park they were currently at. After some time of teaching Pinkie out to Buddyfight, they decided to take a break and grab a snack. Conveniently they bought ice cream from a passing by ice cream truck. “You’re a natural with Dungeon World Pinkie.” Brave complimented while eating his fudge bar. “I know right!? I even beat Twilight a couple times.” Pinkie bragged waving around her rocket pop. “Hey! We’re both rookies, and we’re tied with two wins and two losses!” Twilight grumbled, enjoying her soft serve vanilla. “Now, Now Twilight, we both had fun right? Besides, neither of us beat Brave.” Pinkie said as both girls lightly glared at their male friend. “Hey, just because you two are beginners doesn’t mean I can go easy on you.” Brave puffed his chest out in pride. “That would be disrespectful to you, me, and Buddyfight!” “Says the guy that doesn’t lose.” Pinkie joked and Brave stuck his tongue out. “Damnit!” They suddenly heard an angry yell. They looked for the source, to see Home Run sitting on a nearby park bench. With a dejected look on his face. Twilight tilted her head in confusion, “What’s up with that guy? It’s probably best to leave him be.” Although when she didn’t hear a response, she turned to see that her two friends had vanished from her side. She then saw her friends making their way towards the angered Home Run. “Why do I bother?” she sighed before following her friends lead. Home Run just sat on the bench. His head lowered and hair shadowing his eyes. ‘This is trash! I was the best on the team and they decide to knock me off!? And what’s with this fun crap? This is serious to me, this is my career!’ he thought. “Hey bud, everything alright?” Home Run looked to his left to see Brave sitting on the same bench. “Yeah! Why not turn that frown, all the way around!” To his right was Pinkie, also sitting on the bench. Startled by their sudden appearance, he leaned off of the fence and backed away. “Guys!” Twilight run to her friend's side, “Don’t just leave me behind!” “Sorry Twi.” The energetic duo said in unison. “Who the heck are you!?” Home Run shouted angrily. “Whoa, calm down, bud. We just wanted to ask why you were upset. I’m Brave by the way, and that’s Pinkie.” Brave said. Home Run just growled at them. “Why should you care? I don’t even know who you are.” “We just saw how upset you were, so we came to see if we can help with your mood. Maybe be friends too!” Pinkie cheered. Twilight sighed, “You two.” She turned to Home Run, “Believe it or not, they’re serious. They are also relentless so it's a lot more effort to just talk.” The baseball player’s expression softened, only slightly, and he sighed. “Well if you must know, I was just kicked off of my baseball team.” The trio looked at him with sympathy. “That sucks. Why did they do that?” Brave asked. “Cause of my stupid teammates!” He started his rant, “Apparently they didn’t like playing with me, even though I’m the best on the team! Then they snitched on me to the coach. He went on about taking all the fun out of the games! What does fun matter when you’re trying to go pro! I’m the only one taking the games seriously, there’s no room for fun in the big leagues.” Brave and Twilight slightly rose their brows in confusing, while Pinkie giggled. Hearing her laugh, Home Run glared at her. “Something funny to you!?” He growled. “It’s just what you said silly!” She answered in her usual cheerful voice. “There’s no room for fun in a game? Games are all about having fun!” Home Run just looked at her confused. “She’s right you know,” Twilight added. “It’s great that you want to be a pro, but if you can’t enjoy what you do when you do it then is it really worth it?” “Plus you aren’t the only one out there.” Brave threw his two cents in. “You can’t play baseball without a team, or opponents. You talk as if you’re the only one playing, but that ain’t true. If you take the fun out of a game, then it’ll drive your teammates away. What’s the point of playing a game if you can’t enjoy it?” Home Run was taken aback by their responses, only to get more frustrated. “You’re just like the rest of them.” He argued. “The only thing that matters in this world is winning! All this nonsense about fun and friendship? Screw it all!” Brave put his hands up in defense, “Take it, easy man. We’re only-!” “Shut up!” He yelled. “I don’t need this. I’m out of here.” In that fit of anger, Home Run stomped away from the trio. “Geez, he was rude.” Twilight huffed with her arms crossed. “Yeah, we were only trying to help. He didn’t need to be such a meanie about it.” Pinkie pouted. “Don’t worry girls. He’s just frustrated, he’ll come around sooner or later.” Brave stretched his arms before taking out his deck. “Well, that’s enough of a break. How about another round!?” Home Run continued his angry trek while muttering to himself. “Stupid, whoever they were. The only point to a game is winning, and that’s that.” He muttered. “You’re anger is delightful, human.” a deep muffled voice came out of nowhere. Suddenly, a card appeared in front the baseball player. “Letting go of such rage is pointless. Use it to make those who wronged you pay! All you need to do is accept my power.” Said card flew closer to Home Run. Hesitating only for an instant, Home Run grabbed the card. The moment he did, his eyes glowed for a moment before he began radiating a menacing aura. “I’ll show them all what fun really is.” “Ah!” Brave dramatically clutched his heart. “You took three of my life points!” “Hahaha!” Pinkie laughed maniacally, fanning herself with her cards. “I’ve got you this time Brave! Now I attack with Gummy Slime!” Brave smirked, “Not so fast! I cast! Green Dra-!” *Boom!* A sudden loud boom interrupted their match. “What was that?” Twilight asked alertly. Then suddenly Asmodai, Blade, and Drum’s cards started to glow. “Heads up Twi, I’m sensing a monster nearby.” Asmodai spoke from his card. “It must be one of the Hundred Demons!” “We got to go after it.” Blade and Drum as well. The trio nodded in agreement before grabbing their decks and rushing to the scene. At the baseball field, Home Run’s former teammates were all huddled and backed against the fence including their coach. The field around them was completely wrecked. Craters and burns completely covered the field around them. Who stood straight across from the team was Home Run. He was covered in a thick violet aura, and in his hands was a demonic-style greatsword. It was a dull grey and the blade was scared with multiple scratches in the metal. On the hilt was a bat with a single glowing red eye. Home Run smirked sinisterly at them. “So, what do you think of my attitude now coach?” He rose the sword and slashed to the right, sending out a wave of energy that only narrowly missed his former teammates. “Yes, take out your rage on those who have wronged you!” The hundred demon ordered. “Alright, it’s time I stop messing around and get serious. Just like how it I was in the games!” Home Run rose his blade again, only for his swing to be interrupted by someone grabbing his wrist. Before he could react, said person flipped him over their shoulder and threw him quite a ways away. Home Run landed on his back, but when he looked up he saw that who flipped him was Brave. Brave stood firm defensively in front of the baseball team, and Pinkie and Twilight ran to his side. Home Run’s former team stared at them confused before Asmodai appeared in front of them. “Sorry, Y'all. But you’re gonna have to go to sleep.” The demon waved his hand over them, and they all drifted off to sleep. Back with the trio and Home Run, who had recovered from the throw. “This has gone too far!” Brave announced. “Do you really think this is the way? I know you’re upset, but accepting a demons power and hurting people isn’t going to make you feel any better.” “Oh really? I’m feeling pretty good right about now.” Home Run counter smugly. “Seeing them cower like the weaklings they are, it makes me sorry that I ever offered them my skills! I just showed them what they’re missing out on, the skills and power that could have made the whole team champions!” “This isn’t right!” Pinkie suddenly shouted. “They were your teammates, weren’t they? You played games with them and won with them! It couldn’t have meant nothing to you! Didn’t you have at least a little bit of fun?” Home Run only smirked at her. “They were only a means of getting to the top to me. I only played with them cause I wanted to win and get scouted. But you’re right about one thing. I was having fun seeing them cower before me! Hahaha!” He laughed maniacally. The trio glared intently at him, and Brave took out the proto-sphere. “I’ve heard enough. We have to end this right now!” Brave said preparing to toss the Proto-sphere, but he was stopped by Pinkie. Surprisingly, her usual cheerful expression was replaced with a much more serious one. “Brave, let me fight this time.” She requested. Both Twilight and Brave looked at her surprised. “What do you mean, Pinkie? You know what’s at stake right?” Twilight asked. “And once you start, you can’t back out,” Brave warned. “I only have so many Core Deck Cases, and once it registers you as its user then it will only work for you. No one else. Do you really want to join our fight?” Pinkie was silent for a moment, her curly pink locks shadowed her eyes. In an instant, she looked up with a confident smile. “I’ve only ever wanted to make other people smile. Even though I know how much sadness is in the world, or when others push me away, I never want to stop trying. These demons will only make things worse, and make the world sadder. If beating these guys will make the world a happier place, no matter how small of a change, that's enough of a reason for me to fight!” Her friends were shocked at her speech before Brave smiled. “If that’s your choice, then I can’t deny you that. And I know you’ll be a great fighter.” “I completely agree!” Blade suddenly appeared in his mini-form. “Blade?” Pinkie asked. “Miss Pinkie, I will not lie when I first laid my eyes on you, I thought you were an impatient, hyperactive, uncouth girl. But the more I spent time with you, the more I realized you were so much more. A girl with solid conviction to make those around her smile, no matter how much they pushed you away. Always wanting to spread happiness and laughter, and honed the true meaning of Buddyfight! I would be honored if you would accept being my buddy.” Pinkie started to tear up, never before hearing such kind words said to her. She wiped her tears away and nodded in agreement. “Of course, Buddy!” “Pinkie! Catch!” Brave threw her a blank Core Deck case. Pinkie pulled out her deck and nodded at Blade. “It’s time to fight Miss Pinkie.” Was all he said before turning back into his card and adding himself to the deck. Pinkie took a deep breath, before inserting her deck into the case. “Register User: Pinkamena Diane Pie! Recognized!” The Core Deck Case light up before its grey color changed into a bright pink hue. Pinkie smiled before nodding towards Brave. He also nodded, “Proto-barrier activate!” he threw the sphere into the air, and it let loose the green energy. Pinkie and Home Run were standing atop their individual pedestals across from each other in the proto-arena. A screen appeared beside Pinkie, which showed Brave and Twilight in the Pit. “Okay Pinkie, this will be your first real fight. Are you ready for this?” He asked. Pinkie winked at them, “Don’t worry guys. I’ll show him what fun really is! Right, Blade?” Blade in his mini-form appeared, “Let’s be rid of this ill-mannered mongrel!” He announced before turning into his true form. “Wow! So that’s what you really look like? So cool!” Pinkie cheered before pouting. “But I like your mini-form, I can’t cuddle you like this.” “Ahem!” Home Run caught their attention. “If you’re done, I have the fight to win.” He bragged smugly. “You ill-mannered mongrel!” Blade yelled. “The winner isn’t named until the fight is over, and I can assure you that you will not be it!” “Yeah, yeah whatever fried chicken. Let’s get it started.” Home Run rose his Core Deck Case as it turned into a black gauntlet, same as the ones before. “Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize! Hundred Legends! Plus, my Buddy is Corpse Spirit, Draogul!” What appeared behind him was a humanoid monster that shared the same style as the sword he was wielding. Pinkie smirked as she also rose her case. “Traps, surprises, and monsters around every corner! I’m the final boss of this dungeon, and you’ll be smiling all the while! Luminize! Laughing Dungeon!” She announced her deck as her case transformed into a bouquet of pink balloons with the center balloon holding the blue, oval gem. “It’s time to raise the flags!” “Legend World!” Home Run announced with the Flag levitating behind him. “Dungeon World!” Pinkie stabbed her own flag into the ground behind her. Turn 1: Home Run [Home Run: LP-10 G-2] [Pinkie: LP- 10 G-2] “I’ll be taking the first move.” Home Run rose one of his six hand cards. “Charge and draw! I call Waweldrache to the center!” In the center appeared to be an ominous, dragon monster that looked to be made of black vines. “Now Waweldrache, attack the fighter!” He ordered. Waweldrache flew straight towards Pinkie, slashing her with its claws and reducing her life by 1. “End of move!” “Huh?” Brave sounded confused. “What’s the matter Brave?” Twilight asked. “Well, even with a bad hand one point is pretty weak. Something’s up.” He explained. Twilight struck a thinking pose, “Is he just that overconfident to go easy on Pinkie?” “If he is, then this will be a short fight.” Turn 2: Pinkie [Home Run: LP-10 G-3] [Pinkie: LP- 9 G-2] “It’s my turn now!” Pinkie cheered, “Draw! Charge and draw! I call Fledgling Warrior, Ocker Glaser to the center! Gummy Slime to the right, and Scout Criticizing Kirwa to the left!” In the center and left appeared two humanoid monsters wearing adventurers garb, and to the right was a pink, gelatinous monster with eyes and small wings. “And as a finishing touch! I pay 1 gauge and set, Mission Card: Defeat Monsters!” A sphere with the card’s name appeared and hovered next to Pinkie. Home Run rose his brow, “And what does that do?” Pinkie smiled, “Mission Cards are set spells that are specific to Dungeon World. If I complete the requirements, then I get a bonus! For this one, I have to defeat two for your monsters, and I’ll start with Waweldrache! Ocker and Kirwa, attack the center!” Ocker slashed through Waweldrache with his sword and Kirwa attacked with his wipe, destroying the plant monster. “And since Ocker link attacked with Kirwa, he gains the Penetrate ability!” True to her word, Ocker charged towards Home Run and struck him with 1 damage. “Why did she link attack?” Twilight asked confused. “Ocker could have destroyed Waweldrache on his own. If she attacks individually then she could have cleared the center and attacked with both Gummy Slime and Kirwa.” “It’s because she’s thinking strategy all the way,” Brave answered. “What kind of strategy could she be thinking of?” Brave chuckled, “C’mon Twilight, you should give Pinkie a little more credit. It’s still the very start of the fight and they both have full hands, so there’s a chance that Home Run has a counterspell to increase Waweldrache’s defense. By doing a link attack it ensures that the attack goes through, and does damage by Ocker’s effect.” Twilight looked surprised, “Wow, she really did think this one through.” “And now, Gummy Slime attack the fighter!” Pinkie ordered. “Gummi-mi!” Gummy Slime called as it bounced its way to Home Run. It smothered his face and reduced his life points to 7. “End of move!” Turn 2: Home Run [Home Run: LP-7 G-3] [Pinkie: LP- 9 G-2] “I hope you liked those free shots, cause that’s all your gonna get!” Home Run said confidently. “Draw! Charge and Draw! I call King of Forest Zlatorog to the center, and Waweldrache to the right!” Waweldrache appeared in the right position, and a green beast monster appeared in the center. “Waweldrache, attack the Ocker in the center!” Waweldrache slashed his claws sending out a slashing wave of wind towards Ocker, destroying him. “Now Zlatorog, attack the fighter!” Zlatorog let out a fierce roar before charging at Pinkie and wiping her with its tail. “Gah!” When the attack hit it send Pinkie falling on her backside comedically. With it’s critical, the attack dealt 2 damage. “End of move!” “Your Move!” Turn 3: Pinkie [Home Run: LP-7 G-3] [Pinkie: LP- 7 G-2] “Hahaha! How do you like that girly?” He gloated, but he didn’t expect her response. “Hahaha! That was a good move! Now we’re tied for life points.” Pinkie laughed nonchalantly. “But now it’s my turn! I call another Gummy slime to the center!” A second Gummy Slime appeared, but this one was orange instead of pink. “Now Kirwa, attack Zlatorog!” Kirwa attacked with his whip, destroying Zlatorog as well as sending the top card in Pinkie’s deck into “Defeat Monsters” soul. “And now that I’ve destroyed two of your monsters, my mission is complete and I get two cards!” The Set spell disappeared and true to her word, two cards added themselves to her hand. Increasing her hand cards to 5. “Now Gummy Slimes, attack the fighter!” Both Gummy Slimes pounced onto Home Run, reducing his life to 3. “End of move!” “He’s not using any counterspells?” Twilight asked suspiciously. “He’s at quite a disadvantage, but at least now Pinkie has the upper hand.” “I don’t think so,” Brave interjected. “If he’s not worried about his life points dropping further than something else is coming.” “Your Move!” Turn 4: Home Run [Home Run: LP-3 G-3] [Pinkie: LP- 7 G-3] “Well, it’s been nice toying with you, but now I’m gonna end this! Draw! Charge and Draw! I cast, Elixer of Aesculapius, and increase my life and gauge by one!” His life points increased to 4, and his gauge to 5. “Now I pay one gauge to call Wind Fairy Sylph to the left!” In his center appeared a very small fairy monster, with pink hair, fairy wings, and wearing a white dress. “Next I Buddy Call, Corpse Spirit Draogul to the center!” Draogul switched from his place behind Home Run to the left position. “Finally, I pay three gauge and cast, Decree of Dullahan! Giving all my Wydar Sarkal monsters Double attack!” All of Home Run’s monsters started to glow with a blazing orange aura around them. “Now Draogul, attack the center Gummy Slime!” With one swing of his blade, Draogul cleaved right through the slime. “Double attack the fighter!” “Feel my wrath, human!” The hundred demon yelled before slashing Pinkie, reducing her life points to 5. “Now Sylph!” Wind Fairy Sylph seemed to cast her own spell, sending furious winds Pinkie’s direction. Reducing her life by 1. “Double attack!” He commanded. “I pay one gauge and cast, Divine Protection of Shalsana!” A shield appeared to protect her and increased her life to 5. Brave cheered, “Nice! Not only did she stop the spell, but she gained another life point as well.” “But she’s still got Waweldrache to deal with, so it’s safe to assume that they’re gonna be tied with 4 life points.” Twilight speculated. “Waweldrache, attack the Gummy Slime and Kirwa!” They heard Home Run through the screen. “What? Why did he direct his attention to her monsters?” Twilight asked. “It’s because of her counterspell. He wanted to drop her life points more than she already has, but because of her counter, he couldn’t. He destroyed Gummy Slime and Kirwa so she will have a harder time dealing with all his monsters next turn.” Brave explained. Twilight sighed, “It looks like I underestimated both of them. I didn’t think he would be thinking strategically as well.” Brave nodded, “But still, Pinkie is at a disadvantage. All her monsters are gone, and he’s got a full field.” “End of move!” Turn 5: Pinkie [Home Run: LP-3 G-0] [Pinkie: LP- 5 G-2] “You got lucky with that counter, but come next turn you’re finished!” Home Run shouted irritated. He grew even more angered when he saw Pinkie continuously smiling. “What’s with that look on your face?” “Because I’m having so much fun!” She cheered. “Buddyfight is the most fun and exciting game ever! I get what Brave was saying about the rush he gets.” “Fun?” Home Run clenched his fist. “What are you talking about? Do you even know what’s at stake here?” “Of course I do, but even with the circumstances, I’m having a blast. I can tell you’re having fun too, even a little. No matter how serious the game gets, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s something I enjoy and love to do. Isn’t that how you feel about baseball?” She asked. Home Run was about to rebuttal, but the words got caught in his throat. He didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. Even after all his talk, that was just him being stubborn and angry. Truthfully he did enjoy the game, it’s why he chose to go pro in the first place. His ambition got the better of him though, making him more aggressive towards his goal and in turn his teammates. Leading to him being kicked off the team. “Human!” Draogul called out to Home Run. “Don’t forget why you accepted my power. You wanted vengeance on those who wronged you. Do not forget your goal!” “Hey! Corpse guy!” Pinkie shouted at Draogul. “So you’re the Hundred Demon that’s been making him do bad things?” “Don’t be foolish little girl. I am not forcing him to do any such thing. I am merely encouraging him to take his revenge on those who have wronged him. With the rage, he is exerting and the fear he caused from the other humans, he’s providing quite the bounty of negative energy for me to take. Once we are finished here we will spread even more fear, enough to revive Master Yamigedo!” “Sorry, but I can’t let that happen. Draw! Charge and Draw!” Pinkie countered confidently as she looked at her 5 hand cards. “First I’ll Buddycall, Bladewing Phoenix to the right!” The blade flew from his position behind Pinkie to the right. “It’s about time I get to ruffle some feathers!” Blade taunted. “Now I discard one hand card to equip, Brave Equipment, Glory Seeker!” A navy and gold shield appeared in her hand with a matching sword. “Next, I cast Reset Button! If there are one or more cards in my gauge, I can put them all back into my deck and set four new cards into my gauge!” She explained as her gauge increased from 2 to 4. “Yes! She’s setting herself up perfectly!” Twilight cheered. Brave smiled and nodded, “She must have drawn her impact. Looks like she’s ready to finish it up.” “Final Phase!” Pinkie rose the last card in her hand. “Impact! Phoenix Radiation! Since I have a Dungeon Enemy monster in my field, and I have an adventurer item equip I meet the requirements for this Impact. Not only can I destroy all the monsters on your field, but I can also deal you 3 damage!” Blade’s body suddenly burst into green flames. “I am the undying bird of flames that will wipe out all! Phoenix Radiation!” Blade opened his beak and let loose a fierce stream of green flames, burning all of Home Run’s monsters to cinders. Home Run covered his face because of the intensity of the flames. When he uncovered his face, he saw Pinkie charge towards him with her flame coated Glory Seeker. “Game Over!” Was the last words she said before slashing Home Run, dropping his life points down to zero and destroying his flag. “Game Over! Winner: Pinkie Pie!” The fight had ended and deactivated the Proto-barrier, returning all the teens to the real world. Home Run was on his knees with scattered cards around him, and a broken Core Deck Case. “Yay! I won!” Pinkie cheered, pulling her two friends into a group hug. After a moment of celebration, the group approached Home Run. “Man… I messed up.” Home Run sulked. Pinkie just smiled and crouched to his level, “Yeah, but hey who hasn’t?” She giggled. “Sure you did some bad stuff, but now that you’ve seen the error of your ways you can make it up. Maybe starting with your teammates and playing with them again?” He sighed, “Probably, if they ever forgive me for attacking them.” “You don’t have to worry about that dude.” Suddenly, Asmodai walked up to the group. “While all of you were in the Proto-barrier, I used some of my magic to wipe their memories. They won’t be remembering anything about the attack when they wake up.” Home Run looked at them with hope-filled eyes as he stood up and bowed to them. “Thank you, for saving me and my team.I owe you guys a lot.” “No problem! It was a fun fight anyways, so you don’t owe us anything. Now go play some ball!” Pinkie cheered, with Home Run nodding and trotted towards his teammates. Another fight won, another crisis averted, but one question lingered in Brave’s mind. “Wait, Asmodai, you can wipe memories this whole time?” The Dragon World Fighter asked. Asmodai scoffed, “Of course. It’s only a small foot for a Demon Lord like me.” “Wha-! Then why didn't you do that before!? We could have kept other people from getting involved!” “Ahem” He turned to see Twilight and Pinkie glaring at him because of his implication. Brave shook nervously, “N-not that I don’t appreciate you girls for joining the fight. I’m just saying…” While the trio of heroes was bantering, they didn’t notice they were being watched. In a tree a distance away, there on the branches sat a girl. She had short, navy hair and amber eyes. She wore dark blue jeans with a black tank top with a black and yellow vest over it. Around her neck was a black scarf that split into two sides behind her. “Another demon down the drain. Doesn’t matter though. As long as they do their job and collect negative energy from Lord Yamigedo and Master Crimson, then they are disposable.” She said to herself. She suddenly pulled out a card, it began to shine as a portal opened below her. She dropped from the branch she sat on and fell in, making the portal disappear in an instant. The sun started to set as Brave was walking home. Brave sighed, “Now that Pinkie’s joined, our small army is growing stronger.” “That’s a good thing.” Drum suddenly appeared in his mini-form. “Now you have comrades you can rely on. No use not wanting them not to get involved now.” “I know partner. I just hope they’ll be ready for the dangerous and demons ahead.” Drum halted the both of them. “Speaking of Demons, don’t you have something to do with the demon the pink human defeated?” “Oh right.” Brave pulled out Draogul’s card and handed it to Drum. Brave closed his eyes and pressed the palms of his hands together. “Heart-clan Secret Art! Purify!” He thrust his arm forward and pressed his thumb on the demon symbol on the card. After a moment of silence, the Symbol had disappeared. “Well, that takes care of that. Time for you to go home Draogul.” The card flew out of Drum’s and disappeared in a flash of light. “So, are you ever gonna tell the others about your clan? Or how you found all of us?” Drum asked his buddy. Brave hesitated before sighing. “I prefer to wait till we get the other’s buddies first. I don’t exactly want to repeat my story over and over.” “I’m just saying Brave, they are going to get curious about your story and the amount of technology we have. It’s better to tell them sooner than later, but I guess it not my place to tell you what to do.” Drum then turned back into a card and flew into Brave’s holster. “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. Suddenly, Pinkie entered the frame. "Where we'll be teaching you about the world of buddyfight!" "Pinkie!? What are you doing in our classroom?" "Because I heard that you're gonna talk about my new buddy, Bladewing Phoenix!" "That's right Pinkie. This is Bladewing Phoenix! He has a power of 5000, defense of 1000, and a critical of 2! "He also had the Double Attack ability, which lets him attack twice during a turn." "My buddy's so cool! When he's not nagging me about homework." Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. Pinkie was standing beside Twilight, holding up another booster pack. "That;s all for now class!" "Can you open a buddy rare card?"
Time to Launch! Decker Drum is on the Scene!The sun had just risen to start the new day. Most of the citizens of Ponyville would still be asleep or just waking up. Although, that isn’t the case for the resident Heartful Fighter. In his quiet apartment, he was sitting at his desk sorting through his cards while Drum was asleep on the bed behind him. He kept sorting threw his cards until he put together a full deck. “Hah~! That should do it.” Brave sighed in relief. “*Yawn!*” A yawn escaped from Drum as he sat up on the bed. “Why so loud in the morning kid?” “Check it out Drum, I finished the new deck!” Brave showed his buddy excitedly. Drum rubbed his eyes, “That’s great kid, but it’s been pretty quiet lately. It’ll be awhile before we try it out in an actual fight.” Brave shrugged, “You never know when they’ll show up. Best to be prepared for whatever kind of tricks they throw at us.” Brave then noticed the time on the wall clock. “It’s almost time for school. Better get ready.” Deep within the darkness of what looks to be a cave, a young man sat atop of a stone. Overlooking a transparent orb that showed various images. The young man looked to be about fourteen years old, standing at 5.5 feet tall. He had short black hair with red tips, and his eyes were colored amber. He wore a large red hooded cape over a grey t-shirt with a red collar, maroon jeans, and black steel-toed boots. He continued to watch the images on the orb whilst eating a club of roasted meat. Suddenly, a portal opened behind and the same navy-haired girl who was spying on Brave and the others. She knelt down and bowed to the boy on the stone. “Master, you wished to see me?” She asked. “Nightingale,” The boy started, “You’ve been doing a fine job of gathering negative energy with the Demons.” “Thank you, Master.” “But it isn’t enough.” he interrupted. “The amount of negative energy so far isn’t even enough for a snack for Yamigedo!” Sparks of purple lightning flew off his body as he raised his voice. Nightingale slightly trembled as a bold narrowly missed her. “My apologies Master. What do you suggest I should do?” Once he stopped generating electricity, he sat silently before he stood up with a card in his hands. He suddenly threw it into the air, and a magic circle appeared around it. “Power of Darkness! Power of Evil! Power of the Hundred Demons!” The Master chanted as a monster appeared. It was a two-headed hound with black fur, wearing golden armor around his legs, head, and chest. Along with red ribbons attached to the chest plate. “We are The Twin-Headed Hellhound, Orthrus!” The left head spoke. “Hey! I was supposed to say it this time!” The right head argued before biting the left's neck. “Hey, that hurt!” The two heads began to argue with each other. Nightingale looked at the Demon nervously. “They seem a bit… unstable.” “It’s because of their unstable relationship that will help you gain more negative energy. The two of them influence aggression to those around them. The best part is you won’t have to possess a human to cause havoc. I want you to take Orthrus and get more negative energy!” Nightingale bowed, “It will be done, Master.” It’s been a week since Brave and his friends run in with Home Run. Since then there haven’t been any signs of the Hundred, so the three of them continued their normal school days. Though, not without keeping up with their Buddyfight practice. The trio and their buddies were always practicing after school or when they had spare time. The school day had just ended, relieving the students from their torment to do whatever. Brave, Twilight, and Pinkie were still in their classroom, idly chatting away before they decided to head out. “Hey, why don’t we go by the park later for more practice matches? I got a new deck I wanted to test out.” Brave asked enthusiastically. He expected the same enthusiasm from his comrades, but he was meet with Twilight twirling her hair nervously and Pinkie sighing with her chin propped up with her arms. “No offense Brave, but haven’t things been feeling kind of stale to you?” Twilight asked. Brave tilted his head confused. “Hm? What do you mean?” Pinkie sighed again, “It’s not that we don’t like Buddyfight anymore. It’s just that it’s only been between the three of us over and over. Things are starting to get stale with me and Twilight’s continuing tie, and you always win!” She glared. The Heartful Fighter closed his eyes and thought, “Hm, yeah you two do have a point. We basically know each other's styles inside and out now. But it’s not like Buddyfight is public yet so no one has cards besides us.” He continued to think until he overheard a group of female students talking. “Hey, have you two joined any clubs yet?” The girl with the long, blonde hair asked. “I haven't decided yet, there’s just so many to choose from.” The girl with the black, princess cut hair replied. “I joined the Literature Club already. You two should join me! The other members are really cool, and it’ll be more fun with you two!” The redhead replied. Back to the trio of fighters, Brave suddenly sprang up in excitement. “That’s it! Let’s start a club! The Buddyfight club!” Twilight and Pinkie looked at him in surprise. “You want to start a club for Buddyfight?” The Magic World fighter asked. “Yeah! It’ll be a great way to attract other students to Buddyfight and make new friends. We can teach them how to build decks and play the game. Then we’ll have more friends to battle against and sharpen our skills.” “That sounds awesome!” Pinkie cheered, but her cheer was replaced with a thoughtful look. “But that won’t be easy. To start a club we have to fill out an application for the student council. And they almost never approve of any clubs besides the normal ones. Like the theater or glee club.” “I’m sure we can convince them if we talk it out. Let’s go right now!” Brave said running out of the classroom, leaving his comrades behind. “Does he know where the student council office is?” Twilight asked. “Probably not!” Pinkie answered in her usual cheerful way. Seconds later, Brave opened the door with a sheepish look on his face. “Hey, so either of you knows where the Student Council office is?” The trio was idli walking through the halls of Canterlot High School, making their way to the student council office. “So Pinkie, the student council President is that Rarity girl right?” Brave asked. “Right-o! Rarity Belle, President of the student council and the most popular girl in school!” Pinkie said. Twilight sighed, “Then this will be more difficult than we thought.” “What do you mean?” “It’s well known that popular girls are selfish and only care about their appearance. Maybe that’s why most club applications are rejected.” Twilight stated. Although, Brave disagreed and waved it off. “That’s just a stereotype Twilight. I’m sure she’s a good person, and will be a great friend!” The book worm’s brows furrowed, “Have you even talked to her?” “I don’t think many people have.” Pinkie interjected. “She’s always with the Board of Students since she’s president, and they don’t let anybody near her. Come to think of it, it’s rare to not see her without them.” ‘Hm, suspicious.’ Brave though. The trio continued their walk and was about to turn a corner. Then all of a sudden. “Kyaa!” (Moment Earlier) The Student Council President herself, Rarity, was currently standing on a step ladder in front of a bulletin board. She was having a bit of difficulty because the only available spot for the posters she needed to post was at the very top. ‘Why did I agree to do this again?’ she thought. ‘Oh right. It was Rachel’s job today but she asked me cause she had ‘urgent plans’ to tend to. *Sigh* I’m too generous for my own good.’ She had just stuck the last of her posters about to step off of the later. Until she lost her footing and began to fall backward. “Kyaa!” she shrieked. She shut her eyes prepared to hit the hard ground, but the pain never came. Instead, she felt herself land into two strong arms. She opened her eyes to see the surprised face of the resident ‘Heartful Fighter’ Brave. The moment the made eye contact her heart started racing, and she could feel her face heat up. “Uh, hey.” he greeted. “Hello.” she greeted back. “Ahem!” a cough broke their thought. Behind Brave stood Pinkie and Twilight. The former giggling at the two and the latter was glaring and pouting at them. Brave immediately let Rarity down, and the Student Council President dusted off her uniform. Rarity cleared her throat and calmed her blush. “Uh, thank you for catching me…” “Oh! I’m Brave Heart. These are my friends, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle.” He introduced. “Hiya!” “Hello.” “It’s nice to meet you three. My name is Rarity Belle.” Brave smiled, “Nice to meet you. Actually, we were on our way to the Student Council Room to talk to you.” “Hm? What about?” she slightly tilted her head. “Well, we wanted to-!” “Stop right there!” Another girls voice called out. Suddenly, a group of generic looking female students with student council armbands surrounded Rarity. Getting in between their President and the trio of heroes. “Who gave you permission to talk to President Rarity?” The lead girl asked. Twilight raised her brow. “We need permission to talk to one of our fellow students?” The lead scoffed at her, “Don’t lump her in the same category as you nobodies. She’s our beloved Class President. She’s far too busy to waste time talking to a bookworm, a party girl, and some punk!” Pinkie pouted, “Hey, that’s mean. We didn’t do anything wrong!” “Plus, I’m pretty sure Rarity has the right to talk to whoever she wants to talk to.” Brave argued, “We were just gonna ask her about a new club idea we had.” “Then go the office for a club application form. Once you fill it out bring it to the Student Council Room for use to file under, “Never gonna happen!” With that, the student council girls walked away, also pulling Rarity away with them. Leaving behind a fuming Twilight, a pouting Pinkie, and an irritated Brave. Later that day, our trio of heroes were idly sitting on a bench at the park they often hang out in. The sun was setting on the day as the three of them were still miffed about their previous encounter with the student council. Twilight was reading a book, Pinkie sat upside down beside her friends, and Brave sat with them eating a box of strawberry pokey he just bought. “Man, we got denied!” Pinkie suddenly spoke. “It’s just like I told you two,” Twilight says, still reading her book. “Popular girls are selfish. I bet Rarity was laughing at us along with her Council friends.” “Let’s not jump to conclusions Twi.” Asmodai’s voice rang out as a speck of light floated next to her. “That Rarity girl sounded like a genuinely nice person. It was those friends of hers that were the problem.” “Asmodai’s right Twilight,” Brave interjected. “She actually took the time to hear us out, unlike the others. I have a feeling there’s more to this than meets the eye.” Twilight sighed, “That may be, but we still have to deal with them. If what they said was true then even if we submit our club idea, they won’t even look at it.” “Well, since Rarity is the President the decision is up to her for club acceptance.” Pinkie added, “If only we had a chance to talk to her without her entourage.” She then looked up to Brave who had half a pokey stick in his mouth. “Can I have some?” Brave held out the box for her to pick out of, but a mischievous smirk crept on the party girls lips. She quickly leaned up and bit down on the pokey Brave was currently eating, and plucked it right off his lips. Both her friends looked surprised with blushes on their cheeks. “Pinkie!?” They both shouted. “What? He said I could have some.” She joked and munched on the pokey. In the corner of her eyes, she caught the familiar sight of long, lavender hair. “Hey look! It’s Rarity!” Her friends looked to see she was right. Said Student Council President was walking idly by herself past them. “What’s she doing out so late? And alone at that.” Brave asked. “Yeah, isn’t she usually with the Board of Students?” Twilight continued. They watched as Rarity got further away from them until Pinkie Smirked. “Let’s follow her!” Her two friends looked at her bewildered. “Pinkie! We can’t do that, it’s invading her privacy!” Twilight objected. “Ah c’mon, aren’t you guys even a little bit curious why she’s going? Since her entourage isn’t around now we can use this opportunity to get to know her better.” Pinkie said before she thought, ‘Plus, maybe we can find a weakness so we can get our club.’ Twilight still looked reluctant, but Brave spoke up first. “Hm, I am curious. Alright! Let’s do it!” He cheered. “Yay!” Pinkie also cheered. She then suddenly wrapped a pink scarf over her nose and mouth and put her hands in a hand sign. “Let’s do this, ninja style!” “Nin!” Mini-Tsukikage appeared next to her, unrolling a scroll with “ninja style!” written on it. While her two friends sped off towards Rarity’s direction, Twilight just sighed. “I knew this would happen.” After a series of comical spying scenes, reluctantly in Twilight’s case, they saw their Student Council President enter a homeless shelter. The trio continued to observe from the perspective of a bush, with Tsukikage returning to card form. “What’s she doing here? This is a shelter.” Brave asked in a whisper. “Let’s go in. Maybe she’s volunteering or something.” Pinkie suggested as they started to walk in. Twilight shrugged, “I highly doubt that. Why would the popular girl “waste her time” and volunteer here?” As she said that, they opened the door to see Rarity wearing an apron and chopping vegetables in the kitchen. ‘She really is volunteering!?’ Twilight thought. “Hey, Rarity!” Pinkie waved to her, “Hello!” The lavender haired girl looked up in surprise. “Brave? Pinkie? Twilight? What are you three doing here?” Her eyes suddenly widened and she smiled. “Oh! I know, you’re here to volunteer, right?” “What!?” Twilight asked surprised. Before she could protest she felt her two friends clutch her shoulders behind here. “Yeah! We’re here to help!” Pinkie and Brave said simultaneously. “Wonderful!” Rarity cheered as she went to fetch aprons for the trio. “Thank you very much! Please put these on and I’ll tell you what to do.” She let the trio prepare themselves while she continued to chop the vegetables. “Guys, what are you doing?” Twilight whispered sharply. “Don’t you think helping her here is a better way of understanding her?” Pinkie asked. Brave agreed, “Yeah, and maybe you can learn that not every popular girl isn’t like you imagine.” Twilight sighed, “I guess so. Hand me the apron.” So Brave, Twilight, and Pinkie helped Rarity with her duties in the shelter. They learned that she volunteers every Wednesday to serving the homeless food. They also realized how hard the job was, considering how many people were there. Night had arrived and the kitchen was now empty. While Rarity was washing dishes with the shelter's director, the trio of heroes was resting in the back. “*Sigh* Not even in my house have I ever served that many dishes.” Twilight sighed in exhaustion. “But it was fun, don’t you guys think?” Pinkie asked. “Hm, I admit it does feel nice.” Brave nodded, “Helping those less fortunate than us makes us more grateful for what we have. Seeing their smiles was worth all the effort.” “I would have to agree with you there, darling.” Rarity agreed as she approached the heroes. “I’m glad you three came when you did. We don’t get many volunteers on this day. Most of the time it's usually me and the director.” “Rarity? Why aren’t your other friends from the Student Council with you?” Pinkie asked. The Student Council President let out a sigh, “They aren’t my real friends, they are only classmates. In fact, I never actually had real friends.” Brave rose his brow, “Why don’t you consider them real friends?” “Well, I always help them. But when I asked them for their help in return they always find an excuse not to, like here at the shelter.” Her expression saddened. “I guess I hang out with them just to not feel lonely.” “Anyways,” Twilight wanted to change the subject. “What are you doing here? This is the last place I thought we’d find you in.” Rarity smirked, “Oh? And what did you think? I’m a popular girl that only thought of my appearances?” “Um, well… Uh.” Twilight stuttered. “Yup! That’s exactly what she thought!” Pinkie answered for her. “Pinkie!” Twilight whined and Brave chuckled. “Hahaha.” Rarity giggled. “Well I don’t like admitting it, but I was just like how you would imagine when I was thirteen. I only cared about being the center of attention and my looks. But all that changed when my mother was in a terrible accident a long time ago. She desperately needed a transfusion, but she had a rare blood type that the hospital didn’t have enough of. My father put up adds almost everywhere. Radio, Newspapers, even T.V, but no one came for hours.” A gentle smile crept onto her lips. “Until late at night, and old, homeless man walked in and volunteered his owned blood that was a match. They quickly made the transfusion, and my mother was saved. His generosity amazed me, especially since no one else offered after all that time. This man had nothing, and yet he gave his blood to help us. I just had to ask why, and what he said next simply amazed me.” (Flashback) The old man simply smiled and placed his hand on the young Rarity’s shoulder. “Little girl, why shouldn’t have I done it? You mother asked for help and I offered it. I don’t have much, but she needed my blood and I gave it to her. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they came from, not if they are rich or poor, we are all human beings. Always be generous and never deny your help to those in need.” (Flashback end) “And I never saw him again.” Rarity continued. “His words awoken something within me, something I’ve never felt before. Because of that, I decided to help those who are in need of it. Not only to thanks that old man, but it felt like it was what I was meant to do. Because of that, I work as a volunteer every Wednesday, handing out food to the homeless. On the weekends I work at a boutique. The money I earn I split between buying food for the shelter and fabric for my own fashion designs. But I know what I’m doing just isn’t enough.” As she finished her tale, the trio of heroes could only smile at the generous girl's conviction. “Rarity, I’m sorry for getting the wrong idea about you. Your generosity changes my mind, and taught me not to judge a book by its cover.” Twilight apologized sheepishly. “I always knew you were a good person,” Brave said with a smirk. “It’s those other Student Council members that are a problem. Maybe if they were a little friendlier than others wouldn’t get the wrong idea. You should say something.” Rarity sighed again, “You do have a point, but I guess I’m a little afraid to. If I say something they may not want to hang around anymore, and I’ll be all alone again.” “No, you won’t!” Pinkie suddenly cheered. “Cause you got a few friends right here!” The lavender haired fashionista’s eyes widened in surprise. “You… want to be friends with me?” “Of course,” Brave added. “A girl who takes on all this responsibility with a smile on her face, just because of her generous heart? Sounds like someone who would make a great friend. Right girls?” “Positive!” “Indeed.” Pinkie and Twilight answered. Rarity could only stare in shock. This group that she just met immediately wanted to be her friends, no strings attached. She smiled endearingly with small tears welling up in her eyes. “Thank you, all of you. I will gladly be your friend.” Night fell as our heroes and their new friend hailed a taxi to drive them home. All except Brave who decided to walk home. Brave was trotting along the night streets of Ponyville, mostly unoccupied due to the late hours. Then suddenly, a light flew out of his backpack and turned into Ice Blade Joker in his mini form. “Freeze!” Joker announced. “Joker? What are you doing out of your card?” Brave asked. “It’s that young lady from earlier,” Joker answered in a surprisingly serious voice. “You mean Rarity?” “Yes. Even when people treat her like an ice queen, she still bears a smile warm enough to melt even my cold heart. To be so generous just for the sake of generosity. I think I understand what Asmodai felt when he met Twilight.” “Are you saying that Rarity could be your buddy?” Brave asked surprised. “It’s hard to say. I do feel like I have a connection, but then again she could give us the cold shoulder and refuse. All I can say is, there is a definite chill in my spine when I saw here and heard her story.” Brave thought for a moment. “Alright. I’ll have to talk to the others to decide our next course of action. Now you should probably get back into your card. You never know who could be watching.” With a nod, Joker flashed back into his card and flew into Brave’s backpack. When Brave continued his walk, he was suddenly bumped into by a hooded person. Their face was covered by a baggie blue hood, so he couldn’t identify if they were male for female. The person fell on the floor while Brave was off balance for a second. “Oh, sorry. Are you okay?” Brave offered his hand, which they took. “Yeah, I am. Sorry, it was my fault.” The person said in a feminine sounding voice. “I’ll be going then.” Before Brave could say anything else, the hooded figure bolted away. After a confused pause, Brave just shrugged off the encounter and continued his trek home. With the hooded figure, they ducked behind a corner. They removed their hood to reveal Nightingale, who was smirking victoriously. She reached into her pocket to reveal a deck of Buddyfight cards. “Let’s see how he fairs against Orthrus without his deck.” She smirked sinisterly. The next morning. It was the start of another school day, Brave, Twilight, and Pinkie were making their way towards school. When suddenly they heard a familiar voice. “Good Morning~!” Rarity sang as she approached the trio. “Morning Rarity.” The three said simultaneously. “Not walking with the Student Council this morning?” Pinkie asked. “Oh, I texted them that I’ll meet them later. This morning I wanted to walk to school with my new friends!” She said sweetly. The group of friends trotted along making idly conversation before they found themselves at the front gates of Canterlot High. “Miss President!?” A shocked voice called out to them. The other members of the Student Council approached the group, with the lead being a generic-looking girl wearing the same uniform as them with brown, bob-cut hair.”What are you doing hanging around this riff-raff?” she pointed accusingly at Brave, Pinkie, and Twilight. Rarity rose her eyebrow. “What is the problem, Rachel? Is it against the rules to walk to school with friends?” “Friends!?” Rachel asked shocked. “What do you mean friends? We’re all the friends you’ll ever need. Plus if you hang around with a group like this, your reputation will go down significantly.” The trio narrowed their eyes at her. Twilight was about to retort but was stopped by Brave to stay quiet for now. Rarity looked surprised. “Rachel, that is no way to talk to our fellow students. Why shouldn’t I be friends with them? The three of them actually lent me a helping hand, which is more than what any of you had done for me in return. I demand you apologize to them now.” The Student Council members looked gobsmacked at their President actually demanding something from them. When none of them noticed though is the light fog that started coating the ground beneath them. Then Rachel’s expression suddenly turned from shocked to enraged. Her eyes suddenly flashed oranged only for a moment, as it went unnoticed by everyone. “I’ve done nothing for you!? If it wasn’t for me you’d still be just that pretty faced nobody like the day I found you! We made you the most popular girl in school! We made you Student Council President!” Rachel yelled. The group of friends was taken aback at her outburst. Then beside Brave, a light floated next to him. “Brave! I smell Demon!” Drum’s voice called out. “Hey watch it, you moron!” Another students voice rang out. This caught the group's attention, then they saw two male students get into a fight. Then one by one they see all the students around them get into full-blown fist fights, even the other Student Council Members. All the while the fog coated the school grounds. “What’s going on? Why is everyone fighting?” Rarity asked shocked. “This is almost as bad as Pizza Thursdays and there’s only one slice left,” Pinkie added. Twilight looked towards their Dragon World fighter, “Brave, does this mean what I think it means?” He nodded, “Yeah, there’s a Hundred Demon close by.” “How right you are.” A female voice rung through the air. A portal opened a few feet away from them. Nightingale walked through with Orthrus following behind. Brave, Pinkie, and Twilight took a defensive stance, while Rarity just looked shocked and confused at the new arrivals. “Who are you?” Brave demanded. “I am Nightingale, a humble servant to the Crimson Master and Lord Yamigedo.” She bowed. “Are you the one making everyone fight?” Twilight asked. Nightingale smirked, “That would be the work of my Buddy, Twin-headed Hellhound Orthrus. He has the ability to increase the aggression of those around him. But it doesn’t seem to work on your lot since you all have your Buddies protection. But…” She then glared at Rarity. “Why is this girl unaffected?” Rarity just stood, still in shock at all that’s happening. Then her friends stood defensively in front of her. “We won’t let you hurt our new friend!” Pinkie shouted with her friends nodding in agreement. “Now, why don’t you stop your control over our fellow students? Or we’ll have to settle this with a Buddyfight.” Brave demanded. Nightingale laughed smugly, “And how are we supposed to fight without your deck?” She pulled out a familiar deck of Dragon World cards. The heroes were shocked to see Brave’s cards in her hands. Brave reached into his holster for his Core Gadget, only to see it empty. “H-how did you-!?” “I guess you already forgot about me, but I guess it was an abrupt meeting last night.” Nightingale interrupted. His eyes widened as he realized that she was the one who he bumped into the other night. “Then one of us will fight you instead,” Twilight said as she and Pinkie pulled out their core gadgets. “No,” Brave spoke in a serious voice. He slowly walked forward, his eyes were shadowed by his hair. He looked up and glared at Nightingale. “For a fighter, their deck is just as important as their life. They pour their soul into building their decks to fight their own original styles. Stealing another fighters deck? You bring dishonor to Buddyfight!” Nightingale glared back. “Talk all you want. I have your deck, so you can’t even fight to claim it back.” Brave smirked confidently. “A fighter isn’t limited to only one deck. I have a deck right here!” He reached into his backpack and pulled out another deck, which he then placed into his Core Deck Case. “Now, I challenge you to a Buddyfight!” “Tsk!” Nightingale clicked her tongue. “Very well. But we’ll do it on my turf!” She pulled out what looks like a black dragon skull small enough to fit in her hands. “Darkness Barrier! Enshroud and confuse!” She threw it up into the air as it exploded and surrounded the area in a dark haze. When the darkness cleared, Brave and Nightingale were standing on opposite ends of a Buddyfight Arena. Although it was very different from the Proto-Barrier. They were inside a purple stone dome lined with sharp looking bones. In the center of the ceiling and four random parts of the floor was a pattern of three purple demon eyes. The pedestals were in the same position as the Proto-barrier, but at the left and right sides of the arena were two huge dragon skulls. On the lower pedestal was Brave and then the higher one was Nightingale. “Welcome to the Darkness Barrier,” Nightingale said. “It’s the Crimson Master’s variation of your Proto-Barrier, but better.” In another room, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity were standing atop a stone pillar surrounded by a purple ocean. Above them was a large floating orb that showed Brave and Nightingale in the arena. “This must be the Buddy-pit for this barrier,” Twilight concluded. “I like the Proto-Barriers Buddy-pit better. This place is kinda creepy.” Pinkie shivered. “Um…” Rarity suddenly spoke up. “Can either of you explain what is happening here? One minute we were at school and next we are here in this dreadful place. And what is Buddyfight? And the monsters?” Twilight sighed, “I’m sorry that you got caught up in all of this Rarity. We’ll explain everything later. Right now, all you need to know is that if we want to get it, then Brave has to win.” “Now, if you and your friends want to leave, you will have to defeat me!” Nightingale pulled out a navy Core Deck Case. “Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize! Hundred Legend Beasts!” “Then let’s get to it!” Brave placed his new deck in his case. “Protectors of the right! Defenders swore to fight! Luminize! Hearts of Righteous Justice!” “It’s time to raise the flags!” “I fight for Legend World!” Nightingale announced with Orthrus howling behind her. “I fight for Hero World!” Brave announced as the Hero World Flag rose behind him. “Hero World!?” Twilight and Pinkie shouted in surprise, but Rarity looked confused. “Hm? What’s the matter darlings?” She asked. Twilight starts to explain, “In buddyfight, the fighter has to choose which world to fight for to entail what kind of cards they will use.” “Brave usually fights for Dragon World,” Pinkie added. “We’ve never seen him use a Hero World deck. Plus we don’t know much about Hero World ourselves.” “Freeeeze!” Suddenly behind them, Ice Blade Joker appeared in his normal size. “Eeeek!” The girl shrieked. “Joker!” Twilight shouted. “Don’t just appear out of nowhere! You’ve frightened Rarity.” Rarity rose her brow, “You know this one, Twilight?” “Apologies m’lady.” Joker extended his hand/blade to rarity. “Nice to meet you. I am Ice Blade Joker, a resident of Legend World! I know it must be cool to meet such an icy character. But let’s chill for now!” Pinkie was laughing at his puns while the other two just sweatdropped. “Why are you here Joker?” Twilight asked. “Well, considering that you and Pinkie don’t know much about her world I’ve come to act as the commentator of this Buddyfight!” “Okay then, but could you turn into your mini form? I think Rarity would be more comfortable that way.” Pinkie suggested. “If I must.” Joker shifted into his miniature form. “Eeeeh!” A squeeze escaped Rarity as she pulled Joker into a cuddle. “How adorable!” Joker grunted, struggling in the tight hold. “This is not cool.” Turn 1: Nightingale [Nightingale: LP-10 G-2] [Brave: LP- 9 G-2] “Ladies first.” Gale started. “Charge and draw! I call King of Forest Zlatorog to the center, and with his ability, I gain two gauges! Now attack the fighter! The Zlatorog charged towards Brave and caused him two damage. “I end my turn.” “End of move!” “Your move!” Turn 2: Brave [Nightingale: LP-10 G-5] [Brave: LP- 8 G-2] “It’s my turn now!” Brave announced. “Draw! Charge and draw! Let’s see how you handle this! I pay one gauge, and Transform!” A coat of green energy formed around Brave’s body. When it dispersed, it revealed Brave in a high-tech suit of armor. He wore a black bodysuit with silver gauntlets and boots, and silver wings on his back. What looked like red police lights were placed on his shoulders and knees. “Explosive Takedown, Rampage Sonic!” “Whoa! Brave’s a Superhero now!” Pinkie cheered excitedly. “Oh my, what dashing armor.” Rarity remarked. “What kind of ability is that, Joker?” Twilight asked the Legend World Monster. “Frosty isn’t it!?” Joker cackled. “The Transform ability is unique Hero World monster. It’s an ability that lets the fighter equip a monster card like it’s an item card, so the fighter can join the fray.” “Nice costume, but it’s not gonna help you beat me,” Nightingale smirked confidently. Brave pounded his fist together with an equally confident smile. “A hero always needs back up. I call Cyber Police, Assault Leader to the left!” “Now, making his Hero World debut! I Buddycall to the right, Buddypolice Decker Drum!” “Time to spring into action!” Drum announced as he appeared in the right position. But his appearance is different from before. “Justice will be served!” Using his new wings, Brave flew to the center position. “It’s hero time!” “Drum looks different. Did he get a haircut recently?” Pinkie asked, while Twilight sweatdropped. “Or maybe because he’s in a new form, plus he’s fighting for another world besides Dragon World. How is that possible?” Twilight asked Joker. “You see, some monsters from the parallel worlds go to other worlds to train or master their crafts. Which makes them able to fight for the world they trained in. A good example is the Dragowizards, monsters from Dragon World training in the mystic arts of Magic World.” Joker explained. “I cast! Hyper Energy!” Brave cast a spell, increasing his gauge of 1 to 5. “Now I’ll use Decker Drum’s ability, to destroy the Zlatorog in the center!” “On it!” Drum agreed as a dark ball of energy started to gather in front of his drill until it turned into a shimmering electric blue. “Whenever Brave pays two gauge, I can destroy one of the opponent's monsters.” The blue sphere launched towards Zlatorog, destroying it and opening the center to attack. “Assault Leader, attack Nightingale!” The Assault leader rushed towards Nightingale, shooting his assault rifle and reducing her life points to eight. “Your turn Drum!” “Gladly!” Drum’s drill started to spin rapidly, sending a harsh tornado towards Nightingale. “Cyclone Bunker!” He announced and dropped her life to five. “And finally, it’s my turn!” Brave flew up with his wings and dove towards Nightingale. “Not so fast. I cast! Holy Grail!” Nightingale cast, as a golden grail stopped Brave in his tracks. “Darn!” Brave floated back to his side of the field. “End of Move!” “Your Move!” Turn 3: Nightingale [Nightingale: LP-5 G-5] [Brave: LP- 9 G-3] “You're putting up a good fight, but let me show you what real power is. Draw! Charge and Draw! I call Waweldrache to the left, and Buddycall Twin-headed Hellhound Orthrus to the right!” Waweldrache and Orthurus appeared in their respective positions, as well as Nightingale gaining one life through Buddy gift. “I equip, Famous Sword Hrunting!” “Finally, I’ll cast, Decree of Dullahan!” She paid three gauge, and her monsters were covered in blazing energy. “Uh-oh. That’s not good.” Pinkie said. “What do you mean, Pinkie?” Rarity asked. Twilight bit on her thumbnail. “That’s a very troubling spell. It gives all of her monsters with the Wydar Sarkal attribute the double attack ability, which means they can all attack once more.” “Waweldrache, do a link attack with me!” Nightingale and Waweldrache charged towards Brave. With their combined power of 8000, it overpowered Braves 3000 defense and dealt him four damage. Reducing Brave’s life to 5. “Now Orthrus, attack the fighter!” Nightingale ordered. Orthrus charged towards Brave, baring his sharp fangs “This old dog does know a few new tricks! / We can destroy a monster or an item when we do damage!” “I cast! I’ve seen through your moves!” Brave cast a spell and dodging the attack from Orthrus. “And Brave stops the attack with a well-timed counterspell!” Joker commentated. “That spell nullifies an attack only if it's your opponent's turn, and if your center is empty. But don’t be so glad-sure that this is over folks!” The girls just looked at him confused. ‘Who is he talking to?’ “Attack again Orthrus!” Nightingale ordered as the demon charged again. “Then I cast again! I’ve Seen Through Your Moves!” Brave dodged once again. Nightingale growled irritated. “Fine! Waweldrache, attack the Assault Leader!” She ordered as Waweldrache destroyed said Hero World monster. “End of Move!” Turn 4: Brave [Nightingale: LP-5 G-5] [Brave: LP- 5 G-3] “Your Move!” “Alright,” Brave said seriously as his right, armored fist combust into flames. “My heart is burning bright! DRAW! CHARGE AND DRAW!” He drew his cards with his flaming fist. “I activate Decker Drum’s ability. Destroy Waweldrache!” “Locking on!” Drum aimed his drill towards Waweldrache. “Fire!” In an instant, Waweldrache was destroyed by a ball of lighting. “Now Drum, attack the Orthrus!” Brave ordered as Drum charged up his drill, sending a cyclone to destroy Orthrus. “Now it’s my turn!” Brave dove towards Nightingale once again, this time striking her and reducing her five life points to three. Nightingale smirked. “So much for finishing me on this turn. I’ll show you how to finish a fight on my next turn.” “My turn isn’t over yet!” Brave announced as he held up his last card. “Final Phase!” “Yes! He called it!” Pinkie and Twilight cheered. Rarity tilted her head, as she looked down at the Legend World monster in her arms. “What does that mean, Joker?” “When a fighter calls a “Final Phase,” it usually means they are about to land a finishing blow. By the looks of it, Brave had drawn just the card.” Joker explained. “Impact!” Brave called out as both him and Drum started flying in the air, both being surrounded by red and green energy. “When two or more of your monsters are destroyed during this turn.” Drum started “And by paying two gauge, this Impact can be activated to deal three damage.” Brave finished. Both Braves and Drum's fists were glowing with energy as they reeled their fists back. “Superior Justice Driver!” Both of them yelled, driving towards Nightingale and delivering the final blow. A large explosion of energy filled the Darkness Barrier. The Legend World Flag was destroyed “Game Over. Winner: Brave Heart!” The Brave and the others were back in the courtyard of Canterlot High. Looking around, it would seem the rage induced students were now either passed out or fatigued and confused. Across from them, Nightingale was on one knee breathing heavily. From her deck case, Orthrus’s card flew out and landed in Braves hand as the group approached her. She looked up to see a smiling Brave with his hand held out. “Now that you're not possessed by the demon anymore, we could have a nice conversation now,” he said in a friendly voice. *Slap!* A sharp ring sent silence through the air. Nightingale had just slapped away Brave’s offering hand. Which shocked not only the Heartful Fighter but his friends as well. “You’re just as foolish as the Master said,” Nightingale growled as she got to her feet. “The demon was not possessing me, it was given to me. I chose to follow The Crimson Master and Lord Yamigedo!” This shocked the group of heroes. “Why would you want to align yourself with a being like Yamigedo!?” Twilight shouted. Pinkie nodded in agreement. “Yeah! You know what’s one his daily diet? Worlds!” Nightingale sneered as she opened a portal beneath her. “Lord Yamigedo and The Crimson master will Liberate this disgusting world.” She said as she slowly descended into the portal. She turned her attention to Brave. “The master has a message for you Brave Heart. He said, ‘See you soon.’” Was all she said as she and the portal vanished. The heroes could only stare at where Nightingale once was in shock. They couldn’t believe that someone could align themselves with a monster such as Yamigedo. The only question they could think of was ‘Are there more?’ But the last statement shook Brave to the core. ‘I guess we’ll be fighting sooner than later. I can only hope I’m ready this time.’ Brave thought to himself. “Um, excuse my darlings?” The voice of their Student Council President snapped them out of their trance. “I know that it was a quite serious moment there, but can anyone please tell me what just happened? I am quite confused as of now.” Twilight just sighed exasperatedly. “Here we go again.” "Welcome to the Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight, Brave, and Pinkie stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. “Where we’ll be teaching you all about the world of Buddyfight!” “Yeah, we decided to drop the ‘Brave and Twilight’s’ part since there will probably be more of us here in the future.” “Now today we’ll be talking about the newest form of my awesome buddy! Buddy Police Decker Drum! “This is another form of our friend Drum, fighting for Hero World!” “He’s a size 2 Hero World monster. 5,000 power and defense, and with a critical of 3. A very formidable card.” “And by paying two of your gauge, he can destroy one of your opponent's monsters!” “When Decker Drum is on the scene, justice will always prevail!” Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. Pinkie was standing beside Twilight, holding up another booster pack. "That's all for now class!" "Can you open a buddy rare card?"
