The night was still, save for the few chirping crickets out on the many front lawns and the idle breeze in the air. It was a calm night with a serene vibe to it. There were few scattered lights and such among the windows of the suburban neighborhood, with the few that remained shutting off as the occupants inside turned in for the night. All was calm, until the sounds of banging and exasperated groans came from one particularly pink house.

" And with that, I attack for game!"

" ARGHHH!!! Not again!"

With a resounding thump, Rainbow Dash falls onto her back as she was once again defeated by Pinkie Pie. The room fills with light giggling from the rest of the girls, still dueling each other. Grinning widely, she scoops up her scattered cards from the carpet as Rarity scribbles in her notebook. She draw a small tally mark under a box labeled "P."

" And that makes five. Really now Rainbow Dash, you must know that there is a difference between determination and...this."

" Yeah, she's right Dashie. I invited you all of the girls to this Let's-duel-and-work-on-our-decks-while-we-get-ready-for-the-CHS-Cup Slumber Party so we could have some fun and work on our decks. Winning is fun, but not when you don't have a smile on your face." Pinkie says shuffling her cards around.

Excitement was running high through the minds of the girls. After a long week of working on the school yearbook, it came as a pleasant surprise to everyone at CHS when Principal Celestia announced the new dueling competition that would be held at the newly built Illusion Stadium. It was announced that the winner would receive a sparkling new trophy and the title of "Regional Duel Champion." The scuffle that came from the Friendship Games and its following tournaments cemented CHS as having the top duelist in the region, successfully beating out even the illustrious Crystal Prep with its superb duelists. With CHS now at the top, it only seemed fitting for the company that owned the new stadium, Industrial illusions, to hold their opening ceremony with a grand duel from the very school that produced such fine duelists.

" Urghh... I know! I've been trying to fix my deck! Maybe if I remove this....and add...this..." Rainbow remarks as she pitches cards from her deck and slides in new ones. " Yeah! There we go! One more time!"

More giggles are heard from the girls as they each resume their own games. One by one, each of them finished their games, with Rainbow suffering yet another resounding defeat. Deflated, she continues to eye her deck as the rest of the girls begin to shuffle and modify their decks. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight spots Sunset seated on Pinkie's bed, still shuffling through her deck. She had been the only one of the girls that hadn't been dueling very often and had spent more time on her deck.

" You've been really busy on your deck Sunset. Is something wrong?" Twilight asks. There was no response from Sunset.

" Hmm? Oh! Sorry Twilight. Yeah, I've been working on my deck a lot. It's been a while since I've done some editing to it. Honestly, I've been meaning to change some things ever since Camp Everfree."

" Don't sweat it SunShim! " Rainbow chimes in as she wraps her arm around Sunset. " After seeing you whip Pinkie once, I'm sure your decks as strong as ever!"

" Yer just jealous that you couldn't beat Pinkie once." Aj remarks slyly as Rainbow gives her an annoyed look before rising to her feet and complaining about "strategy" and "losing is winning."

" In a way, Rainbow is right." Fluttershy responds. " Your deck has changed a lot ever since Princess Twilight dueled you. I don't think anyone could every figure out your decks strategy now."

Sunset gives a warm smile to her friends as she stares back at her deck. Ever since that fateful day that she dueled Princess Twilight, everything about her had changed, with her deck being the most notable. Shuffling through her cards, she recalls how she had changed her ways, made friends, saved this world from numerous events caused by Equestrian magic, and her new popularity as one of the "Heroes of CHS." Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as she stopped her shuffling and stared at two cards: Bomber Dragon and Hell Dragon. Sunsets smile fades as she begins to remember her old self, her old deck, and her old title of "she-demon." The memories of the savagery and brutality of her old deck was something she had often reflected on. Her obsession with power had driven her to be corrupted by the magic of Princess Twilight's crown and brought about the birth of a demonic creature inside of her. Even after her defeat and reformation, there was always something that reminded her of her past, no matter how hard she tried to distance herself from it. These two cards and her old symbol of power, Red Demon's Dragon, were the last remnants of her original deck and the cards that remained as a constant reminder. Try as she might, she could never find herself to remove these cards from her deck. Even so, the whole school still regarded her as the best duelist there and the one most likely to win the tournament, along side Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

Sunset continues to stare at these cards as her hand hovers over them, considering for probably the thousandth time to remove them. It wasn't until a lavender colored hand suddenly waved in front of her face and snapped her out of her thoughts yet again.

" Uhmm... hello? Earth to Sunset. You ok?" Twilight asks.

" Oh! Sorry Twilight... again. Guess I'm just really focused on my deck." Sunset replies sheepishly.

" I can always help you if you want. I've already done all of the necessary editing to my deck of course."

" Thanks Twilight, but I think I've done all of the editing I need to do. I'm as ready as I'll ever be for the Cup. I think I'll step outside for a bit and get some fresh air."

Twilight gives her a smile as she goes off to start her duel against AppleJack. Rising to her feet, Sunset heads on out through the front door of Pinkie's house; grabbing her leather jacket from the coat rack as she left. There was a cool breeze flowing through her hair as Sunset slowly walked out into the front lawn. The street was quiet, save for the few scattered sounds of crickets under the dazzling moonlight. She stares up at the moon as she continues to contemplate on everything that has happened to her over her time at CHS. There was always some nagging thought at the back of her mind that kept her wondering about her own reformation. She toys around with her deck as she stares at it and continues to reflect for a few minutes.

' Maybe I'm thinking too much about this... After all, it is just some competition. I know I've changed... right?' Sunset thinks a she ceases shuffling her deck and stares at her Bomber Dragon.

" It sure is a nice night out, isn't it?" a voice behind Sunset says. Turing around, she sees Twilight slowly walking next to her.

" Yeah, it is. Need some fresh air too? Did you already beat AJ?" Sunset asks.

" Hehe, that I did. You'd think she'd know by now not to go so Synchro heavy on me. I came to check on you. Something's bothering you, isn't it? You've been lost in thought ever since we came over to Pinkie's house."

For a brief moment, Sunset wondered if she should tell Twilight how she was really feeling. She had the same conversation over her reformation with the other girls long before Princess Twilight's twin came along. Even after her friends reassurance, Sunset still held on to much of her doubts and stayed quiet about it for the longest time.

" I guess I'm just nervous. It's been a while since I've done any sort of casual dueling, you know? Dueling that doesn't have us save the world. After what happened at Camp Everfree... I'm probably being silly aren't I?"

" It's ok Sunset." Twilight says, placing her hand on her shoulder. " To be honest, I'm feeling a bit nervous myself. I've never been part of any sort of dueling competition. Not since...well, you know."

Twilight gives her a weak smile before shifting her gaze to the twinkling stars above as her smile fades. Sunset was all too familiar with what Twilight alluded to. Ever since her fall during the Friendship Games, Twilight had felt the same guilt Sunset had felt when she lost to the Princess. They were both feeling the pressure caused by their destructive pasts and Sunset knew this.

" Hey, don't beat yourself up over it too much." Sunset says as she tosses out a playful punch to Twilight shoulder. " All that matters is that we have some fun tomorrow."

" Hehe, guess you're right. Come on. Let's go back in. Call it a hunch, but I think Pinkie is itching for a duel against you."

As if on queue when turning back to face the house, Pinkie's face was plastered all over her front window. Deck in hand and with an inhumanly wide grin on her face, she tapped on the glass as she waved and made some gestures for both Twilight and Sunset to come back in. There was a soft giggling from both of the girls as they wander back towards the house. Maybe there was doubts and some insecurities and such, though Sunset kept it at the back of her mind. She had taken some time to reflect and sink back to her thoughts, but for now, all she wanted to do was to have some fun with her friends and maybe gloat in front of a certain stressed, rainbow-haired friend.

~~~*~~~

A shrill yell pierces a dark alleyways silence as a dull, wet thud is followed behind it. The ground shakes and the surrounding buildings shudder from the sudden ensuing quake. Sprawled across the muddy terrain was a mess of burnt cards and bent metal and glass. Numerous weak groans were heard from a figure lying face-up near a ruined duel disk. Walking towards the injured duelist, a dark figure clad in a tattered cloak slowly approaches their downed opponent as another hulking figure rattles next to them. A dull, emerald glow envelops the cloaked figure as the low light reveals the eerie markings under the figures face.

" D-damn...you..." the downed person sputters. 'Damn...witch..."

" Shame." The cloaked figure responds in a dark tone. " Guess you really are weak. I had hoped to get some practice in beforehand."

With a snap of their fingers, the eyes of the being standing next to the cloaked figure spring to life with an ominous crimson glow. A deep groans rings throughout the dark alley as the rumbling figure rattles towards the downed person and reaches for the persons neck. It viciously hoists its victim into the air and flings them into the nearby collection of stained trash cans. The victim lets out a guttural gasp of pain as they collapse into the scattered junk caused by their impact. A huff is heard from the cloaked figure as the turn and waltz out of the carnage they caused. Turning into the quiet street ahead, a strange wisp of light emerges behind them and gently floats into their chest as a soft green glow emanates from a strange amulet clasped on their neck. Not even the sounds of insects or wind filled the night air as the mysterious figure walked down the empty street.

" Still, weak trash is trash. I've got bigger fish to fry. Just you wait, Sunset Shimmer!"

Author's Note

And with that, we begin! It'll probably be a while before we get into the first duel of the cup, but we'll get there! I'll probably post the match-ups later on.