Of Friendship & Shadow Games

Chapters

Incerta Futuri
Novi Cogitationes
Schola Incipit
Amicitiam Mundandis
Tachycardia
Pater Tribulationis
Opaca Secreta
Ad Monstruosis - I
Ad Monstruosis - II
Ad Monstruosis - III
Ad Monstruosis - Deinde
Spiritus Signantes
Doctrina De Duellis

Incerta Futuri

The sky was darkened by gray clouds, concealing the streets of Domino City from the warm rays of the morning sun. Despite being a usually active city at this time of day, the gloomy weather and the eerie layer of fog that had clung to the ground seemed to have sapped Domino City of all energy.

At the outskirts of the city, a young boy stood calmly, alone amongst several mounds of stone. Rain had begun to pour down, soaking the boy through his coat. He paid it no mind, merely standing there silently. After what seemed like hours, at least his eyes changed as the soft brown orbs settled on the stone right in front of him.

“I’m afraid that I won’t be able to visit you two for quite some time.” He said to seemingly noone, in a soft voice that nearly went unheard through the pouring rain. It mattered not, for he knew that they would always hear him and listen.

"I was supposed to enroll right here in the city, at Domino High. I was honestly thrilled to be back here as it would allow us to talk more often." He continued on, his eyes still intently locked on the stone. "But, father informed me of a new arrangement. Rather suddenly, I might add. You know how he can be..." Now the boy trailed off, going silent as if expecting someone to answer.

"I will be going to America, far away at the other side of the world, and study there." His voice now took on air of melancholy, matching the current weather. A small smile came across his pale face as a memory surfaced in his mind. "Remember when we would talk about traveling there? All four of us together?" The smile fell. "Well... I suppose I will just have to experience it for all of us. Perhaps I'll even make some friends."

The boy let out a shaky sigh, but not because of the rain. At last he moved from his stiff stance and bent down to one knee and layed a hand on the smooth granite stone in front of him.

"Goodbye, Amane. Goodbye, mother." The words were just above the barest of whispers, and his voice broke through the sentence. Despite being soaked and the rain pouring onto his face he could still feel the warm tears falling down his cheeks. Yet, a sense of comfort was there, for he knew that even if he was about to be further away from home than he had ever been, his sister and mother would always be there to listen when he needed to talk to someone.

Smiling slightly at this, the boy rose and adressed the stone once more. "I'll write as often as I can. And I've arranged with Santei-san, so you'll always get new flowers every week... I'll visit you both as soon as I can."

Giving the grave one last smile, he then departed the graveyard and headed back towards the roads. Standing at the sidewalk, suitcases packed and ready at his sides, he brushed a sudden white bang out of his eyes before signaling for a cab. Luckily for him, one quickly pulled over. Not wanting to be a bother, he swiftly brought himself and his luggage into the vehicle.

"Where can I take ya?" Asked the driver cheerfully, very thankful to have an actual customer during the otherwise lifeless morning. The boy, gazing through the window and looking wistully at the cemetery, knowing that he wouldn't be able to visit again for quite some time, still replied softly and politely.

"Haneda airport, please."

The cab owner wasted no time in obliging his request and sped off. Luckily, as there were little to no people out, there was also little to no traffic and the cab drove smoothly and quickly. The boy merely continued to look out the window as the surroundings sped past his view.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, he winced slightly as he felt a tiny sting by chest. Confused, he brought a hand underneath his shirt and felt to his relief that his valuable pendant still hung around his neck. If he had forgotten it back in his old appartment he didn't know what he would do.

His brief pain was quickly forgotten, however. As his phone was almost out of batteries and he had nothing better to do. He decided to look up some more general information about the city where he would be staying.

"Canterlot City..." He mumbled softly to himself whilst looking through some small maps of the place. From the images and from what his father had told him it seemed like a nice enough city with a good school. There was a mall, a pier, and apparently a local apple farm made some of the best apple-related products in all of America, so at least he had that to look forward to.

For whilst he felt nervous about how he would adapt and fit in, like all the other times he had switched schools, there was a small part of him that felt relieved and hopeful that he would leave Japan. It meant that he could hopefully leave most of his past behind and start anew. Hopefully whatever curse was on him wouldn't follow him there.

Yet, for all his hopes, there was a constant nagging feeling in the back of his head that, for better of for worse, he was about to enter a time of big change.

The pendant around his neck for a brief moment almost seemed to hum against his chest, as if agreeing with its wearer. But that was impossible. Though it was certainly special and valuable to him, his pendant was simply that, a pendant...

Lightning suddenly struck outside, and the boy felt a shiver go down his spine as something that he could have sworn sounded just like a soft cackle echoed in the back of his mind.

Except for the sound of frantically scribbling pencils and the occasional moan of confusion and/or despair, a tense silence reigned in Mr. Cranky Doodle's classroom as his class undertook one of the most challenging tasks known to man... a high school algebra test!

Well, challenging for all except a certain Twilight Sparkle, a rather new student transferred from Crystal Prep High. Math had always come easy to her, and this test was no different. She had gone through all the equations and problems like a pro and was currently filling in her answer for the final problem.

"Hmm..." The sound escaped her, her tounge stuck just outside her mouth in concentration. "Let's see, if y equals 13 then x equals 27,5, carry the one aaand done!" She cheered quietly to herself, enjoying the familiar thrill of finishing a test. And from the looks of it, she was once again the first one to finish. After taking the time to look through her answers one final time, she swiftly gathered her papers in a neat pile and stood up from her seat.

As she walked up to the teacher's desk, Twilight decided to take a look at how her friends were doing. They seemed to be getting through the test to various degrees, though she noted with some amusement that poor Rainbow Dash had almost chewed through her pencil as the rainbow haired athlete appeared to be stuck on the 17th problem.

Handing her test over to her teacher who accepted it with a nod and a "Mm.", Twilight walked out of the classroom, ready to enjoy some of the extra time to catch up on her reading. However, this was not to be as mere moments after she had stepped outside, she was intercepted by her principal.

"Ah, Twilight! Just the student I wanted to see!" Greeted principal Celestia in her normal warm and smiling fashion. It was a stark contrast to the cold and strict air of Abacus Cinch, and it was one Twilight appreciated greatly.

"Oh, principal Celestia!" Twilight greeted her happily, yet it quickly turned into slight tredipation. "I'm not in any trouble, I hope."

The kind principal merely let out a small chuckle at this. "You're not in any sort of trouble, Twilight. At least as far as I know. No, I wanted to see you because there is something I believe you could help me with."

This piqued the bespectacled girl's interest. "What did you have in mind?"

"You see, Twilight, within the next few days we will have a new wondercolt joining us here at Canterlot High. I'm told that he's coming here all the way from Japan. Since you're relatively new to this school as well, I was wondering if you could be so kind as to show him around the school, since you understand the feeling of being new here, and help him adjust. If it's not too much to ask."

Though a bit surprised at the request, Twilight gave Celestia smile. "Well, I've really enjoyed my time here and made some wonderful friends. If I can help someone else understand how great this school is then I'd be more than happy to show him around and help him adjust."

Clapping her hands together in delight, Celestia said, "Wonderful! I knew I could count on you, Twilight. Well then, I won't stall you any longer. Enjoy your free period."

"You too, principal Celestia." Twilight replied, begining to turn to make her way to the library, but a sudden thought made her freeze in her tracks and turn around. "Wait!" Celestia turned around and looked at Twilight questioningly. The violet haired girl asked, "What's his name?"

"I believe his name is Ryou Bakura."

Novi Cogitationes

“A new student?!”

While Twilight had certianly expected some matter of reaction from her friends, she certainly did not expect it to be expressed in such a suspiscious tone.

After having agreed with principal Celestia to help guide the new student which would start at CHS the very next day, Twilight had simply spent the rest of her free period in peace at the library. In fact, she had been so engrossed in one of her favourite author’s works that she completely lost track of time and before she knew it, it was time for lunch.

Twilight had then swiftly hurried over to the cafeteria, filled up her plate with macaroni and cheese, and joined her other friends by the table where they always sat. It was another contrast to her days at Crystal Prep where her lunch periods would always be spent alone. Canterlot High had truly been a blessing for the scholarly girl.

After quickly joining the other girls, talk had quickly turned towards the algebra test they had all taken earlier that day. Whilst all them seemed to have gotten through the exam to varying degress, all seven of them rejoiced that it was over.

Afterwards, the conversations went through multiple topics, such as how the two samoyed dogs at the animal shelter where Fluttershy worked had gotten a batch of puppies, how the harvest at Applejack’s farm was going now in the spring, how Rarity had seen a positively fabulous dress in a storefront yesterday, etc. It was when Sunset mentioned that the new game that she had special ordered from Japan was on the way that the subject of the new student had resurfaced in Twilight’s mind. Naturally, she therefore brought it up.

She certainly didn’t expect the reaction that she got.

“A new student is coming here?” Sunset asked once again, her tone being filled scepticism and slight hostility. The faces of the others seemed to reflect the same or at least similar emotions, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, whose ever present smile did not waver. If anything it seemed to grow at the news.

“Uhm, yes...” Twilight responded, unsure of why they were reacting like this. “He’s coming here all the way from Japan of all places and since I’m kind of new here myself, principal Celestia thought I could show him around tomorrow.” Not being blind to the various looks on the other girls’ faces, Twilight asked, “Why? You girls look like there’s a demon about to enroll here.”

“Pfft, knowing our luck there probably is.” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “After rampaging she-demons, anger-powered sirens and the whole multiverse almost being torn apart, a demon sounds right up our alley.” Twilight looked away at the mention of the last event, though no one seemed to notice.

“Hm! Well I certainly hope not!” Rarity turned up her nose at the idea. “These constant battles against evil magic wears and tears my wardrobe something awful! It’s just too much for me to keep up with.”

“I really hope we won’t have to fight something again...” Fluttershy said quietly, holding a lock of her hair and looking scared at the prospect.

“Well, I haven’t recieved any word from princess Twilight about any recent threats in Equestria making their way here.” Sunset observed, hand on her chin as she looked deep in thought. “Then again, she wasn’t really aware of the Sirens’ prescense either until they revealed themselves... We best be on our guard.”

“Uhm...” Twilight started. “Don’t you guys think that you’re blowing this a little bit out of proportion? I mean, a new student arriving is hardly a point of great concern.”

“Ah agree with ya on that, Twi.” The down to earth Applejack said. Seeing the questioning looks the others gave her, she continued. “Now Ah know that we ain’t got a pretty history dealin’ with magical doohickeys and whatnot from Equestria, but we can’t let that affect our common sense. Just ‘cause we don’t have the best experience with new students don’t mean that we can treat dis Bakura-feller like a crook for no reason.”

“Applejack’s got the right idea!” Pinkie Pie joined in, always looking on the bright side. “It’s not like this Bakura-guy’s gonna be possessed by some ancient malevolent spirit that has the powers of darkness at his disposal or anything!” All the other girls simply stared at Pinkie Pie at that particular cheerful sentence, knowing that these kinds of out-of-nowhere observations was just another Pinkie Pie-thing. It was better not to question it. Twilight had almost been driven insane whilst trying the other week.

“And also,” The pink girl continued, looking more gleeful for every word. “, this means that I gotta start planning a ‘Welcome to Canterlot’-party for him! I CAN’T WAIT!” Pinkie Pie’s usual enthusiasm was enough to bring some levity to the group as they all shared a quick chuckle. Sunset, however, was quick to return to her wary mood.

“I’m not saying we should round up a mob with torches and pitch forks...” She muttered, looking away whilst blushing slightly. Her eyes then turned serious and locked onto Twilight. “I’m just saying that some caution wouldn’t be so bad. You said it yourself, Applejack. We do kinda have a history with evil magic.”

“Tell me about it. It’s actually kinda amazing that it manages to intervene with so much of our school time.” Rainbow Dash muttered before she began to count off on her fingers. “We’ve got the Fall formal, the Battle of the Bands, the Friendship gaaa..." The athletic girl trailed off, knowing that this was kind of a sore spot. "W-which we shouldn't focus on! The past is the past, that's what I always say! HA! Haha! Erm...sorry." She trailed off whilst Applejack just shook her head.

Despite Rainbow Dash's not-so-subtle attempt to avoid that particular topic, it still poured salt in Twilight's wounds. The climax of the Friendship games was something Twilight thought that she would never forget, despite how much she wished to. The feeling of becoming completely drunk on magic power was not something she wanted to relive anytime soon. For now, she merely let out a mournful sigh, "Nothing to apolagize for, Rainbow."

"Anyhow," Rarity said, leading the conversation away from that unpleasant topic. "I suppose that Twilight and Applejack are right. Coming here from so far away, I say we should greet this Bakura fellow with an open mind rather then hostility." The young fashionista then got a bit of a dreamy look on her face as an idea struck. "Maybe he could tell me a bit about japanese fashion. My mother used to own a japanese robe-looking garment and it was simply gorgeous!"

"I really hope he likes animals." Fluttershy's voice was as usual very quiet, but it now held a bit of a hopeful tone to it. Her thoughts had turned to the recently born puppies back at the animal shelter.

Pinkie Pie, who had apparently already begun planning the new student's surprise party, was muttering to herself. "I wonder what kind of frosting he likes?... Do they have cupcakes in Japan?"

The football- obsessed Rainbow Dash also looked pondering. "Wonder if this Bakura-guy knows any japanese sports... And if it turns out he's a bad guy," She shot a fist though the air as if punching something, scaring the life out of poor Fluttershy who sat opposite of her. ", we'll just have to kick his evil butt into next week!"

Sunset let herself smile at her friends' antics before turning to Twilight once again. "I know I'm being a bit paranoid, but I just want all of us to be safe. Promise me that you'll atleast keep an eye out for anything strange tomorrow. Please?"

Twilight definetly agreed that Sunset was acting a bit paranoid, but the scholarly girl smiled, knowing that Sunset only wanted to protect all of them. The bond that the seven of them had formed at CHS was probably the best thing that had ever happened to both of them, and Twilight didn't want to lose that friendship for the world.

"I promise, Sunset." The fire-haired girl smiled at her gratefully, and the topic of the new student was left alone for the rest of the day. Though unbeknownst to the other six, a strong sense of doubt still lingered inside Sunset's mind and it was not to be weakened anytime soon.

If Ryou had been asked to describe Canterlot City in one word it would have to be charming.

After an agonizingly long flight and a tedious drive he had finally arrived in his new home and he had to say that he was pleasantly surprised. Though the boy had seen plenty of different pictures of the place, he now realized just how much they didn't do the place justice.

The city was not enormous, espescially compared to some japanese cities he'd stayed in, but that suited Ryou just fine. There had been times in Japan where he'd felt suffocated by the huge buildings and amounts of people surrounding him, so it was quite a welcome change.

His pictures had also not been able to show just how vibrant the whole place was. The buildings, the places, the people, all of it welled with colour, warmth and individuallity. Indeed, of the people Ryou saw passing by his car window, not a single person seemed to be quite like the other. Everything just seemed to pack so much personality and Ryou couldn't help but admire it. Yes, charming was the perfect word for Canterlot City.

Unfortunatley, it was definetly not a word fit to describe his new living arrangements, as Ryou quickly noticed upon stepping out of his cab.

The Blackwood house, as it was called, had apparently belonged to Ryou's maternal grandfather who used to live in Canterlot. After he had died the house had passed onto Ryou, however he'd had no use for the old building until just now. Not a soul had lived there for over 10 years and it showed. Weeds and ivy climbed wildly up along the black wooden walls, the garden was almost completely overgrown and a few windows were completely broken.

The sight was certainly not encouraging, but Ryou made sure to stomp the more negative thoughts out of his head as he stood on the sidewalk facing the house. He should be lucky that he even had somewhere to stay, he'd been less fortunate during some of his other transfers. And Ryou's father... his father should have been here. The more hopeful part of Ryou had half-excpected his father to be waiting for him at the airport... but he wasn't. Though disappointed, in retrospect Ryou thought that he shouldn't have been surprised. This was what always happened and he should've gotten used to it by now.

Letting a breath escape between his parted lips, Ryou burried those emotions inside and brought his hand to his pendant which was currently hanging freely from his neck. He didn't know why, but something about that ancient artifact could feel almost soothing at times, helping him in times of distress to calm his thoughts. Indeed, the millenium ring as it was called was quite a queer piece of jewelry.

Realizing that he'd been just standing on the sidewalk for an odd amount of time, Ryou gathered his wits and luggage, let go of the ring and walked towards the mahogany door. Each step he took felt heavy. Now standing infront of the entrance, he reached into his pocket and brought out one of the three keys to the place that he'd been given. Taking a breath as if bracing himself, he brought the key into the old door and twisted it. A resounding click was heard.

His pale hand reached around the silver door knob and turned it, slowly opening the door to his new home, the old hinges creaking all the way. He swiftly stepped inside with his luggage and closed the door behind him. He decided to leave his shoes on, not wanting to spend his first day in America at the hospital because of some rogue shard of glass.

The Blackwood house was quite filthy, Ryou decided. At least there appeared to be some furniture in the house, covered in delicate fabric in a revolting shade of yellow which Ryou guessed had been white at some point. Hopefully it had been able to prevent the furniture underneath from sharing the same fate. Ryou pulled of the fabric with a swift tug, letting the crimson fabric of the couch breathe the free air again for the first time in 10 years.

Ryou let his eyes wander towards the door where his luggage stood. He hadn't packed all that much to carry with him but unfortunatley, due to an on-going strike, the moving trucks with most of his furniture, collections, library, games and figurines would arrive within two days, so at the moment he would just have to make do with what he had; a suitcase full of clothes and a few personal belongings and a filthy old house... Goody.

All the traveling must've made him more tired then he'd thought, as Ryou let out a deep yawn, feeling a sudden tiredness hit him like a train. That old couch began to look extremely inviting, and it took all of the pale boy's will power not to immediatley fall face-first onto its soft fabric. But then again, he supposed that he could always make a maintenance check of the house after he'd taken a little nap.

Even though it was only 16:30 in the afternoon, Ryou quickly felt his eyes growing heavier and heavier. Must be the jet lag, he supposed. Just as long as he didn't show up late to his new school tomorrow, it shouldn't be too much of a hazzle to just take a little nap. Yes, just as soon as he... closed his eyes a little...

The boy's eyelids fell quickly, to a hypothetical onlooker it would have looked as if he had fallen asleep standing up. However, the millenium ring suddenly seemed to shine in a sickly yellow colour, and just as quickly as they had closed in apparent exhaustion, the boy's eyes snapped open and his frame went from relaxed and slouching to tall and rigid. However, the boy's eyes we're no longer those of Ryou Bakura...

Whereas Ryou's brown eyes were normally what people would consider kind and warm-looking, now they were dark, cold and held an undeniable malice to them. The boy's mouth also grew into a very toothy and sinister-looking grin. Contrary to Ryou's usually soft and quiet voice, a low, dark chuckle emanated from the boy's throat.

"Well then, my little Landlord," He spoke seemingly to himself, in a gravely voice that did not belong to Ryou Bakura. ", it appears that you'll soon have some new little friends joining you for eternity. I can't wait..."

An insane cackle could be heard from the Blackwood house that day while the skies above grew dark. It was as if the world itself knew that great evil had come to Canterlot City.

Schola Incipit

"Now remember, Spike;" Twilight Sparkle began in a somewhat lecturing tone while looking down at her dog as they stood alone infront of Canterlot high. While they stood there waiting, all other students were already inside. "No talking in front of the new student, at least not now. He doesn't know about magic or any of the other crazy things that've happened here and we don't want to overwhelm him."

Spike just rolled his eyes while scratching a particularly itchy spot close to his ear. "I know, I know, Twilight. You've already told me like bleventeen times. No talking around the new kid, got it. From now on I will keep it shut. I'll put a sock in it. I'll shut my yap. My lips will be sealed. My lips could not be more sealed than they are right now. Never before have lips been sealed like-"

"I get the picture." Twilight deadpanned, despite the clear amusement on her face.

"Now," She began while looking down at her wristwatch. ", judging by the time, he should show up at any-"

Her sentence was interrupted when she felt Spike nudging her leg. Seeing his owner's questioning look, Spike gestured towards the statue where Twilight then looked. And there she saw him.

Standing just by the school statue and seemingly admiring it in silence was a boy with long white hair. He appeared to be dressed in a blue-and-white striped t-shirt underneath a light-blue collared jacket with rolled up sleeves and a pair of grey jeans. Wanting to make a good impression, Twilight put on a smile and moved towards him.

"Hi! Are you the new... student..." The greeting died on her lips as she got closer, allowing her to get a better look at CHS' new wondercolt, and it puzzled her. It seemed as if the boy didn't comprehend what she had just said, or really anything else around him, as if he was in some sort of trance. His sole focus appeared to be on the school's horse statue, staring at it with an unreadable gaze.

Though Twilight and Spike only looked on in silent confusion and slight tredipation, they both flinched when the boy suddenly turned his gaze to them, allowing them to get a good look at his face, and quite frankly, Twilight felt unnerved. The boy's eyes were sharp and almost looked like endless tunnels of darkness, while his mouth was set in a straight and thin line. He stared unblinkingly at her for quite some time, his eyes narrowing at her in what Twilight thought looked like suspiscion.

"Uh, hi?" Twilight decided to try and instigate a conversation, despite feeling a little creeped out by the dark and sharp eyes of the new student which seemed to stare into her very soul. Fortunatley for Twilight it seemed to work, as her words caused the boy to blink but when he opened his eyes he seemed completely changed. His brown eyes which previously looked dark and menacing, now looked consciderably brighter and softer. Heck, his long white hair even seemed to change shape. His mouth which Twilight first thought was a thin scowl now took the shape of a small 'O'.

"W-what?" The boy asked, looking lost and seemingly now really noticing Twilight for the first time. "Anou... d-did I do something to you just now?"

"Umm, no..." Twilight responded, still a little weirded out by his behaviour and his seeming transformation, which she in retrospect was sure had just been an optical illusion. "You just... kind of seemed to space out for a bit. Are you okay?"

His hand now went to the back of his head, scratching his hair as he looked at her with an embarrased smile. "Gomen- I mean, sorry. My mind tends to completely blank at times. It's a rather nasty habit I've been trying to break. At least nothing happened, it's gotten me into some unpleasant situations at times." His smile now dipped into a small frown. "I hope that I didn't weird you out."

"N-not at all!" The scholarly girl quickly tried to assure him, not wanting to upset the new student. As she wasn't always as socially adept that she is now, Twilight had her own fair share of akward first meetings and really didn't want to add this one to that list. Though at the moment, a bit of an akward silence reigned and Twilight didn't know how exactly to break it, as the boy also appeared to be unsure of how to keep the conversation going.

They were both saved from further akwardness by none other than Spike. Having noticed Twilight's distress and the quickly dying conversation, Spike decided to scamper up to the new student while barking happily, hoping that the new kid was a dog-person. This action surprised the two humans, though the white haired boy's surprised face quickly changed into a charmed smile as he looked down at the dog who was pawing at his pants leg.

"Well, hello there, little guy." He greeted Spike who yiffed up at him in return. Twilight now took notice of just how soft the boy's voice was, reminding her a bit of Fluttershy. Said boy now bent down and began to gently pat Spike on the head with a pale hand. The purple dog preened under his touch.

"He's a cute one. Is he yours?" It took a second for Twilight to realize that he was talking to her.

"Yep! His name is Spike." She replied proudly, happy to have broken the ice.

"Spike, ey?" He repeated, as if testing the name on his tounge while scratching behind the dog's ears. "You sure are lucky." The scratching stopped causing Spike to whine in disappointment. The boy gave him an apologetic glance before rising up and giving Twilight his full attention.

"I'm sorry, I should've introduced myself earlier." He apologized to Twilight, sounding embarrassed. In a move that surprised her, he went into a light bow before meeting her gaze with kind, yet nervous eyes. "I'm Ryou. Ryou Bakura."

Twilight just stood there for a moment,blushing slightly and unsure of how to respond. She finally settled for an outstretched hand and a hopeful smile. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you, Ryou, and let me be the first person to welcome you to Canterlot High!"

Giving her a soft smile in return, Ryou took her hand and gave it a gentle shake. "Good to meet you too, Twilight, and thank you."

After exchanging greetings, Ryou asked, "So Twilight, are you the one your principal set up to show me around?"

"Yes, principal Celestia asked me to step in." She answered. "I'm still kind of new here myself, just recently transfered from Crystal Prep."

"Crystal Prep High?" Ryou repeated as if recognizing the name. "That's the other local high school here, right?" At Twilight's nod he continued, saying, "I was actually asked to enroll there first but," he now leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice as if telling some huge secret. ", it seemed just a tad too snobby for my tastes."

Twilight couldn't help but giggle at that. "That actually describes that place perfectly, it's one of the main reasons I left. Trust me, CHS is that school's opposite in all the best ways. I think that you're really gonna like it here."

He gave her a smile, though Twilight thought that it looked a little sad for a brief moment. "I hope so too... Should we head inside then?"

"Yes, let's." Before doing that, she bent down and opened up her backpack. "Get in there, Spike." The dog obeyed, but not before giving Ryou another happy bark, and jumped into the backpack. Looking up and seeing Ryou's questioning and somewhat concerned look, she couldn't help but blush slightly.

"Hehe, we're, erm, not actually allowed to keep pets on school premises so I just tend to keep him in there." Twilight admitted, looking up at Ryou hopefully. "... Could you maybe keep this between us? Please?"

Ryou blinked at her twice in succession, looking puzzled, before finally giving her a smile and gesturing with his hand as if zipping his mouth shut. "My lips are sealed."

Letting out a sigh or relief, Twilight smiled and turned towards the school entrance. "Okay then, on with the tour!"

The charm of Canterlot City apparently also applied to its school, or so Ryou thought as he was guided down the many halls of Canterlot High. Despite most of the school looking empty since most students were in class, it was still clear to the white-haired boy that the school had a very warm and inviting air.

It also helped that Twilight Sparkle was an excellent guide.

Despite the brief akwardness of their first meeting, Ryou found the girl to be nice enough company as she led him down the halls, pointing to different classrooms and other areas, also informing him of a number of relevant things as well as assuring him every possible moment what a great school it was, while not coming across as forcing it which Ryou appreciated. He paid good attention and listened carefully to her, politely interrupting only a handful of times to ask some small questions.

"And in there's the computer lab." She pointed to said room which currently was occupied by a class. "There, that's pretty much the whole school. So, how do we meassure up to the ones in Japan?"

Ryou chuckled lightly at the question before answering, "It looks like a great place, Twilight. Honestly, it seems to pack much more, what's the word... oh yes, personality, than most of the other schools I've been to."

Twilight took the praise with a proud grin, before it turned slightly puzzled. "You make it sound as if you've been to a bunch of different schools."

Ryou's face became almost unreadable at that sentence, and the light in his eyes seemed to dimm somewhat. "Yes, I've transfered to different schools a couple of times in the past." He spoke in a voice that sounded almost melancholic, and for a moment Twilight was afraid that she had offended him or something. Her fears were relieved once Ryou quickly gave her a smile. "This is not my first rodeo... That's something you americans say, right?"

Twilight laughed and Ryou smiled, yet she could not help but think of how the boy had gone from happy to subdued to happy so quickly. She was prevented from further thought on the matter by the arrival if CHS' principal.

"Ah, Twilight, I see your already showing our new student around, excellent!" Celestia exclaimed to Twilight before turning her attention towards Ryou. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Mr. Bakura. I'm principal Celestia Starr and I hope that you will enjoy your stay here."

Just like with Twilight, Ryou gave the principal a light bow and responded politely. "It's good to meet you as well, Ms. Starr. Thank you for having me."

Celestia let out an amused chuckle, though it was not mocking in the slightest. "Please, just 'Celestia' will do fine. I don't know how exactly how they do it in Japan, but personally I've always preferred to quit the formalities when talking to students. On that note, I hope that you'll have no trouble adapting to our school system."

"None at all, Ms. Sta- anou, principal Celestia. I already knew what to expect." Ryou was quick to assure her. He then gestured to his collared jacket. "Quite frankly, it's nice not having to walk around in a school uniform anymore."

"That's all I wanted to hear. I never cared much for uniforms, either." Celestia said with clear amusement on her face before reaching out with a paper in her hand. "Here, this is your schedule. If you have any questions then you're more than welcome to ask either me or my sister, the vice-principal." Ryou accepted the schedule with a smile and a, 'Thank you'.

Looking up at one of the hallway's clocks and seeing what time it was, Celestia turned to them and said, "Well, that's really all I wanted to say. Once again, it's a delight to have you here, Ryou. And thank you, Twilight, for helping him. Now, your lunchbreak starts soon so I suggest you two hurry off before the line gets too long. After lunch you'll both continue according to schedule. Have a good day, you two!"

"You too, principal Celestia!" They both said as the principal departed. Ryou had to admit that she was definetly more warm and inviting than most teachers he'd had in Japan. And though the informality was definetly odd for Ryou as it spoke against most of what he'd learned about good manners, it also strangely fit. In some weird way, the woman's warm presence made it strange to call her anything other than 'Celestia'.

He was brought out of his thought when a school clock suddenly rang and before Ryou knew what happened, many of the classroom doors flew open and the previously empty hallway became brimming with activity as students made their way through. Ryou had never really been a fan of big crowds and this made him feel somewhat uneasy.

Taking note of the boy's discomfort, Twilight placed her hand on his shoulder and kindly said, "Let's go to the cafeteria. I heard that they're serving hamburgers today! ... You're not vegetarian or anything, are you?"

This was enough for Ryou to put aside his momentary discomfort, laughing lightly. "Not a vegetarian, no. You're right, let's go get some food."

And so they did. Once again, Twilight proved to be an excellent guide as she managed to help Ryou through the steady stream of students who were also making their way towards to the cafeteria. They both got there without any major issue and stood in line for a little bit before finally getting something to eat. Twilight had been right, hamburgers were on the menu and Ryou's mouth watered at the sight of it.

Once he'd filled up his tray and turned to find a seat, Ryou was quickly faced with a problem. Said problem being that he had no idea where to sit. Twilight had seemed to disappear from view after she'd gotten her food before him and Ryou felt quite lost as he looked through the cafeteria, seeing the multiple tables quickly filling up with all matter of students. He didn't want to intrude on anyone, but at the same time he didn't want to spend another lunch period alone after doing it so many times in the past.

Just as he'd almost given up, a very cheerful and high-pitched voice yelled out, "HEY! NEW GUY! OVER HERE!" It surprised Ryou so much that he almost dropped his tray. Looking towards where he'd heard the voice from, he saw what looked like a girl with very pink and very poofy hair waving him towards her table with a huge smile on her face.

Ryou blinked once in slight confusion, looking around briefly for any other possible new students which the girl was referring to instead. Finding none, he looked back and saw that there already sat a couple of people by the pink girl's table which he couldn't really make out. Merely standing there for a second, Ryou decided that it was probably for the best if he just moved over there, as it appeared as if the girl genuienly wanted to talk to him, whoever she was.

Taking a deep breath as if bracing himself, Ryou began to walk towards the table. As he got closer, he felt a great sense of relief as he saw that Twilight was also sitting by the table. That was atleast one familiar face in all of this. Twilight seemed to notice him too as Ryou now stood right by the table.

"Oh, there you are, Ryou!" The bespectacled girl greeted him before looking embarrassed. "Sorry that I wandered off like that, I just wanted to save you a seat..."

"There's no trouble at all." Ryou assured her softly before he planted himself down on the table's eighth seat, next to Twilight and opposite of the pink girl who'd called out to him.

Looking around at the seven girls, all of them varrying in hairstyle and colour and all of them looking at him in various forms of intrigue, Ryou felt slightly uncomfortable under their gazes, espescially the one of the girl with the fire-like hair and green eyes.

Scratching the back of his head, he asked Twilight, "Anou, are these the friends you mentioned, Twilight?"

"Yes!" Twilight responded proudly before gesturing to the poofy-haired girl. "This is Pi-" She didn't get to finish as the pink girl, who was still grinning gleefully, leaned over the table and got really up-and-close to Ryou.

"Hi!" She greeyed cheerfully despite the akward closeness. "I'm Pinkamina Diane Pie, but you can just call me Pinkie! And I've got a few questions for ya, buster! What's your name? What's your favourite colour? When's your birthday? Do you like cupcakes? Chocolate or Strawberry? Do you want to be my friend!?"

All six questions were fired in rapid succession, Pinkie getting closer and closer for every one. Her face was almost touching Ryou's by the end of it. The whole thing frankly puzzled Ryou, and for some reason he thought he could feel the millenium ring beneath his shirt vibrate like crazy. It was probably just his imagination.

Before he could respond, Pinkie was quickly pulled pack by the girl next to her, who appeared to be pulling of a country-look. She was even wearing a cowboy hat! "Easy there, sugarcube." She admonished gently in a southern accent. "We don't wanna overwhelm the poor feller."

"O-oh no, it's quite alright." Ryou was quick to assure, for some reason not finding the pink girl's antics bothersome at all. He even turned to said girl and lightly bowed his head with a soft smile. "It's nice to meet you, Pinkie Pie. As for your questions; Ryou Bakura. Blue. September 2nd. Yes. Strawberry. And... I'd love to."

For personal reasons he was a bit hesitant to answer the final question. Luckily enough, none of them seemed to notce as Pinkie almost visibly glowed in happiness at his answers. "Yay! A new friend! That rounds my total up to..." She began to seemingly count on her fingers befoe turning to the other girls questioningly. "Wait... what's our stance on the Dazzlings again?"

Ryou was once again puzzled by his very new friend's antics, but at the same time he couldn't help but smile. The other girls, who had undoubtedly known Pinkie Pie longer, seemed to take it with similar amusement.

"Anyhoo..." The country-looking girl form earlier began, reaching out a friendly hand towards Ryou, "Howdy-do there, partner! Welcome to the city! Name's Applejack. Mah family owns the orchard here in Canterlot. Y'should stop by some time. We love visitors, and we make the best apple products this side of anywhere."

"Good to meet you, Applejack." Ryou greeted as he shook her hand, noting that she had a very firm but friendly grip. "I just might take you up on that."

"Sup, dude." The rainbow-haired girl next to Applejack then greeted him rather casually, a half-eaten burger in her hands. "I'm Rainbow Dash."

"Rainbow Dash is involved in a lot of the school's sports teams." Twilight elaborated.

"It just goes to show how spectacularly awesome I am." Rainbow Dash said casually as if talking about the weather, causing some of the other girls to roll their eyes in amusement. Ryou almost did too, but he didn't want to seem rude.

"Um... I-I'm Fluttershy." The girl who sat next to Twilight with light pink hair spoke up next. Though her voice was so soft that Ryou had difficulty to understand her.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Um..." She began once again, somehow even quieter than before. "I said my name's Fluttershy..."

"Anou, I didn't quite catch that..."

"... I'm Fluttershy."

Rolling her eyes, as if having seen this a thousand times before, Rainbow Dash decided to end her friend's torment. "Her name's Fluttershy. It may shock you; but she's kinda shy. Crazy, I know."

Hearing this, it finally clicked for Ryou as he gave the shy girl a very kind and understanding look. "It's very nice to meet you, Fluttershy."

The girl now managed to meet Ryou's kind eyes as a small but genuine smile appeared on her face. "... Nice to meet you too, Ryou."

After that introduction was out of the way, the girl with very neatly kept violet hair next to Fluttershy made herself known, looking eager to finally talk to Ryou.

"Hello, darling! I am Rarity, and I must say that I adore what you've done with your hair!"

"Oh, um..." Ryou was unsure how to respond to this comment, even after recieving similar ones from other girls in his previous schools. He could only scratch the back of his head while blushing slightly. "I-it's nothing, really. I just-"

"Oh don't be so modest, darling!" Rarity was quick to inteject, stars dancing in her eyes as she observed Ryou's hair, whose blush only grew brighter. "The volume and texture looks perfect! And I can't see any traces of hair gel. Oh, I know some designs which would look amazing with your hair! And there should probably be something that brings out your eyes..."

"You see, Rarity's a fashionista. All of us have at least one thing designed by her." Twilight interjected.

"And I would simply love to design something for you as well, Ryou darling."

"Oh, there's no need to do something like that for me!" Ryou exclaimed, not being one who liked to trouble others.

"I'm afraid that I must insist, dear." Rarity responded adamantly, clearly not taking 'No' for an answer.

"Pst, word of advice, pal." Rainbow Dash stage-whispered. "When she breaks out the measuring tape you run."

"Honestly, Rainbow!" Rarity chastised while sounding scandalized, though the little exchange got the whole table to share a good laugh, even Ryou who giggled quietly into is hand.

"You get used to these kinds of antics after a while, trust me." The fire-haired girl now next to Rainbow Dash spoke, clearly amused, and gave Ryou a small smile. "I'm Sunset Shimmer, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

"You too, Sunset."

"So, Ryou, you're from Japan." Sunset said. It was not a question. "Your english is perfect."

Ryou did not know how exactly to interpret that statement. It was definetly not hostile, though he couldn't help but feel as if it sounded somewhat accusatory. Desciding not to think too much of it, he responded politely.

"Well, Sunset, I was born in England and spent a lot of my younger years there, so it is my first language while japanese is my primary one. I also speak basic german and just the teeniest bit of egyptian." He explained before taking a large bite out of his burger, which through the introductions had remained untouched. Sunset seemed to accept this explanation with a nod.

"Um, Ryou? Not to be intrusive or anything but, since you've moved here from another country, where do you live now?" Fluttershy pipped up inquisitevly, before hastily adding, "I-if you don't mind me asking, of course..."

"Now that you mention it, Flutters, I haven't seen any moving trucks wheeling around. Heck, I don't think there's even any place here that was up for sale lately..." Rainbow Dash pondered. "What gives, Ryou?"

Swiftly chewing up and swallowing the last of his burger, Ryou responded, "The moving trucks won't show up until tomorrow due to an ongoing strike. As for my living arrangement, I didn't have to buy myself a house here since I already have one." His answer took the girls off guard.

"Really?" Sunset asked, now sounding somewhat sceptical. "Which one?"

"Number 9 on Ebony Street."

"WHAT!?" The collective exclamation of shock from all seven of the girls almost made Ryou fall straight out of his seat, only just managing to avoid it.

"You're tellin' us you've settled in the ol' Blackwood house?" Applejack asked, looking both bewildered and concered.

"Anou... yes." Ryou responded, sounding a bit unsure as the stares of the girls seemed to work their way on his psyche. Their reactions made him feel a tad concerned. "Why? Is-is that bad?"

"'Bad'!?" Rarity repeated incredulously. "More like catastrophic! That house is run down hovel which hasn't seen a good and much needed cleaning for nearly 10 years! Oh, just think of all the dust, the mold, the spiders, and-and mites. Oh, it's the worst. Possible. Thing!"

"... Are you alright?" Ryou asked, concerned as it looked as if the aspiring fashionista was about to faint. He got a terse nod in return as Rarity continued to imagine the unhygenic horrors of Ryou's new home.

"And you're going to live there from now on?" Twilight asked him, looking troubled on his behalf.

"Well yes, I already spent last night there. But don't worry, only half of the windows are broken and I only woke up with three spiders in my hair this morning." That last part was meant to be a joke but the girls now looked more worried than ever. Rarity stared at his hair as if she would see a spider crawling out of it at any moment.

"Oh my..." Fluttershy quietly muttered.

"Really, it's nothing." He tried to reassure them, not wanting to make them worry about him. He was practically a stranger to them, after all. It wasn't right of him to unload his troubles on them. "I'm going to fix it up after school today. I'm sure that it'll look good as new then."

"Sugarcube, ya can't possibly be tellin' us that you're gonna straighten out that entire house 'til tomorrow by y'rself." Applejack stated seriously.

Ignoring how odd it felt to be called 'Sugarcube', Ryou instead gave all the girls a soft smile. "Well, I kind of have to. My things will all come in the morning and I can't store my stuff in a dirty home, now can I?"

"You're right. Ya can't." Applejack seemed to agree with him, before shocking the boy when she then smiled and said, "That's precisely why, when school's out, Ah'm gonna help ya."

"Good, because that's what I- wait, what?" It suddenly dawned on Ryou exactly what the country girl had said as he looked at her in shock.

"Ya heard me." Applejack now looked slightly amused at him. "Sounds like ya could use a hand or two, partner. And, well, Ah got two hands."

"B-but I-"

"I'll help you out too, Ryou!" Pinkie Pie interrupted before he could explain just why they shouldn't be helping him. "We're friends now, remember? And no friend of Pinkie Pie is gonna have to live in a dirty-wirty old house!"

"Pinkie Pie's got the right idea!" Rainbow Dash chimmed in next before Ryou could even open his mouth to protest. "Sure, maybe cleaning is not my ideal friday-afternoon, but now Applejack's gone off being all cool, and I can't have her steal my thunder. Besides, for something as challenging as the Blackwood house, you're gonna need some extra awesomeness!"

The other girls and even Ryou all shared a little chuckle at Rainbow Dash's attitude, before Twilight spoke up next. "I told principal Celestia that I would help you feel welcome, Ryou. I can't think of a better way than to make your home actually liveable for humans."

"I want to help you, too, Ryou. Espescially with all that dust." Fluttershy said quietly, but still loud enough to hear. She then leaned over and whispered conspiratorially to him, "Don't tell anyone alse about this, but Racoons are surprisingly good at house keeping."

"..." Ryou wasn't even really sure how to respond to that one.

"Even though I prefer to stay away from any given dust particles at all times... I can't stand the thought of losing your precious hair to termites, Ryou! It will not stand!" Rarity sounded very dedicated as she said this, it almost reminded Ryou of some sort of military general.

"Well, now that everyone else's volounteered, I guess I have to go too." Sunset sighed, though jokingly as she kept one twinkling eye opened.

"But-but, I..." Ryou trailed off, trying to think of the best way to voice his displeasure without offending any of them. "I can't ask that of you! Surely you all have things you'd rather be doing than helping me clean my house!"

"Of course we do!" Pinkie replied plainly, cheerful as ever. "But right now, you need our help, mister." The other girls nodded, agreeing with the energetic party girl. Ryou still found their sudden dedication to be somewhat baffling.

"B-but you hardly know me! Why would you sacrifice an entire afternoon just to help some new student you've just met!?" This somewhat hysteric question was only met with questioning stares from the seven girls.

"What do you mean 'why'?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding honestly confused. "We're friends now, right? Friends help eachother out." She stated this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ryou was just about to retort when her words truly registered in his mind. "You... you think of me as your friend?"

"Well, yeah. Don't you?"

It would have been impossible for Ryou to describe exactly what feelings he felt at that very moment. Somehow it felt like a bittersweet mixture of sorrow, but also an unmeasurable joy. He was sure he even felt his eyes sting just a little. "Friends... Yes, yes, we're friends." He repeated it quietly, the word feeling strangely foreign on his tounge.

"Um, you alright there, Ryou?" The concerned voice of Sunset barely registered in his mind. After a brief moment, his attention became focused on the seven girls as he gave them the biggest smile he had been able to muster in months.

"Yes. I feel fine, Sunset." He responded, truly meaning it. "Thank you, all of you. For offering yourselves like this, I mean."

His words were met with smiles all from around the table. "Not a problem, Ryou. That's what friends are for." Twilight said as the other girls nodded in agreement. Once again Ryou felt that strange but at the same time elevating feeling in his heart, and so he smiled.

As the eight of them sat there in the cafeteria, chatting up about their upcoming cleaning mission until the lunch bell rang, summoning them to class, none of them could possibly have known what would await them in the future. The adventures they would have, the horrors they would face, the triumphs they would share, or the bonds all of them would form together.

After all, the game had only just begun.

Amicitiam Mundandis

"So, is he coming soon or what?" Rainbow wondered aloud, but it was a sentiment shared by all the other girls as they waited outside the infamous Blackwood house.

After their lunch period earlier that day where they had all agreed to help the new transfer student to clean his run-down house, the rest of their school day had passed as usual, with the exception of Ryou introducing himself to all the other students and teachers they came across, which went rather smoothly.

When school was done, they had all agreed with Ryou to meet him by the Blackwood house around 16:00 as the boy needed to pop over and buy some cleaning supplies for their rather ambiguous project.

Now, however, the time was nearing 16:10 and some of the girls, mainly those of them with rainbow-coloured hair, were already starting to get a little impatient.

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation to why he's not here yet." Twilight calmly said while looking through her phone.

"Still, if we now volounteered to help him spruce up that old shack, the least he can do is show up on time..." Rainbow muttered to herself.

"Don't worry, Dashie!" Pinkie chimmed in while smiling. "Usually when we talk about someone, that someone usually shows up sooner or la- Hey, there's Ryou! Hiya!"

The girls followed where Pinkie suddenly pointed and, much like she said, walking down Ebony Street was none other than Ryou Bakura. He was carrying many bags and a few boxes of what looked like lightbulbs, walking carefully as not to drop any of them. They stacked up in a way that none of the girls could get a good look at his face. At Pinkie Pie's greeting, his eyes and forehead popped up from behind the boxes.

"H-hello!" Ryou's greeting was noticeably rather strained, the weight of all the supplies clearly didn't just take their toll on his speed. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Well, no wonderin' yer late, carryin' all those things!" Applejack sprinted over to the boy. "Here, allow me."

Before Ryou could even object to the offer, the country girl swiftly took hold of at least half of the supplies Ryou was carrying with no visible effort. "There! That's a lot better, ain't it?"

"Y-yes, thank you." He stuttered just a bit, still surprised over just how easily Applejack had taken the same boxes which took a massive strain on him... he really needed to work out more. "Again, sorry for being tardy."

"Nothing to worry about, Ryou. The important thing is that you showed up at all." Twilight was quick to assure the boy.

"Goodie!" Pinkie suddenly exclaimed. "Now that the man of the hour is here, that means we can quit yapping and start cleaning!"

Despite Pinkie's cheerful exclamation, the task ahead of them was anything but. As Ryou led them all inside the rather ominous-looking old house, they were all shocked once they saw what awaited them on the inside.

"Holy cow!" Twilight exclaimed as she looked around the rundown, dust-covered innards of the Blackwood house. "I mean, I could see from the outside that this house has seen better days, but jeez..."

"Haha! Look, guys!" Pinkie called from a mirror where she proceeded to draw some lines in the thick layer of dust. "I made a smiley-face!"

Ryou and the rest chuckled at this, before the former adressed the girls. "Believe it or not, the place actually looked worse when I first came here. I spent most of last night picking up rouge shards of glass."

"Eek!" Rarity suddenly squeaked, hiding behind Applejack, "I think I saw something move in the corner!"

Said cowgirl looked at the scared fashionista with half-lidded eyes. "Rarity, that there's just a big dust bunny." She deadpanned.

Rarity blushed as the group shared a good chuckle, but Ryou, quick to see her distress, tried to assure her. "Don't worry, Rarity. I made quite the throughout maintenance check of the entire house yesterday. Miraculously, I didn't find any pests of note. Although, I do think some racoons have settled somewhere in the attic. At least I hope it's just racoons..."

Rarity quieted down at this, a blush still adorning her cheeks, muttering, "Thank you for that clarification..."

"Um, Ryou ? If we do find any critters hiding up there, I could give you a hand in handling them. I-if you want to..." Fluttershy offered in her usual quiet way, her bangs covering one of her eyes.

Ryou looked at her curiously. "Are you sure, Fluttershy? I mean, I looked as hard as I could yesterday, but after 10 years, who knows what kind of things've settled down here?"

"Trust me, Ryou," Sunset quickly spoke in support of her friend. "If anyone can help you with a critter-problem, then it's Fluttershy."

The other girls said similar encouraging things, causing Fluttershy to blush. Even more so when Ryou seemed to comprehend their words and gave the quiet girl a smile. "If such a situation should arise, then I'll gladly accept your assistance, Fluttershy."

"Thank you..."

"So, Ryou, what exactly needs to be done? ... 'cept for everythin', that is." Applejack asked while rubbing her hands together, eager to get to work.

And so Ryou gave them all a great deal of tasks, which was natrual, of course, the Blackwood house was rather large, after all. To begin with, all eight of them changed all of the faulty lights in the house, which natrually meant all of them. Ryou, Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took care of first floor while Sunset, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie took care of the second floor.

The upstairs were actually quite creepy looking, none of the girls could blame Ryou for not wanting to clean the house by himself. Though Applejack couldn't help but wonder just where in the heck Ryou's parents were. Almost certainly at work like most adults, but still, it didn't sit right with the cowgirl that whoever Ryou's folks were left their newly arrived son to clean such a large house by himself.

After Sunset's team were finished with changing all the upstairs light, they quickly went down and found that Ryou and the others were now walking around dusting, wiping and mopping all over the place. Once he saw them, Ryou commented on a job well done and gave them some more tasks, though not in a demanding way. And so they got to work.

"Maaan, this house seems way bigger than it looks..." Rainbow Dash whined, whiping sweat off of her forehead, looking around and seeing that there was still much to clean. "Hey, RB! Who else is living here, anyway?" There was no way that Ryou could be living in such a large house by himself, he was the same age all of them for crying out loud! Ryou's usual smile went out like a light and he turned around so his back was facing everyone else.

"No one but me.... Now, here's the duster. You can get the upstairs hallway and I'll take care of my room." His smile was back as he calmly pushed the duster into the stunned Rainbow's hands and headed up the stairs, leaving all the girls stunned and quite a bit concerned.

"You're living alone?" Sunset asked quietly. Of course, she herself lived on her own, but that was because of completely different circumstances. The fiery-haired girl looked around the large empty house, thinking of living there, a stranger in a new land, all alone...

Ryou stopped in his tracks half-way up the stairs, now looking almost completely melancholic. "Yes... I am." It almost sounded as if he forced the words out of his mouth. He then turned towards Fluttershy, his smile small and his eyes unreadable, "Could you join me, Fluttershy? I was thinking of taking a peek at the attic."

"Oh! U-um, of course..." Fluttershy hastily agreed, a bit surprised as being adressed so directly. She hurried up the stairs and along with Ryou disappeared from view, leaving six rather concerned girls alone.

"He's going to live here alone? By himself?" Twilight questioned, concerned evident in her voice as she kept staring at where Ryou had stood just moments earlier.

"Aww, poor Ryou..." Pinkie's usually poofy hair seemed to almost deflate as she looked utterly downcast.

"Seriously..." Rainbow Dash muttered in agreement. "I like being independent and all, but what kind of parents leave their kid all alone in a foreign country?"

"Irresponsible, if you ask me." Rarity agreed.

"Now hang on." Applejack brought up her hands in a complacent gesture. "Ah know Ryou's situation don't sound too good. Heck, I'm kinda worried, m'self. But can't just make assumptions 'bout Ryou's family life. That's up to him to share with us when he feels ready. He doesn't owe any of us an explanation."

Twilight let out a knowing sigh, "You're right, Applejack." She then cast another worried look upstairs. "I just hope it's not as bad as he makes it sound..."

Deciding amongst themselves not to linger on this issue too much, despite all of them feeling worry over Ryou, the girls continued to clean the first floor in the way Ryou had instructed them earlier. Though there reigned an odd silence among them, as their new friend's behaviour and words seemed to edge its way into their minds.

It was almost an hour later when Ryou and Fluttershy, both of them smiling with spiderwebs tangled up in their hair, came down from the attic. "We're done with the upper floors!" Ryou declared as a form of greeting, now noticeably more happy than earlier. Fluttershy also appeared to be in a better mood.

"That's wonderful, you two!" Rarity started. "Now we can all- GYAAAH! RACOONS!!!" At the sight of the four small fuzzy critters, Rarity jumped behind Applejack for the second time that day, causing Applejack to let out an unimpressive sigh and the others to laugh.

"Rarity! Don't do that! They haven't done anything to you!" Fluttershy admonished in her own quiet yet authorative manner.

The fashionista laughed nervously, a blush on her cheeks as she straightened up. "R-right! Sorry, darling..."

The animal-loving girl now smiled. "That's much better." She then bent down and patted the largest of the racoons on the head. "We found these poor little things nesting up in Ryou's attic, but I managed to coax them into leaving peacefully. They even helped us clean the upstairs!"

"I was admittedly sceptical at first," Ryou acknowledged before giving the critters and appreciative look. ", but these little guys were actually really helpful up there."

"I told you, didn't I?" Fluttershy reminded playfully, though keeping her quiet tone.

"You sure did." Ryou laughed, "But what's even more impressive is you, Fluttershy. I've never seen someone being so good with animals before! It was like something out of a fantasy-novel!"

"That's our Fluttershy for you." Rainbow Dash said proudly with crossed arms.

Said girl blushed at the praise before turning towards the racoons once more. "I've decided to call them Kurt, Leonard, Magdalin, and Díandre! Now off you go, you sweet little dears!" At her coaxing the four critters hurried out of one of the house's broken windows.

"Huh... well, that happened." Twilight commented after a bit of silence, slightly bewildered.

"Well, nonetheless, I can tell all of you girls've done a splendid job down here." Ryou praised as he looked around the now mostly-clean first floor. The girls accepted his praise humbly before the boy sent all of them out on their next task; replacing and/or cleaning the windows.

And so they began to do just that, using many sudds and sponges to clean all the windows that were grime covered and filthy while replacing the broken ones, which were most of them. It went mostly rather smoothly but wasn't without its own hiccups.

For some inexplicable reason Ryou had though it a good idea to pass the bucket filled with soapy water to Twilight while she stood up on a latter to get one of the higher windows. Natrually, the bucket had ended up over the white haired boy's head, completely soaking him. Ryou had merely laughed it off though, remarking that there were simpler ways to tell him that he needed to shower. It got a good laugh out of all of them.

Once they were finished, all of the windows in the Blackwood house now sparkled, either because they had been cleaned or because they were brand new. After this, every single one of them were rather tired and panting, the air in the old house feeling rather thick and warm. Their throats were dry and most of them were rather sweaty, even Rarity who despaired but managed.

Seeing this and feeling guilty not for the first time that day for having the girls helping them clean, Ryou said, "I think we all could use something to drink. My throat is killing me. Wait here and I'll be right back."

As Ryou headed into the kitchen, he left the girls in the living room to catch their breath. Shortly after, he came back with an armfull of plastic water bottles, giving the girls an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I don't have much else in ways of refreshments."

"It's no problem." Twilight assured him, helping him to hand out the eight bottles between them.

"What Twi said." Rainbow Dash chimmed in, quickly opening up her own bottle. "At this point, as long as it's cold and it's liquid then I'll drink it."

The other girls certainly felt the same way. Having worked long and hard intently to clean the Blackwood house, even Ryou's bottled water tasted heavenly as they all began to drink it greedily.

"Now, tell us, Ryou, just how are you finding America so far?" Rarity asked curiously after everyone had had their first sips of water.

Ryou looked contemplative for a second, as if looking for the optimal words to describe it. "Well, it's certainly different, but in a good way. It's actually quite nice to have a change of scenery, but the best part is probably that Canterlot, at least, isn't nearly as suffocating as some japanese cities I've been to. Seriously, while I was staying in Tokyo it always felt as if you stepped on someone's toes where ever you went!"

This got a good chuckle out of Ryou's guests, one he himself was happy to participate in.

"Don't get me wrong though," He added once the chuckling had died down. ", there are definetly some things back home that I miss."

"Perfectly understandable, Ryou. After all, there's no place like home." Applejack said sympathetically, as she herself felt a strong connection to her own family home back at the farm.

"So, just why did you transfer to America, anyway?" Sunset asked curiously afer the chuckling had died down, wanting to know more about Ryou.

"Did you come here because you heard Canterlot was the friendliest and bestest city in the world!?" Pinkie asked curiously in her own cheerful way, earning another chuckle from the boy.

"Not quite, Pinkie. I mostly came here in order to spend some more time with my father. You see, he's an archeologist and antiques dealer so his work tends to keep him on the road a lot. It's tricky for him to come and see me in Japan." He said while bringing his own bottle up to his lips and taking a sip.

"Oh, okay. So, your dad's here now?" Rainbow Dash's question was certainly innocent enough but it made the light in Ryou's eyes dim noticeably. The girls watched in silence, a shred of concern edging its way into them, but Ryou merely closed his eyes and let out a morose sigh.

"Not yet. He's been... delayed. He assured me that he's coming later though." Ryou replied calmly as he took another sip of water, but his words sounded somewhat hollow and it worried the seven girls. A bit of a tense silence settled over them, even Pinkie Pie was quiet.

"Well, we're almost done now!" Ryou suddenly chirped, his face once again smiling and warm. It was a very noticeable attempt to change the subject. "All that's left is the largest room in the house then we're finished."

"Alright then, let's get to it." Applejack said with a smile which was shared by the other girls. Though they all still felt a sense of worry for their new friend over the brief information about his father, they all silently and unaminously decided that it was Ryou's business and that they shouldn't pry.

They were led down the first-floor hall further into the house by Ryou who brought them into the final room. He had been right that it was a large one, and much like the other places in the house it was also covered in all sorts of filth. The group of eight wasted no time and began to clean there as well.

"What exactly are your plans for this final room, Ryou?" Rarity asked after some time of silence as she swept the floor, Twilight mopping the dust-free spaces from behind her.

"I actually plan to turn this into a game room." He responded casually while working around feverently with a feather duster.

"Game room?" Sunset repeated, sounding interested as a smile crept onto her face. "You like games, Ryou?"

"Oh yes, I love them." It was clear that this was a subject the boy really enjoyed, his voice and facial expression giving it all away.

Rainbow Dash couln't help but snort. "Gotta say, I'd never really take you for a gamer."

Ryou was clearly not offended by the comment, letting out a small chuckle himself. "Well, I am into all sorts of games, including consoles. However, call me old fashioned, but my favourite types of games are the card- and board games. My preferred games are Duel Monsters or Monster World, espescially the latter as several people can play together instead of just two people dueling."

It was clear to anyone with working eyes how Ryou's lit up when he mentioned Monster World. As for the girls, they had all heard of Duel Monsters before. It was a fairly popular game that had been around since the CHS prinicpals were young. None of them had played it before, but they had all heard the news of how the Kaiba Corporation were developing technology which would apparently increase the game's entertainment factor. Maybe some other day they would try it out.

None of them had ever heard of Monster World, though. Fluttershy kindly decided to ask just what the game was about, as it was obvious that the only boy there was clearly into the game. Ryou was more than happy to explain.

"Monster World is a tabletop RPG, that is to say, a role playing game where you customize your character and set out to defeat the Dark Master, or to try and complete whatever other quest the Game Master has in store. The Dark Master and Game Master are more often then not one and the same. I use a specialized computer to help calculate the characters' stats, but you roll dice in order to attack, defend, cast spells, move, explore, etc. You roll dice for, well, practically anything really."

"Wow, that actually sounds kind of cool." Sunset remarked, genuinely interested after getting a general view of Ryou's favourite game, the other girls let out similar words of interest. Monster World definetly sounded like an interesting game, and the apparent inclusion of both imagination and risk in its gameplay had all the girls intrigued.

"So, is it similar to games like Ogres & Oubliettes or Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons?" Twilight asked, remembering how both her brother and her dog were huge fans of those two games. Even going so far as to lock themselves in the former's room for hours on Wednesday nights just to play it.

"Well, all of those three games certainly belong to the same genre, but Monster World is very unique in that it combines the conepts of the everyday RPG with that of board games. It's also a bit simpler, but in a way that makes it more enjoyable for the players." Ryou told her, his passion for the subject clear as day. "The thing I love about games like those is how each campaign is guaranteed to be different since every single player makes all the choices for themselves."

Applejack let out an impressed whistle. "Well, Ryou, this Monster World-thingamajig sure sounds mighty interestin'."

"I'll say!" Pinkie Pie chimmed in, cheerful as ever. She then let out a brief gasp of realization before looking at Ryou excitedly. "We should totally play it sometime!"

Her exclamation made a strange sort of expression appear on Ryou's face. It looked partially ecstatic at the chance of playing his favourite game with some new friends. However, it also partially looked strangely subdued, as if his joy was dimmed by some distant memory. None of his guests could place too much thought into it before it turned into his usual warm smile.

"If all of you would like, I'd be more then happy to play once I get all of my game supplies. But enough about me, how about you, girls? Do you have any favourite games?"

This question managed to keep the entire conversation alive during the time they spent cleaning up the last and largest room of the house. If it hadn't been clear to the girls that Ryou was a game expert earlier, it sure as heck became clear as they continued cleaning and chatting.

Sunset went into great detail when describing her love of console games, espescially those in the action-adventure genre. For as much as she still felt a hidden unease about Ryou, she really couldn't contain her own enthusiasm for gaming. And Ryou quickly proved that his gaming knowledge wasn't limited to that of trading cards and board games, being able to keep up with her quite steadily and showing a good amount of knowledge when it came to the latest releases.

Twilight, however, was a apparently a bigger fan of any kind of game that required the player to possess time, patience and intellect. Titles such as chess, Risk, Ticket to Ride and Chronology were brought up. Some of them were familiar to Ryou while others didn't ring a bell at all, though this only made him more interested as it meant there were more games for him out there to try.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack, much like Sunset, also had a clear preference for console games, only that their favourites leaned more towards fighting and racing games. Basically any game that allowed them to play against eachother, revealing to Ryou that the cowgirl and athlete seemed to have a bit of a competitive streak.

Rarity seemed to have no real preference when it came to games, preferring to do other things with her spare time. She revealed this while feeling somewhat embarrassed to admit such a thing to an apparent game-enthusiast. However, Ryou took no offense, he merely smiled and remarked that different people like different things. Also politely recommending one or two games he thought that the fashionista could enjoy.

Fluttershy was a bit hesitant to share her favourite game, not only due to her timid nature but because of how it compared to the games the others brought up. The fact that Ryou was some kind of game expert didn't help. But, through some encouragement from Rainbow Dash, she finally explained that the "Super Squirrel Nut Quest"-video game was her personal favourite. Despite her worries, Ryou was espescially supportive and kindly told her that she would have to show him how to play it some day.

As for Pinkie Pie, once the party-loving girl was asked she inhaled a huge breath before starting very enthusiastic, very fast, and very long list of all the games she liked to play. The very length of the list and how Pinkie somehow seemed to say it all in one breath astonished everyone present, as well as some of the games included in that list. It was only after quite a long time, during which the rest of the cleaning went smoothly, that her list finally came to an end.

"-and also Monopoly, Yatzy, Cards Against Humanity, Go Fish, Exploding Kittens, Blackjack, Betrayal At House On The Hill, Chutes And Latters, Checkers, and Poker! ... Oh! And Candy Land!" After finishing her rather lengthy list, Pinkie just gave everyone a closed eyed smile as if nothing had just happened.

A bit of a stunned and bewildered silence reigned, as was usual when Pinkie Pie did Pinkie Pie-things. It was broken relatively quickly by Ryou who giggled quietly into his hand. "That's quite the list, Pinkie. In fact, it was so long that we actually managed to finish up the room while you ranted."

Pinkie blinked at this before looking around and finding that indeed, the room was now in tip-top shape. "Wooow, you guys know what this means?... I'M A TIME LORD! At last I shall have dominion over all living things! ... And pudding!"

Her out-of-nowhere exclamation got quite a good chuckle out of the group before they too looked around and observed their handiwork with pride. Except for perhaps Applejack, none of the girls had really felt good about cleaning before, but the fact that they all did it together and Ryou proved to be excellent company, the tasks had been somewhat enjoyable.

As they all stood in the now clean living room, all eight of them could be seen with satisfied grins on their faces, feeling the pride of accomplishment. The Blackwood house, which had a few hours earlier looked like an unhygienic hovel, now looked like any other reguluar house in Canterlot, except for the lack of any real furniture.

Ryou turned to the girls and dipped his head in an appreciative bow.

"Thank you all for helping me out today. It would have taken forever if I'd done it by myself." He told them in a truly grateful tone. And it wasn't just the cleaning he was thankful for, but the company in general. The girls all gave him kind smiles in return.

"No problem, partner. That's what friends are for." Applejack replied with a tip of her hat in his direction, her sentiments visible on the other girls' expressions.

"And please, darling, there's no need to bow." At Rarity's polite and kind chiding, Ryou blushed as he straightened up, scratching the back of his head in what the Rainbooms guessed was a nervous habit. Despite only knowing him for barely half a day, it was apparent to the girls that Ryou tended to scratch the back of his head when he felt embarrassed.

This time though, none of the girls could hold back their chuckles, even the drawn back Fluttershy. At Ryou's questioning look, Twilight gestured to Ryou's hand and so the boy pulled it down to find it covered in suds, remnants of the bucket's insides which were tipped over Ryou's poor head earlier. His usually pristine white hair was sporting a large collection of bubbles.

Finally comprehending the situation, Ryou also cracked up and joined in on the laughter, running his hands through his hair and shaking it free of the foam. After that shared moment of levity, Ryou threw a look at his wrist watch and his eyes widened when he saw that it was already evening. He gave them all a genuinely apologetic look.

"Oh my, I think I've kept you girls here for a little too long." The girls looked a little confused at his statement before everyone checked the time on their phones.

"Woo-ee, you're right about that, Ryou." Applejack remarked as she pocketed her phone. "Guess time really does fly when you're havin' fun." Everyone once again shared a small chuckle at the country girl's observation. "Ah need to get mah behind back to the farm, and Ah think all of us need a long shower."

The other six girls said similar things, as they all had plans for the Friday night and wanted to get rid of the dirt and grime that'd gathered on their persons. Ryou understood perfectly, merely smiling as he lead all of them to the front door. As he opened up for them and the girls all walked out, all eight of them appreciated the feeling of the cool spring air after spending hours inside of an ex-dirty house.

"I just want to thank you all again." Ryou expressed his grattitude with a soft smile from the doorway.

"Ryou, you don't have to thank us all the time. We did this because we wanted to." Twilight once again assured the polite boy with a friendly smile.

"Still, if there's anything I can do for any of you, just say the word."

"Look pal," Rainbow Dash started, giving Ryou a small smirk. ", we're just happy you're happy, don't push it. But if you're really torn up about it, you can always buy me a chocolate shake and we'll call it even."

The pale boy laughed lightly and gave the athletic girl a mirthful look. "Conscider it done. Rainbow."

"Cool. I'll see ya around, RB!"

"Have a good evening, darling!"

"Bye, Ryou ! And remember, the farm's always there if ya'd like to visit!"

"Goodbye..."

"Until next time!"

"Don't be a stranger, Ryou! And welcome to Canterlot again!"

With these words the girls all went on their own ways and Ryou stood by his door, waving them all goodbye until they completely disappeared from his view. For a moment he just continued to stand there, his thoughts lingering on his seven new friends. He was interrupted from his thoughts once he noticed that one of those seven friends were still by his porch, smiling brightly up at him.

"Oh, Pinkie! I didn't see you." He said, the surprise clear in his voice. "... I don't want to be rude but, why are you still here?"

The poofy-haired girl just kept smiling at him, her expression unchanging as she rather quickly skipped up to Ryou with something now in her hands.

"Well, because I almost forgot to give you this, silly-billy!"

Blinking twice before really comprehending what was happening, Ryou looked down and saw that Pinkie Pie held out what seemed to be a pink take-out container with 'Sugercube Corner' written on it in silver writing. Realizing that this was some sort of gift, Ryou reached out with pale hands and gently took the small box from Pinkie's grip.

"Pinkie..." He began, sounding lightly uneasy. "You didn't have to get me this. If anything, I should be the one getting something for you and the others."

"Of course I had to!" Pinkie replied, still sounding cheerful but with an underlying tone of vehemence. "You're a new friend! And all my new friends gets a little something from Sugarcube Corner! Now come on, open it up!"

Hesitating for just a brief moment, Ryou then opened the box rather delicately and let out a soft gasp once he saw what was inside. It was a cupcake, but it was one of the finest cupcakes that Ryou had ever seen. It was of quite a hefty size, covered in a thick layer of quality pink frosting and the words 'Welcome to Canterlot!' written in red icing. His mouth began to water just looking at it.

"I was kinda hoping to do something bigger for you, like I do for any other new Canterlotians. Buuut, the girls said you looked like the kind of guy that would enjoy something a little more low-key! So I made you this!" In contrast to Pinkie's usual somewhat loud manner of speaking, her voice was now noticeably a bit quieter. Not in a disencouraged way, merely in a more consciderate fashion.

A bit of silence passed between them, as Ryou continued to stare at the gift he had just recieved with wide eyes. After a few seconds, Pinkie asked, "So... do you like it?" It was asked in a somewhat anxious voice, as if she was affraid of any negative response from the boy, his silence not having the best affect on her.

The party girl's fears were unfounded, however, as when Ryou finally did speak he looked at her with shining eyes and a small, but grateful smile.

"It looks delicious... Thank you, Pinkie... Not just for this, but, well, for everything you and the others did today." He told her, sounding genuinley touched at the gesture.

Hearing this, Pinkie Pie brightened up consciderably, her brief anxiousness forgotten and paved way for joy. "YIPEE! I KNEW YOU'D LIKE IT!" She squealed loudly and happily. Ryou laughed, not in any sort of mocking fashion, but merely because he found the poofy-haired girl's jovial and eccentric personality to be quite endearing. She was like one of those Looney Tunes.

"Okie-dokie-lokie! Bye-bye, Ryou!" Before he even really knew what happened, Pinkie Pie began to skip herself away from his porch, waving to him all the way. Ryou found himself waving back until the pink girl, much like the others, had disappeared from view.

He continued to just stand there in the doorway for a bit, enjoying the cool air on his face, before once again heading inside and closing the door. Only this time, his house was actually clean and it felt amazing.

As he walked into the living room and planted himself down on the old couch, he already began to imagine just in what places he would put his furniture once it arrived in the morning. The very thought made Ryou giddy, as it meant that he would get the chance to really make this house his own.

As he looked around, the white-haired boy's thoughts lingered on just all that had happened on this day, and the new friends that he had made. Though he had always recieved the regular welcome which was expected for new students the other times he had transfered, and he was definetly not a stranger to girls at said schools fuzzing over him, this felt completely different.

Those girls had really went out of their way to help him and had begun to get to know him. They had spent hours of a friday-afternoon just helping him to clean up his new house. Not because they were guilted into it or wanted to do it because they thought he was attractive, but because they genuinely saw a friend in need and wanted to help.

Looking down at the cupcake that Pinkie had given him, a smile spread across his face. Yes, America would be a new start for him. Whatever curse had been on him in Japan had better stay there, for Ryou had a good feeling about Canterlot City. He would have to remember to write to Amane and his mother about it later.

He should probably take a shower to get rid of the filth on him, but gosh darn it, that cupcake looked delicious. Unfortunatley for Ryou, just as he brought the pastry up to his mouth and was about to take a large bite, he suddenly felt a strong jab of pain in his chest.

Gasping at the sudden pain, Ryou's hand flew to his the middle of the chest, where he could still feel the millenium ring underneath his shirt. Strangely enough, that's where the pain seemed to be coming from.

"Wha... What the-?" The boy could ponder no longer before letting out a hiss of pain, for through his shirt shone a sickly golden light and once it died down, Ryou Bakura was no longer conscious. His body certainly was, however, only that now there was someone else in control of it.

The spirit of the millenium ring, now in control of Ryou's body once more, looked down at the pastry in his hands with extreme distaste.

"Disgusting..." He muttered contemptuously before carelessly throwing it on the newly cleaned floor where it splattered unceremoniously, ruining Pinkie Pie's work. Gods, he would never understand how human beings could possibly put something so sickeningly sweet in their bodies. If he were to ever eat anything through his host it would be raw and bloody meat.

Though, while on the subject of sickeningly sweet things he couldn't stand, those new friends of his host fit that category quite well. Oh, how many times through the day he had wished to simply take control of Ryou's body and banish all seven of them to the darkest pits of Hell. Espescially that damned Pinkie Pie-creature. Was it even legal for mortals to be so obnoxiously cheerful? ... Well, it shouldn't be.

The only reason he hadn't done it was because the fleshbags had piqued his interest.

For reasons unknown, all of the seven girls and that damned horse-statue at his host's new school practically radiated magic from their persons. Which to the spirit was very strange, as the ring had not detected the trace of any millenium item in the close vicinity.

Of course, humans preforming magic without any of the seven items was not unheard of, only uncommon. Many of his followers 3,000 years ago and a multitude of cults dedicated to the Dark One had been able to practice magic. But their attempts were primitive and perverse, even to the spirit, and had an extremely low success-rate. Even when it did quote-unquote 'work', the spells and curses were laughably weak. No, the magic these girls possessed were far different in nature, and far more powerful.

That is why he had to tread carefully. Though the part of his spirit where the Thief was dominant wanted to lay his hands on the magic right away, the demon posing as Ryou Bakura thought better of it. The mortals' magic was definetly powerful, who knows what they could do to him if he's caught in the act? No, playing it safe for now was the far better move...

A dark chuckle left his throat as a plan began to form in his mind. As much as he already despised the colourful mortals, the fact that his host had begun to get friendly with them was definelty a plus. Through Ryou he could make them far more comfortable in his presence, making sure that they lower their guard. And then, when the time was right, he would strike, sending them all to the darkness.

They had already expressed that they wanted to play a game with his host, and he was all too eager to oblige. After all, the spirit was nothing if not patient.

So, he would graciously allow his host to keep his colourful new chums alive, for now...

Tachycardia

If one were to ask her, Sunset Shimmer would freely admit to feeling rather giddy this particular Sunday noon.

Because she was currently wandering down the streets of Canterlot City with her six best friends, on her way to the local game store and pick up her new, special-ordered video game. Sunset had ordered it herself precisely three weeks earlier and this day she would finally get to play it along with her friends. Life couldn't get much better.

The conversations on their way the game store was rather animated with varrying topics, Sunset mostly stayed out of it, her mind mostly focused on her game. She was brought out of her imagenings of the exciting new gameplay by Rainbow Dash who was in the middle of another one of her extravagant tales.

"And there I stood," The athletic girl continued, Sunset not really understanding the context due to her thoughts having been elsewhere. ", face to face with this enormous, huge- YOUCH!" As Rainbow Dash had gestured wildly with her hands to describe the size of whatever it was she was talking about, the rainbow haired girl seized her movement and rubbed her right wrist, clearly in some kind of pain.

"Are you alright, Rainbow Dash!?" Fluttershy asked, voice filled with concern as she hurried closer to her friend, the other girls doing the same.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Rainbow Dash placated her friends, now sounding more annoyed at the pain than anything. "Urgh, all that wiping and mopping at Ryou's place really took its toll on my wrists."

And just like that, Sunset's earlier excitement for her game and the brief worry for Rainbow Dash quickly went away and was replaced by a sort of mental cloud on her mind. After all, the subject of Ryou Bakura was still somewhat unsettling to the fiery-haired girl, for reasons she kept from the others.

"Now hang on." The voice of Applejack spoke, sounding both somewhat exasparated and amused as she adressed her rainbow-haired friend. "Hehe, Y'all tellin' me the 'awesome' Rainbow Dash, sports star of CHS, got a little sprain from some good ol' fashioned cleanin'?"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Rainbow Dash muttered, which Applejack and the others promptly proceeded to do.

"Even though I can agree with dear Rainbow, I must say that whipping that old house into shape felt rather satisfying." Rarity commented, a sentiment shared by the other girls.

"Definetly agree with you on that, Rarity. I can't imagine how Ryou would've gotten the house clean in time by himself." Twilight's words got her thinking of something else. "His stuff was supposed to show up today, right?"

"Eeyup." Applejack's affirmed in a similar manner to her brother. "As a matter of fact, Ah saw moving trucks by the Blackwood house this mornin', gettin' all the furniture in. Didn't see Ryou, though."

While the other girls smiled at her words, thinking of how their new friend wouldn't have to sleep in an empty house anymore, Sunset asked, somewhat curtly, "Did you see what kind of stuff they were moving?"

Blinking in slight bewilderment at the inquiry, Applejack answered nonetheless. "Nothin' out of the ordinary. Some cabinets, a table or two, a TV, Ah didn't see much of it... Why'd you ask, sugarcube?"

"... No reason." Sunset didn't want to tell them that she wanted to know that she still was suspiscious, because that would probably not go over well with her friends. Now, Sunset didn't have anything against Ryou, far from it. She had honestly quite enjoyed hanging around him the other day, finding his love of games to rival her own.

And yet, the fiery-haired girl couldn't shake this constant nagging feeling in the back of her head. This feeling that Ryou was hiding something behind his smile, or the feeling that getting close to him would somehow spell trouble for her and her friends. Sunset knew that it wasn't really fair of her to think this way, but she hadn't managed to surpress her suspiscions no matter how hard she tried.

Luckily for her, none of the other girls could dwell too much on her behaviour. For as they were walking down the last bit of the way to the game shop, Pinkie Pie suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, letting out one of her trademark gasps. This caused the entire group tp stop, looking at the pink-skinned girl questioningly.

"Um, you alright there, Pinks?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised brow. Pinkie's only answer was a wide grin before pointing excitedly to across the street. Obliging their excentric friend's behaviour, the girls followed her point and looked over the street, where Canterlot City's best game shop just happened to be. All of the girls let out small gasps as they saw a familiar blob of white heading into said shop.

"My, looks like we're going to meet dear Ryou sooner than expected. Though I suppose it does make sense that we would meet him in a game shop." Rarity noted with a smile on her face. Applejack nodded from her side.

"Ah'll say, Rares. Well, what're we waitin' around here for? Let's go get Sunset's game and say 'Hi' to 'im!" Their minds now made up, the girls hurried across the street, eager to complete their objectives.

As the girls entered the store, Sunset beamed at the sight of the familiar interior. As usual, the Dragon's Lair game shop was filled to the brim with all things gaming. The shelves were filled with figurines, board games, card booster packs, consoles, puzzles, posters, elaborate dioramas, and all sorts of things related to nerd culture.

Seeing the white haired boy standing by one of the larger displays, the girls moved over there, taking a closer look at the set up that had gotten Ryou's attention.

The display itself was a rather large table with elaborate models of things ranging from medieval-looking villages to full-blown castles. Spread across the table were also small figurines meant to be the inhabitants of the little world, all clearly made from fine-quality wood. Hanging aloft the table was a banner that read out 'Monster World' in a large, gothic font.

"This is the game Ryou was talking about..." Fluttershy said mostly to herself as she and the girls looked over the table set up. All of them certainly got a small idea as to why the white haired boy was so into the game, as the girls themselves couldn't help but admire the little wooden fantasy world.

"Amazing, isn't it? It reminds me alot of my own set up back home."

At the sound of the familiar, soft voice, the girls lifted their heads simultaneously, only to see a smiling Ryou standing on the other side of the table. The boy was examining the table fondly, enthusiastic eyes roaming over every inch of the gameboard, taking in the details of every model and every figurine.

"So this is that Monster World-thing you went on about yesterday." Rainbow Dash remarked, looking over the board with an intrigued gaze. "Gotta say, I can kinda get where you were coming from now. This set up looks awesome!"

"Do you get your supplies from stores like these? The boards and characters and the like?" Sunset asked with her arms crossed, her underlying wariness making way for her love of games. As she asked, Fluttershy was admiring the little creature figurines on the board and Pinkie was playing around with two figurines, mashing them together and making her own sound effects.

"For the bigger or more exclusive pieces and materials, yes. I do prefer to make the characters myself, though." He replied, his gaze now fully leaving the display as he straightened himself up. "I think it's way more fun to play when you have a piece that you can really call your own. That's why I always try to make them look like whoever is playing them."

"Golly, you must've got lots of pieces then." Applejack noted and Ryou gave her a nod.

"Well, yeah, but my own gameboard is also a lot bigger than this one. I've also put up display cases in the game room to store all the characters not currently in use." The girls could only stare at Ryou for a moment before their collective gazes dropped to the relatively large table. Their new friend had a gameboard bigger than this!?

"Oh my..." Fluttershy said quietly to herself.

"Wowza! Your board must be super-duper big!" Pinkie exclaimed, smiling.

Ryou returned the smile before giving the Rainbooms a questioning look. "What brings the seven of you here today? After yesterday I'd thought you'd rather relax a bit."

Twilight answered, "Sunset's new game's finally here and we're just stopping by to pick it up. After that, it's hours of gaming entertainment ahead of us for the rest of the day."

Ryou looked interested now, looking at Sunset. "Really? What kind of game are we talking about here?"

As the fiery-headed girl met Ryou's warm, brown eyes, she realized it was another one of those moments that made her feel truly horrible inside for her inner throughts and wariness of the boy. None of this inner turmoil was visible to the outside world, though, as she responded enthusiastically. "It's the limited special-edition of the 'Champions Of Legend 3' game, with 13 new exclusive playable characters, 10 extra stages, and 46 new bonus combos!"

Ryou was clearly impressed, his eyes widening as he let out a low whistle. "Now that is a rare find. I heard that game was completely sold out world wide a mere hour after being officialy released. I'm guessing you special ordered yours just in time, Sunset?"

"Yep! And now, after two long weeks of waiting, I can finally enjoy all that special-edition goodness! But what about you, Ryou? Did you come here to buy some new Monster World stuff?"

The white haired boy just shook his head, "No, I mostly just came here to see what kind of things this shop had in stock, and I have to say that I wasn't disappointed. I was conscidering maybe picking up some of the latest Duel Monsters booster packs, but I think I'm just going to head home instead. I'll see you girls at school tomorrow."

Before any of them could say anything, Ryou had given them a small bow and headed towards the door. He was just about to step outside when a lightbulb went off in Pinkie Pie's head. "Wait, Ryou! Wanna play the game with us!?"

The boy froze in his tracks, turning around and looking at the pink girl with a questioning look, "I beg your pardon?" Ryou asked softly as if he'd misheard her, but Pinkie just kept smiling at him. The other girls looked at Pinkie with similar expressions, suprised by her straight-forwardness. Though their surprise made way for optimism at the idea.

"Yeah, c'mon, RB, it'll be fun. You can watch me kick AJ's sorry butt for the umpteenth time- OW! Hey!" Rainbow Dash rubbed the spot on her arm where a peeved Applejack had punched her, much to the others amusement.

"I don't know..." Ryou muttered, looking away uncertainly, though the girls could all see how his eyes seemed to have lit up at the invitation. "It feels sort of wrong of me to intrude on you girls like that."

"Darling, you wouldn't be intruding!" Rarity was quick to assure him. "If anything it will be a welcome thing to have a knowledgeable game enthusiast like yourself joining us."

Ryou blushed at the praise, scratching the back of his head and averted his eyes. "Still... this is Sunset's game and she should decide who gets to play it."

"Sunset doesn't mind. Right?" The fiery-haired girl felt a little uncomfortable being put on the spot like that by Twilight, as all of them were now looking at her expectantly. Still, even though Sunset felt small doubts when it came to associating with Ryou, she couldn't really say 'No' in this situation, not that she really wanted to.

So, giving Ryou a smile she responded, "Well, I do have eight controllers, so the more the merrier, I say!"

The white haired boy looked uncertain for a moment, almost looking as if he desperatly wanted to say something. Before any of the girls could lay too much thought on it, Ryou had apparently thought better of it and gave them a grateful smile. "Well, in that case: Yes. I'd love to join you."

"YAY! HAPPY-FRIENDS-GAME-TIME!" Pinkie exclaimed while wrapping her arms around Ryou in a brief, but fierce embrace, causing the other girls to chuckle lightly. The only boy of the group looked momentarily frozen in shock at the pink girl's actions before finally smiling after she let him go.

After that the now group of eight made their way to the counter where Sunset at last got her copy of the long-awaited game. Sunset had practically been drooling it as it was handed to her. After having to almost physically drag Ryou away from a particularly rare Duel Monsters card displayed (something he described as a "first-edition ultimate rare Crush Card Virus", whatever that was), they all headed out of the store and began their trek towards Sunset's house.

The conversation on their way there was pretty much focused on the game itself, ranging from the different stages to what character each and every one of them wanted to play as. Though the only ones who were really knowledgable about the characters were Ryou and Sunset.

They were all nearing Sunset's place when Fluttershy noticed something that she could've sworn looked just like gold glimmer by Ryou's chest. Blinking in confusion and intruige, the quiet girl asked, "What's that by your chest, Ryou? I-if you don't mind me asking, of course..."

Ryou tilted his head at the inquiry, looking confused until he looked down at his chest and noticed the familiar piece of jewelry. "That's odd. I could've sworn that I left it at home..."

Their words caught the attention of the others, who turned their gazes towards the strange golden pendant hanging from Ryou's neck. "How in the heck did we not see that before?" Sunset wondered aloud what everyone else was thinking.

Applejack, quick to dismiss the accessory's strange appearance, chuckled to herself. "Ah never pegged ya for the bling-wearin' type there, Ryou." Despite the odd situation her comment brought about a fair amount of light chuckles.

Pinkie Pie, ever so curious, got quite close to Ryou while doing what looked like a staring contest with the eye of the pendant. "Oooh, shiny..." She reached out as if to touch it, but just as she was about to Ryou flinched back, gripping his jewelry as if he thought that Pinkie was about to steal it. Seeing the looks from the others seemed to snap him out of his trance-like state, though.

"Sorry about that, Pinkie. It's just..." He trailed off, looking down at the pendant with an unreadable gaze. "This was a gift from my father, and it means a great deal to me."

"It looks like some sort of antique." Twilight remarked, adjusting her glasses while looking it over with analysing eyes.

"That's because it is." Ryou confirmed with a small laugh, "It's called the millenium ring and it's an artifact from ancient Egypt. My father almost spent his entire career trying to find it until he finally discovered it in a tablet in the Valley of the Kings five years ago."

"Valley of the Kings?" Fluttershy repeated, looking somewhat spooked. "Isn't that that place where all of those egyptian kings were burried?"

Ryou gave her a nod, "They were called pharaohs, but yes."

"Cool." Was all that Rainbow Dash said.

"Wait a minute! Darling, are you telling us that necklace is made out of actual gold!?" Rarity now looked at the artifact with newfound interest. She had honestly not thought much of it upon first viewing, thinking it looked like some sort of tachy fake-gold jewelry you could get at a gift shop, but kept quiet since Ryou obviously was quite attached to it. But now, as she took a closer look at the ring, knowing that it was truly something remarkable, the fashionista found herself having a new appreciation for it.

"Yes, it is." Rarity practically didn't hear Ryou's confirmation, her mind at work speculating designs that could look good with the artifact.

"It feels like that eye is watching me..." Twilight muttered to herself in quiet voice that went unheard by everyone else. Indeed, it felt as if that eye-thing on the center of the millenium ring was glaring into her very soul, making her feel all sorts of unease. It quickly quenched much of the enthusiasm she had for seeing such a piece of ancient egyptain history.

The only one who hadn't spoken up so far was Sunset who, much like Twilight, found herself staring into the eye symbol of the millenium ring, getting the uneasy feeling that something was staring right back. But at the same time, the ring's appearance also felt strangely familiar to the interdimensional girl. "It feels as if I've seen this things somewhere before..."

"Well, it is from ancient Egypt." Fluttershy quietly, but audibly remarked. "Maybe you've just seen it in a history book or something."

"That's most likely it. After all, the Eye of Wdjat was a very common symbol in the days of the pharaohs. Maybe you're thinking of some other item?" Ryou offered helpfully, though Sunset only curtly nodded.

"Yeah, maybe..." She murmured to herself, her gaze still transfixed on the millenium ring.

Sunset was brought out of her brief trance by Rainbow Dash, who, with a tone of impatience said, "Look, not that Ryou's ancient egyptain bling isn't cool and all, but weren't we on our way to play the best video game ever? So what's with the hold up?"

Realizing that the athletic girl had a point, the subject of the millenium ring was put aside at the moment as all eight of them went over to Sunset's place rather quickly. Once they had all gotten inside, everyone one of them took a seat in Sunset's living room, where a fairly large TV as well as multiple games and consoles were placed.

While Sunset was infront of the TV and setting up the game, Rainbow Dash had raided Sunset's fridge with said fiery-haired girl's permission. She came back from the kitchen carrying eight bottles which she promptly handed out to everyone else. While the girls quickly opened theirs up, once Ryou had recieved his and said his thanks he took a look at just what kind of drink it was, seeing that it said Fizzy Apple Cider from Sweet Apple Acres.

"Sweet Apple Acres? Isn't that your family's farm, Applejack?" Ryou asked the country girl.

"You betcha!" Applejack stopped drinking from her own bottle, now giving Ryou an encouraging smile and her full attention. "Now, c'mon, have a sip! I wanna know what'ya think."

Blinking twice, a little embarrassed at being put on the spot like that, as the other girls now also looked at him, wating for a reaction, Ryou decided to humour them. Opening up his bottle, the white-haired boy tentaviley took a small sip. However, once the fizzy drink landed upon his tounge, overwhelming it with a sweet and refreshing flavour, his eyes widened almost comically.

After having a swift gulp, he brougth down the bottle from his lips, showing an awed smile. "This is amazing! I've never tasted apple cider this good! Your family really knows their craft, Applejack!"

As he eagerly gulped down some more, the other girls laughed lightly at the reaction while Applejack blushed lightly. "Aw, shucks..." She was quick to defelct the praise with a chuckle.

"Alright then, I got everything set!" Sunset suddenly called out happily, backing away from the TV and joining the others on the seats. The games menu was displayed on the screen, filling all eight of them with a feeling of hype.

"Man, I've waited so long for this!" Sunset exclaimed excitedly, similar feelings being apparent on the other's faces. Handing out controllers to everyone, she then asked, "So, which ones wants to play first?"

"It's your game, Sunset. You should decide who gets to play the first round." Ryou said kindly.

"Alright then. How's about... you and Rainbow Dash?"

"What!? Me?" Ryou looked at Sunset as if he had just grown two heads, while Rainbow Dash seemed open to the idea. "Don't you want to play first?"

Sunset just gave a small smile, once again finding that his kind behaviour made her question why she decided to be suspiscious of him in the first place. For having such thoughts about him, she figured that she would let him go first. Of course, she didn't voice any of these reasons, instead merely shaking her head at Ryou's question.

Ryou continued to look at her as if quesitoning her sanity for a brief moment before he gave her a truly grateful smile, "Thank you, Sunset. That's really kind of you."

The other girls watched this interaction with smiles, as they all knew Sunset's initial doubts about CHS' new student. Hopefully, to them this was a sign that their interdimensional friend was coming around to him.

As that was now decided, Ryou and Rainbow Dash wasted no time in chosing their characters. Once everything was set up, Ryou gave his opponent a friendly smile, "May the best player win."

Rainbow Dash was looking at him with an almost predatory grin, gripping her controller as if it were a weapon. "I'll take you on, RB. But word of warning; I never loose!"

"Thanks for playing, Rainbow."

"Bu- Wha-... How the heck did you beat me!?"

Pater Tribulationis

As the warm rays of the sun began to creep in through his bedroom window, Ryou let out a tiny hiss of irritation before reluctingly opening his eyes. He pushed himself upright into a seated position, looking around his room suspisciously as if making sure that it was in fact his room and not part of some elaborate ruse.

Breathing heavily, Ryou put his face into his hands and rubbed it feverently, trying to will away the last residue images from his latest nightmare.

"T'was just another dream..." He mumbled tiredly to himself, but even to him it had felt so extremely real. It had been the same nightmare he had been having irregularly since his first day at Canterlot High, and as much as Ryou told himself over and over again that they were just nightmares, it didn't make it any easier.

Even as he tried desperatly to push those thoughts out of his head, Ryou could still see flashes of it. He could still see the hellish consuming flames, still hear that demonic, yet strangely familiar sounding laughter. But worse of all were the screams. Oh dear god, the screams. And those blood red, slited eyes that seemed to burn with the very fires of Hell itself, and whatever dark monstrosity they belonged to...

Figuring that it wouldn't do him any good to dwell on night terrors, Ryou at last let out a rather long and shaky breath, temporarily getting it out of his system. Glancing at the window and seeing the bright spring day that awaited him outside, Ryou couldn't help but smile.

After his regular morning routine, Ryou found himself in the kitchen, preparing a rather simple breakfast of two fried eggs for himself. As the familiar smell began to find its way to his nose, Ryou's gaze wandered to the calender he had hung in the kitchen. Seeing that it was now friday, the boy found it was hard to believe that he had already been in America for more than a week.

Time had passed rather fast, and during that time Ryou's father hadn't visited or called him even once. However, the white-haired boy was used to this and chose not to dwell on it anymore than he had to. Instead, his thought went out to his new school as well as his new friends.

Indeed, the colourful group conscisting of seven girls were the only real friends he had made during his time in Canterlot City so far, and Ryou conscidered himself blessed to be able to call them friends. Not to say that the other residents or his fellow students were unfriendly, far from it. In fact, with the exception of a select few individuals, everyone in the city whom he had met seemed quite pleasant.

But ever since the day they together spent playing Sunset's new game, Ryou had found himself hanging around the Rainbooms quite alot, at least mostly in school. And the girls hadn't seemed to mind at all, practically dragging him over to their table every lunchbreak, almost as if welcoming him into their little clique. In fact, he had even started meeting up with all of them on his way to school in the mornings, as there was a specific place where all of their paths intertwined.

Once he had finished his two eggs and after a minute or two of getting himself in order, Ryou grabbed his school bag and eagerly headed towards the front door, ready to meet up with his friends. As he made his way over, he glanced by the window, enjoying the natrual light that filled the house through the cleaned and replaced windows.

He also made a safety check of his person and was happy to find that the millenium ring still hung from his neck. Despite his wariness for thieves, ever since he showed it to the girls he'd started to wear his most priced possession more openly. Ryou had only recieved a warning from Applejack to look out for a twin-pair of swindlers named Flim and Flam.

The naming conventions in America sure were odd.

But much to his astonishment and lowkey worry, he also found a small, yet sharp knife in his pocket. Ryou sometimes tended to find himself with one knife or another in his pockets. For some unknown reason it didn't bother him as much as it probably should. After the first few times it was more annoying than anything, espescially that one time where he was seized by security at an convention for having a dagger he didn't even remember owning.

Placing the knife on the coffee table, Ryou pushed the whole thing out of his mind and headed towards the door once more, at last ready to go. His pale hand was quite literally on the doorknob when he felt a familiar vibration in his right pocket accompanied by the familiar beat of "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!".

He stopped in his tracks on glanced down at his pocket, wondering if he should just let it go to voicemail. Letting out a small sigh, he hastily brought his phone up to his ear without looking at the caller's number and answered.

"Hello?"

As the evening sun was was casting it's orange light upon Canterlot City, Twilight Sparkle was making her way home from one of her daily visits to the local library, one of her favourite reads in her arms. It was one of those things that, even after learning of the wonders of friendship at CHS, she prefered to do by herself. There was nothing quite like some alone-time reading after a dull school day.

She was passing through the Canterlot Park, which was largely empty during this time of day, except for the odd elderly couple. Her gaze kept wandering over the different things meant for children that were now completely empty and silent, such as the jungle gym, the teeter and the slide. It made for quite the odd, yet appealing image, espescially with the evening light. She almost wished that she had her camera on her.

Twilight did, however, stop in her tracks once she saw that there was actually someone sitting by themselves in one of the swingset's swings. Even more shocking was that the one occupying the swing was a rather familiar blob of white. Indeed, Ryou was sitting on the swing, idly swinging back and forth slightly, his cloudy gaze fixed on the ground.

Now, Twilight and the other girls had quickly noticed that Ryou had seemed to be in a bit of a funk earlier that very day, when they'd all met on their way to school. Almost as if a cloud had been hanging over him the whole day. After school he had swiftly excused himself from the group and headed off on his own.

Glad to now finally get a chance to talk to her friend, Twilight began to approach him, raised her hand and called out, "Hey, Ryou!"

The white-haired boy's whipped up so fast that Twilight wouldn't have been surprised if he'd gotten whiplash. His eyes seemed to clear up as he looked at the bespesctacled girl in surprise. "Oh, Twilight... Hi."

"You just kind of disappeared after school today." Twilight remarked as a form of greeting, arms crossed as she now stood right infront of him. Though there was clear worry in her voice, Ryou's behaviour having been on her mind for almost the entire day. The boy whom she was adressing looked guilty at that, his eyes once again going cloudy.

"Sorry that I've been sort of aloof today, it's just..." It seemed as if he struggled to find the right words, though still sounding unfittingly calm as he looked straight ahead. "... There's been a lot on my mind lately."

"I thought you looked kind of down. Did something happen?" Twilight asked with genuine concern, taking a seat at the swing next to Ryou. Said boy immediately became visibly disenheartened by her inquiry, his gaze lowering to the ground.

"Nothing all that important." He said while not facing her, though Twilight got the sinking feeling that it was just that. "This morning my father called me for the first time since I got here."

"Oh..." Twilight didn't really know how to take that, espescially from what little she and the others had heard in reference to Ryou's father before. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Ryou gave her a joyless smile. "Not particularly... Father told me that he'll be away on his work a bit longer than he'd first thought."

"Oh." The damned noice once again left her lips. "But you've only been here for about a week. I'm sure your dad'll make his way down sooner or later." She offered optimistically, but Ryou only shook his head.

"He told me that he can't make it. Apparently he and his team has made quite the discovery which will take up much of his time." Ryou now sounded oddly calm and detached, much like he'd sounded back when Sunset'd asked him if he lived by himself.

"Ryou..." Twilight murmured, concern for her friend audible in her voice as she gazed at him.

"But he said that he's marked his calendar, so he'll be able to spend Christmas day with me." Ryou's voice now sounded both hopeful and disbelieving at the same time.

"I... I'm so sorry to hear that." Twilight didn't know what else she could really say in this situation. She was rather new to the whole friendship-thing herself, after all, and her friend's current predicament went beyond anything she knew how to fix.

Ryou seemed to appreciate her meek words nonetheless, giving Twilight a sad smile while looking at her with tired eyes. "Don't be. Father's always been a bit... fickle with his time. Really, I should've gotten used to this sort of thing by now."

Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, gaping at the white-haired boy. The guy was making it sound as if it was his fault for wanting his own dad to visit him in a new country, for crying out loud!

"No, you shouldn't!" The bespectacled girl exclaimed heatedly, not really knowing what came over her. Seeing how Ryou looked at her with wide and surprised eyes, Twilight blushed as she seemingly retreated into herself, embarrassed of her outburst. "I-I just meant-"

She desperatly tried to think of a more tactful way to voice her opinions on Ryou's father, but she stopped once Ryou held up a hand, asking for her silence. His chocolate brown eyes were looking at her in understanding and gratitude, but Twilight could also see a sense of resignation. It saddened her greatly.

"Really, Twilight. Thank you, but I'll be alright, I promise." His voice was as soft and kind as ever, but even though Twilight had only known Ryou for a little more than a week, she could tell that the quandary stilled weighed down upon him.

A silence then reigned between them for a while, Ryou looking down in silent contemplation whilst twiddling the millenium ring around in his fingers and Twilight not really knowing what to say. The two of them merely sat there on the swings for some time, deep in thought.

Fortunatly, they were saved from further silence by Ryou taking note of the book in Twilight's lap. More specifically, the title.

"Is that 'The Silmarillion' I spy?" He inquired sounding both curious and optimistic.

"Y-yeah, it's one of my favourites." Twilight responded, having been caught a bit off-guard by the question. It wasn't often someone asked her about her reading materials, let alone sounding as intrigued as Ryou did. "You know Tolkien?"

"Do I know Tolkien?" Ryou repeated with mock outrage, visibly cheering up quite a bit. "Of course I do, he's one of my all time favourite authors!"

"Mine too!" Twilight quickly found that Ryou's enthusiasm was as usual very contagious, the subject of said enthusiasm being her favourite fantasy-author did help, of course. "Did you first read his work when you were living back in England?"

"Got it in one." The white haired boy confirmed with a smile. "I picked up 'The Hobbit' one day at a local book sale and got completely sucked in. In fact, it was my interest in Tolkien's legendarium that got me into RPGs like Monster World in the first place."

That made sense to Twilight. "I can definetly see that. From what you've told me about Monster World and that display you showed us, it must be like acting out a story right in Middle-Earth! What's your favourite of his work?" The scholarly girl didn't really know what kind of enthusiasm came over her, maybe it was partly relief of not having to sit there in silence anymore.

"It's hard to pick a favourite, as I really love all of them." Ryou pondered for a bit, a hand on his chin. "But I think I would have to pick 'The Children of Húrin'. There's something really appealing of the tragic fate of Túrin Turambar, and the ending is quite melancholic, which is a nice bit of contrast compared to some of his other work. And you, Twilight?"

"I think that I'd have to pick 'The Silmarillion'." She held said book in her arms as if it were an infant. "It's a great look into the deeper cosmology and history of Tolkien's world, and it reads as if it were some kind of religious text, with some beautiful passages and imagery."

"You've definetly got a point there." After Ryou's words they both went silent for a while, but it was now a much more pleasant silence then earlier.

"I should probably head home now." Ryou's soft voice broke the silence as he locked eyes with Twilight. "I need to cook up some supper for myself, and I still have to finish the last parts of Mr. Doodle's assignement."

The girl gave her friend a kind smile, "You do that, Ryou. It was nice getting a chance to talk with you like this."

He returned her smile, "Same to you." The white-haired boy rose up from the swing he had been occupying and began his trek home, "I'll see you around, Twilight."

"Yeah, you to." She returned, but just as Ryou had taken his first steps she called out, "Wait!" The boy did just that, turning around and looking down at her questioningly. Twilight blushed lightly, before gathering up her courage and told him. "Just so you know, me and the girls, we're all there for you if you ever want to talk about... y'know, stuff."

She finished off rather awkwardly, avoiding his gaze and thinking that she had just overstepped some kind of boundary. The silence she got in response didn't help.

After a few seconds of unbearable silence, Twilight gathered up all of her courage and looked up, expecting to see a scandalized Ryou, or no Ryou at all.

She was surprised once she saw that the boy was still there and didn't look the least bit scandalized at her brazen speech. If anything, he just looked rather shocked... but almost in some sort of good way. It may have been a trick of the light, but Twilight could've sworn she saw wetness gathering in the corners of Ryou's eyes.

"Um... you alright there?" This seemed to snap the boy out of his funk, hastily rubbing his eyes and tilting his head slightly, as if not wanting Twilight to see something on his face. Once he was done doing this, he lowered his hand and fully faced Twilight, showing her a truly grateful face.

"Y-yes, I'm fine." Ryou hastily assured her, his smile still in place but now accompanied by a light blush. "Thank you, Twilight. I... I'm glad to have the privelege of calling you and the others my friends."

Twilight didn't really know how to take such a compliment, having never really heard such a sincere and moving confession before. But as she was thinking of how to best respond to it in the most earnest and sincere way possible, Ryou gave her one of his usual bows and began to head home, "Goodbye, Twilight. Thank you for the talk."

"Y-yeah, you too!" She somewhat stumbled over her speech as she waved goodbye to her friend who was slowly but surely walking outside of her sight. Even though she couldn't see him anymore, Twilight's thoughts still heavily lingered on Ryou and what she had learned about him today.

On one hand, it was cool to find another real Tolkien-fan in Canterlot City, one which seemed to have the same passion and knowledge about the subject as herself. Her friends knowledge was pretty limited to the movie trilogy.

But on the other hand, it was clear that Ryou had some real issues with his father, and it probably wasn't going away anytime soon. It made her sad, to think that the kind boy she and the others had gotten to know throughout the week was going through some unpleasant things.

Still, that only made her more determined to help Ryou. Principal Celestia had started by giving her the mission to help Ryou adjust to his new surroundings, and that was exactly what she planned to do.

Ryou was her friend, and friends help other friends. It was one of the many things she had learned throughout her time at CHS, and it was a lesson she hoped that Ryou would understand as well.

Yes, Twilight had a really good feeling about Ryou Bakura.

Author's Note

His time
is at hand...

Brace yourselves

Opaca Secreta

It was a particularly gloomy Wednesday in Canterlot City. The normally clear blue sky was completely covered in large pillows of tar-black clouds as freezing splatters of rain rappidly came pouring down. At CHS, most students we're already inside the warm and dry sanctuary of the school, attending all manner of classes.

One of those classes was history, and it was just a few minutes away from starting. Most of the class had already assembled inside the classroom, waiting for their instructor while hearing the rapid bullets of rain falling against the room's windows.

"What do you suspect Mr. Tomes got in store for us today?" Ryou asked the Rainbooms casually while unpacking his pen, notebook and textbook along with the others who did the same. He didn't really know how it happened, but he always tended to sit by the group of seven girls. It was a contrast from his previous schools that the boy greatly appreciated.

Sunset shrugged as a response, skimming through her notes. "I dunno. Though he has been hinting that we'll start working on some kind of project soon."

"Oooh! I hope it's gonna be a group project!" Pinkie exclaimed with an excited smile on her face.

Ryou did not share her enthusiasm, though. He had never really had much fun during group projects at all his previous schools. The boy tended to have the worst luck when it came to who he had to work with. More often than not, it had often ended up with him doing most of the work.

But as his gaze wandered over the class, he couldn't help but let his lips form a small smile. CHS was the home of some of the kindest people he'd ever met, so maybe things would be different this time.

Then again... the small smile dipped as memories of his old schools began to flood his mind. More specifically, the friends he would make at those schools. How he would invite them over for some reason or another, to play again or to do some schoolwork, then his memory would go blank. And once his consciousness returned... there they would lie.

Blank eyes.

Unmoving.

Faces frozen in terror.

These macabre thoughts made Ryou's entire brain feel sort of fuzzy. As if there was some part of his mind that didn't want him to think too hard on those bizarre happenings...

"Uh, Ryou? You in there, sugarcube?" Applejack's concerned question snapped Ryou out of his small trance-like state.

"S-sorry, what was that?" He asked softly, now turning his attention to his friends to see them all looking at him with various expressions of small concern.

"You were spacing out again..." Fluttershy quietly remarked, twidling her fingers and giving Ryou a troubled glance.

"I was?" The white haired boy asked lightly. He had sort of begrudgingly accepted at this point that sometimes his mind would go blank. But it was something that made his friends slightly anxious, espescially as they now all knew the situation with Ryou's father which he had revealed to the rest of them shortly after telling it to Twilight that one evening.

He had recieved similar reactions from them which he had recieved from Twilight. Words expressing sympathy which contained an underlying irratation at Ryou's father, which said boy tried feebly to placate. Ryou had given them all the same assurances he had given Twilight. And just like with Twilight it hadn't really enough.

Before anyone of the girls could prod some more though, the clock finally struck 13:20, signaling the begining of their history class. Just as this happened the teacher of said subject stepped through the classroom door.

"Good afternoon, class!" Greeted the history teacher Dusty Tomes enthusiastically as he entered the classroom with his usual portfolio in hand, observing the class with eager eyes behind his half-moon glasses. He was a middle-aged man with sand-coloured skin, a dark brown bowl-cut and light green eyes who was currently dressed in a dark grey suit.

"Good afternoon!" Most of the class greeted back dutifully. During his time at CHS Ryou had quickly grown rather fond of Mr. Tomes, and the history teacher had seemed to appreciate Ryou as well. The white haired boy would often spend some time after class just chatting with the teacher about different historical topics, mostly about ancient Egypt.

But sadly, egyptian history was not to be the focus today. "Now, I know you're all tired right now, last class of the day and all. But today we will begin a new history project."

There were some small grumbles heard through the gathering of teens at this which were quickly silenced by a stern look from Mr. Tomes. "Thank you. Now, the focus of this project will be on the industrial revolution and the modernization in our society. For this project you will all work in pairs."

Bits of excited chatter broke out among the students at this tidbit, each and every student already plotting to work with someone they know well. This was also true for Ryou and the Rainbooms who all brightened at this information, even the latter. As their group conscisted of eight members, the white-haired boy found comfort in knowing that he is sure to find a co-worker among his friends.

"The objective of this project is quite simple." Dusty Tomes continued, quickly silencing his students.

"You are to do a paper detailing the major events and functions of the inustrial evolution, including how it affected the lives of different classes of people at the time. This will include an analysis of how it eventually led to the society and work-standards we have today. Also I want you to do a bit of theorizing of how the constant evolution of technonlogy can affect jobs and our lives in the future. Everybody got that?"

Everyone of the teens nodded affirmatively, some more reluctant than others.

Though Ryou prefered history about ancient and long-gone civilisations and cultures, he still thought that the project could be something interesting to work with. Espescially if he could do it together with one of his new friends.

"Oh! And another thing!" Mr. Tomes looked as if he had just remembered something. "For this project, I will be the one choosing partner for each and every one of you at random."

This lone statement instantly crushed a lot of the students' different dreams of partnership, Ryou's and the girls' included as they all gave eachother despondant looks. But still, Ryou at least took comofrt in knowing that with all eight of them being friends the odds were that at least two of them would be able to work together

Dusty Tomes brought out a piece of paper from his portfolio where the pairs of students he had deviced presumably was written and began to read it aloud. "Alright then, the pairings for your assignement will be as follows; Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Drops. Micro Chips and Sandalwood..."

The list continued on with seemingly no pattern, all the while Ryou kept his fingers crossed that he would end up with a good partner. The list of pairs shortly got to the group of eight, as Mr. Tomes announced them to be,

"Rarity and Applejack."

"Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy."

"Sunset Shimmer and Pinkie Pie."

Ryou was now quite literally on the edge of his seat, looking hopeful that he would at the very least get to work together with Twilight. The scholarly girl seemed to think the same thing as she gave Ryou what he thought was meant to be a hopeful smile which the boy returned.

"Twilight Sparkle and Vinyl Scratch."

And just like that Ryou's hopes were crushed, his small hopeful expression quickly made way for a downcast little frown. It seemed as if it was too much to ask to have some luck with group projects for once.

Mr. Tomes continued to list of three other pairs, oblivious to Ryou's inner thoughts. But, there was eventually only one pair left and Ryou's name had yet to be called out. Once the teacher got to the last two names, the white haired boy could've sworn that his favourite teacher gave him a sympathetic look.

"And finally, Ryou Bakura and Trixie Lulamoon."

Well, Ryou had certainly not expected that.

"Geesh, tough break, dude." Rainbow Dash remarked with a genuinley sympathetic frown in his direction.

"Why is that?" Ryou asked her curiously, as he had never really had any interaction with Trixie before. All he knew was that she was apparently some localy famous stage-magician. The girls all looked amongst themselves and it made the white-haired boy feel an ominous feeling in his gut.

"Trixie is, well, she can be really..." Twilight trailed off, seemingly trying to think of the nicest way to describe the other girl.

"Stuck up?" Rainbow Dash offered.

"Arrogant?" Sunset added.

"Smug?" Applejack grumbled.

"Narcissistic?" Rarity offered.

"Not very nice...?" Fluttershy chimed in quietly.

"A real meanie-weanie pants?" Pinkie proposed with a smile.

Twilight gave them all a look. "I was going to say that she can be a little self-centered... but yes."

Hearing all of this didn't exactly make Ryou feel any better, causing him to let out a little despondent sigh. And yet, all of these descriptions sounded very unlike anyone else he had met at Canterlot High, a school where almost all of the student body seemed unnatrually nice for high-schoolers.

Ryou looked across the classroom, seeing his soon-to-be partner sitting by herself besides one of the room's windows. The boy didn't really think that Trixie looked to be all that self-centered, but he reminded himself to never judge a book by its cover.

"Perhaps she won't be that bad?" He offered quietly, sounding feebly optimistic even to himself.

"Alright then, class!" Mr. Tomes clapped his hands together to get the youths' attention. "All of you meet up with your asigned partner and start planning your project!"

The sounds of screeching chairs and footsteps filled the classroom as all the pairs moved together. Ryou continued to watch Trixie, noting that he made no move to rise from her seat. Letting out yet another sigh, the boy realized that he would have to move from his friends.

Swiftly gathering up his things, Ryou rose from his chair just as Vinyl Scratch approached. Giving his friends what he hoped looked like an assuring smile, he told them, "I'll see you all after class. Good luck."

All seven girls gave the boy sympathetic looks. They couldn't really do much else about the situation, but Ryou found that he appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

Just as he was about to step away, Rainbow Dash softly took a hold of his wrist, clearly wanting to tell him something. The atheltic girl seemed to give Ryou a soft smile. "Hey. If Trixie gives you any trouble, then you just say the word and we'll be there. Got that?"

Ryou blinked twice, processing just what Rainbow Dash had told him before he gave his rainbow-haired friend a grateful nod of acknowledgement. The boy then started to make his way over to his work-partner.

He crossed the classroom quickly, navigating inbetween other working pairs and benches before finally arriving infront of the somewhat secluded area where Trixie Lulamoon was sitting by herself.

The girl didn't seem to acknowledge Ryou's prescense, merely sitting with her arms crossed and observing her nails with half-lidded eyes. The poor boy merely stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. After gathering his courage he cleared his throat lightly in hopes of getting Trixie's attention.

Trixie seemed to acknowledge him only in that her eyes now settled upon him, still half-lidded with a look of utter disinterest on her face. Despite this, Ryou wanted to make the best out of this, and gave the girl the best smile he could muster.

"I don't think that we've formally met before." He started softly. "I'm-"

"Trixie knows who you are, Bakura." The girl interrupted him impatiently, already sounding annoyed with the boy. "Just sit yourelf down so we can get this over with."

"A-alright." Ryou would be lying if he had said that he wasn't bothered by the way Trixie spoke to him. But he knew better than to argue with people like that. Instead he decided to oblige and swiftly planted himself in the desk next to Trixie's.

Once he was sitting Ryou's gaze wandered over the other pairs in the classroom. All of them seemed to actually get along quite well, already plotting out their work plan for the assignement. Ryou's seven best friends espescially seemed to be getting on with their respective partners splendidly.

Ryou couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, but he quiclky rationalized that dwelling on such things wouldn't do him any good. Instead, he should try to make the best out of his current situation. No matter how tedious it might seem.

Taking a deep breath in and a deep one out in order to collect himself, Ryou then adressed his partner with a weak smile. "Well, I suppose we ought to start mapping out what each of us should be doing. If we both work on individual parts and then edit and compile it I'm sure we can get this done a lot faster."

"Yeeaaahh... that's not happening." Trixie trailed off rather nonchalantly. "You're going to have to do most, if not all of this assignment."

Ryou found himself taken aback by this, unsure if he had just heard the girl correctly. "I-I beg your pardon?"

"Trixie has performances planned for the coming days which shall require all of her focus, there's no time for her to do some basic school work." Trixie explained this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, giving Ryou a condescending look. "So you will just have to do it."

Alright, now the girl was just being unreasonable. Ryou usually prided himself somewhat of his patience, but Trixie was really pushing it. "Trixie, I respect that you have things planned, and I'm all for doing my fair share of the work. I won't do all of it." He said in his most reasonable voice. "All I'm asking is that you do the same."

The ambitious magician now got a sly look on her face, and her eyes suddenly gained a certain glint that Ryou did not like. Leaning in closer, she quietly asked something that filled Ryou's entire being with dread, "Or what, you'll put me into a coma?"

At that moment it felt as Ryou's heart stopped. How could she-... No. No no no, this had to be a coincidence. She couldn't possibly know about any of that. The white haired boy tried to play it off, not meeting Trixie's eyes as he feebly mumbled, "... I-I don't know what you-"

"Don't play dumb, Bakura." Trixie interrupted him sharply, resting her cheek on her hand while still giving Ryou that smug look. "The other fools at this school may not know it, but Trixie knows all about your little history, and what a story it is!"

She now leaned in a little closer and practically whispered, "A boy who keeps transffering schools because all his friends fall into comas."

While earlier it had felt a if Ryou's heart had stopped, now it just wouldn't stop beating. He could feel it beating rapidly in his chest as his fear and axiety kept growing. "How do you-"

"Trixie got her ways." She answered him vaguely before giving him a careless shrug. "But hey, despite your past, you've clearly got yourself some buddies."

At the last word she pointed a thumb across the classroom. Ryou's eyes followed and found that Trixie was referring to the seven girls whom he had gotten so close to who were in the middle of actually working on the project together. "They must really like you if they still hang out with you after finding out something like that."

"..." Ryou merely stayed silent, melancholic eyes remaining fixed on his friends.

"Oh. You mean... they don't know?" Trixie asked in mock-outrage, knowing full-well that the boy had never intended to tell a soul. "Well, no wonder they haven't ditched you yet."

As the white-haired boy only remained silent, not daring to say a word, a devious idea came to Trixie's mind. Giving Ryou a down-right evil look, she quietly said, "Say, what do you think would happen if Trixie told them?"

Ryou began to feel light-headed, blood turning to ice in his veins as pure dread began to build within him. He had finally gained some semblance of a normal life, had some taste of true companionship. He couldn't lose it all now! Not for this!

"Trixie, please." He begged desperately in a whisper, his panicked eyes now meeting Trixie's smug, violet-coloured ones. "If you tell them, I will lose everything."

Trixie looked very happy at his words, as if the boy's desperation was just what she had been aiming for. "Then you better do what Trixie asks of you, or she may just slip up... Understood?"

Ryou's fist were clenched so hard that he wouldn't be surprised if they would eventually stop bleeding, but he didn't care. He forced himself to give a stiff nod.

The blue-skinned girl seemed satisfied by this. "Good boy." She praised him as if he was just her pet that had learned a new trick.

For the rest of the lesson Ryou started the project and Trixie sat and planned for her performances without ever saying another word to eachother. It wasn't needed.

Trixie now held absolute power over a boy who did not want to lose his friends, and she was going to use it in every way she could.

In that moment, for once in his life, Ryou felt that he hated someone.

And her name was Trixie Lulamoon.

After one hour and twenty minutes of this constant torture history class came to a merciful end. Trixe, as smug as ever, had swiftly gathered her few things and without another word to Ryou she had been the first one outside of the classroom.

The girls had tried to ask him about how things with Trixie had gotten but Ryou gave them no such chance. As things were, he could barely even look anyone of them in the eye.

None of those girls knew what Ryou knew. That by the words of one person and the revelation of a single dark secret could send their whole friendship crashing down. The fact terrified Ryou.

With this cloud of fear and resignation hanging over his head, Ryou had merely given them all a smile and said that it had gone alright with Trixie. Then he swiftly excused himself, saying that he had a great deal of things to do back home.

As he gloomily walked home alone in the rain, weighed down by Trixie's ultimatum, Ryou wasn't aware of how in a deep, dark corner of his soul, a certain spirit was laughing at his misfortune.

It was now the next day, and the Thursday morning proved to be a nice contrast to the dark rain of Wednesday. The sun was shining clearly on a sky without a cloud in sight. As the sun warm rays beamed down upon Canterlot City, the students of CHS were making their way inside, ready to begin yet another day of school.

Among these students were the group of seven girls also known as the Rainbooms, who were all currently hanging by the school's statue while other students went inside. Why they were doing this was because they lacked the company of a certain white-haired boy and it weighed down on all their minds.

"I sure hope Ryou makes it down on time." Twilight said with worry clear in her voice as she snuck another look at the time.

"Well, he did text us that he overslept." Fluttershy reminded them all with a shrug. "It happens."

"Right you are, darling." Rarity concured before a nostalgic smile spread across her face. "Remember that time Pinkie Pie overslept before our final exams two years ago?"

"I thought I time traveled!" The party-loving girl exclaimed happily, clearly not thinking too much of the memory. The other girls except Sunset and Twilight shared a laugh at this. Sunset because she weren't friends with them at that point and Twilight because she ahd attended Crystal Prep at the time.

Despite this brief moment of levity, Applejack couldn't help but think of their missing friend with a small frown. "Still, that doesn't sound much like Ryou, though. He's always so right an' proper with time an' all that..."

A silence settled over the group, all of them agreeing with the country girl's words. But before any of them could lay too much thought on it, Sunset seemed to spot a welcome sight.

"There he is!" She exclaimed while pointing right ahead. The other looked over and, much like Sunset had said, saw the familiar blob of white heading their way. But something seemed... different about him.

"Good morning, everyone." Ryou greeted them with his usual smile, though anyone could tell that his warm brown eyes looked unusually tired, with visible black bags underneath.

He recieved various "Good morning"s from all seven of them.

"You alright there, dude?" Rainbow Dash then asked, looking slightly concerned as she looked him over from head to toe. "You look even paler than usual, and that's saying something."

At any other time Rainbow Dash might've gotten scolded by her friends for such a remark, but this was one of those rare occations where they couldn't help but agree with her.

Ryou quite frankly looked terrible. Much like Rainbow Dash had said, his normally pale skin was now somehow even paler than Rarity's, but in a way that didn't look healthy in slightest. If he layed still for even a minute one could've probably mistaken him for a corpse.

His brown eyes also looked a lot more cloudy and tired than usual, his white hair somehow looked a little disheveled. His normal outfit looked hastily thrown on without any trace of finess. And yet the millenium ring still shone brightly in the sun's rays, hanging elegantly from his neck.

"What? Oh no, I'm quite alright." Ryou assured them with a small smile, though he had to rub his eyes out of tiredness. "I just... didn't sleep all that well last night."

"You should try having a vanilla latte with extra sugar, whipped cream, and marshmallows next time! That always helps me sleep!" Pinkie adviced cheerfully, leading to the others sharing a nice little chuckle.

"I don't think a huge load of sugar is going to be very helpful for sleep, Pinkie." Twilight disputed gently.

Pinkie Pie merely shrugged, bringing out a cupcake from God knows where and taking a big bite. "Maybe not for you."

Though this was certainly a nice little moment between the group of friends, it was quickly interrupted by a certain someone calling out, "Hey, Bakura!"

None of the girls took real notice of the way Ryou seemed to tense up at those words, as they instead looked over to see just who had called out to their male friend. They were surprised once they saw that it was one Trixie Lulamoon, standing some distance a way with a couple of boxes, probably for one of her magic tricks or other, next to her.

"Trixie?" Sunset questioned, unsure as to what the magician could possibly want with Ryou. Trixie did not acknowledge Sunset or any of the other girls for that matter, instead focusing her gaze solely on the white-haired boy standing among them.

"The great and powerful Trixie needs your help with moving these!" She gestured to the boxes beside her.

"... Is she for real?" Rainbow Dash asked the others, finding the request rather odd. Before any of them could answer, Ryou suddenly began to make his way over to Trixie, as if to help her out.

"Ryou? What are you doing?" Twilight's question got the boy to stop in his tracks, his back turned towards the girls. He merely kept standing there for a good few seconds before he answered her, still not turning around.

"I'm just going to help her out. I'll meet up with you all at physics later." Not sparing his friends another word, Ryou then swiftly made his way over to Trixie and began to help her. Though he visibly did not talk to her or look at her as he did so.

"... Did that seem weird to anyone else?" Sunset thought aloud, her green eyes still locked onto Ryou and Trixie. She recieved various words of affirmative from the other six girls.

"Yeah, and is it just me, or is Trixie looking somehow even more smug than usual?" Rainbow Dash wondered with her hand on her chin. All seven of them of them had noticed that particular detail as well.

"I just hope he's not hiding something." Twilight remarked worriedly. It was a concern shared by the others as well, though they had to lay such thoughts aside as it suddenly hit them that their morning classes would begin in a little less than a minute, causing them all to hurry inside.

As the school day then continued on, the seven girls could all notice how both Ryou's mood and appearance seemed to deteriorate more and more. His focus in classes was basically not there at all and his usual smiles and small chuckles were far and inbetween. It was as if there was a constant rain cloud hanging over their friend. Even Pinkie's usual antics didn't gain much of a reaction.

By the time they had all chowed down on their fair share of macaroni and cheese for lunch, Ryou was practically looking like a dead man walking. Furthermore, it seemed as if he suffered from some sort of irreguluar chest pains, occasionaly clutching at the center of his chest with a hiss.

After much wearing down and insisting from the girls' part, they did at last manage to convince Ryou to get himself permission to head home. Though he tried to protest feebly even as they were leading him through the busy school hallway to the main entrance.

"R-really, girls, I don't think I should..." He muttered as he was quite literally dragged, albeit gently, by Applejack.

"No dice, sugarcube." The cowgirl told him sternly, finally stopping by the entrance doors. "Yer clearly not feelin' all that healthy. What ya'll need is some good ol' fashioned bedrest."

"She's right, you know." Sunset chimed in. "You nearly fell face-first into your macaroni at lunch earlier."

The reminder was enough for just the tiniest bit of red to make itself seen on Ryou's cheeks, which the girls all couldn't help but giggle at.

"It won't do anyone any good if you stay here and work yourself to death, Ryou. Go home and get yourself some rest." Twilight then told him kindly, adjusting her glasses.

"I'll swing by with some cupcakes later to make you feel better!" Pinkie told him in a tone of a strange mix of determination and her usual cheerfuless. It was enough for a small smile to spread across the boy's face which the girls all returned.

But much like it had happened earlier that day, the group of eight's brief moment of levity and companionship was interrupted by an unwelcome intruder.

"Bakura!" Called out the voice of one Trixie Lulamoon who was imperiously making her way towards them, a look of impatience on her face.

"What do you want, Trixie?" Rainbow Dash demanded, already feeling quite done with the wannabe-magician.

"Mind your own busniess, Rainbow Crash!" Trixie told her off harshly, making the atheltic girl seethe. "Trixie happens to be in need of Bakura's services. So chop chop!"

The way Trixie casually talked of taking advantage of Ryou as if he was some servant was enough to make all the girl's mood turn sour as they all, even Pinkie and Fluttershy, sent Trixie dirty looks. Just as Rarity was about to tell her off, Ryou spoke up instead.

"I'm sorry, Trixie." He apologized tiredly, sounding genuinley remorseful, but the girls also took notice of how he didn't seem to want to meet Trixie's gaze. "But I'm feeling unwell today... Please understand, I really need to head home."

Despite his honest and polite words and the obvious truth behind them, Trixie merely scoffed at his plead, clearly unimpressed. "Please! Excuses, excuses, that's all Trixie hears!"

"Oh, just lay off him, Trixie!" Sunset told her off, her thin patience with the stage magician having reached it's end. "Look at him! He's clearly under the weather! Just leave him alone!"

"Um, S-Sunset, you don't have to-" Ryou quietly attempted to protest Sunset sticking up for him, almost sounding afraid. However, it went unheard as the other girls began to follow Sunset's example.

"What Sunset said!" Rainbow Dash's frustrations with Trixie was plain for all to see. "Ryou's a nice guy, you can't just treat him like he's your pet!"

"Girls..." Ryou muttered, sounding both amazed and genuinley touched as the other girls called out similar things in his defense.

Trixie herself was certainly not taking all of this talking back to her very well. She had always been a very prideful girl, and when it came to this matter she was no different. As her anger at the Rainbooms kept growing, along with the sight of Bakura looking at them all with genuine affection anf appreciation, filled her with a sort of unnatrually cruel surge of vindictiveness.

A dark smirk spread across Trixie's face, as she gestured lazily to Ryou while keeping her eyes on the Rainbooms. “It's honestly a mystery as to why you're even standing up for him. After all, it’s dangerous to be that guy’s friend.”

The girls all heard how Ryou seemed to gasp sharply, his posture becoming rigid and unrelaxed while his eyes became wide as saucers. Trixie's words confused the seven girls, but one of them were both confused and intruiged by them.

“What do you mean?” Sunset asked her in an oddly calm voice, a glint entering her eyes. All the while Ryou was now looking paler than ever before, his eyes alight with an extreme panic. He turned his gaze to Trixie, desperation and pleading rolling off of his appearance in waves.

“Trixie, I’m begging you, please don’t-” Ryou's begging went on ignored as Trixie continued speaking, now observing her nails with a smug smile on her face.

“I’m not surprised you haven’t heard, his father must’ve wanted to cover it up." She said this in a way which made it seem as if she delighted in Ryou's current situation. But her words only made the curiosity of the seven girls grow.

"Covered up what?" Fluttershy asked quietly, sounding afraid of the answer.

Trixie gave them all that damned grin again, and Ryou looked on helplessly, a crestfallen expression on his face."You see, at all of Bakura's previous schools his friends would all fall into comas one. By. One.”

“What!?” The girls, and a great deal of other students in the busy hall all gasped, having overheard the confrontation.

Ryou looked absolutely heartbroken.

“That’s just a coincidence!” Rainbow Dash was quick to defend her friend, not believing that Ryou could possibly be connected to something like that.

Trixie just scoffed at her words, crossing her arms. “Hmph, maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe not. But the fact is that it has happened." She then turned her gaze towards the panicking Ryou, looking at him in delight. "That’s why you don’t have any friends, isn’t it, Bakura?”

Ryou looked down, standing as if completely frozen and not meeting anyone's eyes, an unreadable expression on his face. It was enough to make most of his friends angry.

"Trixie, that there's too far!" Applejack practically growled at her, her hands clenched.

“Ryou darling, don’t you be bothered by what this charlatan is saying!” Rarity then told the boy with a comforting smile, but everyone there were shocked when Ryou actually shook his head, still keeping his gaze on the ground.

“No, she’s right. That’s the reason why I keep transferring schools." It sounded as if revealing this was physically causing him pain, his expression filled with sorrow. "Somehow all my friends eventually end up comatose…”

Safe to say that this was quite the bombshell. Not only for the girls but for many other students. Most of the ones in the hall had heard the entire confrontation and was shocked at what they had found out.

“It can't be…” Twilight muttered in disbelief which was mirrored on the other girls' faces. How could this be? Ryou, dear sweet Ryou, one of the kindest people they knew... there was no way.

Though for one Sunset Shimmer, the feeling of disbelief quickly made way for a surprising amount of anger. “And when exactly where you planning on telling us this!?” She demanded angrily, getting up in Ryou's face.

“S-Sunset, I…" Poor Ryou looked as if he was going to collapse at any moment, as his large, sad eyes met Sunset's angry ones, desperately yearning for understanding. "I-I wanted to tell you so many times-”

“But you didn’t!" Sunset didn't want to listen, right now she just wanted to be angry, angry at the boy she had thought that she knew... but it turns out her suspiscions were correct. "We trusted you, called you our friend! And you don’t tell us that your mere presence could put our lives in danger!”

“Sunset! That’s enough!” Twilight and everyone else were surprised by the raw intensity of the interdimensional girl's words. But they knew that things could get really ugly if they let Sunset keep ranting. Said girl now turned to Twilight, as if to argue against her request, but she was interrupted from doing so by none other than Ryou himself.

“No…" He spoke up quietly, but his words sounding both sad and remorseful while also strangely accepting at the same time. "No, Sunset’s right. I’ve endangered all of you by getting close to you, I’m sorry...”

“Ryou, that’s not-”

The white-haired boy interrupted Pinkie Pie with a mere shake of his head. He then lifted his gaze from the ground, fully facing all of the seven girls with his gaze. His large, brown eyes were watery, and tears were clearly forming at the edges of them. Ryou's usually kind smile was now wavering, as if he was struggling to keep it up. When he then spoke his voice quaked and broke all throughout.

“Thank you all for everything but… it’s probably for the best if you just stay away from me."

"Wait! Ryou, come back!" Twilight's call went ignored as Ryou then turned around and swiftly disappeared out of the school doors.

A tense and deeply emotionally charged silence reigned over the school after all of that, as everyone there tried to process what had just happened. The Rainbooms all just kept starring at the spot where Ryou had stood earlier, still trying to proces just what had happened and what they had learned about the boy.

After a few tense moments of this, Rainbow Dash, ever loyal, angrily rounded up on Sunset, gesturing where Ryou had stood earlier. "What the heck did you do that for!?"

Sunset merely stood there in silence, thinking hard over what they had just uncovered.

It had now been several hours since he had left the school in tears, and yet Ryou had not moved an inch from his work desk since he'd stepped inside of the Blackwood house.

He had fruitlessly tried to think of something else, something to distract himself from the emotional turmoil he was currently experiencing. Ryou had tried to write up a new Monster World-campaign, he had tried to modify his Duel Monsters deck, he had tried to read through 'The Children of Húrin', he had even tried playing a round of online poker. Nothing had worked.

The sun was starting to set once Ryou finally gave up at trying to distract himself. Putting his face in his hands, the boy began to let out quite heavy sobs, the pent up desperation and helplessness which he had felt during the last two days finally being released in one large wave of sadness and melancholy.

He had lied to his friends, desperate for the sense of warmth and comradery, and now it had cost him. They would most likely not want to assosciate with him anymore, nor would any other students at CHS, and Ryou couldn't blame them.

Ryou still vividly remembered the girs' frightened faces once Trixie had revealed the truth. How all of them had stared at him with haunting faces filled with shock and tredipation. It was a look the white-haired boy was all too used to.

Worst of all were Sunset's words, as they still rung clearly in his head, and the infuriated, betrayed look she had given him while chewing him out. He had wanted to warn the girls many times that hanging around him could be dangerous. But in the end, his own selfishness had won, and he had continued to partake in the Rainbooms' company fully well knowing what tended to happen to people who got close to him.

But none of that mattered now. As horrible as it made him feel inside, Ryou knew that Sunset's rage and the girls' fright was justifiable. He had endangered everyone of them, foolishly believing that his curse would be left behind in Japan. If anything ever happened to the girls who had been so kind and welcoming to him, the girls who had truly made him feel special, well, Ryou would never forgive himself.

He knew that there was only one thing he could do now. Not for his own sake, but for the sake of his friends. For even if they may no longer think of him as a friend after his betrayal, Ryou still cared for them immensely, and he would do anything to keep them from harm.

"I've got to transfer again." He said to himself miserably, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "I can't stay at Canterlot High..."

"It would be quite troublesome for me if you did."

Startled at hearing the strangely familiar voice seemingly out of nowhere, Ryou forgot his sadness and quickly rose up from his chair, anxious and wary eyes darting around his surroundings. If Ryou didn't know better he would've said that the mysterious voice sounded much like the voice he had heard many times before in his nightmares, but that idea was absurd.

And yet, the boy couldn't help but feel a great sense of premonition.

"I'm so close to my goal now after all. I can't have you spoiling it for me."

"Wh-who are you!?" He looked around the large room rapidly, desperatly searching for the speaker. "Show yourself!"

"Show myself?" The voice repeated indignantly, as if finding the mere idea ridicolous. "How hurtful you can be, Landlord. All these years together and you still don't know me?"

Ryou only stayed silent, feeling helpless. And why was the voice calling him a landlord?

"I am the spirit dwelling inside you. I came with the millenium ring."

"My ring? That can't be..." The whole situation sounded ridiculous, like something from Ryou's collection of horror novels. And yet, he quickly felt that sharp pain in his chest again, along with a new burning sensation. In a move driven by pure adrenaline and desperation, Ryou let out a sharp cry of pain before ripping his buttoned shirt opened, exposing his bare chest.

Ryou was horrified at what he saw.

The millenium ring, his most priced possession, was hanging down from his neck, but it was quite literally attached to his body. The five sharp prongs of the artifact had somehow dug themselves deep underneath Ryou's skin, visibly making his skin bulge out. Though there was miraculously no blood leaking from where the prongs were penatrating his body, it was a terrifying discovery nonetheless.

"Wh-what is this!?" Ryou gasped, suddenly finding it very hard to breathe. Whereas earlier he had only felt irregular jabs of pain, he was now completely aware of the ring's cold points digging into his body.

"I had to take precautions in case you decided to do something rash, Landlord. There's no removing the ring from your body now. I'm afraid you're stuck with me." The spirit explained gleefuly, seeming to delight over the boy's missery.

"I rather like your body, it reminds me of the one I once inhabited 3000 years ago. So I decided to give you the honor of being my host the day your deadbeat father first found my ring five years ago."

"3000 years ago!?" Ryou briefly forgot his horror at this tidbit of information, his passion and interest of the occult briefly taking over his common sense. "What are you... N-no! No, that doesn't matter!" His sense quickly returned, an anger over the entire situation begining to well up in the usually calm boy.

He clawed and shook at his head desperatly, as if hoping that he could physically shake the entity out of him. "I want you out! GET OUT OF ME!"

The demon only laughed at the display, and Ryou had never in his life felt so powerless. "How cold. To think that I've been granting your wishes up till now, too."

"I-I've never had a wish granted!" The boy shouted, the indignation now returning. "Not by you! Not ever!"

"Oh, please! I'm quite familiar with your sob story." Ryou could practically hear the sneer in the spirit's voice. "A poor little boy with a dead mother, a dead sister, and a father who doesn't give two shits about him!"

Ryou flinched, his eyes closed hard as the spirit's words painfully edged their way into his thoughts. He wanted to deny them, he wanted to scream out and yell at the spirit about just how wrong he was. And yet Ryou couldn't, for deep inside he knew that the spirit's words were true.

Said spirit did not care for Ryou's guilt, merely continuing on. "The other children all picked on you, you had no friends. All you wished for was to someday have a great big bunch of friends whom you could treasure forever. Isn't that right?"

The white-haired put his head into his hands, trying desperatly to force out all the memories which were currently coming at him like a train. He saw flashes of his younger self, sitting alone by himself in the sand box while the other children either played amongst themselves or ridiculed him. Some of the things he'd heard back then still plagued his memories even to this day.

"Don't you see? I've been granting your wish for these five years. I made sure every friend you ever made will always be close by..."

"What do you mean?" Ryou hadn't realized that he, in his fright and confusion, had taken quite a few steps back, until he bumped his back rather painfully into one of his display cases. Getting spooked by this, the boy quickly turned around and felt rather unnerved at what he saw.

Inside the case were all of his different Monster World figurines, which was usually a sight which would fill him with enthusiasm, but now produced a whole other sort of emotions. It felt as if all of the figurines were staring at him with wide, judging, never-closing eyes and it filled Ryou with all sorts of unease.

Backing away from the case, he began to ponder over what the spirit had said, and it slowly but surely dawned upon him as a horrifying theory began to brew in Ryou's mind. "Wait, n-no it can't be..."

Memories of his friends from the past flew by. How he had invited them over to play a round of Monster World, how is memory would go blank and before he knew what happened his friends would be lying on the floor unconscious, or worse... "The reason all my friends fell into comas... you couldn't possibly-"

"Well, I suppose that you'll find out soon enough." The voice casually interrupted Ryou's train of thought, as if speaking of the weather. But the more sinister tone returned shortly. "After all, you've got some new little friends now, and what an interesting bunch they are."

"M-my friends?" Ryou questioned, not really comprehending what the spirit was saying. But after a few seconds it began do slowly dawn on him, as images of seven girls flashed by in his mind.

"No." The boy uttered with mounting horror, which quickly disolved into a deep rage. "NO, DON'T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON THEM!"

The voice let out a mad-sounding cackle, as if somehow finding Ryou's rage to be highly amusing. "Touchy. But you are in no position to make demands, Landlord. I don't see why you're so opposed to the idea, though. Those seven wenches will all join you for eternity, you should be happy!"

"NO! I DON'T WANT THAT!" He denied fiercly, rage still burning within him. But along with that rage came a great desperation and sadness, as Ryou began to realize just what sort of malicious entity he was dealing with. "JUST LEAVE THEM BE! PLEASE!"

"How sentimental." It was as if the voice delighted in the boy's torment, making a mockery of Ryou's pleading. "But don't worry, I don't plan to deal with your chums tonight. Instead, I must pay a little visit to the one who has caused you such distress, Landlord."

"W-what do you mean!?" Ryou demanded, not at all liking the implication of the spirit's words.

"You should sleep for a while." The demon's voice now sounded almost soothing, but Ryou was far from comforted. As a sickly golden light began to radiate from the millenium ring, Ryou began to experience the hauntingly familiar sensation of rappidly losing not only his senses, but the control of his very body.

"STOP IT!" He cried desperatly, but it was far too late. Once the light had died down Ryou Bakura was no longer the one commanding his body. No, the spirit of the ring was now using Ryou as his puppet once more. A delighted and sinister smile showing off two rows of sharp white teeth spread across his face, much like a shark about to sink its jaws into an unsuspecting prey.

"Now then, let's go and have some fun..."

"That was all for tonight! The great and powerful Trixie would like to thank all of you for being such a wonderful audience!"

The sound of applause and yells of admiration that filled the room was a sound that would never get old to Trixie Lulamoon. Even after said noise had died down and her faithful audience had filed out of the room, it was enough to lift her spirits consciderably as she began to pack up all of her props and materials.

If it hadn't been for what had transpired earlier that day Trixie would've even been able to say that the day ahd been close to perfect! But still, that once incident was enough to dampen her good mood consciderably.

Just thinking about it was enough for her to visibly scrunch her face up in distaste as she was packaging her set of chinese linking rings.

She had hoped to be able to hold onto her leverage over Ryou Bakura for a far longer time, as she could've used his assistance for some other menial tasks and that darn school work. But noooo, those insuferable Rainbooms just had to stick up the guy, and Trixie's own pride made her reveal it too early. Espescially as the white-haired loser had been so cooperative otherwise.

Since she had lost her servant, Trixie had been forced to put her part of the school work on hold. Sure, she had recieved several warnings in other classes for not putting enough focus on her studies, but her performance today had been just too good of a chance to miss out on.

They would all see, all those people who laughed at Trixie behind her back and made a mockery of her artform. One day, she would become the greatest and most powerful-est professional magician in the world! And then Trixie would be the one laughing at them!

Almost letting herself get lost in yet another revenge fantasy, Trixie was in for a rather rude awakening when something quite unexpected happened.

All lights in the room suddenly went out all at once, severly darkening the stageroom. The sudden darkness alone was enough to make Trixie feel uneasy, letting out a small yelp of surprise. However, she began to feel legitimatley scared once she started to hear a low, dark chuckle accompanied with a slow clapping. It sounded as if it was coming from everywhere around her, as if the darkness itself was mockingly applauding her.

"Wh-who goes there!? The great and powerful Trixie demands that you show yourself!" Trixie called out to the seemingly empty room, sounding a lot braver than she really felt.

The sound of footsteps began to echo around the room, with no sight of whom they could belong to. The room had just become too darn dark. Eventually Trixie began to notice the shape of a what appeared to be a man approaching the stage. This put the aspiring young magician on edge, but she became quite surprised once she saw a familiar blob of white hair slowly stepping out of the sudden darkness

"My, my... such a well done performance." Commented none other than Ryou Bakura with irony clear in his voice, a sharp smile present on his face and dark eyes watching Trixie intently. Said girl found this reveal to be incredibly anti-climactic, letting out an exasperated breath and rolling her eyes.

"Urgh, it's just you, Bakura!" She didn't need to her the boy's whining now, she needed to get herself home. "The great and powerful Trixie has no time to waste on the likes of you! Go cry to somebody else!"

It was almost as if he didn't hear her, as he only kept standing there, scrutinizing her closely with eyes that never seemed to close. And it may just have been the current lighting of the room, but Trixie could've sworn that Bakura's eyes looked darker and sharper than usual. For some reason his gaze made the girl feel uneasy.

Once he finally did speak, Trixie understood why she hadn't realized that it was Bakura immediatly, as his voice now sounded much more gravely and rough. Did the guy sandpaper his throat or something?

But Trixie was far more transfixed by his words and the unreadable look he gave her. “I admit, watching you make my host squirm was amusing for a time. However..." His voice now somehow grew even darker, and his face turned to display an emotion that could only be described as furious. "You see, I really don’t like it when some insect thinks that they can just toy with what is mine!”

Trixie did not fully understand what the foreign kid was talking about, but she did understand that he was probably a little sour from what happened earlier that day. But Trixie honestly couldn't care less.

Turning her nose up at him, the magician made a shooing motion with her hand. "If you wanted to get the great and powerful Trixie alone to confront her then I must sat that I'm not impressed. Your anger is of no concern to her! Now shoo! Trixie need get her things in order!"

Bakura only let out a deep, raspy chuckle and Trixie would have lied if she said that she couldn't felt herself breaking a cold sweat. “I assure you, mortal, we are most certainly not alone. I've brought some, shall we say, acquaintances with me. They are quite eager to meet you..."

Alright, Bakura was really starting to creep her out now. But Trixie still had her dignity, and she was not about to loose her composure because of some spooky-sounding words. "Th-that's ridiculous! There's noone else here!" She scoffed, looking away as if to avoid the boy's soul-staring eyes.

"If you don’t believe me then why don’t you take a good look around you? See what lies in the shadows…”

Trixie couldn't help but let out a snort at his words. Sure, she herself was all for the dramatics, but the Bakura-guy was clearly just going out of his way to attempt to scare her.

And yet... there was something about the usually polite and timid boy's sharp smile and dark eyes that deeply disturbed Trixie. It was as if he was grinning at some sick joke only he understood, and it was an atitude Trixie personally found insufferable.

She was just about to tell Bakura off, but then she began to notice just how dark the stage room had become, and also the unnatrual cold that seemed to had settled in there. Much of the previously well-lit room was now pitch-black, and it felt as if the darkness only kept growing and devouring more of the light.

But as Trixie looked deeper into the ever-growing abyss, trying to figure out what could've possibly caused such a phenomenon, she began to notice something. Something that filled the up-and-coming magician with a great fear.

There were... there were things moving in the darkness.

Despite whatever it was not having any definable shape or form, Trixie could still plainly see that there were something, or some things moving in the shadows. Something constantly moving around, surrounding her on all sides like a sinister predator. And as she really got time to really listen, she started to hear little sounds which had previously went unheard. Whispers, keels, screeching, what sounded an awful lot like humans pleading for mercy, all of it and more coming from the dark.

As Trixie stared into the abyss which had blanketed the room she got the sinking feeling that something was staring right back. And it terrified her.

"Wh-what is this!?" She demanded, her head rapidly turning around as her fear and anxiety kept growing. The darkness Bakura had brought with him and whatever monstrosities hidden within it was closing in on her, filling the girl to the brim with terror. "Wh-whatever you're doing, STOP IT! T-TRIXIE COMMANDS YOU!"

Bakura just stood completely still with his arms crossed, looking at the girl with a sadistic grin that promised untold horrors. Before Trixie could scream at him some more, an undefinable mass suddenly lurched out of the darkness, allowing Trixie to finally get a good look at what the shadows were housing.

As soon as she saw it she wished that she hadn't.

For out of the dark came what can only be described as a great black blob, constantly in motion... It was made of people or, at the least, pieces of people.

Trixie couldn't possibly have counted how many of them there were as the mass was constantly moving around, in frequent, wild motions. But she could still clearly see that it was a great mass of what looked like humans clustered together and covered in a layer of inky blackness.

Men, women, children, infants looking as if they had come straight out of the womb. All of them clustered together in a great, black, squirming mass. The inky human shapes looked as if they were melting together, looking more liquid than solid. There were a great deal of arms, legs, heads, but no fully defined torsos. The faces she could make out looked to be in constant suffering, letting out sounds that didn't sound human in the slightest, but were more achin to otherwordly keels of deep excruciating pain.

Such a sight would have given even the hardest of people nightmares, and for Trixie it was far too much. Her legs quickly grew weak, causing her to fall uncerimoniously onto her behind. With wide eyes she observed the hellish creature which had emerged from the darkness, her mouth opening and closing rapidly as she struggled to form words.

Bakura had no such qualms, instead looking disturbingly amused at Trixie's reaction. "Why, whatever is the matter, dear Trixie?" He prodded with a sinister smile and a raised brow. "Don't you like my collection?"

"C-c-collection...?" Was the only word that managed to escape Trixie's lips, the girl's attention still focused on the monstruous shadow-being in front of her, all the while it felt as if more horrors still dwelled in the dark.

"Yes." Bakura practially purred, now turning his dark eyes to the creature. The abomination from the shadows always seemed to move ireguluarly as all of its components squirmed in agony on their own. But when Bakura focused on it, the monstrosity visibly flinched back, as if it were afraid of him.

"This here is one of my all-time favourite collections; My victims." As he said these horrible words Bakura observed the abomination much like how a craftsman would admire their favourite handiwork. The blob kept on screeching and pleading but it went ignored by the demon in human flesh who kept on talking.

"They are now lost souls, trapped forever in the darkness! And all because they pissed me off in one way or another... either that or because I was bored and needed something to entertain myself." His eyes suddenly settled on Trixie, the once arrogant charlatan who was now a complete whimpering mess on the floor as Bakura towered over her.

“Do you honestly believe that any of these card tricks, smoke bombs and slight of hands, amounts to actual power? That it gives you the right to call yourself ‘great and powerful’?" He asked her with a tilted head, giving her a sneer that could curdle milk. Bakura was looking at Trixie much like a person would look like a particularly disgusting insect they were about to step on.

"Ha! Don’t make me laugh!" He then uncrossed his arms and stretched them out wide, gesturing to the horrifying monstrosity as well as the other darkness and whatever hellish creatures probably dwelled within it. "This is power. More than you or any other mortal in this shithole of a city ever had.”

Trixie only kept on whimpering, feeling wetness gathering in the corners of her eyes and a warm, wet feeling running down her legs. Bakura looked bored at her inability to form words, and instead merely gave the keeling blob of damned souls a dark glare.

It seemed to be a signal of sorts, for as soon as he had done it, a tendril of pure blackness shot out from the dark and wrapped itself around Trixie's leg. This seemed to snap the girl out of her horror-induced trance, as trixie immediatly began to scream in terror, frantically but futilely kicking and scratching at the black tendril, wanting nothing more than for it to let her go.

She had no such luck, and it seemed that it slowly but surely began to physically drag her towards the surrounding darkness. The melted black mass of damned souls all reached out towards her, as if eager to welcome a new member into their cluster of suffering and despair.

Trixie was panicking like she'd never done before, desperatly scratching at the floor with her nails in the futile hope of escaping the shadows' clutches. She screamed for help. Screamed for her mother, her father, for her principal, she even screamed for the Rainbooms. But no help would come. Nothing could save her now.

“Well... it is certainly tempting to just let the shadows drag you into the eternal abyss of suffering." Bakura said, looking as if he pondered over something, a hand on his chin in thought. The tendril even briefly stopped pulling Trixie while still keeping it's tight and painful grip on her legs.

"But fear not, mortal. I’ve thought of a better use for you." Bakura quickly reached into his jacket, and pulled out something small that just fit in his hand. Despite her panic and fear dulling most of her comprehension, Trixie still managed to see that it looked like some sort of doll. Whatever it was, it still gave Trixie all sorts of uneasy emotions.

Raising a hand to her face as if to cover herself from Bakura's gaze and the gaze of whaever lied in the darkness, the once proud Trixie tried desperatly to plead. "Ba-Ba-Bakura, I-I, please...-"

But the demon's mind was already made up since long ago. Giving the girl a malicious grin that showed off many sharp white teeth, Bakura raised his right arm and index finger and pointed straight at Trixie's shuddering, whimpering form. The millenium ring began to glow and a third, golden eye appeared on Bakura's forehead.

To Trixie he looked like a wicked reaper, sentencing her to an eternity of darkness and suffering in the afterlife.

"PENALTY GAME!”

Trixie Lulamoon's lifeless body fell to the floor, unmoving. All the while the spirit of the ring cackled in delight, the Monster World-figurine in his hand taking on a new appearance.

Ad Monstruosis - I

Ryou Bakura's eyes flew open, and it was a strange experience as he found himself standing by his desk back in the game room.

"D-Did I dream all of that...?" The boy murmured softly to himself, his horrifying encounter with the apparent spirit of the ring still fresh in his mind. That was what he tried to tell himself, that the terrible, yet familiar voice of the millenium ring was just a figment of his imagination, brought about by the stress of the revelation of his past.

Ryou looked around the large room, as if expecting someone to jump out at any moment, but found no indication that something was awry.

"Get yourself together." He scolded himself lightly, rubbing his eyes as he realized just how tired he was. Ryou tried to take a look at the time to see if he had just imagined everything, but came to a startling realization as he saw just what date his phone was set on.

According to his phone, it was now Friday... but to Ryou it had been Thursday just a few moments ago before his blackout! Thinking that it might just be a phone malfunction, Ryou looked at his computer as well. It also said that today apparently was a Friday.

Panic starting to well up within him, Ryou took a look outside and saw that the sky looked to be in the same colours and shades as it had done since what to him had been mere moments ago. But how could this be...!?

"Just what is going on...?" He murmured helplessly to himself, fearing that he might be going insane. Ryou was used to completely blanking out on occasion, but he had never been unconscious of his actions for an entire day!

Before he could put more thought into it, Ryou froze as he heard an all too familiar cackle which seemed to be coming from all around him. The white-haired boy's body went completely rigid in fear as he came to the horrible realization that maybe he hadn't been dreaming at all.

"I had need of your body for a little longer than usual. There were a few matters I had to attend."

"You again!" Ryou exclaimed, the familiar frustration from his previous encounter with the spirit returning. Yet with that same frustration came also a great deal of fear. "Wh-what have you been doing!?"

The faceless voice only laughed. "You should ask yourself the same question, Landlord. We're partners in crime, after all."

"No we're not!" Ryou denied intensly, his anger and helplesness over the whole situation begning to affect him. "You are the one using my body by forcing me out of it! I-I would never help you!"

"Ha! Keep telling yourself that."

Ryou seethed to himself, clenching his fists tightly and closing his eyes hard as he could even feel small tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes. But still, he was morbidly curious over the spirit all the same. "What have you been doing...?" He asked quietly, actually afraid of the answer.

The spirit only answered vaguely, though Ryou thought that it sounded awfully pleased with itself. "That Lulamoon girl will bother you no longer, Landlord."

"Not bother me?" Ryou asked, not really understanding what the voice was talking about. But he quickly began to remember a certain smug stage magician.

"Trixie..." He gasped softly with mounting horror, starting to remember just what the spirit had told him the other day. In fear of what the malicious entity possibly could've done to his history partner, Ryou demanded helplessly, "JUST WHAT DID YOU MAKE ME DO TO HER!?"

The spirit chuckled ominously, and Ryou felt the shivers going down his spine. "Nothing I haven't done before..."

Ryou started to feel lightheaded, practically on the verge of hyperventalating. The spirit cared not, only continuing to talk, "But none of that matters anymore. I have seven far bigger fishes to fry."

The white-haired boy quickly put together just which seven people the spirit was referring to, and felt his fear and impotence increase. "What do you want with my friends anyway!?" He demanded, not understanding why the demon seemed so fixated on those girls in particular.

Strangely enough, the spirit was silent, if only for a moment, before it inevitably began to speak again. "Those wenches have something I desire, and I aim to take it!"

"Desire?" Ryou echoed, not really understanding. "What could seven high school girls possibly have that you couldn't just buy yourself at a mall somewhere!?"

"Those girls have some manner of power you couldn't even begin to comprehend! Naturally, I want it for myself."

That took Ryou completely off-guard. The Rainbooms? Powerful? Sure, they certainly were unlike any other people Ryou had ever met, but he never got the impression that they were anything but a nice group of high school girls... Had they been keeping things from him?

Ryou immediatly felt great shame at that train of thought, as he knew full well that he had no right judging someone for keeping things secret from him. Not since he himself had lied to the best friends he had ever had...

"Speaking of which," The spirit then contiuned, now sounding rather gleeful, "It looks as if the wenches are approaching."

"Wh-what!?" Ryou didn't know what exactly compeled him to look out the window, but as he did he saw a distinct colourful group of people seemingly making their way down Ebony Street, moving closer and closer towards the Blackwood house. Though it was a sight which normally would've filled Ryou with excitement, now it simply filled him with dread.

"Quite a lot of people have come to check on you." The spirit remarked idly, though there was an undeniable malice hiding in his words. "Isn't it nice to have such caring friends?"

Despite the horror he was currently experiencing, Ryou himself couldn't help but feel his concerns soften as his thoughts went out to his friends. "Girls..." He murmured softly, geniunley touched that despite everything that had been revealed about his past, they still came to visit him.

But these more sentimental thoughts were quickly squashed, as Ryou began to feel the sensation of numbness in his entire body.

"N-No...!" He gasped, desperatly trying to fight against the spirit's rapid take-over of his body. Despite Ryou's struggles, his limbs began to forcefully move on their own, slowly but surely making Ryou's body move towards the door.

"Just surrender, Landlord." The demon's voice said, sounding sickeningly sweet. "It will all be over soon, and then your friends will be with you forever."

"No!" Ryou protested feebly, though as his limbs moved on their own he began to feel a strong, burning sensation in the center of his chest. To make things worse, there was a couple of knocks on the front door, and Ryou knew that it was the Rainbooms, probably here to check on him.

"Girls! S-stay away! Please...!" He futilely tried to scream in warning, but it came out as more of a pained whimper. He was now right infront of the door.

As his right hand went to the doorknobb, Ryou could feel his vision and other sense completely blanking, a single phrase ringing in his mind before he completely lost consciousness,

'I'm so sorry, girls'

"Hiya, Ryou!" Pinkie Pie was the first to greet their male friend as the door to the Blackwood house opened, revealing Bakura standing there and observing them with a light smile.

"Hi, girls." He greeted them all simply. "Nice to see you."

"Sorry if we're just dropping by kind of unannounced like this." Twilight apologized with a slightly abashed smile. "We just thought you could use some company after..." She briefly trailed off as the other girls shot her warning looks, and decided to word it differently. "Well, after happened yesterday."

All of the girls still clearly remembered how Trixie had revealed Ryou's rather bizarre past, but even moreso how the next schoolday had transpired.

Trixie Lulamoon had apparently been found comatose at the stage where she usually performed on Thursdays, with no signs of any struggle. Shortly after being found she had been taken to Canterlot's hospital where the doctors were mystified as they just couldn't understand why or how the completely healthy Trixie had suddenly fallen into a coma.

These news had of course spread their way throughout the entire city, and naturally to CHS as well. And adding rumors to a high school is like adding gasoline to a wildfire. All of the girls couldn't keep grimaces off their faces as they remembered some of the comments which they had heard throughout the school day, all of them revolving around Ryou, and wether there was any truth to what Trixie had revealed.

The girls (except one) had all refused to buy into it however, instead deciding amongst themselves that Ryou now needed their support and understanding more than ever, and had therefore all decided to pay him a little visit once school was over, just like they were currently doing.

But, in sharp contrast to how devastated and heartbroken Ryou had seemed the other day, he now seemed hardly bothered as he spoke to them in an almost abnormal casual way.

"It's no trouble at all." Bakura swiftly rebuked Twilight's apology. "In fact, I'm glad you all came." His brown eyes, which some of the girls thought looked strangely darker than usual, though that may have just been a trick of the light, scanned the group and was surprised to only see six girls.

"Where's Sunset?" Bakura asked, trying to sound casual. "Could she not make it?"

The smiles of the six girls all seemed to dimm at the same time, all of them suddenly finding it hard to meet Bakura's eyes. For while the six of them had decided to give Ryou support and the benefit of the doubt, Sunset Shimmer had not.

All of them could remember vividly how they spend a good 20 minutes trying to win Sunset over at school earlier that day, but how the fiery-haired girl had been adamant that Trixie's sudden state of comatose was proof that Ryou was dangerous.

This had lead to their talk turning into a rather heated debate, before Rainbow Dash had finally snapped and simply said that they would all go on to Ryou's house without her. It wasn't a talk any of them were very proud of, even moreso how they knew that Sunset was now by herself once again.

Seeing as none of the girls seemed to answer him and how the atmoshpere had grown tense, Bakura tried to hide his frustrations with a rather flawless copy of his host's soft smile.

"Well, I'm glad that all of you came, at least." He remarked, though he was anything but. Not having the Shimmer there could complicate quite a lot of things in his plans. Oh well, he could always track her down later once the others were disposed of, he supposed.

The girls all seemed to swallow his act as they all smiled at him in return, and the spirit secretly found it to be revolting. But keeping up his act, he then gestured inside and said to them, "Well, it wouldn't be right of me to keep you girls out here all evening. Please, come in."

Seeing the request as innocent enough, the girls all headed inside. Immediatly they were awed at what they saw.

Applejack let out a low whistle. "Hoo-wee! This ol' place looks amazin' now!"

She was of course referring to how the added furniture to the cleaned up old building had actually made it look like a place fit for humans to inhabit. The other girls started to look around, their eyes taking in everything.

"I can hardly believe it's the same house..." Fluttershy remarked quietly, though smiling.

"It was all thanks to you, girls." Bakura thought that sounded like something his host would say. Naturally, the girls all ate it up as they send who they thought was their friend smiles.

"And we were happy to help, Ryou." Twilight assured him as she kept looking around. That was until her eyes were transfixed on a particulat decorative longsword hanging from the wall. She immediatly recognized it and was awed because of it, but her awe increased tenfold as she saw a certain familiar signature written on it.

The bespectacled girl let out an excited gasp as she rushed over towards the sword. "You have a replica of Andúril actually signed by VIGGO MORTENSEN!?"

Though annoyed by the mortal's loud noises, Bakura maintained his benevolent persona. "It was a birthday gift from a few years back." He explained simply, recalling how happy his host had been to recieve the damn thing. "Father met mr. Mortensen on one of his trips."

Twilight took the information in stride, letting out a bunch of what could only be accuratley be described as 'nerd-noises' as she kept her eyes locked on the signed replica. The other five girls rolled their eyes playfully at the sight, knowing that it was simply one of those things that Twilight went nuts for.

"Hey, RB!" Rainbow Dash boisterously gained Bakura's attention who turned his dark eyes to the eager looking athletic girl. "Can we see your game room!?" She asked him hopefuly. "I've been wanting to get a good look at your gaming gear ever since we first cleaned up the room!"

"Yeah! And see all your Monster World-stuff!" Pinkie Pie supplied helpfully, giving him a large and cheerful smile.

The other girls expressed similar sentiments, and Bakura was all to eager to oblige. "Certainly." He affirmed, turning his back towards them as to not reveal his sinister grin. "Just follow me."

He quickly led them down the hallway and let them inside the aforementioned game room. All the girls were once again impressed by what they saw.

Inside of the room reminded them a lot of Canterlot City's local game store, only more personalized. In the center of the room was a large game board which obviously was meant for Monster World. The walls were almost completely surrounded by display cases showing a great deal of figurines and other rare gaming items. Either that or shelves with what looked to be a great deal of binders and small boxes, probably meant for Ryou's Duel Monsters cards. There were also a great deal of posters spread about.

"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash gasped in amazement, her eyes almost trying to take in everything in the room at once. Without waiting for Bakura she and the other girls all began to move inside the room, looking over the many gaming items.

"I do say, darling! This is most impressive!" Rarity remarked as she looked over the great Monster World board. Even though she wasn't a hardcore gamer by any means, the fashionista could still appreciate and be awed by the sheer love for gaming which the room represented.

"There must be atleast over two hundred figurines here!" Twilight exclaimed in awe as she and the others were looking through the display cases, admiring the original and intricate design of all the different figurines.

"Did you really make all of these yourself?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes fixed on some of the more cute and animal-like figurines.

"A great deal of them, yes." Bakura responded nonchalantly, hands in his pockets, to which the girls let out various sounds of awe.

"Gotta say," Applejack started while adjusting her hat. "Seein' all this makes me wanna try out this Monster World-game even more."

As the other five girls let out different words of agreement with the farm girl's words, Bakura tried extremely hard to surpress his malicious grin. 'What are the mortals fond of saying, again? Ah, yes. Hook, line and sinker.' He thought darkly to himself, eager to proceed with the next step of his plan.

"If none of you are too busy, then we could play a little round of Monster World right now." He offered, returning to his false Ryou-persona. "It's quite simple to get into."

This offer took the girls by surprise, but it was clear as day on their expressions that they all wanted to at least give it a try.

"Doesn't it take some planning on the Game Master's part?" Twilight asked curiously, but Bakura was prepared.

"As luck would have it, I finished a campaign I had been working on yesterday." He held up numerous papers related to said campaign. "A campaign I had hoped all of us could play."

Hearing this encouraged the Rainbooms minus one, who all gave eachother knowing smiles.

"Well," Twilight started, looking happy at the opportunity. "I don't have any plans for today. I say we give it a go."

"Oh, me too!"

"Me three!"

"Me four..."

"Me five!"

"Me Pinkie!"

Now that they had all agreed, Bakura mentally compared it to the girls digging their own graves. Naturally, he voiced no such thought aloud. A shadow game was about to commence, and he had precious little of those to enjoy these days. And of course, once he won he would get quite the price.

A power which would aid his hunt for the millenium items, and very soon it would be all his! Oh, what fun!

But this only made maintaining his act all the more important.

"Do you girls remember how the game is played?" Bakura asked them, sincerely hoping that he wouldn't be forced to explain everything.

"Ah think so." Applejack said, hand on her chin in thought. "It's supposed to be us adventurers facin' off against a Dark Master, right?"

"Very good." Bakura nodded in acknowledgement as he took his seat at the other end of the large table. "Should they find the boss monster and defeat it, then the adventurers win. Should the characters all be wiped out then the Dark Master wins."

"So it's just like the Role Playing in any given video game?" Twilight asked to clarify, to which she got a nod in response.

"Precisely. I'll go ahead and be the Dark Master." Bakura then casually gestured to the many display cases. "You girls can simply go ahead and pick out whatever characters you want."

"Really?" Asked Rarity eargerly, she and the others looking over the many figurines behind the glass display.

"Of course." He assured them all easily, thought unbeknownst to the girls there was a dark meaning hidden in his next words. "I'm sure you'll find one figurine or another which is an offshoot of yourselves."

"Alright." Twilight clapped her hands together, her and the others making their way to the display cases. "Let's get to it!"

And so all six girl began to look through the impressive collection of figurines, hoping to find something that fit themselves just right.

"Ha! This one kinda looks like you, Pinkie!"

"Oooh! It has a gun!"

"Gotta say, Ah'm likin' the look of that hammer."

"Oh, that one's outfit is simply magnificent!"

'Make sure to choose carefully.' Bakura thought as he observed them with a small, yet sinister smile. 'You will spend eternity within one of those dolls, after all.'

After a few minutes of the girls scanning and debating amongst themselves about which figurine they would use, this including Rarity insisting that Applejack should pick a character with a red colour scheme, they all sat themselves down at the other end of the game table, characters at the ready.

"We've picked our characters!" Rainbow Dash declared, eager to start the RPG adventure.

"Perfect." Bakura began to type away on his specialized computer. "I'll just go ahead and put in your data."

Twilight Sparkle
Race: Elf
Profession: Sorceress
Weapon: Magic staff
LV 1
HP 22

Fluttershy
Race: Half elven, half human
Profession: Magical Beast Tamer
Weapon: Magic gloves
LV 1
HP 18

Rainbow Dash
Race: Human
Profession: Warrior
Weapon: Sword
LV 1
HP 25

Pinkie Pie
Race: Human
Profession: Magic gunwoman
Weapon: Magic gun
LV 1
HP 23

Applejack
Race: Half dwarven, half human
Profession: Warrior smith
Weapon: Dwarven warhammer
LV 1
HP 26

Rarity
Race: Elf
Profession: High Merchant
Weapon: Elven daggers
LV 1
HP 20

"Everything appears to be in order." Bakura remarked idly, now having put in the character's data. He then gave the girls a sharp smile. "We're all set up."

Rainbow Dash pumped her fist in excitement, getting hyped to kick butt at yet another game. "Yeah, let's get this thing going!"

"Let's do our best, girls!" Rarity clapped her hands in anticipation, a sentiment shared by the five others who exchanged smiles, thinking of how fun this new game would surely prove to be, even if Sunset didn't join them.

Bakura, meanwhile, merely observed them with his usual false smile, though there was a very real sadistic amusement hiding behind it. Oh, those poor foolish girls had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.

And once they realized just what this game truly was, and what fate awated the loser, it would be all too late...

GAME OVER!
YOU LOSE!

Sunset merely let out what felt like her thousand sigh as she failed to defeat the game's final boss for what felt like the thousand time that day. She carelessly threw her controller aside and instead leaned back into her couch, thinking hard over the events of today and yesterday.

After the girls had all headed over to Ryou's place despite Sunset's warnings and protests, Sunset herself had simply head home by her lonesome, spending the rest of the friday playing the same levels over and over again. Not that she was happy about that.

She let out a small frustrated noise. Why couldn't the others see that she just wanted to keep them all safe!?

It wasn't that she thought that Ryou was a bad guy or truly meant any harm. Far from it. In fact, he was undoubtedly one of the kindest people she had ever met. But that didn't mean that he wasn't dangerous.

Having all of one's friends fall into comas couldn't be a simple coincidence. And Trixie who revealed his secret fell victim shortly afterwards. She had tried to tell the other Rainbooms just that, but they were adamant that it all had to be some sort of misunderstanding.

Did Sunset think Ryou was responsible for it? Yes.

Did Sunset think Ryou had done it on purpose? Hard no.

For some reason or other, Ryou had to have some manner of curse on him. Wether it was equestrian magic or something else she did not know. All she knew was that the curse was dangerous. And as much as it pained Sunset to think it, she couldn't risk such a curse befalling her friends. Even if it meant leaving Ryou all by himself... much like she herself had been once...

Truth be told, she had felt terrible after what she had said to Ryou earlier the other day. Sunset had just been so angry, and princess Celestia had always remarked how temperamental she could be. She thought her anger was justified, but she definetly could've handled the situation better... Sunset could still clearly remember how absolutely heartbroken the white-haired boy had looked as she had torn into him verbally.

The interdimensional girl was somewhat saved from more of these gloomy thoughts as she heard a familiar vibration pattern accompanied as the book she had recieved from princess Celestia all those years ago glowed on her coffee table. Knowing that the book had been filled with a new message from princess Twilight of Equestria, Sunset eagerly grabbed hold of it.

Even though she hadn't told the rest of the Rainbooms about it, Sunset had infact been in attempted correspondence with the interdimensional pony princess. But not directly about Ryou, but moreso over his millenium ring.

Ever since he had first showed the artifact to them, Sunset hadn't been able to shake the feeling that she had seen the item somewhere. But not somewhere in the human world, that much she was sure of. Unfortunatley, she no longer had access to the vast library on magical items from Equestria, and had therefore written to princess Twilight about it as soon as the game night she, the girls and Ryou had shared was over.

She knew it was hypocritical to hide things like this from her friends, espescially conscidering how she had blown up on Ryou over his secrets. But at the same time, Sunset knew how her friends would only see this as another wacky overreaction on her part.

Taking a deep breath as if to calm herself, Sunset then opened the magic book and began to read the message from another princess Twilight, eager to find out anything about the millenium ring. The message was written in the pony princess' usual neat and elegant handwriting, and it read as follows;

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

Normally I would take the time to ask you how your friendships is progressing at Canterlot High, but this time I need to jump straight to the point.

Firstly, while I am sorry that it took such a long time for me to respond to you, I assure you that there is a very good reason. The sketch you drew of the so-called "millenium ring" was very informative and helped narrow down the search immensely. Unfortunatley, I had little to go on other than a sketch and a name.

I immediatley retreated into my library for any books on magical items, but that alone took up a great deal of my time. Once I finally did find some manner of reference to the item, it was some old documents which have now been estimated to be around 3000 years old.

Of course, they weren't in the best condition, which irked me to no end, mind you! But nonetheless, on the documents were detailed drawings clearly ressembling the artifact you described, along with six other strange items, all with the same eerire eye-symbol. But that's research for another day!

Unfortunatley, much of the documents content have been lost as time has passed (probably because the previous librarians have no sense of historical preservation!). The few bits of text I could make out were written in a language even I didn't recognize.

I contacted princess Celestia (she says "Hi", by the way!), who send the renowned history professor Dusty Tomes to my castle in Ponyville all the way from Canterlot. His knowledge and skills was beyond useful.

Apparently the documents belonged to a team of adventurers who made an expidtion to the human world 3000-ish years ago, the date isn't specified. Apparently they were gone for three years in your world before coming back. But only three of the original 13 explorers returned... and it is said that those three were never the same.

From what little professor Tomes could make out, much of the text is some sort of poems that doesn't make much sense in translation. However, among the text surrounding the seven mystery items, including the millenium ring, a few key phrases kept coming up;

Darkness, Evil, Shadow Game, Destruction and Soul.

I don't know anything about this "Ryou Bakura"-character who apparently possesses it, but I do know something:

Whatever that item is, it can't be good.

I'm afraid that's all the help I can be at the moment. However you choose to handle this, I know that you will make the right descision, Sunset. I have faith in you.

Take care,
Twilight Sparkle

Sunset could barely breathe as she read over the last few paragraphs of the message over and over again, as if desperatly hoping that there was some hidden meaning behind it she had missed. Eventually giving up, she threw the book aside and put her face in her hands, thinking hard over what she'd just read.

Some equestrian adventurers had ventured into the human world 3000 years ago... around the time of the egyptian dynasties. Only three of them had returned and included findings of the millenium ring in their texts, along with six other items...

But much like what princess Twilight had said, it was clear to Sunset now that the millenium ring was bad news. It was probably through that item that all those people fell into comas in the first place, Trixie included.

It was with a horrified gasp that she realized at this very moment her best friends were within close range of that very same artifact.

Back at the Blackwood house, the girls and who they thought to be Ryou were just about to start the adventure board game. There was only one little complication.

"Um, hey now," Applejack began, scratching her head in slight confusion as she observed the large game board. "we're the only folks on the field."

Bakura just grinned back at her. "One feature of this game is that it's not always obvious just where the monsters and challenges are hiding." He explained, "It's up to the players to explore and learn more of their surroundings and through that discover their objective."

Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated noise. "But we don't know the first thing about this place!"

"Indeed, it's not all that clear how we should reach the final boss monster." Rarity remarked, a hand on her chin in thought.

Twilight adjusted her glasses as she observed the board, until her eyes lit up as she saw a little wooden settlement. "We can always try heading to the village and ask around." She suggested, remembering some things Shining Armor and Spike had mentioned occasionally, "That's a common RPG trope if I'm not mistaken."

"Sounds good to me." Fluttershy shrugged passively and the others expressed their agreement as well.

"Then let's head to the village!"

"Alright." Bakura typed in some things into the computer. "It takes you five turns to reach the village. Fortunatley for you, you encounter no trouble on your way there."

"Oh thank goodness!" Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief, whereas Rainbow Dash looked a little put out.

"No fun is more like it..." The athletic girl grumbled to herself.

Her chagrin was quickly forgotten when Bakura took the liberty of the 'shell' of the village, revealing a very small, yet detailed diorama of a bar-like setting, complete with many unique figurines serving as bar patrons, the bartender and the like. It was very detailed, as for example by the counter one could clearly see many small fake flasks that actually looked made out of real glass and were all clearly labeled.

"Amazing!" Twilight exclaimed, stars in her eyes as she eagerly observed the little miniature, amazed by the amount of detail Ryou must've put into it.

"Oh, how charming!" Rarity said, finding the small setting to be quite endearing.

"Yeah, yeah, it's impressive, got it!" Rainbow Dash was getting impatient as always. "Now let's get some of that info already!"

"Way ahead of ya!" Pinkie Pie assured the others confidently. She then took a hold of her own figurine and eagerly placed it within the bar, getting into character. "Hiya! I'm Pinkie! Me and my friends here need some information about this place and fast!"

Bakura analysed the data. "Your charisma and bold words garner the attention of a villager sitting by themselves in a lone booth."

The girls now turned their attention towards the bar, their eyes quickly spotting the only figurine that was standing by itself. Though the Rainbooms quickly found that there was something oddly familiar about that particular character.

Rainbow Dash found it funny, letting out a snort as she pointed down at the blue-skinned figurine. "Look at this one! It kinda looks like Trixie!"

Though the girls had all thought that the doll looked familiar, but now that they got a closer look it really did look much like Trixie. It had the same hair colour and shape, even the same shade of blue skin colour as her. How odd.

"It sure got that same arrogant look to it." Applejack remarked.

"Y-You there...! Rainbooms!" A voice suddenly pipped up, it's owner believing that it had finally found some saviours. Though the voice was unnatrually silent, nearly inaudible.

"Did you girls hear something?" Rarity asked, thinking to herself that she'd just heard someone talk.

"Can't say that I did." Pinkie Pie shrugged.

"H-Help me, please...!" Begged the figurine which in actuallity contained the soul of one Trixie Lulamoon, having been placed there by the spirit of the ring. She had managed to raise her voice just a bit. "Ba-Bakura turned me into a doll! H-He's a monster!"

"... Did that doll just talk?" Fluttershy asked quietly, as now both she and the other girls had definetly heard the figurine say something, though they couldn't quite make out just what it said.

"Don't be silly, Fluttershy." Twilight rebuked gently, always logical. "Roles which aren't the main adventurers should fall under the Game Master's area of responsibility."

"So that was Ryou talking?" Rainbow Dash asked, slightly impressed. "Man, he really got that voice-acting down."

While the Rainbooms where having that riveting conversation, they were unaware of the dark, soul-piercing glare that Bakura was sending Trixie. The doll containing her soul flinched at his evil gaze, his dark and raspy voice starting to echo within her head.

'You are no longer a charlatan nor are you the human Trixie Lulamoon.' He told her through a mind-link, his angry voice sounding much like that of a demon. 'By my hand have you become an eternal resident of this game world.'

Trixie was powerless to do anything but to stare up in as much horror as her figurine body would allow at the malevolent spirit whose eyes promised torment beyond imagening should she disobey him. 'You are a mere villager, and you know I have the power to back up my threats. Now play your role and play it well, or else...'

Knowing that it would be futile to even attempt to resist the evil being, Trixie began to retell the dialouge she had been given. "I-I take it the six of you aren't from around here?"

Her voice was now noticeably louder, and Trixie couldn't help but wonder if it was another of Bakura's tricks, but she was too terrified of the demon in human flesh to dare speak up. Instead she merely continued to deliver the in-game expossition. "Our kingdom of Monsley was once a peaceful and harmonious land, until that one fateful day."

"Why, whatever happened?" Rarity asked, both her and the others already getting intruiged.

"O-one day the sky turned black, heralding the awakening of Dark Master Zorc from his thousand year slumber!"

"Dark Master Zorc?" Applejack repeated, trying out the name on her tounge.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, found this piece of information to be quite amusing. "Zorc?" She repeated, trying to hold back a snicker. "What kinda Big-Bad name is that? It rhymes with 'Pork', for crying outloud!"

While the other five girls laughed at this, it took every part of Bakura's self-control not to tear the annoying rainbow-haired insect apart right then and there. Insulting Zorc was practically like insulting him, after all.

"Aww, c'mon, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie tried to appease her friend cheerfully. "At least it's better than 'Zarc'!"

At that everyone else in the room, including the demon who had wandered the earth for millenia and existed long before even that, stared at Pinkie Pie in silence, trying to comprehend what she had just said.

"... What even is that?" Rainbow Dash asked after a moment of weird silence.

Pinkie Pie just blinked at her, smile still in place, "What is what?"

"Girls, focus!" Twilight brought everyone's attention back to the game itself, as she continued to question the villager "What did this Zorc-character do exactly?"

"After Zorc had risen again he swiftly executed our kingdom's beloved royal family before taking their castle for his own."

The girls all gasped at this, shocked and appaled by the information. "That's horrible!"

Though Trixie wanted nothing more than to scream at them to save her, she could feel Bakura's dark glare and reluctantly kept repeating the dialouge. "Under Zorc's rule a great deal of monsters have begun invading our lands, pillaging and slaughtering wherever they go. Many of my fellow villagers have fallen victim..."

All the Rainbooms were horrified by this, even though it was a fictional world. It filled all of them with a determination to stop the so-called Dark Master.

"Where can we find this Zorc-guy!?" Rainbow Dash demanded, clenching her fists. "I want to give him a piece of my mind!"

"His castle lays far north from this village."

"Then that's where we're goin'!" Applejack declared determinedly, the others calling out in agreement. Bakura merely observed them, his inner thoughts filled with gleeful cruelty.

The adventurers then swiftly left the village, unknowingly leaving the doll containing Trixie's soul behind. After three quick turns, a beep was heard from Bakura's computer.

"Ah, the adventurers have now reached a Monster Area." He announced with a sharp smile. "Take heed, for all around there be monsters..."

"In that case we should probably be careful." Twilight remarked while observing the playing field critically.

"Y-yeah, let's do that!" Fluttershy, even though it was simply a board game, really didn't want to fight anything or anyone if she could avoid it.

"Nah! I'm not scared of any monsters!" Rainbow Dash, however, was thirsting for some good action and therefore moved her own piece. "Let's get going!"

"Ask and you shall recieve." Bakura grinned as he typed in the data. "A monsters now appear, a rogue mountain-goblin to be precise."

As the new figurine was placed in the appropriate spot, the girls now got their first look at what kind of enemies they would be fighting.

"Oh, how revolting!" The other girls found that they agreed with Rarity's assesment. Even though the figurine was made of wood, the goblin still had a very unsavory appearance. With its grey skin, stooped posture, coarse hair, large muscular body, low forehead and porcine face, it as certainly not beautiful by anyone's standards.

"This particular goblin," Bakura began, eager to explain the lore, "though not allied with Zorc, have taken advantage of the chaos throughout the kingdom and left the mountains in the west along with his kin, ravaging and stealing from any unfortunate village he comes across."

"Why, he's just a no-good varmint!" It was common knowledge that Applejack held no love for thieves, and this imaginary goblin proved to be no different.

"The goblin expresses clear hostility and probably aim to steal the adventurers' items. How do you respond?"

Applejack adjusted her hat, wanting to teach that imaginary monster a thing or two. "No way we're surrendering to some no-good thieves!"

"Yeah, let's kick some goblin-butt!"

Seeing their excitement, Bakura held up his hand to show the girls two small objects. "All battles will be conducted through these two ten-sided dice."

This caused the girls to momentarily pause in their excitement. "Oh yeah, you mentioned that."

"The white die represents the one's position. The red die covers the ten's position. The closer you roll to zero the more damage you will inflict." Bakura explained. The girls all nodded or shrugged in response, not thinking of it as too complicated.

"Sounds simple enough." Rarity commented idly.

"However," Bakura then interjected, and the girls all thought that his smile became sharper then usual and even his voice sounded more low and raspy. "Should you roll a 99... punishment awaits."

Rainbow Dash let out an impressed whistle. "Man, Ryou's really getting into this whole 'bad guy'-persona, isn't he?"

"Well, obviously, darling." Rarity responded, a smile on her face. "He is the game master, after all. It's to make it more engaging. Bravo, Ryou!"

Bakura didn't respond to the praise as he analysed the game data. "Now, despite the goblins taking the adventurers by surprise, all of your characters have far better speed than the slow, mountain-breed of goblins. The first attack is therefore yours."

"Got it! I'll start!" Rainbow Dash eagerly grabbed a hold of the dice and threw them, she and the others anticipantly awaiting the result.

"Alright." Bakura was typing away. "That's a direct hit. The first enemy goblin is taken out with a single percise swing of the warrior's sword."

"Aw yeah! Who's the boss!?" Rainbow Dash pumped her fists in victory. The athletic girl's excitement was quite contagious, as the others chatted among themselves, happy to seemingly have made some progress.

Bakura merely observed the girls' elation, his thoughts filled with dark amusement. 'Enjoy all the meager victories you like.' He thought with a hidden sharp smile. 'For so little do you know of this shadow game's true nature...'

The players then continued on their trip north, until they came across a knocked over figurine, upon which they were interrupted by Bakura. "On their path the adventurers come across what appears to be a simple villager lying unconscious on the ground with clear signs of a struggle."

"Oh, poor thing. Let's help!" Fluttershy insisted, eager to help someone in trouble.

"I dunno..." Applejack murmured, sounding unsure. "Seems kinda suspiscious."

Twilight nodded. "Applejack's right. It could be a trap."

Pinkie Pie, however, had no such qualms and, without consulting the others, simply smiled and lifted the figurine upright. "Nah! Let's help him!"

"I need your aid, all of you!" Said the villager, or rather, Bakura who was acting the part. "I was attacked in the forest by monsters who stole my treasure!"

"Did he say treasure!?" Rarity's eyes lit up in excitement at the prospect.

"Yes." The stranger continued on, "Said treasure is a map that leads one to the location of the Holy Sword of Ramnael! The only thing that can defeat Zorc!"

"Something that can defeat Zorc?" Twilight repeated, sounding both intruiged and somewhat suspiscious. The stranger kept on talking, paying her tone no heed.

"I was transporting the map in hopes of getting it to the scattered resistance forces around the kingdom, but if Zorc should get his hands on the sword then all hope is lost! I beg you to retrive the map!"

"What should we do?" Fluttershy asked the others, unsure of the best course of action.

"Is it really that easy to find something that can lead to Zorc's defeat?" Twilight still found the whole idea to be somewhat odd. Knowing Ryou, he tended to enjoy complex and challenging games. Simply retreaving a map that lead to a so-called 'Holy sword' didn't sound much like his usual style.

"C'mon! A treasure is always good!" Rainbow Dash on the other hand had no such suspiscions, already imagining herself in the game swinging down the mystic sword on the Dark Master.

Rarity seemed to be in agreement with the atheltic girl. "I'm sure that it'll be fine, darlings. With all of us working together, retrieving that map will be simple."

Hearing the fashionista's words, the other felt encouraged. Rarity was right, if their past had proved anything the it was that nothing was impossible with all of them working together. Of course, they ignored acknowledging that Sunset was not currently with them.

"Alright, we'll help you get back that map!" Twilight declared resolutely.

"Thank you greatly." The villager expressed his gratitude. "I'll accompany you to the forrest."

"What should we call you, by the way?" Rainbow Dash then asked curiously.

"I am Akefia."

A certain party-loving girl couldn't hold back her giggle at that. "That's a funny name! We should totally get together and party after this adventure-thing!"

After the group of players all shared a chuckle at Pinkie's words, not including Bakura, they all knew their next course of action. "Alright then. Let's head go and retrive that map!"

A few uneventful turns passed before the players began to reach their designation, following the guidance of the Akefia character.

"Alright." Bakura declared, looking over the game data as he narrated. "The adventurers enter the dark forest of the west. In this area, the monster encounter rate is 80%. Judgement Roll."

The demon in human flesh cast the dice, and let out a pleased noise at the result.

"Excellent. Seven rabid monsters appear, therefore a battle is now iniciated."

As seven new and figurines of different, bizarre monsters entered the board, the Rainbooms minus one began to feel somewhat pumped up, hoping that not just Rainbow Dash would get to roll during this battle.

Speaking of, the rainbow-haired girl grabbed a hold of the two dice and eagerly cast them. "Alright! Let's roll!"

"An awful roll." Bakura commented as he lazily typed in the data, a smirk spreading across his face. "Rainbow Dash the warrior trips over her own feet."

"Aw, come on!" Rainbow Dash whined as the other girls let out small giggles.

"Hehe, so much for that." Applejack gave her atheltic friend a teasing look, while said friend merely glared back at her. "Let me show yah how it's done!"

"A swift swing." Bakura announced idly. "The hostile orc stands little chance against against the half-dwarf's mighty hammer and perishes after a single hit."

"Yee-haw!" The farm girl pumped her fist in celebration, glad to have delt the first blood.

"Bravo, Applejack!" Rarity praised her friends, clapping her hands together lightly while the others gave similar remarks. That is except Rainbow Dash.

"Eh, let's be honest." She shrugged, not sounding all that impressed as she simply observed her nails, though there was clear mischief dancing in her violet eyes. "It was passable, at best."

The other girls all shared a good laugh, even Applejack took it in good humor as she lightly punched Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. "Ah, shut it, you."

Pinkie Pie, now eager to do some damage of her own, cast the dice energeticaly. "Alrighty! I wanna blow something up!"

"A direct hit. Pinkie's magic gun makes short work of her opponent who is shot right through by the magic bullet."

"Yipee!" Pinkie Pie cheered loudly.

Rainbow Dash patted her on the back, a grin on her face. "Way to go, Pinks!"

It was then Rarity's turn. "Alright then, I roll!"

"Another good roll. The elf merchant catchers her enemy off guard using her elven speed and daggers."

"Yes!" Rarity exclaimed happily, "That's three of those horrid creatures gone now!"

Fluttershy, ever timid, though fearing that she may not get that good of a roll, cast the dice nonetheless. "M-my turn."

"Ah, now this is interesting." Bakura murmured as he typed in Fluttershy's roll and analysed the data. "A beast tamer with elven heritage, even though they are at a low level, have the ability to turn an enemy monster into an ally."

"R-really?" Fluttershy was surprised at this particular ability, though she was excited all the same.

"Alright, let's see..." The usually timid girl murmured as she looked over the remaining monsters, before she finally settled on one. It was a bizzare creature, alright. It's entire bronze coloured body being round with small blunt appendages to serve as makeshift arms and legs. Its eyes were large and narrow in hate and rage, blood red in colour.

And yet, Fluttershy, lover of all critters, thought to herself that there was potential for goodness there, which was precisely why she selected that monster. "I pick you!"

Using her Glove Hand attack, Fluttershy the beast tamer turned the previously malicious monster into a creature that could only be described as adorable. The monster figurine was replaced by one with similar body type, but it's skin was now yellow, it had a smile that could melt one's heart, and it's previously large and narrow eyes were now pink, smaller, and far friendlier.

Naturally, the girls all let out their respective, "Aww"s.

"Oh, it's simply adorable!" Rarity gushed over the newly transformed monster.

"Looks like we have a new ally on our team." Twilight remarked with a smile.

"Yeah! Way to go, Flutters!" Said animal-loving girl couldn't help but blush at the praise she recieved from the other girls, but she too was excited.

"I think I'll call him... Poki!" She declared, looking at the figurine of the newly named 'Poki' with a smile.

After five seperate turns, Twilight grabbed hold of the dice eagerly, happy to finally do something with her own character. "Let's go! My move!"

"A-a supercritical hit!" Bakura declared, his composure seeming to break for the first time in shock. "Despite being a mere apprentice-class sorceress, Twilight lets loose an ultimate magical attack which eradicates all traces of the remaining enemy monsters!"

A stunned silence reigned for just a moment, that is before all the other girls began cheering for their bespectacled friend.

"That. Was. Awesome, Twi! You took out three monsters in one hit!" Rainbow Dash praised her while patting her enthusiastically on the back. The others let out similar sentiments.

"Hoo-nelly! That oughta show 'em!"

"Marvelously done, darling!"

"Hurray for Twilight!"

"Yay..."

Twilight blushed at the big heep of praise, but smiled all the same, happy for her acomplishment. She gave her friends an appreciative look. "Thanks a lot, girls. Now, we can hopefully find that map soon."

However, this moment of levity was not to last, as behind the adventurers, a dark chuckle was heard. Said chuckle came from none other than the Akefia-character who had led them to the forest to begin with.

"Akefia?" Fluttershy questioned, concern and fear in her voice.

The character now spoke, but it was a far contrast from the polite and humble tone which he had spoken in before, now sounding arrogant and downright malicious. "So, you six are the adventurers trying so hard to defy me? Well, that I cannot allow."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Rarity demanded, she and the other girls begining to feel uneasy.

Akefia did not directly answer her, only giving her another dark chuckle. "You all sealed your fates by entering this forest. You tried to unbury the truth, but instead, I shall bury you all right now!"

Rainbow Dash was annoyed by this. "Enough with the riddles! Just who are you!?"

For the first time in a while, the Game Master now adressed the girls as a narrator of the story. But all of them could tell that something about Ryou now seemed... different, as he spoke to them in a noticeably raspy tone, his eyes growing darker and a smirk on his face.

"In a surprising twist, the one whom the adventurers thought was the mere villager Akefia, turned out to be something far more deadly. Before the adventurers' very eyes, Akefia begins to twist and change, revealing the so-called villager's true form!"

"True form!?" All the girls gasped in shock, something which Bakura seemed to delight in.

"Take a good look on the game board and see for yourselves."

The girls did just that, turning their attention back to the Monster World board, only to be shocked by what they saw. For standing in place of the Akefia-figurine was now something far larger and far more frightening in appearance.

It was far taller and wider than any other figurine they had seen so far, easily being three times as tall as any of their own character. It seemed to have a muscular humanoid appearance, but its skin looked coarse and dark and horns seemed to grow out of its back. It wore a dark blue cape which only added to it's impossing appearance, and its yellow eyes seemed to glow from the skull-like face, from which many horns seemed to be growing out of to ressemble some sort of crown.

While the girls thought this new character to look frightening, Bakura seemed to have the time of his life as he exclaims, "For Akefia is truly the Dark Master Zorc! Here to wipe some pesky adventurers off the face of the earth!"

"Zorc!?" All six girls gasped.

The character of Zorc now spoke, and the girls found his voice to be deep and demonic, "You pathetic insects fell for one of the simplest tricks! There never was a map! And even if there was, it wouldn't do you any good for there is no sword in this world that can slay me! Holy or otherwise!"

"No way..." Twilight murmured in mild despair, something which was reflected on the other girls' faces. And, was it just Twilight, or did the game room seem to get a lot colder all of a sudden, not to mention darker...

She was interrupted from this train of thought as Bakura adressed them once again as the narrator, casually resting his face in his hands and looking at them all like a cat who just caught the canary. "The adventurers were completely caught of guard and are now defenseless."

He paused for a bit, and the girls couldn't help but feel uneasy as a downright predatory grin spread across his face. "As such, they are easy prey for Zorc's preemptive assault."

This piece of information was enough to snap the girls out of their shock, but that shock was now replaced by an ominous feeling in their gut.

Rainbow Dash, angry with the ongoing deceit, pointed an accusing finger at the Game Master across the table. "You tricked us!"

Bakura merely scoffed at her words, now grinning as he threw his own pair of ten-sided dice. "Zorc attacks."

"A supercritical hit!?" Twilight gasped, causing Bakura to chuckle.

"I see you're as sharp as ever." Twilight flinched just a little at those words, but moreso the ominous tone in which they were spoken... this didn't sound like Ryou at all.

Her reaction went ignored by Bakura who elaborated, "As decided by the roll, Zorc shall use his dark power to attack a player. As for his target..."

Bakura's dark eyes now roamed over each and every one of the girls, who at this point all felt various levels of unease of how things were progressing. At last it seemed as if the Game Master had selected a target, his sharp eyes getting fixed on none other than Rarity, who flinched under their soul-piercing gaze.

Raising his right arm and pointing at the fashionista, Bakura's mind had been made up. As such, he declared loudly in a voice filled with power, "IT'LL BE YOU!"

Just as the demon in human flesh had uttered those words, Rarity's usually expressive eyes seemed to go completely hollow and dull before her body went completely limp, causing her to fall face first onto the table.

Of course, this caused quite the uproar from her friends. "Rarity!" They all exclaimed before hurrying over to her seat, looking over their now seemingly lifeless body with great concern.

"Rarity, what's wrong!?" Fluttershy asked worringly, already checking things such as the fashionista's pulse, but let out a sigh of small relief when she found that Rarity still had one.

Applejack, on the other hand, merely shook Rarity, albeit gently, as if hoping that it was just like any other time that her friend had fainted. "Rarity! Sugarcube!" The farm girl tried to adress Rarity, her voice quickly growing desperate as she recieved no response from the now unconscious girl. "C'mon, girl, talk to me!"

"Sh-should we call an ambulance?" Pinkie Pie asked, her usual cheery tone having been replaced by one of great concern and her usually poofy hair seemed as if it had deflated. The sight brough Bakura immesurable amounts of joy.

Said spirit hadn't risen at all from his seat, now having decided to drop the act of his host completely. Instead he merely began to laugh lightly, though his raspy voice made it sound incredibly ominous.

His tittering did not went unnoticed, as all the girls turned to look at the only boy there in total disbelief, though it quickly mde way for anger in some of them, mainly Rainbow Dash who glared at him hard, "Are you seriously laughing at a time like this!?"

"R-Ryou... what have you done?" Twilight then asked him, as the intelligent had quickly connected the dots between Bakura's ominous words, what Trixie had told them the other day, and what had just now happened to Rarity. And yet, she prayed to whatever diety existed out there that she was wrong.

Though the other girls looked at Twilight questioningly at this, Bakura merely gave the bespectacled girl a malicious grin in return, eager to completely discard his Nice Guy-act.

"Oh? Didn't I tell you?" He asked them mockingly, sneering all the while. Bakura then outstretched his arm wide as he gestured to the game world. As he did so he looked like the perfect image of how one would imagine a malevolent puppet master. He then continued on.

"We are currently participating in the ultimate Role Playing Game, a game where the players' fates are all decided by the dice. When struck by Zorc's Supercritcal hit, OR should you roll a fumble, the powers of darkness will seal that unfortunate player's soul away!"

"Powers of darkness...?" Twilight murmured to herself, she and the other finding the whole current situation very hard to comprehend. But also, Twilight couldn't help but feel despair overwhelm her as Bakura's words essentially meant that her fears were true. It was the boy who had caused Rarity to end up in her current state. A boy who she thought was her friend...

Twilight's thoughts were apparent on the other girls' expressions as well, all of them looking at Bakura with emotions raging from fear, sadness, betrayal, and of course, anger.

Pinkie and Fluttershy both started to feel tears welling up in the edges of their eyes as they stared at Bakura with expressions filled with disbelief. "Ryou... why would you do this?" The animal loving girl asked quietly, desperatly hoping for all of this to be just some crazy misunderstanding! That it was all some crazy dream!

Bakura only sneered at the two of them, an expression filled with hateful disgust which seemed completely alien on Ryou's usually kind face.

"Enough games!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she slammed her fist down hard on the gaming table, her voice filled with a wild rage. And secretly, there was a great deal of betrayal and sadness hidden underneath, for the athletic girl also felt her heart break at the revelation. "Tell us what you've done to Rarity right now!"

Bakura only let out a full on laugh at this, a laugh which sounded completely deranged. He quickly composed himself as he gave Rainbow Dash and the others a smug smirk. "No need to fret. Ms. Rarity is still very much alive... in the game world that is."

While all the consciouss girls gave Bakura looks of helpless confusion, not understanding what he truly meant, there was something else happening.

None other Rarity herself, had been shocked when Bakura had selected her as the target for Zorc's assault. But as soon as he had announced his intentions to them all while pointing her, she had felt really strange. It had felt as if her entire body had been incased in ice before suddenly losing all senses at her disposal. Even if this experience had only lasted for maybe a microsecond, Rarity would later on admit that it was one of the most uncomfortable and fearful moments of her life.

But as of right now, she had found herself regaining all of her senses, which filled her with no small amounts of joy. But while her eyesight began to return, it instantly became clear that she was no longer in the Blackwood house's game room.

"Wh-what happened to me?" The fashionista asked herself as she rubbed a sore spot on her head. But as she did this she began to take in her new surroundings and was shocked over what she found. Rarity had somehow found herself in some sort of forest. A thick forest where the trees seemed to grow far darker than normal, she noticed. It didn't look like any forest she herself had ever seen. As she was currently without a friend in sight, she began to feel fear forming in her gut.

"Wh-where am I...and for that matter, where did I get this gorgeous outfit!?" Rarity discoverd that she was wearing an extremely fine piece of beutiful, yet practical form fitting tunic-like clothes which were dark blue and violet in colour, not made in any sort of material she knew about, and adorned by many small gems. Around some manner of silver belt hung two daggers in satchels.

While getting a little distracted by her clothes, Rarity then looked up and noticed two very concerning things about the sky. For one; it was red. And two; There were what looked like giant versions of five of her best friends towering over bother her and her surroundings, seeming to look down with various fearful expressions.

"Wh-When did everyone get so big!?" Rarity exclaimed to herself, perhaps a bit stupidly. But then again, as she took another good look at her surroundings... it looked an awful lot like a setting on Ryou's Monster World board... and the clothes she was currently wearing reminded her of the figurine she had selected...

"Wait... No," Rarity murmured to herself, her words growing louder and more paniced as the horrible realization began to set in. "No, I can't possibly be a-a... A DOOOLLLLLL!!!"

The girl's panicked screaming was heard even to the still conscious players. Bakura merely smiled sadistically, seeming to find dark amusement in Rarity's terror. The girls on the other hand looked down at the now doll-Rarity in shock and horror as they began to realize just what Bakura had meant when he told them of his this was meant to be the 'Ultimate RPG'.

Anger quickly seeped into most of the remaining girls as they all now glared at the one they until now had thought of as their friend.

Bakura seemed to delight in their negativity, raising his hands in a mock-placating gesture as he smirked at them all. "Now don't look so angry. There is a way to retrive a soul." He now gestured lazily to the largest figurine on the board. "All you have to do is defeat Zorc."

Applejack, emboldened by this information, grabbed the dice from Rainbow Dash without thinking and threw them, determined to save her friend as soon as possible. "Ah'll save ya, Rares!"

"A five! YES!" The farm girl pumped her fist in celebration, but her elation quickly disappeared as Bakura only chuckled at her. "Now what's so funny!?"

"Applejack, it wasn't your turn!" The demon scolded her harshly, though his dark grin remained all the same. "I've never seen such awful gaming manners!"

"Oh no!" Said girl gasped.

"Allow me to show you just what happens to those who roll without the Master's permission!" Bakura gave Applejack the same damned point he had given Rarity. And just like with the fashionista, Applejack felt a quick yet terrifying freezing sensation before her body uncermoniously crumbled, now without a soul.

That very same soul now found its way inside Applejack's half-dwarven character figurine, very much shocking the farm girl.

"What in the heck is this!?" She exclaimed as she took in everything from her new surroundings to the unique dwarven armor and large hammer she was wielding. Rarity was throughoutly shocked at how her dear friend had suddenly appeared before her in that horrid place, yet at the same time strangely relieved to not be alone in the game world.

While those two took a small comfort in eachothers' presence, the remaing girls all despaired as they saw that yet another one of their friends had fallen victim to Bakura. Much like with Rarity, they futilely tried to wake up Applejack, but to no affect.

"Another one bites the dust." Bakura remarked almost causally, watching the two soul-filled dolls with a predatory expression, causing the others to glare at him in anger, even the more mild mannered girls. Of course, it meant nothing to the demon in human flesh who just snickered darkly at them.

"Now then, let's keep this game going." He turned to the rainbow-haired girl among them with a provoking tilt of his head. "I believe it's your turn?"

Rainbow Dash, now having purposefully set aside her feelings of sadness for anger, glaring at Bakura harshly as she grabbed a strong hold of the two dice, readying to throw them "I'll show you!" She seethed. "I'll get a supercritical and save everyone!"

The Game Master only laughed at the display, his dark eyes fixed on the hand currently holding the dice in amusement. "Why, dear Rainbow Dash, your hand is shaking." He now gave the infamously provokable athlete an insanely provoking grin. "Scared, perhaps?"

"No way!" She denied fiercly, but her hand was indeed visibly shaking quite violently. And if one were to look closely, it was clear that beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy observed their friends with clear concern. Bakura observed her with clear glee.

"Oh, I don't blame you." He assured Rainbow Dash in an obiously fake understanding tone while still giving her that damn grin. "Should you misroll you will be the one eternaly trapped in a figurine, after all. Fear is quite natural. However," None of the girls knew how, but his dark smile somehow grew even wider.

"Should you roll your dice in fear then you'll never get a good result."

Rainbow Dash denied this once again, unknowingly causing her hand to shake even worse. "Shut up! I'm not scared! I'm shaking with anger!"

"That is for the dice to determine."

The other three conscious girls tried to calm and encourage their friend. "You can do it, Rainbow!" Twilight insisted fiercly, not wanting another one of her friends to end up like Rarity and Applejack. "Just focus!"

"I know!" Rainbow Dash harshly responded, but more so because the pressure was starting to seriously affect her judgement. Shortly after she hastily and clumsily threw the dice, watching them roll with a desperate yearning of a good result.

"A Fumble!" Pinkie gasped in worry.

"N-no way...!" Rainbow Dash could hardly believe it, staring at the dice in absolute despair. Was... was she really that scared?

Bakura only laughed maniacally, giving the athletic girl a sadistic look of glee. "The dice don't lie, my dear!" The girls all felt dread within them as the Game Master raised his right arm a third time. "Now join your friends!"

Once again, Rainbow Dash's body went completely limp as the soul was forced out of her body and into the warrior-figurine. The athletic girl found herself in the dark forest, dressed in a suit of armor and armed with a rather fierce-looking sword. Had it not been for the horrifying situation, Rainbow Dash would have found it to be rather awesome. But she was too afraid and regretful at the moment to care.

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack and Rarity both exclaimed, shocked to have another one of their friends join them. But the rainbow-haired girl only had her eyes closed hard, cold sweat still running down her face.

"Damn!" She cursed softly to herself. "I wasn't afraid! I SWEAR WASN'T!"

"How pitiful." Bakura sneered down at her, before turning his attention to a ceratin party-loving girl. "You turn, Pinkie Pie." He called sing-song tone which didn't fit his gravely voice at all.

Said girl, whose hair now looked as if it had completely deflated, didn't respond in her usual loud and cheerful way. Instead, she simply gulped softly before quickly taking hold of the dice.

"Here goes nothing." Pinkie said in a poor attempt at sounding cheerful as she rolled the two dice.

"Oh, poopy..." Pinkie muttered to herself in disapointment while Fluttershy and Twilight could only look on in concern.

Bakura now looked somehow more maliciously eager than usual as he got ready to throw his own pair of dice. "Your poor roll causes Pinkie the gunwoman to freeze in fear, allowing Zorc to make his counter move."

"Another supercritical!?" All three remaining girls gasped in disbelief and worry.

The demon in human flesh only laughed maniacally, espescially happy at the opportunity of getting rid of Pinkie Pie. "This just isn't your day!" Bakura raised his arm to point a fourth time. "NOW BE GONE, YOU PINK PEST!"

The pink-skinned girl's eyes went blank and her body crumbled, her soul and consciousness now finding itself in the Monster World. Despite the horror of it all, Pinkie was strangely unbothered by suddenly finding herself in a game world, and instead couldn't help but get a very itchy trigger finger as she looked down at the magic gun she was now wielding.

"Oooh, potential child endangerment!" She stated mostly to herself with an eager grin, which then grew wider as she spotted her three other friends whom had their souls trapped. "Oh, hiya! You girls are here too!?" She waved to them enthusiastically. "Small Monster World, huh? Cool weapons, by the way!"

The other girls-turned-dolls looked at their poofy-haired friend in unaminous bewilderment.

"Wasn't she, like, extremely serious and solemn just a few moments ago?" Rainbow Dash questioned, leaning on the handle of her sword. "How did she get back to being... well, being Pinkie Pie so quickly?"

While Applejack had no answers at all, the best Rarity could muster was, "It's best not to think about it, darling."

Back by the three still conscious players, Twilight and Fluttershy observed this light-hearted interaction with some very small sense of comfort, while Bakura glared down at them like one would look at a cockroach.

"Insolent fools..." He muttered harshly to himself, before deciding that it was better to focus his energy on getting rid of the remaining two girls. Therefore, he gave Twilight a dark smile. "Well?" He prodded. "Throw the dice, Twilight."

Said bespectacled girl flinched at being adressed, but picked up the dice all the same. However, much like with Rainbow Dash, Twilight's hand was visibly shaking, and Bakura knew that he had already won.

"I believe in you, Twilight." Fluttershy tried to encourage her friend who gave her a smile in return. But Bakura could tell as Twilight threw the dice that her fear and anxiety was getting the better of her.

"No." Twilight gasped softly, utter hopelessness on her face as she saw that damn number.

All the same, Bakura couldn't help but stir the pot a little bit, just for the Hell of it. He had always been one to kick someone when they're down.

"Come now, Twilight. Remember what you said that night in the park?" He purposefuly referred to that particulat interaction the scholarly girl had with his host, because he knew it was one of Ryou's fondest memories of the seven girls.

Seeing that Twilight remembered what he was talking about, Bakura's grin grew more wicked. "It'll be just like visiting Middle-Earth!" He cackled gleefully as poor Twilight visibly only went further into despair at the reminder of the personal exchange between herself and his host. Espescially conscidering that Twilight believed that Bakura was the same kind boy she had interacted with.

"JOIN YOUR FRIENDS IN DARKNESS!" He screamed as he pointed for a fifth time, now causing Twilight's body to go completely lifeless. Instead she woke up in the game world, holding an ornate staff and dressed in ancient-looking, yet form fitting teal magician's robes.

"..." Twilight said nothing as she merely observed her new surroundings with a feeling of sadness, horror, and resignation. Even seeing her other friends trapped in the game couldn't shake her out of her funk.

"And then there was one." Bakura quoted the eerie nursery rhyme as he settled his dark and sharp eyes on the single girl whose soul still remained in her own body.

Fluttershy was quite literally shaking in her seat. Not only becayse of what fate had fallen upon her best friends, but the knowledge that she was soon to join them as nothing more than a doll was even worse.

As she fearfully met Bakura's eyes, she still couldn't help but question wether this truly was the same kind boy whom she and the others had been getting to know for the last couple of weeks. The boy sitting on the opposite side of the table didn't even seem human to her, completely different to the understanding and compassionate Ryou Bakura she thought that she knew.

"Well?" Bakura suddenly demanded harshly, and Fluttershy realized that she had merely been silent for quite a while, and Bakura was clearly running out of patience. "Throw the dice already!"

The poor girl once again flinched at his words, her fear paralyzing her. "I-I-I-I..." She stuttered feebly, feeling utterly helpless as she observed the game board. It was clear that Bakura had been rigging the game for this exact situation, just waiting for the moment that she and the others would slip up.

Now she was all alone while her friends were all trapped in dolls in some sort of sick game scenario, and there was nothing she could do about it!

And yet... as Fluttershy again observed the doll-versions of her friends, who all appeared to be looking right back at her in concern, the animal-loving girl felt a strange desire brewing in her gut. As it had been proven time and time again, nothing was impossible when she and her friends worked together! ... Perhaps that applied to this situation as well.

"Ryou!" She then suddenly declared, the usually timid girl now looking at the Game Master with an unnatural resolve in her usually kind eyes. Safe to say that it was enough to gain his attention as Fluttershy then said, "... Turn me into a doll too!"

"WHAT!?" Exclaimed all five of the other girls, looking up at their remaining friend with fear in their eyes.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing!?" Rainbow Dash demanded, but the pink and yellow girl only kept staring hard at Bakura.

Said demon was actually surprised for once, as he could only gape at Fluttershy, looking at her as if she were insane. "Wh-what!? You would have your soul trapped of your own volition!?"

Fluttershy nodded resolutely, before looking down at the game board as her eyes and tone softened consciderably. She spoke with her usual timidness, but there was a hint of steely determination underneath it. "My friends are all down there... I-I won't leave them! I wan't to fight along side them!"

"Flutteshy..." Rarity could only murmur in a genuinley touched tone as she and the others stared up at their now determined friend.

Bakura, though still taken quite off-guard by the request, quickly regained his wits and grinned malicously at Fluttershy. "Fine then! I'll grant your wish! But know this; should there be noone left to roll the dice then neither one of you will be able to do anything! You will have even less of a chance against Zorc!"

"Just do it!" Fluttershy demanded, and Bakura was all too happy to oblige.

Cackling like a madman, he raised his hand a sixth and final time. "You little fool! THIS IS GAME OVER!"

Like with the other girls, Fluttershy briefly felt a sickening freezinf sensation envelop her before her soul completely left her body, leaving it crumbled face down on the table. The animal-loving girl felt herself waking up in the dark forest beside her friends, now finding herself dressed in dark blue armor and a red-cape, wearing a pair of pristine white gloves with some manner of runes inscribed on them.

"Fluttershy..." Applejack started as she and the others went over to their timid friend. "Not for nothin', but... why'd you do it, sugarcube?"

"I meant what I said." Fluttershy responded resolutely, yet a smile was still on her lips. "I don't want to feel useless! I-I don't like violence... But if I have to fight to protect all of you then I will!"

"Oh, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash said, both she and the others moved by Fluttershy's words.

"I will fight alongside you too! Poki!" The monster-turned-ally from earlier interjected, cutely making himself visible to the girls for the first time. His voice was quite adorable and high-pitched. "Master Fluttershy turned me from Zorc's evil, and I'll do whatever I can to help! Poki!"

"Poki!" The girls all exclaimed in apparent joy, espescially Fluttershy as she gazed lovingly at her new ally.

"That's right." Twilight then said, some of her hope starting to return as all the girls and Poki looked at eachother with smiles. "As long as we keep together then-"

She would've continued on if it weren't for the sudden maniacal laughter interrupting her. Obviously, it belonged to Bakura, of whom a giant version now became visible in the red sky of the game world, looking down at the little group with a twisted look on his face.

"How sentimental!" He sneered down at them, and some of the girls could unfortunatley feel some dread returning. "I'm sure you and the little puffball got a lot of catching up to do, but unless it escaped your notice, allow me to fill you in!"

He then brought up his two ten sided dice for all to see, grinning madly all the while. "There is noone left to roll the dice, no number of meaningless friendship-speeches will change that!"

"Therefore, I as the Dark Master declare myself the-"

"HOLD EVERYTHING!"

Bakura suddenly choked on his own words in surprise. For back in the real world, the sudden words were accompanied by the very door to the game room flying open violently.

"What is the meaning of this!?" The demon in human flesh demanded as he rose from his seat for the first time in a while. He hated being interrupted, after all. But his surprise only grew tenfold as he saw who had slammed open the door.

For standing in the doorway was a sweaty and panting Sunset Shimmer, starring at Bakura with green eyes filled with a steely determination.

Author's Note

Just for reference, this is Poki:

Easily the best character in all of Yugioh
Seriously, fight me on that. I dare you

Ad Monstruosis - II

"Well, well," Bakura started, his previous shock turning into sadistic delight as he took in the sight of Sunset Shimmer. It seemed as if another little lamb had come to join the slaughter "Isn't this a surprise? It's rather rude to break into other peoples' homes, you know."

Sunset ignored his words, her mind solely focused on assuring the well-being of her friends ever since she started to run in panic towards the Blackwood house. Speaking of her friends, she instead focused on the six unconscious bodies of her best friends lying unmoving by the opposite side of the game table.

"Girls!" She called out in distress whilst running up to them. The fiery-haired girl was beyond believed once she found that the girls were all still breathing, but their otherwise seeming lack of life disturbed her greatly.

Sunset tried lightly shaking them and talking to them, desperate for some manner of response but she recieved none. Bakura found the sight to be hilarious, as evident by his dark chuckles.

"I'm afraid you won't get any response that way." The spirit told her, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face. "Their bodies are now little more than empty shells."

The interdimensional girl now finally turned her attention towards Bakura, giving him an enraged glare. "I knew something was up with you." Sunset said darkly, her hands on the unconscious Pinkie Pie's shoulders. "What have you done to my friends!?"

Bakura simply kept looking at her with that damn smirk, uncrossing his arms and now spreading them wide, seeming to gesture towards the great game board. "Your chums are still very much alive if that's what you are asking, Shimmer. But I'm afraid that their souls has found some new homes."

"Their... souls?" Sunset murmured questioningly, not fully understanding what the boy was talking about. It didn't do anything to ease her fears, though. She remembered how 'soul' had been one of the frequently appearing phrases in those documents concerning the millenium ring.

Before she could think much more about it, Sunset suddenly heard a very familiar voice.

"SUNSET! DOWN HERE!" It took just a moment for Sunset to make sense of it all, as she couldn't understand how she was hearing the voice of Rainbow Dash while the body of said athlete was lying unconscious next to her. Once she did at last look down at the game board, letting out a gasp at what she saw.

At a small part of the board depicting a forest there were six Monster World figurines, all of them greatly ressembling her friends. But that wasn't nescessarily the weirdest part.

No, the weirdest part was that all of the dolls were in the middle of waving to her and calling out her name.

"Girls...?" The fiery-haired girl murmured in disbelief.

"Sunset! Thank the heavens you're here! It's Ryou!" Applejack called out, waving her hammer around to catch her friend's attention. Of course, to them, Sunset appeared as a giant in the red sky of the game world's realistic perspective. "I dunno why, but he gone turned real crooked all of a sudden! He turned us into dolls!"

"Yeah! We're trapped in the game!" Twilight yelled.

Sunset listened how the other girls said similar things, starting to understand the situation now. As such, she leveled the most intense glare she could muster at Bakura.

The spirit couldn't care less, shrugging nonchalantly as he grinned malicously at the girl. "Now now, we were playing a game, that's all. They failed and must therefore suffer the consequences. Such is the rule of my kind of games."

"... You mean a Shadow Game, right?" Sunset asked him, remebering the words that had appeared on the equestrian scroll.

Bakura blinked, finding himself in a rare state of surprise, staying silent as he observed Sunset intently with his dark eyes. How could this damn high school girl possibly know about the Shadow Games? Did she know of the millenium items as well?

The girls trapped in the game had no idea what their friend was talking about whatsoever, though.

"A Shadow- what now?" Rainbow Dash tried repeating the word, scratching her head in confusion.

"Shadow Game." Rarity affirmed, though she too looked puzzled. "But darling, whatever is that?"

"I'm not quite sure." Sunset answered honestly, though with a hint of frustration in her tone. She still kept glaring at the one sitting opposite of her. "All I know that it's connected to the millenium ring. Princess Twilight told me."

This took everyone else by surprise. Not only that whatever was happening was apprently because of Ryou's odd pendant, but that the source apparently came from the interdimensional pony princess herself.

Bakura, on the other hand, once again found himself confused, and it was not an experience he enjoyed very much. What was Shimmer blathering about? That Sparkle insect a princess!? Was she referring to someone else?

Moreso, it seemed that whoever she was referring to had knowledge of the millenium items. He would have to remember that.

Sunset narrowed her eyes at Bakura. "That's how you've done this to them, right!? You used the ring somehow!"

The demon used his human body to sneer back at her. "Ring? What ring?" Bakura repeated mockingly, his hands moving towards the buttons of his shirt. "Oh! Do you mean this ring!?"

In one swift motion he ripped open his shirt, revealing to the Rainbooms the sickening sight underneath. Much like it had done for the last couple of days, the prongs of the artifact had imbedded themselves in Ryou Bakura's body, specifically by the center of his chest.

The sight brought about fear and disgust in the Rainbooms, Sunset and the figurines alike. It took a lot of restraint for none of them to throw up at the sight, Rarity almost fainted right then and there. What made it all the more disturbing is how Bakura didn't seem to feel any pain whatsoever, only continuing to smile in that wicked way.

"What in the world...?" Twilight muttered to herself in helpless confusion, something felt by every other girl there.

"So," Bakura started. "You figured out my little secret, Shimmer, most impressive." He now gestured towards the ring. "We have indeed played a little Shadow Game. And as the holder of a millenium item, I dictate what fate awaits the losers!"

"So, that's what your ring is." Sunset stated moreso to herself, trying to focus despite the horrific imagery.

"Yes." He now pointed a triumphant finger at Sunset, "Your friends all lost against me! And since they can no longer continue to play the game, that means that their lives are now mine to do away with as I wish! Such is the supreme law of the Shadow Games!"

"I-I-I don't like the sound of that...!" Fluttershy stuttered out, shaking as she and the others were unerved by the downright predatory look on Bakura's face.

Sunset was defiant, however. "NO! I won't let you! If none of them can keep playing then... then let me play in their stead!"

"WHAT!?" All the transformed girls exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't do it, Sunny!" Pinkie pleaded loudly. "Ryou's being a real meanie!"

"She's right!" Twilight concured. "He's a master at this game! You don't know what he can do!"

"Save yourself, darling!" Rarity tried to convince her interdimensional friend.

Sunset ignored their pleads, still staring down the one sitting opposite of her. "Well?" She baited. "Are you accepting my challenge?"

"Tch." Bakura clicked his tounge, though he smiled nonetheless. He was finding this mortal's attitude, though impudent, to be rather refreshing compare to how other fools would grovel at his feet in these sorts of situations.

"Oh? Is that alright?" He prodded with a challenging grin. "That's quite a bold descision, Shimmer. You would risk your own life to save those colourful plebians? Who knows what will happen should you lose..."

"Of course." Sunset stated with steely resolve, staring hard at the demon in human flesh. "My friends would never abandon me, just as I will never abandon them! I don't care what will happen if I lose! All I care about is stopping you!"

The rest of the Rainbooms band were all touched by this, looking up at their friend with smiles and looks of admiration, depsite the current situation.

Bakura only grinned malisciously at the fiery-haired girl, knowing that should she defeat her as well, then he would have all the pieces needed. "Alright then." He conceded. "I shall agree to your ridiculous request, Shimmer. You may continue on deciding the trapped souls fate through throwing the dice yourself. I trust you're familiar with the Monster Word rules?"

Sunset simply nodded, having actually read up on Monster World the moment she had first been shown the display that day by Ryou. At this point she was quite familiar with how the game's mechanics worked.

The spirit was pleased by her response. "Excellent. However," It took all of Sunset's willpower not to flinch at the sinister grin Bakura gave her, "Should a player's Hit Points become 0, that character will die. So, I suggest you use your little chums carefully."

"We... we can actually die?" Pinkie Pie muttered to herself in shock, her poofy hair seemingly deflating as she gripped her magic gun tightly. A sort of pure shock had spread through both her and the others. Being trapped eternally within figurines wasn't really an appealing fate by any means... but something about the aspect and risk of death being involved made the entire situation all the worse.

Sunset herself wasn't that much better off, feeling cold sweat running down her forehead and gulping softly. "... Let's just play the game." She forced out after a bit of stunned silence. It was strange that after all the evils they ahd already faced, something about the one sitting opposite of her made everything they had faced before seem positively miniscule in comparisson.

Though Bakura cared not, simply cackling softly to himself as he once again readied his specialized computor. "The show must go on, I suppose."

"But first," Sunset interrupted him firmly. "I want you to tell me one thing."

Bakura now looked curious. Despite hating being interrupted, he decided to humor his would-be victim and stayed silent.

Sunset took it as a sign to proceed. Taking a deep breath as if bracing herself, she asked him the one question which had been burning away at her psyche ever since she first barged into the game room.

Looking at the individual sitting opposite of her, she gave him a genuinley hurt and confused look for the first time since she arrived there. "Ryou, why?" Sunset asked him, her anger somewhat melting away to make make way for the hurt this betrayal had caused her. "Why are you doing all of this!? I thought we were friends!"

The other girls all listened in intently as well, wanting to know why exactly the sweet boy they thought that they knew had suddenly done all of these horrible things to them.

Bakura, however, returned Sunset's hurt expression with a dark grin. "Ryou?" He repeated with a dark chuckle, deciding that keeping up the human persona was no longer of any importance "I'm afraid Ryou left the chat quite a while ago."

"Wha... What?" Sunset could only ask, not fully understanding what Ryou- or at least, someone she thought was Ryou - meant with those words... Was the grinning maniac on the other side of the table not Ryou?

Back in the game world, the rest of the girls thought the same thing. Though it sounded absurd, it also strangely made sense. Whoever had trapped them in the game didn't act like the boy they all had gotten to know at all! Heck, he didn't even seem human at times.

"Bu-... But how can that be?" Twilight desperatly tried to wrap her head around the conundrum.

Rainbow Dash, however, took a more hands-on approach. "If you aren't Ryou then just who in the heck are you!?" She demanded angrily, pointing her sword up accusingly at the giant projection of the malevolent Game Master.

Bakura did not take kindly to her bold words and actions, glaring down at the six figurines. "I am many things, mortal." He answered vaguely with a hateful sneer. "Things which a mind like yours couldn't even begin to comprehend. In layman's terms, I am a thief and collector of souls. But for simplicity's sake, just call me Bakura. That was once my own name, after all."

"Well, that's not gonna get confusing at all!" Pinkie said with a smile, which was odd conscidering their current predicament.

"In that case," Twilight started, daring to stare up at Bakura with the best glare she could muster. "What have you done to the real Ryou!?"

The demon in human flesh only laughed darkly, his sinister grin growing even wider. "He's indisposed of at the moment." Seeing the girls' horrified faces at this revelation, Bakura simply laughed and raised his hands placatingly. "But fear not, your little friend is still alive. I can't risk harm to his body, after all."

"His body?" Fluttershy questioned timidly, neither she or the other immediatly understanding what he meant. It was Sunset who managed to put the pieces together quickly, letting out a small gasp as she began to realize just what she was dealing with.

"You mean... you've possessed him!?" Sunset demanded, sounding equal parts horrified and angry.

"Bingo~!" Bakura practically sang in response, his twisted expression and gravelly voice making for quite a horrid combination. "How's that for a twist!?"

"Possessed?" Applejack repeated to herself, before the implication of those words became clear to her. Clenchin her fists in anger, she growled up at Bakura, "Why you no good- Get on out of our friend right now!"

The demon in human flesh simply scoffed at her anger, giving all of the adventurers a sadistic grin. "No dice. I've been partially using dear Ryou's body for five years now and I happen to like it quite a lot."

"For five years!?" Twilight exclaimed in worry as drew the connection to what Ryou had told her. "Then... then you must've come from the millenium ring!" All she got in response was a nod and a sick grin.

"It was you." Sunset then suddenly stated, anger begining to seep into her as the pieces of the mystery all began to fall into the right place. "You're the one who's been putting all of Ryou's friends into comas! Trixie too, for that matter"

"Ah." Bakura let out, sounding awfully pleased with himself. "So you know of my work. Well, I can only say that I'm flattered."

"What a twisted creature." Rarity could only remark in revulsion and fear, and the other girls couldn't help but agree.

"You're sick!" Sunset spat, but Bakura wouldn't just take such an insult lying down.

“Now wait just a moment!" He pointed an accusing finger at her, grinning all the while. "Last I checked, you were the one who sent my host running away from school in tears, so you are are hardly qualified to criticize me on morality, Shimmer!”

Before any of the transformed girls could speak up in their friends defense and describe just all that was wrong with that reasoning, Sunset spoke up, though her expression was subdued and her green eyes filled with guilt.

“... You’re right, I failed Ryou." She acknowledged this in a very vulnerable and regretful voice, thinking of how she had screamed at the white-haired boy that day in the school corridor. She could vividly remember just how heartbroken he had looked, and how his eyes became tearfilled. She, who had sworn to never make someone cry ever again, had reduced a sweet and caring friend to tears for something which wasn't even his fault!

She was silent for a bit, her regretful eyes then becoming angry ones as she stared hard at the one sitting opposite of her. No, it hadn't been Ryou's fault all those people became comatose. It was his! This sick and malicious being using Ryou's body for its own twisted amusement. This was unlike anything she or the others had encountered before. Whatever being was sitting there and grinning wickedly at her with Ryou's face was pure evil.

This only made Sunset's resolve even greater as she glared at the spirit. "I let my past experiences and want to protect those I care about cloud my judgement…" A razor sharp edge now filled her voice, her determination growing only stronger. "But Ryou is someone I care about! And I’ll start to make things right between us by freeing both him and the girls from you, Bakura!”

The deranged spirit only laughed, looking almost excited. "By all means, go ahead. I have some time to kill... Well, not just time."

Sunset only gave him a withering look before turning her attention down towards the game board, her face appearing in the red sky as she spoke to her friends. "Your lives are in good hands." She assured them all. "Remember, we have the advantage of unity! Together we can beat Bakura and get Ryou back and return all of you back to normal!"

"Sunset..." Rarity started in small wonder, but it was quickly replaced by a determined smile. "Alright, darling! You have never led us astray yet! We trust you."

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! We'll team up to defeat that big meanie and get the good old Ryou back!"

The other girls let out similar sentiments to Sunset, though Bakura found it all to be incredibly repulsive, and therefore decided to get the Shadow Game back on track. He wanted their magic, and when he wanted something he took it!

"Now then, our game continues." He declared, readying up the computor and taking on his role as Game Master once more. "Zorc has revealed himself to the adventurers and is ready to tear them all to pieces. However, your characters have the first move as all of their speed stats excels Zorc's."

The interdimensional girl simply nodded, gulping softly as she mentally made herself ready for what was to come. One faulty roll could mean death for herself and her friends, and completely losing the game could mean that Ryou would have to be that spirit's slave forever. He would never get to know just how remorseful Sunset really was for how she acted back then. He would go on thinking that she hated him...

Letting that motivate her, she decided to head on straight into the game. She would make things right with Ryou, but first she needed to win this. It was time to put her gaming skills to good use.

"I'll roll for the warrior!" Sunset declared, gripping the dice in a secure hold as she stared down the demon in human flesh sitting opposite of her.

"You got this, Sun-shim!" Rainbow Dash encouraged her friend, sword at the ready as she fiercly stared down the hulking presence of Zorc. Despite her earlier fears, she was confident that her interdimensional friend would pull through.

Feeling empowered by the athletic girl's words, Sunset threw the dice with confidence, both her and Bakura watching the dice intently as they rolled on the game board.

"Yes!" Sunset cheered, ignoring how Bakura glared at her. "That's a direct hit!"

As if suddenly being filled with a terrible strength and resolve, Rainbow Dash raised her sword on high and rushed towards the Dark Master. In one swift move she sliced of a rather sizeable chunk of Zorc's left arm, making the towering demon let out a keel of anger and pain.

"Woo-Ee! That's showin' 'im, Dash!" Applejack raised her hammer with surprising ease in a cheer.

"Splendid, darling!" Rarity complimented, though noticably somewhat shaken. "Sort of gruesome and horrifying, but mostly splendid!"

"What can I say?" Rainbow Dash shrugged nonchalantly, her earlier fear practically forgotten because of her triumph. "When I'm surrounded by friends who trust me, there's no way I can be scared!"

Though Sunset and the others smiled at these words, Bakura found them repulsive and idiotic. Did they honestly believe that they had even the slightest hope of defeating him? Well, he would show them just what happened to those who dared oppose him.

"The battle continues." Bakura gained their attention, typing away on his computer. Though irked by how one of the insects managed to damage the Dark Master, he still gave Sunset that infernal smirk. "Because of my blunder, Zorc was injured. However, there is little damage."

Sunset clicked her tounge in irritation at this, full well knowing that even one super critical hit wouldn't do much to the game's final boss. If they were to ever have any chance of defeating Zorc then they would need a good string of criticals.

Unaware of the fiery-haired girl's thoughts, Bakura giddily announced, "And now the adventurers' situation becomes even worse!"

"Um, n-no thank you. We're good..." Fluttershy feebly tried to object, though it was futile. For suddenly, Rarity noticed something and let out an interjection of revulsion.

"Good heavens! Look at Zorc's flesh!" The fashionista pointed in horror at the piece of Zorc's arm that Rainbow Dash had previously sliced off. Though the sight was quite gruesome in and of itself, what was happening to it was far more bizarre.

"It's..." Twilight started, halting to simply comprehend just what was transpiring before their eyes. "It's transforming!"

Indeed, the gross piece of Zorc's arm had begun to churn and twitch, almost as if it were alive on its own. In a rather disgusting and bizarre process the flesh split and mutated into two new strange monsters!

One was fairly recognizable enough. It was a fairly large black dragon with narrow, red eyes narrowed in hate and hunger, who growled menacingly at the adventurers. The other creature was a bit more bizarre. It simply resembled a large pruple eyeball with two small bat-like wings surrounded by spikes. Despite being quite literally being brought into existence rather recently, both of the monsters immediatly stared down the group of six.

"Two more monsters!?" Rarity gasped in worry.

"This is turning into a bigger party than I thought... but not the good kind." Pinkie Pie remarked while gripping her magic gun tightly.

"Zorc himself is the source of all that is dark in this world!" Poki explained while floating next to Fluttershy, pointing one of his small blunt appendages at the Dark Master. "Unless he is slain completely then monsters will just continue to spawn!"

Seeing their opponents, the eyeball-creature somehow laughed arrogantly, despite its lack of a mouth. "Master Zorc, we'll finish these fools of for you."

This apparently pleased Zorc, who simply nodded to the new members of his army. "I shall leave it in your hands." Then, in a surprising move, the demon king simply turned around and began to walk away from the forest.

"HEY!" Rainbow Dash cried out in outrage, running up as close as she could and glaring up at the Dark Master. "Are you tryin' to run, Zorc!? Get back here and fight me!"

The large figure simply scoffed, his evil yellow eyes settling on Rainbow Dash dispationatly. "I am going to prepare a fitting final stage for obliterating you insects. Can you not even defeat some of my simple minions then you are not worthy of facing me."

"'Insect'!?" Applejack repeated, brizzling as she cracked her knuckles. "Why, that no good son of a-"

"Darling!" Rarity quickly interjected despite the ongoing situation, placing a hand over the farm girl's mouth. "Watch your language!"

Their interaction did not face Zorc, who simply turned away from them once again. "If you fools long for death that badly, then I shall wait for you by my castle!"

Before anyone else could get as much as a single word in, Zorc suddenly made a giant leap and disappeared into the red sky of the game world, laughing maniacally as he did so. Everyone glared at where he had disappeared to, feeling more determined to bring down the Dark Master than ever.

"Now then, the battle restarts!" Bakura informed Sunset as he typed in the data "It's currently Applejack's chance to attack."

The spirit once again gave the fiery-haired girl an awfully provoking look as he gestured to her lazily. "Roll the dice, Shimmer. But remember; should you roll a Fumble it means instant death for that piece!"

While Sunset felt the pressure from these words, back in the game world, Applejack assured her, "I trust yah, Sunset!" Readying her warhammer, the farm girl gave the eyeball monster a dangerous look. "Just give it yer best shot!"

"Will do!" The interdimensional girl declared, taking a brief moment to breathe in and out. Afterwards, her confident demeanour returned as she threw the dice with determination. Bakura observed the proceedings with dark, calculating eyes.

"A super critical!" Sunset announced brightly while Bakura clicked his tounge in irritation. "The half-dwarf dishes out a powerful strike with her hammer!"

Much like Sunset had said, Applejack suddenly found herself letting out a mighty warcry as she rushed straight at the eyeball monster, delivering a mighty blow that smashed the bizarre creature to mush.

"Way to go, AJ!" Pinkie Pie cheered while clapping her hands together.

The others called out similar words of encouragement while Sunset looked down upon them with a happy smile, glad that things seemed to be coming along rather smoothly so far.

Bakura, on the other hand, had barely even acknowledged the proceedings, his hateful eyes still fixed upon the numbers displayed on the dice Sunset had just thrown.

'How did she...?' The demon in human flesh thought to himself, gnashing his teeth together while doing so. Was Shimmer getting these two critcals just a coincidence, or something else? 'Could she have... There's no way she knows about the-!'

"What's the hold-up!?" Bakura was abruptly brought out of his train of thought as Sunset now demanded his attention, giving him an impatient look with her arms crossed over her chest. "Give us the next game instructions already!"

"Tch, impudent flea." The ancient spirit seethed at being adressed in such a manner by a mere mortal, but forced himself to calm down. Even if he couldn't wait to simply send all of those girls to Hell, the Shadow Game demanded that he acted on his duties as Game Master. As such, he began to type in the data so the game could proceed.

"It seems that the half-dwarf's assault caused mental damage to the other monster." Bakura reluctantly revealed, now turning his sinister gaze down towards Fluttershy. "Beast Tamer, it's your chance to attack."

The timid girl flinched at being adressed by the evil mastermind behind her and her friends' current predicament, but knew that she had to keep on fighting so that all of them could escape the game world and release Ryou from the spirit's control. Therefore, she gulped softly, but her eyes were filled with an odd sort of determination nonetheless as she stared down the dragon monster. "A-alright."

"You can do it, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash was quick to encourage her more reserved friend, standing close by and staring down the enemy dragon along with her.

Twilight joined in on this. "Just remember that your friends believe in you!"

Hearing this and more from her friends, Fluttershy drew a small breath before a sense of determination fill her. Locking eyes with the sinister dragon, she raised her hands in order to begin her hypnotism spell.

"Tamer's hand power!" She called out in the loudest voice she could muster and before she knew it, golden yellow streams of magical energy began to seep out of her hands only to strike the enemy monster, who cried out in frustration and pain at the contact with the light magic force.

Bakura was not faced by this, however, smirking confidently down at them. "The Zorc Arm Dragon is a monster who until just recently was a part of Zorc. Your chance of functioning hypnotism is low. Ten percent!"

"Ten percent!?" Sunset gasped.

"That means..." Twilight started worridly, adjusting her glasses. "Unless Sunset rolls a number that is less than 10, her spell won't work!"

Rarity gulped softly. "And the odds of that are...?"

"Not very high."

"Sunset will pull through!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed confidently, raising a closed fist in determination. "We gotta believe in her, that's all!"

"Throw the dice, Shimmer." Bakura prodded, a sinister smile as he eagerly awaited the moment Sunset's luck would fail her. "Judgement roll!"

The fiery-haired girls simply gave him a glare while throwing her dice, both of them landing in a way that caused them to spin, making them look like a pair of teetotums. Despite his confidence, Bakura couldn't help but observe the dice carefully.

One of them, the red dice, finally stopped spinning, falling over to reveal an 8. Bakura smirked maliciously at this, now thinking that Sunset had already failed. The red dice represented the ten's position, and therefore Sunset's result was now determined to be something over 80.

Or, at least, that's what he thought...

Sunset, despite the appauling result, didn't waver in her confident expression. In fact, Bakura could've sworn that the girl was smirking at him. Before he could lay to much thought into this, the impossible happened.

Right before his very eyes, the still spinning white dice crashed into the unmoving red dice, sending it back into motion!

Bakura actually felt a rare sense of shock within him, gasping aloud as he watched the now two spinning dice. "Th-this technique...!"

"That's exactly right." Sunset suddenly said, a self-assured expression on her face as she stared down the spirit. "This is a dice-rolling technique called Double Hit. In fact," Her face now turned angry, green eyes glaring at the Game Master as she pointed an accusing finger at him. "Unless I'm wrong, it's the very same technique you've been using to get your string of criticals!"

Bakura could only seethe quietly, as before he could get an outraged word in, the two dice finally stopped spinning and showed a new result:

The demon in human flesh almost choked on his own spit, tensing in shock and anger at this new discovery. He glared hard at Sunset, wishing he could just leap over the table and end her life right then and there. The girl simply smirked back at him, only serving to make him angrier.

"The hypnotism was succesful." She stated before turning her attention down towards the game board. "You're all good to go, Fluttershy!"

"R-Right!" The usually reserved girl exclaimed with only a small stutter, the magic flow from her hands suddenly disappearing and being replaced by two giant white gloved hands. Before the enemy dragon could as much as react, the hands incased it and began rubbing and twisting it.

The girls all watched the proceedings with slight tredipation, but also some confusion at the pure wackiness of it all... except Pinkie Pie, who just kept smiling like always.

After a few moments, the giant pair of hands suddenly literally poofed out of existense, revealing the newly reformed monster. It was still a dragon, though smaller in size than before. Its eyes, earlier narrow and red, were now larger and sky blue. Its scales, previously black and sickly looking, now were a glistening orange colour. While it had only snarled at them earlier, now it had a somewhat goofy grin on its face.

Fluttershy was completely taken by the dragon's new appearance, rushing over to it and immediatly starting to pet and coo at it. Her earlier fears were almost forgotten, now overjoyed that she could actually interact and pet these cute little fantasy creatures. "Well, aren't you just the cutest little guy!?"

The now good dragon leaned into her touch, practically purring while Fluttershy sweet-talked him. Her friends all watched this with amusement.

"Well now, there's a sight I never thought I'd see." Applejack remarked with a light chuckle as she leaned on her warhammer. Sunset also observed it with a smile, briefly wondering what Fluttershy would think of all the dragons back in Equestria.

Poki also flew over to the new member of the crew, eager to converse. "Welcome aboard, Pao! Your heart is now free from evil."

"Got it!" The now named Pao responded eagerly as Fluttershy stopped petting him. "I'll fight for my new master!"

While this was happening, Bakura was still staring at his opponent's thrown dice in shock. His dark eyes were wide in anger as he seethed to himself. 'I had no idea Shimmer knew the Double Hit trick! It appears that I've been underestamating her...'

Back in the game world, it was Rarity who remembered. "Now wait just a minute!" She exclaimed, gaining the attention of the others. "Didn't Sunset mention something about a technique Bakura has been using to get all of his criticals?"

The other girls all gasped, now also remembering. "That's right, she did!"

"You mean... he's been cheating this whole time!?" Rainbow Dash got out in anger, looking up at the red sky were Bakura presumably was.

"That's exactly right." Sunset confirmed before turning her attention back to the one sitting opposite of her, a small smirk on her face as she pointed at him. "Sorry, spirit, but your cheating won't work on me."

Bakura said nothing, though it was clear that he was churning on the inside because of anger, if his expression was to go by. But then, he seemed to regain his composure, simply glaring at Sunset as he conceded.

"... Alright then. From now on the Double Hit technique is banned for both players." To demonstrate his point, he picked up a pair of dice before merely letting them fall to the board. "Instead we shall roll the dice by simply dropping them. Agreed?"

Sunset now narrowed her green eyes at him. So, as soon as he figured that his own cheating could be used against him, he suddenly decided that it shouln't be legal? Sunset nearly scoffed, starting to realize that the spirit of the ring was apparently quite petty. Instead of saying any of this, she simply shrugged as a response. "Fine by me."

"Then let's continue the game." He announced as he began typing away on the computor. Though annoyed that Sunset had discovered that particulat little leverage, Bakura was still confident that he had nothing to fear. After all, he had many other tricks up his sleeve, and the Rainbooms would learn of them soon enough. "As Zorc's underlings are now defeated, the adventurers proceed through the forest."

And proceed through the forest they did. Of course, there wasn't much Sunset could do currently, so she simply had to sit in tense silence while her friends made their way towards Zorc's castle.

Said friends were currently making their way throughout the forest. Despite the dark forest part of the map being relatively small, it was a whole other thing to actually travel through the real forest than simply moving their own wooden pieces.

The journey went on and on, and it was difficult for them all to keep track as to just how long they were walking. The length of the trip was certainly doing a fine job of tiring some of them out, the fact that most of them were wearing heavy armor and weapons didn't help, of course.

It eventually came to the point where Rarity let out a tired noise of frustration, planting herself down on a nearby log to massage her aching feet. "Oh, had I known I would be forced to wander through some dank, terrible forest I would've worn something more appropriate. My poor feet are killing me!"

"It can't be helped." Twilight stated determindedly, though she would be lying if she said that she wasn't starting to feel tired herself. But it didn't matter to her, for she was a girl on a mission. "I'm sorry, Rarity. But if we want to escape the game and get Ryou back we'll have to reach Zorc's castle as quickly as possible."

“Yah heard her, Rares." Applejack walked up to the log and offered Rarity her armored hand with an encouraging smile. "C'mon, girl, get up."

The fashionista simply pouted up at the farm girl, but it was clear that Applejack wasn't having it. Letting out a small sigh, Rarity collected herself and let Applejack help her up on her feet.

"There we go, sugarcube." Applejack told her with an understanding smile, though she herself was also determined to save not only herself and all of the other girls, but Ryou as well.

"Now can we move on?" She asked the entire group, looking around suspisciously as if expecting some new monster to jump out at them at any time. "These here woods make me feel as if we’re gonna git jumped by the Knights who say ‘Ni’.”

“Actually, AJ," Pinkie Pie interjected cheerfully, almost suddenly appearing next to a bewildered Applejack. "They are now the Knights who say ‘Ekki-Ekki-Ekki-Pitang-Zoom-Boing’!”

This got the whole group to share a little chuckle while Applejack rubbed her neck abashedly. “Hehe, whoops. Mah mistake.”

“Urgh," The impatient Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated noise. "Are we just gonna stand here all day making obscure references, or are we actually gonna go and kick that Zorc-guy's butt?”

"I don't think you have to wait much longer, Rainbow Dash." Twilight remarked, standing near the edge of the forest and pointing forward. "Come and look at this, girls!"

The other five adventurers and their two monster companions rushed over towards Twilight, letting out gasps as they got closer and saw just what she was pointing at.

For infront of them was the great and imposing structure which had been their goal ever since the game's first turn: The castle of Dark Master Zorc. Though it was certainly an impressive castle in the game world, the very structure itself seemed to give off a great sense of evil from within. All the girls, even Sunset in the real world, could feel the malicious aura. It could only mean one thing;

Zorc was nearby.

"So this is Zorc's hideout, huh?" Rainbow Dash remarked to herself in a seemingly unimpressed fashion, though if one were to look closesly, one could see that small droplets of cold sweat had begun forming on her forehead.

To calm herself, the athletic girl took a deep breath before turning her head towards her companions. "Alright girls, this is what we've been working for! Let's go in and beat that creep!"

"We'll be right behind yah, Dash." Applejack assured her friend as she took a firmer grip around her warhammer, an intense look in her eyes. The others expressed similar sentiments, making sure that they were ready should the worst come to be.

"Be careful." Poki warned his master. "Zorc probably has traps waiting for you. Poki."

"Don't you worry." Fluttershy assured the cute creature while giving it a smile and a comforting rub. "We'll be carefull, Poki."

"Yeah, don't you worry, buddy!" Pinkie Pie also assured the little puffball with a friendly, but confident grin. "We've got Sunny with us! She's a friend you can trust if there ever was one!"

Sunset smiled at these kind words, but she didn't notice how Bakura's smug smirk seemed to somehow grow even more sinister as he rested his chin on his hand. 'But will you really avoid the traps? He thought in dark amusement. 'I'm afraid this is where Shimmer's game skills will fail her.'

In the game world, the group of adventurers were brought out of their sweet little moment by the jarring noise of the drawbridge being lowered. As it slowly but surely made its way down, the girls all couldn't help but feel tredipation within them, wondering and fearing just what would be awaiting them within the castle.

"Now, come on in, adventurers!" The voice of Bakura was heard echoing within the game world, inviting them all to enter the castle. "The gates are now open!"

"Let's do this, guys!" Twilight stated as she stared up at the castle, recieving a simoultaneous; "Yeah!" from the others. And so, the group hurried up the drawbridge, making their way towards the castle's inside.

In the real world, Bakura was typing away on the computor. "The players now enter the Zorc's Castle-area."

Sunset couldn't help but scoff, "Really creative name, there."

Bakura decided to simply ignore his opponent, instead pushing a certain button on the side of the game board as he announced, "Castle field open!"

The whole castle began to morph and change, moving and folding until it had created a new layout for the players. The new field included many pathways, tunnels and towers they could explore, as well as a menacing-looking, empty throne in the far back, presumably meant for Zorc.

"Woah!" Twilight let out, adjusting her glasses as they took in their new surroundings. "Looks like it wasn't just the village that could be opened up. Zorc's castle can unfold, too."

"But if this is Zorc's castle," Rainbow Dash started, leaning her sword on her shoulders as she suspisciously looked around. "Where is Zorc?"

Indeed, the towering game piece were nowhere to be seen within the castle field, and somehow, it made them all feel even more anxious than if he had simply been sitting on his throne.

"At last, the quest is now on its last stage!" The facless terrible voice of Bakura made itself heard once again. "Should you find just where Zorc is hiding in his castle and defeat him, the adventurers will win this Shadow Game."

"O, Zooorc!" Pinkie yelled out, her cheeful voice echoing within the castle field. "If you come out I'll give you a cupcake~!"

Letting out a small sigh, Rarity gave an uncharacteristic facepalm. "I don't think that a demon king is going to fall for that, Pinkie Pie."

"You don't know that!" Pinkie suddenly got defensive. "Maybe he just got low blood sugar and needs something sweet?"

Before this could escalate any further, Rainbow Dash took the initiative. "Hey, Zorc! You great big coward! Come out here right now and fight me!!"

There was no response, only a deathly and eerie silence reigned within the castle field. It made for quite an unsettling situation, as none of the girls knew what to do. Like Poki had said, they had no idea what kind of traps could be waiting for them in this place. It was meant to be the final stage, after all...

"Hey, now wait a minute..." Applejack started, her eyes narrowed on the entrance to one particular high tower, it's entrance displaying what looked like some sort of golden idol. "I dunno 'bout y'all, but somethin' seems suspiscious with that there tower."

The others looked at said tower and they too found it, and particularly that idol to be somewhat intruiging.

"Alright!" Rainbow Dash was now eager to finish this game as soon as possible, and therefore jumped at the possibility of finding Zorc. "C'mon! Let's head in and check it out!"

Not waiting for anyone else, the rainbow-haired athlete began to make her way towards the tower, forcing everyone else to rush after her into the tower, examaning it and the strange idol.

Back with the game master, Bakura was being strangely quiet, observing it all with an unreadable expression. This was more than enough to make Sunset suspiscious. From what she had seen, the spirit possessing her friend was never quiet, always either vocally angry or sadistically amused.

Something wasn't right here...

"Wait!" She called out desperatly to her friends, not trusting the current situation one bit. "Don't enter that tower!"

"What was that!?" Pinkie called out, the entire group now being lumped together within the structure. "We can't hear you over the sound of us entering the tower!"

Bakura's face changed at last, displaying a great amount of dark satisfaction as he grinned savagely down at the playing field. "Those little fools." He laughed to himself, wicked brown eyes meeting Sunset's green ones. "The adventurers are now cornered, easy prey for the Dark Master!"

Sunset gasped in worry, quickly realizing that her friends had now practically become a prime target for any attacker.

"Well now, let's see if Zorc will appear." Bakura said flippantly as he typed in the data. "The appearance procentage is..."

The data's result was shown, and the spirit let out a pleased noise. "Ah, thirty percent!"

"What!?" Sunset was clearly upset, realizing that if Bakura rolled any number bellow 30, it could then be a disaster for her poor friends.

"Judgement roll." Bakura let the dice fall to the board, eagerly awaiting the outcome.

"Oh my, the worst possible outcome..." He said first in mock sympathy, before his twisted expression returned and he gave Sunset a grin similar to that of a bloodthirsty shark. "For you fools, that is! Appear now, Dark Master Zorc!"

As decided by the dice, the imposing and terrible presence of Zorc made himself known to the players, starting with his deep, maniacal laughter.

"Oh no...!" Twilight gasped to herself, her and the other watching in horror as a great amount of black smoke began to gather infront of the tower. This black smoke then rose and began to take a rather familiar shape, and before they knew it, a pair of wicked, yellow eyes burning with hatred and ill will made themselves clear through the smoke.

In one extravagant gesture, Zorc dispersed the thick smoke with a single bellow of his dark blue cape, showing his terrible exterior to the adventurers once more. Though the wound from Rainbow Dash's assault was still there, he didn't even seem faced by it. His skeleton-like face seemed to sneer at them as he adressed them in his terrible voice. "It would seem you whelps feel into my trap after all!"

The girls could only sputter in fear and shock, most of them trembling as they helplessly looked up at the Dark Master from the narrow space of the tower.

"Unluckily, the poor adventurers have fallen into a trap." Bakura narrated with glee to Sunset, the girl only glaring at him with intense anger. It didn't face the ancient spirit in the slightest, as he merely readied to throw his dice. "Now to determine Zorc's attack!"

"Excellent!" The demon in human flesh cackled, his face lighting up in sadistic anticipation. "Zorc shall strike down the tower and crush everyone in it!"

Before anyone else could get as much as an 'Eep' in, Zorc raised his huge arm and laughed as he prepared to finish off the pesky adventurers once and for all. "THIS IS THE END!" The demon king screamed as he brought down a terrible strike upon the tower, immediatly shattering the once mighty structure and making it cave in and collapse.

"It's over!" Zorc laughed arrogantly, a sentiment shared by the Game Master controlling him. The demon king observed the great cloud of smoke and debris that the fallen tower had caused, thinking that his enemies must now be burried underneath it all. "You fools were no match for me!"

Imagine their shock when Sunset, who by all means should be devastated, suddenly called out confidently, "That's what you think!"

Bakura almost choked on his own breath in shock, not all understanding what the mortal was saying, but also not liking that self-assured look on her face. "What are you blathering about, Shimmer!? Your friends are no more!"

The fiery-haired girl only kept smiling, pointing a triumphant finger at her opponent. "I'm blathering about the thing you, in your eagerness to finish me friends off, completely forgot! While Zorc's strength is impressive, the adventurers are much faster than Zorc!"

Bakura once again found himself in a state of shock, and it made Sunset feel all the better as she kept explaining, "Even if they are in a tight space, they can easily make their get-away!"

"Wh-what!?" The malevolent Game Master could only bite out, observing the field with crazed eyes for any sign of evidence for Sunset's words. Zorc, too, was beyond surprised by this revelation, but even more so when he heard a damn familiar voice coming from behind him.

"In other words," Said the voice of Twilight Sparkle, now filled with confidence. "We're all alive and well behind you, Zorc!"

The startled Dark Master turned around, only to gasp in surprise at what he saw. The adventurers and the two reformed monsters had indeed all managed to sneak up behind him, avoiding his deadly strike. And now they were all glaring up at him with faces filled with resentment and determination.

"I-Impossible!" Zorc gasped in disbelief, and the spirit which controlled him wasn't far off from doing the same.

Sunset crossed her arms once again, a confident smile on her face as she stared down her opponent. "Since we're behind Zorc and have taken him by surprise, we should have the chance to attack. Right, Game Master?"

"..." Bakura said nothing, only glaring at Sunset as if he wanted to murder her right there on the spot. Though Sunset was not to be intimidated, knowing that this only meant that her assumption was correct.

"In other words, we should be able to perform 6 attacks in a row!" She grabbed a hold of the two dice, feeling her faith in not only her friends' abilities, but her own as well, increase as she threw them and hoped for the best. "Dice roll!"

"Yes!" Sunset cheered while Bakura was practically shaking in anger. "Rainbow Dash, you're up!"

"Got it, Sun-shim!" The athletic girl responded, a confident grin on her face as she raised her sword and rushed towards Zorc. Before the Dark Master could move, she delivered a swift stroke right in the demon king's side, careful not to slice of a whole chunk of him so another monster would spawn. Zorc let out a deep howl of pain.

"N-No!" The Dark Master growled, not comprehending how the tables could've turned so quickly.

"Bakura..." Rainbow Dash started, speaking directly to the malevolent spirit as she joined her friends once again. "We all came here to be there for our friend when he needed us!" All of the girls saw flashes of Ryou in their minds, his warm eyes and soft smile being enough to fill all of them with a great resolve.

As she continued, Rainbow Dash pointed her sword up at the red sky, knowing full well that Bakura could see her, unflinching determination in her violet eyes. "But you didn't just take advantage of us, but of Ryou too! Now it's payback time!"

Her words was enough to inspire her already determined friends, all of them gripping their weapons tightly as they glared up at the spirit.

"By working together we'll overcome you and turn everyone back to normal!" Twilight declared while raising her magic staff.

The sight of this was enough to motivate Sunset, as well, the girl more determined than ever to make things right with her white-haired friend. As her desire to accomplish this filled her entire being, she gave her opponent a scathing and willfull look. "Bakura, we'll show you and Zorc the power of our unity!"

The demon in human flesh only glared at her, though Sunset could see increasing worry in his dark eyes as she threw the two dice.

"Another critical!?" Bakura gasped, increasingly losing his compusre. "That can't be!"

"HAMMER TIME!" Applejack yelled out as a warcry, sprinting forward and delivering a devistating blow to Zorc's kneecap. The demon cried out in pain as he fell onto one knee.

"As foretold by MC Hammer!" Pinkie called cheerfully, basically bouncing where she stood. "Me next! Me next!"

"You're up, Pinkie!" Sunset told her with a confident smile as she threw the dice a third time. "Show him what you got!"

"TASTE THE THUNDER, FOTHERMUCKER!" Pinkie yelled in excitement as her magic gun fired a powerful thunder grenade attack. The bullet swiftly hit its target and struck true on the already wounded Zorc's chest, exploding in a thunderous ignition upon impact.

Bakura could only watch in stunned silence, his face and muscles twitching with anger. This mattered not to Sunset, all she cared about know was saving her friends, all of her friends!

"It's the elf-merchant's turn!" She declared as she cast the dice once more.

Not letting out a warcry of her own, Rarity simply gathered her courage and rushed towards Zorc with her elven speed, using her silver-like daggers to make two rather deep cuts in the Dark Master's right leg. As her weapons were elven forged, they naturally caused quite a bit of pain for a creature of darkness such as Zorc.

Applejack let out an impressed whistle. "Nice slicin' there, Rares!"

The fashionista gave the farm girl a grateful look, not being able to stop herself from doing a small hair-flip. "All in a day's work, darling."

Feeling that they were quite literally on a roll, Sunset smiled as she threw her pair of dice a fifth time. "Now it's the elf-sorceress Twilight's follow-up attack!"

Twilight felt how magic began to well up within her very being. It was something which she had only experienced once before during the Friendship Games. Only this time, the magic did not overwhelm or control her. Instead, she was controlling the magic. Besides, her analytical mind was far too focused on defeating Zorc as swiftly as possible to put much more thought into it.

As such, she raised her magic staff and concentrated. Before she knew it, a great, light blue blast of magic was fired and hit Zorc right in the middle of his chest, making the demon king once again howl in pain.

"Wooo!" Rainbow Dash cheered her on. "Go Twilight! Show that freak who's boss!"

With the game masters, Sunset was watching all of this with a smile on her face, while her opponent was audibly seething.

'D-Damn her!' Bakura cursed the fiery-haired girl mentally, his dark eyes wild with rage. He was gnashing his teeth so hard that one might've thought that they would break. 'How does Shimmer keep getting criticals!? She can't be cheating!'

Almost as if she could read the spirit's mind, she called out to him, "Bakura! If you're wondering how I get so good results, it's not that hard to figure out!" Sunset then raised a clenched fist, as if to demonstrate her point. "It's because of my friends! The knowledge that we all stand united to stop you and bring Ryou back is more than enough! Just like fear ensures a bad roll, faith will ensure a good one!"

The demon in human flesh simply scoffed at this, finding her reasoning to be one of the most ridiculous things he had ever heard and he had been alive for EONS! And yet, it did nothing to calm his increasing rage.

Figuring that she shouldn't expect to get any response from Bakura, Sunset grabbed a hold and threw the dice for one final time. "Now for the finisher! The beast tamer attacks!"

Fluttershy, despite never being one for violence, was fueled by the resolve fo her and her friends. As such, she pointed at the pained figure of Zorc. Poki and Pau both understood what she meant, and before anyone could say anything, the two cute creatures conjured a volley of big fireballs which all struck true. Zorc cried out in pain for a sixth time before going silent as the smoke from the fire enveloped him.

"Woah!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, she and the others looking amazed. "Who knew those cute little guys had that kinda firepower!?"

"Wonderful job, you two!" Fluttershy praised her two magical companions as she pet them. "We did it!"

"Fluttershy's right!" A smile spread across Twilight's face as she realized this. "If not totally defeated, then Zorc should at least be almost out of Hit Points by now! We're so close!"

"You all did great, girls!" Sunset praised, but her levity was quickly forgotten once she saw that Bakura was no longer seething in helpless anger. No no, he was grinning.

"Now what's so funny!?" The fiery-haired girl demanded, feeling unwelcome tredipation and fear entering her mind once more. Bakura didn't answer her, instead he just started to chuckle lightly. But that very same chuckle quickly turned into a dark titter, then a laugh, then a full on maniacal cackle.

"The greatest fools are the ones who never notice that they are digging their own graves!" He told her with a twisted grin, and it was enough to make Sunset feel all sorts of unease. As if sensing her worries, Bakura then gestured eagerly towards the game board. "Take a good look and find out!"

Sunset did just that, her green eyes intently watching the smoke which was slowly clearing away. But once it did, they made a terrifying discovery. For once the smoke began to fade, a tall, sinister, and above all familiar silhouette was making itself known to the adventurers.

"Wha... What!?" Sunset could only mutter in horror and disbelief as the smoke cleared completely, revealing the proud and still standing Dark Master Zorc, looking as if the past few attacks hadn't affected him in the slightest. His sickly yellow eyes were fixed on the adventurers, and they looked angrier and more evil than ever.

"I don't understand!" Rainbow Dash cried out in frustration and a bit of fear, her and the others starting to back away from the demon king. "We threw everything we had at him! How is he still standing!?"

All of their attention was then siezed by Bakura who was not only laughing deeper and harder than ever before, but also looking maniacally extatic as he adressed them all with a sinister grin. "He is still standing because, despite your foolish friendship-speeches and wish to save my host, you are all mere level 1 adventurers! You have nowhere near the amount of experience needed to defeat a high-level character like Zorc!"

"No...!" The fiery-haired girl could only say in utter despair, watching with pained eyes as her friends cowered before the hulking presence of the Dark Master.

"The question is;" Bakura started, looking sadistically giddy at Sunset with his arms crossed. "Who will lose their soul to the shadows first? Any guesses?"

Sunset didn't respond to his provocation, an overwhelming and unwelcome feeling of helplessness starting to form in her gut. She stared hard at her friends' current predicament on the game board, trying desperatly to think of any possible way that they could defeat Zorc and save not only them, but the real Ryou as well.

Bakura saw her frustrated expression, and he delighted in the mortals' growing fear and despair. He had wished to be rid of them all since his host first met them, and now he would at long last be able to do it!

"Come on, it's a game!" He taunted Sunset with a wicked smile, feeling that victory was soon within his grasp. "You should try to have some fun!"

The spirit of the ring cackled maniacally, his sinister laugh echoing torturously within the minds of the Rainbooms.

Ad Monstruosis - III

To say that things were looking rather bleak for the Rainbooms at the moment would easily be the understatement of the year.

The six girls were still trapped in the game world, only being able to stare up fearfully at the towering presence of Zorc whose burning yellow eyes were glaring down at them in hatred. In the real world, Sunset could only stare down at these happenings as the dispicable feeling of helplesness had begun to fester. Bakura was doing the same, though he was observing it all with sadistic glee.

"I can't believe it." Twilight said anxiously, her voice devoid of hope. "We hit him with six powerful attacks and it did nothing!"

"It's probably 'cause of our difference in levels." Applejack muttered, gripping her warhammer tightly as she sent the best glare she could muster up at the Dark Master. "We've all just started out, makes sense that we can't defeat the final boss all willy-nilly..."

"B-B-But... um," Poor Fluttershy was shaking beside her monster companions, her fear-filled eyes fixed on the hulking figure of Zorc. "H-How are we going to win...?"

Before anyone could respond, their attention was grabbed violently by Bakura's wicked laughter. "It's quite simple; You won't! Zorc would be a difficult challenge to overcome, even for high-leveled characters! No number of trashy speeches about something as meaningless as friendship will change that!"

Sunset and all the trapped girls glared at the ancient spirit, finding not only his actions to be evil and insulting, but the whole way he talked about friendship as if it was pointless.

"That's such a dirty trick! We don't even have a fighting chance!" Rainbow Dash accused angrily, violet eyes filled with disdain as she pointed her sword up at the malevolent Game Master.

Bakura cared not, however, simply sneering down at the adventurers with a raised brow. "Why, are you calling me an unjust player?" He chuckled darkly before gesturing to the game board. "You are forgetting that this whole scenario, the very world you are all trapped in was created by me!"

Sunset grit her teeth as she glared at her opponent, but inside she began to feel despair growing. She knew that Bakura was right. As Game Master and the one who drew up the campaign, he has had complete and utter control over the proceedings of the game, even if it was unfair!

It was obvious at this point that, unlike his host, Bakura had never simply wanted to play a game with them, but he had specifically created a scenario where their souls could easily be sealed away for his own nefarious gain. It meant that... that the game had been rigged so none of them could ever win to begin with.

While Sunset was simply mulling these horrible thoughts over in silence, Bakura was extatic as he grinned savagely at his despairing opponent. "Have you finally realized it, Shimmer?" He inquired with a taunting smirk. “In this game world, I am a God!”

“Prove it.” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“... What?” Bakura finally asked after a bit of stunned silence, his eyes wide in utter surprise.

“You heard me." Despite the horrific situation, the rainbow-haired girl was looking up at him with half-lidded eyes and arms crossed over her chest. "Prove that you’re a god. Do something impressive! Like, turn water into wine or make me like spinach!”

The other members were currently looking at their athletic friend as if she was crazy, their mouths all hanging agape and their eyes nervously darting between Rainbow Dash and Bakura.

"She did not." Rarity finally managed to get out in total disbelief, sounding scandalized and also just the teeniest bit amused.

"Oh yes, she did!" Pinkie Pie responded, who had no trouble to full on smile at Rainbow Dash's wit.

“I can’t do that…” Bakura then answered lamely after a bit of stale silence, having not really known just how he should've responded to such a thing. His hate and disgust with the colourful mortals was briefly forgotten in his pure bewilderment.

“Pfft." Rainbow Dash scoffed, looking utterly unimpressed as she rolled her eyes. "Some god you turned out to be.”

Most of the Rainbooms were now forcing themselves to hold back chuckles, Sunset included. It was a much welcomed brief period of humour in an otherwise hopeless situation. Bakura, however, was not as amused.

“I AM A GOD, YOU INSOLENT LITTLE WORM!” He screamed down at her, his dark eyes twitching with rage, and it was enough to make the girls seize their chuckling. It was easy enough to see that Rainbow Dash's taunt had only served to make the evil spirit all the more wrathful, as he locked eyes with the girl opposite of him. "The least you insects could do now is perform well as you die!"

Despite the overwhelming odds against them, the earlier moment of small levity had restored both her own spirit and those of her friends. Therefore, Sunset remained defiant as she glared harshly at her opponent, "As if I'd ever let you have your way, you glorified parasite!"

Bakura bristled quietly at the insult, but he remained confident all the same. Shimmer may indeed belive that she had stopped his consecutive critical dice technique... but Bakura had other methods.

Moving carefully so that his opponent's couldn't see, he opened up a secret compartment by his side of the table. It cotained a small assortment of figurines, which in actuallity contained the souls of some of his favourite victims. All of them would act as he wished in a game scenario. However, that was not limited to the figurines.

Aside from the dolls, the compartment also concealed a pair of ten-sided dice, but these were quite different from the ones usually used. Making sure that his opponent wouldn't notice that something was amiss, Bakura brought the special pair of dice into his right hand, using every ounce of self-control to keep a victorious grin of his face.

For those dice were Mind Dice, and they contained the souls of some of Bakura's unfortunate victims trapped within them. Much like the figurines, they would bend to the will of whoever threw them and would act as he wanted them to. So, no matter how he threw them he was guaranteed to always get whatever result he desired.

He hadn't thought that he would be forced to use them against a colourful group of teenages and friendship-obsessed morons, but Sunset and the others had exceeded his low expectations.

"Zorc attacks in this next turn." Bakura explained to Sunset with a vicious grin, holding the Mind Dice so he could easily throw them. His victory was assured. "Now to determine whether the attack strikes the opposing adventurers!"

He dropped the pair of dice lazily, and Sunset watched intently for the upcoming result, while Bakura had no need to do it. Had it been any other pair of dice, this manner of throwing them would've made it anyone's guess as to what the result might be.

But these were no ordinary dice.

"A super critical..." Sunset could only gasp softly, an absolutely crushed expression on her face as she stared at the pair of dice displaying the worst possible result.

Bakura's reaction was quite the opposite, cackling like a madman as he delighted in the girl's missery. "Prepare yourselves!" He practically growled with a savage grin. "Zorc's magic attack will destroy you all! Dark Catastrophe!"

As the sinister Game Master had ordered, Zorc swiftly unleashed a devastating attack of deadly black magic. None of the adventurers could even blink before they felt their world explode in pain as the Dark Catastrophe assault quite literally blew up in their faces.

"GUYS!" Sunset screamed in distress, rising up from her chair. She recieved no response, however, and she discovered with horror that the six figurines containing the souls of her friends were now lying motionless on the game board.

Bakura delighted in the chaos, dark eyes glinting with triumph as he looked at the same lifeless figurines. "Zorc's critical assault has enough power to bring a character with over 50 Hit Points right down to zero! THIS IS GAME OVER!"

The ancient spirit cackled maniacally before giving his opponent a smug smirk. "It appears your friendship was all bark and no bite, after all, Shimmer."

But Sunset wasn't listening, instead she only had eyes and ears for what was essentially the still bodies of her best friends. She felt a stinging feeling in her green eyes and what was most likely tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

"No..." She eventually managed to choke out, feeling despair starting to overwhelm her as the situation began to bring its immense weight down upon her. She had failed. Her friends put their lives in her hands, entrusted her to save them and the real Ryou and she had FAILED them!

"NOOOO!!" The fiery-haired girl eventually screamed in utter frustration, sadness, rage and helplessness all at once, burying her tear-filled face in her hands.

Her missery brought immeasurable joy to Bakura, who cared not for her suffering and simply smirked as he began to type away on his computer. "There's hardly any point to it, but allow me to calculate just how many Hit Points the players lost. This game is decided by this computer's data, after all."

The demon in human flesh payed no attention to Sunset's sniffles and painful sobs, simply humming to himself as he inserted the necessary data. "Let's see, entering Zorc's attack power, calculating players defense chances..."

Of course, Bakura had simply done this as a way to torment Shimmer all the more in knowing just how badly her pathetic friends had been obliterated. Even any other simple-minded mortal could've calculated that Zorc's super critical assault could've easily taken out over a dozen level 1 characters!

Imagine the spirit's surprise once the data had all been put in and the result wasn't quite that which he had been expecting.

Elf Sorceress Twilight
HP 1

Beast Tamer Fluttershy
HP 1

Rainbow Dash the Warrior
HP 1

Pinkie the Magic Gunwoman
HP 1

Applejack the Dwarf Warrior
HP 1

Rarity the High Merchant
HP 1

For once it actually seemed as if Bakura was speechless, his mouth moving up and down in a manner very similar to that of a fish as he could only stare at the results displayed by the computer moniter in complete and utter bafflement.

"... WHAT!?" He eventually managed to get out in a very outraged and still confused-sounding scream. "They all have one Hit Point left!?"

This did catch Sunset's attention, the fiery-haired girl raising her head from her hands with an equally confused but less outraged expression. But despite her earlier despair and horror, she began to feel a small spark of hope light up within her.

"Could it be?" She asked softly to herself, directing her tear-filled green eyes towards the playing field and the motionless figurines lying upon it. They still seemed completely devoid of life at first, and Sunset almost felt her hoplessness return. That is, before she could see how the six dolls all started to twitch only slightly.

"... oh, applefudge." Applejack cursed softly to herself while lying on the ground. The farm girl was hurting all over and she struggled to even stand even with the support of her hammer, but she was alive. Being Applejack, she immediatly turned her attention to her still downed friends. "Ya'll alright, there!?"

After a moment of silence, the remaining five girls all began to let out pained words and noises as well, straining to even move after Zorc's devastating magic attack. But after a lot of effort and helping eachother out, all of them were soon up on their feet.

"Aw man..." Rainbow Dash wheezed, stumbling to get herself up from the ground with Fluttershy's help and keeping a hand to her aching side. "Everything. Everything hurts."

Pinkie Pie's eyes were spinning as she barely got herself onto her feet. "Wowza," She said lightly, her noggin pounding something awful, "Who knew gigantanormous magic explosions could be so painful?"

Similar sentiments were shared by the other girls, all of them rubbing and massaging their pained bodies, never having taken a blast quite like that in their lives.

"I just don't understand." Twilight started while rubbing a particular sore spot on her head. "Zorc's attack should've finished us off! How are we all still standing?"

Rarity agreed with her scholarly friend, responding as she desperatly tried to fix her ruffled hair. "Quite right, darling. It does seem awfully strange."

"Yeah! I thought we were gonners, for sure!" Pinkie Pie chimed in, now seeming to ignore her various pains and instead recovering swiftly, standing tall and smiling once more.

In the real world, Sunset Shimmer felt more relived than she had ever done as she observed the interaction between her friends. She hadn't failed after all, they were still in the game! Though there were still tears streaming down her cheeks, they were now tears of joy as opposed to tears of distress.

Deciding that this wasn't the time to get emotional, Sunset then swiftly wiped her tears away and leveled and intense stare at her opponent. Even though her friends had managed to get through that attack, she couldn't let her guard down. The situation was still very much stacked against them and her friends would need her to be as direct and focused as possible.

While the girls were regrouping and Sunset rejoicing, Bakura was seething quietly, though he was helpessly puzzled as well. 'How can it be!? How did they survive!?' He thought while gnashing his teeth. Zorc's super critical should've been enough to finish off some mere level 1 adventurers. How could they still have some life left!?

But as these thoughts rahed within the spirit, it took a while for him to notice that there was something strange going on. Once he did notice, it took all of his self-control to keep himself from gasping at what he was seeing.

His left hand was... It was moving all on its own!

Sure enough, it was is his left hand had suddenly gained life all on its own! Even though he tried to simply controlling it like all the other of his stolen body parts, the hand just kept typing away on the computer, ignoring Bakura's commands.

The spirit of the millenium ring hardly ever felt any true fear, but as if this moment it was almost as if he was paralyzed to the spot, the shock and mystery over what was happening tightening its grip around him. This shouldn't be possible! He had never had any problems controlling a body before! Why was this-

Bakura cursed himself as he felt a small gasp escape his lips, for he now noticed how his rogue hand had begun typing in words on the computer. It was moving fast, vigorously, as if that simple left hand was filled with a great sense of urgency and duty. Because of it's speed, the hand quickly typed in a message, and it was one that almost had the spirit of the ring choke on a breath he didn't know he was holding.

MY NAME IS RYOU BAKURA
I WON'T LET YOU KILL MY FRIENDS

'Wh-what!?' He thought, hastily moving away the left hand from the computer, watching it with tredipation. The ancient spirit began to feel himself panicking slightly, and he hated it. 'My host should be locked away in his soul room like always! How could he possibly have broken through my control!?'

As his dark eyes rapidly scanned through the message over and over again, as if making sure that what he was seeing was in fact real, Bakura's mind began to kick into overdrive. 'Could it be...?' He thought while now observing the Zorc-figurine. 'Dark Master Zorc in the game world and I are one and the same being. Zorc's left arm... it has a deep wound after a hit from that Rainbow-insect!'

He could still remember the spike of pain he had felt when that had happened. Everything Zorc could feel, he could feel as well, he had simply been very good at hiding his pain from his opponents. But that particular slicing from Rainbow Dash's sword, it had felt more painful than the others. He had dismissed it at first, but now...

'Did... Did that wound allow Ryou to take away controll of that arm from within me!?' It sounded ridiculous, but it was all the reasoning he had at the moment. And that would mean that his host had sabotaged the data, that could be the only explanation as to why those colourful idiots were still alive!

'Damn him! Damn him to Hell!' He cursed his defiant host, wishing that he could pause the game and severly punish that foolish boy at this very moment! But despite this bizarre situation, Bakura finally took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He couldn't lose his cool infront of Shimmer and the others.

'... But what harm can a mere left arm do?' He thought dismissevly, but at the same time he used his faithful right hand to move away his computer. His host could only fight him through the left hand, so as long as he kept all the important items out of its reach than he shouldn't have anything to worry about. After doing so, he simply gave the girl sitting opposite of him a dark glare, hoping that she hadn't notice his brief panick attack.

But Sunset had noticed, and that was why she was currently observing her opponent intently with narrowed green eyes and her arms crossed. From what she had seen, Bakura had simply turned extremely pale for a moment as he was examining the computer monitor. And even now, despite his evil smirk, he wasn't looking as confident as he usually did.

It was obvious that he had made some sort of miscalculation, otherwise her friends shouldn't have been able to survive Zorc's latest attack. 'Something is bothering that psycho.' She thought, 'But what?'

Bakura saw how Sunset was looking at him, and let out a small, dismissive snort as he returned to his role as Game Master. "The battle continues. Despite their survival, the adventurers are still prime targets for Zorc!"

It was indeed so, as back in the game world, the terrible and demonic presence of the Dark Master still towered over the injured adventurers, growling at them in a manner similar ot that of a savage beast out for blood. His sickly yellow eyes and skull-like face glowering down at them, and he seemed more enraged than ever that they all had managed to survive his assault.

"This is really bad, guys!" Rainbow Dash warned her friends, standing proctectively in front of the other girls, her sword at the ready. "This creep's defense is just too high!"

"And to make things worse, our own points are all down to one!" Rarity was trying to hold herself together, but she couldn't quite seize her shaking as Zorc seemed to get all the closer. "If that brute gets in one more attack then we're done for!"

Sunset watched all of this with a frustrated scowl. As much as she hated to admit it, the fashionista was absolutely right. Even if Bakura should roll a number over 50, odds were that it could probably take all of her friends out nonetheless. The first order of business now was to raise all of her friends' Hit Points. In order to do that, she needed to use Twilight's restoration magic.

Bakura must've come to the same conclusion as her, for he gave his opponent a smug smirk. "On the next turn, sorceress Twilight can act. However," Evil sadism glinted in his dark eyes, "Zorc can act at the same time. In such a situation we shall determine who goes first by using the dice."

The sinister Game Master grabbed a hold of his Mind Dice, Sunet picking up her regular pair in return. "Both of us roll our own pair of dice, and the player who rolls the closest to 00 gets to move first. Ready?"

The fiery-haired girl simply gave a resolute nod in response, gripping her two dice tightly. She had to put all of her faith in this dice roll, or it could mean death for all her friends.

Her malevolent opponent, on the other hand, could barely contain a viscious grin, his dark eyes gleaming triumphantly as he held the Mind Dice. He was garantued to get a super critical no matter how he threw them! His victory was as assured as Shimmer's loss was inevitable.

Bright green eyes met dark brown ones, neither one of the players willing to back down. They both threw their dice simultaneously, but whereas Sunset threw her's with conviction, Bakura threw his lazily, believing that the Mind Dice reased all probability of him misrolling.

The spirit laughed sinisterly, not even bothering to look at his own dice as a great roll was innevitable. "Mine were a super critical!" He declared with great confidence, only having eyes for Sunset's upcoming result.

Bakura took sadistic delight in the number displayed by the dice, "A pitiful display, Shimmer!" He sneered hatefully at his opponent, happy to at last be rid of these colourful nuisances. "This game is over! Zorc makes the first attack!"

However, Bakura was beyond surprised once he saw Sunset's expression. Instead of her face being crushed with utter despair as he had hoped, Sunset's face was quite the opposite. In fact, he could've sworn that the damn girl was smirking as she adressed him, "Is that so?"

The demon in human flesh did not care for this one bit, glowering at his opponent with all the loathing he could muster, "And just what, may I ask, is so funny?"

"Do you have holes for eyes?" She inquired sarcastically, a small smirk on her face as she pointed over at Bakura's side of the field. "You might wanna take a closer look at your dice, there."

"What the devil are you blathering abo-!?" Bakura cut himself off in the middle of the sentence with a sharp gasp, as he for the first time actually looked at his result.

"T-TEN!?" He screamed out in disbelief, his dark eyes twitching. "No, that... THAT CAN'T BE!"

Sunset's smirk was now much more prevalent, enjoying the sight of her adversary losing his composure. Of course, she didn't know the deeper reason behind the spirit's confusion and panic.

"The dice don't lie, Bakura." She told him cooly, "The sorceress goes first. Ready, Twilight?"

"Of course!" Said scholarly girl affirmed with a smile, adjusting her glasses slightly before raising her staff up on high. Through it magic was channeled, and a violet, glittering cloud-like spell was realesed around the group of adventurers, signaling that the healing spell was literally working its magic.

"Oh, that feels so good!" Fluttershy cooed audibly, enjoying the enchantingly refreshing feeling of the spell.

The other girls felt very much the same, simply standing in silence and letting the magic healing settle in and raise their Hit Points back up. All of them could feel the aching and pain beginning to fade all over their bodies. Their disappearing throbs of pain instead made way for a new amount of vitality.

"Alright!" Rainbow Dash started, now standing pain-freed and tall. "I'm all fired up now! Thanks a bunch, Twi!"

Twilight simply blushed at the praise, shrugging modestly while similar compliments were given by the others.

But while the girls were doing this, Bakura had taken a hold of the dice he had previously thrown, seething in silent rage as he looked them over. Upon closer inspection, one thing became clear. The pair of dice in his hands were NOT the mind dice.

'Then were the Hell did the Mind Dice go!?' The demon raged in his bewildered thoughts, squeezing his palm hard around the dice. 'Is Shimmer beind this!?' He briefly conscidered the possibility before dismissing it. 'No. No, she doesn't seem to be aware of them. Just what is going on!?'

"You're looking pale there, Bakura." Sunset's words got him out of his trance of enraged confusion, now focusing on his opponent who was looking at him with loathing. "The realization that we're gonna beat you finally settling in?"

"Tch. Hardly." Bakura scoffed at her words, trying to give her his usual sinister grin, but even he could feel that it looked forced. "Even with restored Hit Points, you are all still microbes when compared to Zorc! His next assault will obliterate all of you!"

As he said, in the game world Zorc was closing in on the six adventurers trapped within, looking ready to obliterate them all on the spot. Sunset's earlier bravado was forgotten, knowing full well that if Zorc landed a successful hit then it could be game over for them all.

"Be careful, girls!" She warned her friends, "Zorc is going to counter-attack!"

"You don't have to tell us twice, Sunset!" Rainbow Dash couldn't help but snap back, both her and her friends staring fearfully yet defiantly up at the Dark Master who was closing in on them.

"Time to decide Zorc's counter-attack!" Bakura declared imperiously, readying to throw the regular pair of dice in his right hand with more finesse as the Mind Dice were nowehere to be seen. If he could get this just right then he would be this Shadow Game's ultimate victor! "The chance that every player gets hit is 110 percent! Judgement ro-!"

Before he could as much as finnish his sentence, something most unprecedented happened. The left arm, whom Bakura had almost completely forgoten about, suddenly lurched forward and sloppily threw a pair of dice on its own, shocking the demon inhabiting the body.

Only adding to that shock and horror was the sudden realization that the dice thrown were in fact the missing Mind Dice. As they both fell onto the game board and began to roll, Bakura's mind was moving a thousand miles a minute. 'When did the left hand move the Mind Dice!?'

In just a mere second, the dice had seized their movement and displayed a result.

"F-Fumble!?" Bakura gasped in horror while Sunset pumped a fist in victory. The ancient spirit now began to shake in rage as his mouth opened and closed rapidly without a sound escaping his lips, his eyes twitching briskly. 'It can't be! That damn bastard host of mine cursed the Mind Dice!'

His anger with the mortal Ryou Bakura only increasing, the demon possessing the boy's body forcefully grabbed a hold of the left hand, his dark eyes glaring at it with immesurable hate.

Though Bakura's feelings mattered not, for the dice had already been cast and Zorc's fate had been sealed. The Dark Master attempted to charge up another Dark Catastrophe assault at the six adventurers. Only this time, the blast of black magic literally blew up in Zorc's own face in a magnificent explosion. It caused a great deal of damage as it was a failue of a very powerful move, and so Zorc's growls and keels of pain could be heard from within the blast.

"Yee-haw!" Applejack cheered, smiling as she and the others watched the blast in relief and in awe. "That crook blew 'imself right on up!"

Fluttershy let out a great sigh of relief while Poki and Pao cheered beside her. "Thank goodness..."

Seeing his intended victims survive and rejoice about it, finally broke Bakura. The spirit let out a deep, raging scream of utter frustration as he glared down with all of his hate at the left hand which he held in a vice-grip. "DAMN THIS LEFT HAND!!"

Before any of the girls could take the time to wonder what exactly he meant by those words, Bakura did what was perhaps the most shocking thing they had seen the malevolent spirit do. Having finally had enough with his rebellios host, the demon decided that it was time to incapacipate him for good.

Taking notice of one particularly pointy tower of the castle diorama, he rashly made his decision. Taking advantage of the vice-grip he had over the rogue appendage, Bakura, swiftly and without hesitation, forcefully brought the left hand down and impaled it on the tower, blood splattering all over as the sharp point pierced the hand's soft flesh.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Twilight muttered in revulsion while covering her mouth, her and the other members of the Rainbooms staring at what the Game Master had just done in absolute horror and disgust.

What innevitably made it worse was the way Bakura didn't appear to be bothered in the slightest by what should have been an incredibly painful injury. In fact, his face was looking more twisted and deranged than ever before as he looked down upon the impaled body part in what was definetly sadistic glee.

He laughed louder than ever, an evil and terrible sound, his dark eyes glinting in complete and utter triumph as he glared at the ruined hand. "TRY AND INTERVENE NOW, RYOU!"

While her opponent was laughing like maniac at the gory sight, Sunset had simply pushed aside her disgust and fright, instead focusing on what the sinister spirit had just said. Her mind was going wild as she began to analyse the situation while keeping her eyes fixed on the ruined hand. 'Could it maybe...?'

The interdimensional girl was interrupted by her opponent, who, in a sickening move, violently wrenched the impaled hand upwards, not caring of the blood that sprayed out of the wound in its wake. Sunset thought she would puke as she got a closer look at the now gaping hole in Ryou's hand, blood just spilling through it. It didn't seem to bother Bakura, though, as he simply brought the now limp appendage into a vice-grip by the right hand.

"Next up is the beast tamer's turn!" He hissed visciously at Sunset, his eyes wider and more dangerous-looking than ever before. "Hurry up with it, already!"

It was quickly becoming clear to Sunset that Bakura was starting to completely lose his composure, and she didn't know whether this could be a good or a bad thing just yet. But despite this, a plan was starting to form in Sunset's mind. A reckless plan that could quite possibly fail spectacularly, but it was the only plan she had.

Taking a deep and steadying breath with closed eyes, Sunset then opened them and leveled a hard stare at her wicked opponent. "The beast tamer will try her power on Dark Master Zorc."

Fluttershy gulped softly at being adressed, wide eyes looking fearfully at the terrifying visage of Zorc that Sunset would have her try to engage. "I-I will...?"

"You have got to be kidding me." Bakura scoffed mockingly, seeming to still have some wit despite his vile and psychotic actions. "Hand Power is a spell used for turning enemy monsters into comrades, yes. But if you honestly believe such a spell cast by a level 1 character will work on Zorc then you are even more stupid than I had first thought!"

"Um, Sunset dear?" Rarity started, twiddling her fingers as she anxiously observed their current opponent. "I don't want to doubt you, but do you really think that this is good idea?"

The timid girl was practically hugging herself, her two monster companions watchin on in concern. It seemed that her innate lack of confidence would always come back to bite her. "I-I can't do this!"

"Fluttershy," Said girl let out a small startled gasp before looking up at Sunset who in turn was looking down at her with understanding, but hardender eyes. "Please, trust me on this!"

"I-I-I..."

"Have faith in me and have faith in yourself!" Sunset raised a clenched fist in determination, giving Fluttershy the best encouraging smile she had. "We can beat Bakura, and get all of you and Ryou back, but I need you to trust me!"

It seemed as if poor Fluttershy would almost collapse because of the apparent pressure placed upon her. Bakura had said so himself, her spell wouldn't even do anything against Zorc! What was even the point!?

And yet, as she saw the friends whom she was surrounded by, old and new, the memories of the good times they had shared with Ryou, and the trust and compassion Sunset was currently showing her, it all made Fluttershy feel a small spark within her. A spark which quickly grew into a fire that filled the girl's being with courage and a desire to protect and save all of her friends!

"... Alright, Sunset." Fluttershy answered after a while, giving her friend a small but determined smile. "I trust you."

Immesurably grateful for the support Fluttershy had given her, Sunset smiled at her confidently as she gripped her pair of dice in a resolute fashion. "I won't let you down!"

Taking just a small moment to think through what exactly she was about to do and what she hoped to achieve, Sunset gave Bakura a hard stare before confidently throwing her dice, watching as they landed and rolled.

"Yes!" Sunset cheered to herself while Bakura simple sneered at her. Though peeved that Shimmer had gotten a good roll, he found security in knowing that there was no way the beast tamer's spell could turn Zorc. And there was no longer any functioning left arm for his host to fight back through.

"Tamer's hand power!" Fluttershy now called out, raising her hands and letting her magic channel through them and then immediately proceeded to strike Zorc. The warm golden light enveloped the Demon King and attempted to work its magic, but Zorc unfortunatley didn't seem to be affected in the slightest.

"Fool!" The Dark Master laughed at both Fluttershy and the others, his evil yellow eyes burning with a wicked sense of triumph and superiority. "If you want the great me to join you, you would have to have reached level one million!"

Zorc's words were certainly enough to sow seeds of fear and hopelesness amongst the Rainbooms, all of them staring helplessly at how Fluttershy's super critical spell once again didn't appear to have any sort of effect on the game's boss monster.

But that was about to change.

For just as the glow of Fluttershy's magic had begun to fade, something odd started to happen with the deep wound on Zorc's left arm, courtesy of Rainbow Dash at the start of the game. The exposed flesh began to churn, bubble and fizzle, almost as if it was a fire burning beneath Zorc's skin tissue.

It was quite a bizarre sight, and it was not one that any of the game's participants had expected, all of them simply being able to stare at the proceedings in bewilderment.

"Um, Fluttershy...?" Rainbow Dash asked in bewilderment, hoping that the timid girl had some answers.

That she did not, freatfully waving her hands around in rebuttal. "D-Don't look at me!" Fluttershy anxiously denied, not having a clue as to what was happening.

Before anyone else could put in a word, Zorc's churning flesh suddenly burst wide open like some sort of macabre pimple, causing smoke to be released. While the Rainbooms found the sight to be quite repulsive, the Dark Master himself was brought into a great deal of pain, keeling as he glared at his wound.

"Wha-What is this!?" Zorc demanded to know, but noone could have nor would have answered him. For right in that very moment, against all expectations and common sense, a white figure suddenly emerged from the smoking wound, jumping downwards towards the adventurers.

Bakura was almost audibly frothing at the edges of his mouth at this point, his rage and dread growing only greater as he got a good look at the one who had just emerged out of Zorc. "Wait, th-that's...!" His composure was now completely lost, rising up from his chair as his dark and crazed eyes watched the current proceedings. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!!"

The Rainbooms were all shocked as well, gasps escaping their lips as they got a closer look at the new arrival to the game. The character was dressed in long, pristine, ornate white robes with a golden ankh embroided upon it. Upon it's head was a white wizard's hat, from which underneath there welled out a great deal of just as white, but familiar fluffy hair.

Supporting himself by an ornate staff, the new arrival rose to for the first time meet the eyes of the adventurers, causing them all, including Sunset, to once again catch their breath in shock.

For standing opposite of them with a soft smile, warm brown eyes shining in gratitude was none other than the face of Ryou Bakura.

"Thank you, all of you." He expressed his gratitude as a means to break the silence, and all the Rainbooms delighted in hearing that it was not the malicious, raspy voice of the spirit, but the kind voice of the boy they had gotten to know through the last two weeks now. "I never thought that I'd get out of there."

None of the girls were really sure of how to respond, still having a hard time comprehending the bizarre thing which had just transpired. After a moment of stunned silence, it was Twilight who dared approach the new character tentatively.

"... Ryou?" She finally asked him, both her face and voice both weary and hopeful. After all the deciet and tricks by the spirit, could they really trust this? "Is... Is it really you?"

"In a way." 'Ryou' explained with an apologetic smile, "Much like how Dark Master Zorc is the embodiment of the spirit in this game world, I am the embodiment of your friend, Ryou Bakura."

Though still keeping his smile, the character's brown eyes seemed to harden in determination, "Moreso, I'm the embodiment of his will to fight alongside and protect all of you! I am Ryou the White Mage, and I come to you now at the turn of the tide."

After these bold words, the white wizard suddenly seemed to shrink in on himself, a glint of uncertainty entering his eyes. It was a gesture which all the girls associated with the real Ryou, "That is... if you'll have me."

A silence reigned for just a moment, the Rainbooms all taking in the current happenings. But as this new situation settled within their minds, so did a sense of joy and relief.

"Of course we will!" Pinkie Pie answered cheerfully, quickly appearing by Ryou's side with a bright smile. Though he was spooked a bit at first, he then gave the party-loving girl an appreciative smile. The other girls then let out similar sentiments.

"We're glad to have yah onboard, sugarcube." Applejack concured, tipping her hat to the white wizard.

"Quite right, Applejack!" Rarity concurred with her hands neatly clapsed together, giving Ryou a warm and friendly look. "Things just haven't been the same without you, Ryou."

"I'm so glad you're back!" Fluttershy happily, but quietly told him, before lowering into a more anxious whisper. "The other you is really scary..."

"No kidding." Twilight lightly deadpanned, but looked happy nonetheless over the return of their good friend.

"Woo-yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered, looking eager as she gazed over their now larger group. "Now that we're all together, we'll win this thing no problem!"

The group now conscisting of adventurers all looked determined to now continue the quest, encouraged and empowered by the new presence. But before they could proceed, a certain someone decided to speak up.

"Wait!" Sunset's exclamation got all of the adventurers' attention, therefore making them look up at said girl. Now that she had their attention, Sunset looked directly at the white mage-figurine.

"Ryou, I..." She trailed off as she met those kind brown eyes, realizing that she didn't really know how to best word her thoughts, despite that she had so many things she wanted to say to the white-haired boy. How could she put all the regret she had felt, all of the guilt, her whole desire to make things right, how could she possibly put it all into words?

She was saved from further silence by none other than the white wizard himself, who adressed her calmly in a sympathetic tone. "I'm sure you have a lot of things you wish to say, Sunset." As she looked down at the figurine, Sunet could plainly see not only understanding, but resolve in those eyes... Ryou's eyes.

"And you will get to say them to the real Ryou Bakura once you win this!" The wizard gave the fiery-haired girl an assuring look. "He wants to make things right between you both as well, but we need to defeat Zorc first! I know it's difficult, but please! Hold on so we can defeat this menace together!"

"Ryou..." Sunset could only mutter in surprise, but also sounding genuinley touched by the character's words. She even felt hope starting to form within her, a smile slowly but surely gracing her lips. Ryou didn't hate her, and he wanted to make up just as much as her! She would get her chance to atone, but she needed to focus on saving all of her friends now!

"You got it!" She assured the white wizard before adressing the whole group with a determined smile and a clenched fist. "Let's do this, guys!" "

The adventurers all cheered, and Sunset could practically feel the warmth of assurance within as she readied to throw her ten-sided dice. With all of her friends having faith in her and trusting her, there was no way she could lose.

She gave Bakura, who was still seething quietly, a harsh glare as she gave the command and threw the pair of dice. "The gunwoman makes her move!"

"HASTA LA VISTA, BABY!" Pinkie Pie screamed with an almost manic grin as she fired at Zorc, Sunset's roll making for a powerful bullet of magic fire. The attack struck true, and actually managed to blow away a noticable deal of Zorc's lower side. The Demon King howled in pain, not seeming to recover as swiftly as he usually did.

"Amazing!" Rarity praised, clapping her hands together lightly, "Bravo, Pinkie!"

Pinkie Pie simply shrugged, easily twirling her magic gun before nonchalantly blowing the residue smoke off of it. "All in a day's work!"

"But how?" The ever inquisitive Twilight wondered, though still impressed over her friend's accomplishment. "Pinkie's attack seemed way more effective than before!"

The answer came in the form of a small chuckle from Ryou. As the girls all turned towads them they saw how his wizard's staff was glowing. "Zorc doesn't possess the same defensive capabilities as when you faced him earlier." He explained while giving the pained Dark Master a resentful look. "He used to drain my own power, but now that I'm out that power is lost. And, through my own white magic I've been able to lower his stats even further!"

The Rainbooms all let out a collective gasp of surprise at this information, though they all began to smile as it was certainly a welcome one. Maybe defeating Zorc wasn't a completely unreachable goal after all.

While the girls all began to gain some new sense of hope, Bakura had also recovered from his earlier shock, though his rage was still very much burning within him. He would never have dreamed that his weak-willed host would defy him, let alone at this level!

The demon used the eyes of his stolen body to glare down at the figurine embodying the body's true owner. Hollow, dark eyes clashed with warm brown eyes, the white wizard glaring defiantly up at Bakura.

The ancient spirit was seething internally, 'That little worm dares defy ME!?' He felt the awful, stinging sensation of humiliation and wounded pride, and it only served to make him all the angrier. 'I've been giving that blasted boy far too much leeway! I'll crush him, kill his friends and then I'll lock him away for ETERNITY!!'

These sadistic thoughts of tormenting his host was almost enough to make Bakura smile, but if those wonderful torture-fantasies were to ever become reality, he needed to focus on the present. Glaring at the girl sitting opposite of him, his mind was more made up than ever before, 'I'll show these low-level fools what happens when you defy the Master!'

Sunset was returning the evil entity's glare at full-force, just as determined to achieve her own goal. Her green eyes were analysing the game board and in her head she was carefully planning her next course of action.

'The game is reaching its climax, it seems' Though Ryou's arrival had certainly been a great boon for them, Sunset's previous game-experience has taught her that final bosses tended to always have something up their sleeve. 'That psycho must have a hidden plan of some kind. If I let my guard down then it could mean the end for all of us...'

Her worries only grew greater as a sinister smile suddenly formed on Bakura's lips as he looked down at the game board. Sunset followed his gaze and gasped in fear as she saw what was happening.

Zorc, though he kept growling in intense pain and hate, was transforming! Before the horrified eyes of the adventurers, the Demon King's body began to change. His skeleton grew large and pierced his dark skin, almost as if forming some sort of organic armor. The small bits of skin which remained exposed looked sickeningly enough like raw muscle tissue. A pair of skeletal wings along with a great deal of bone-like pikes burst out his back, and though he seemed to grow larger and meaner-looking, his posture became more hunched. In the middle of his chest area, there was now a strange circle which seemed to be sealed off by teeth-like guards.

The adventurers and Sunset could only watch this lengthy and very visually unappealing transformation in disgust, but also in growing fear.

"Zorc is transformin'!" Applejack stated the obvious, gripping all the tighter around her warhammer. The other girls readied their weapons as well, despite all of them feeling quite anxious over what possibly was to come.

"This is bad!" Ryou had moved infront of them all, staring at their opponent with wide and fearful eyes. "Zorc is using his last resort!"

Rainbow Dash gulped softly, raising her sword and standing protectively infront of a shaking Fluttershy. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

Bakura delighted in their terror, laughing like a demon as he eagerly explained the current state of his character. "Behold! This is Zorc's final form! His attack power has risen to new heights!"

The spirit gave Sunset an insane grin filled to the brim with malice, and she felt her fear grow as he then said, "And the transformation also allows Zorc to attack first on this turn! Let's see your little chums endure that, Shimmer!"

The fiery-haired girl wasn't the only feeling afraid, as all of the adventurers could only stare at Zorc's new form and power in helpless fear. They could all feel it, how the Dark Master was gathering dark energy to unleash an attack meant to finnish off each and every one of them.

"Wh-What's that!?" Fluttershy gasped, pointing a shaking finger at the strange, closed-off centre of Zorc's chest. The others gasped as well, seeing as how the teeth-like guards were starting to slowly retract, about to expose whatever lied underneath to them.

'Damn it!' Ryou cursed internally as he observed it all. 'I don't have any time to raise the others' defense! At this rate...!'

As if only to torment the white wizard further, the mad cackle of Bakura was then heard, who himself was readying his two dice. Thanks to Ryou, the Mind Dice were no longer an option, after all.

"Dice Roll!" The spirit of the ring exclaimed, letting his dice drop towards the table, both him and Sunset intently observing the coming result.

"Super critical!?" Sunset gasped in concern.

Bakura just laughed, eagerly watching the game board for what was about to come. "It's over! The Dark Master unleashes his most powerful attack! BURN AWAY IN THE ZORC INFERNO!!"

Just as he had finished these words, the circle in Zorc's chest had now completely opened, revealing a great, horrible, slitted red eye. Before anyone of them could comment on it, the eye lit up in a glaring, blood-red light and began radiating a terrible heat. Without warning, it then fired a ray of pure, concentrated deadly energy which was quickly heading for the adventurers.

"NOOO!" Sunset screamed in distress, powerless to do anything but watch.

But then, quite miraculously , Ryou, who was standing infront of all the others, raised his magic staff anf faced the approaching ray of death unflinchingly.

"White Magic; Shining Shield!" He boldly spoke the incantation aloud, and as expected, a bright, transparent white shield of magic energy was conjured infront of them all. It was right on time, too. For just after the shield had been set up, the Zorc Inferno-assault struck it.

The result was a violent explosion upon the shield's surface, powerful enough to make Ryou and the others slide back several feet. Despite the shield being quite powerful and properly cast, the hellish heat and glare of the hellfire assaulting them was felt through it, making all the other adventurers cover their eyes and faces.

Ryou was perhaps worst off of them all, taking and experiencing the brunt of the attack as he was the shield's caster. His entire being was clenched and shaking in concentration, desperate to not slip up and keep up the defense against the seemingly constant onslaught of Zorc Inferno.

'I've used up my magical energies!' The white wizard despaired internally, sweating bullets as he felt all the power in his body begining to leave him. 'The only way for me to keep up the shield is to convert my own Hit Points into magic energy!'

He did just that, willingly channeling his very life force through his staff. Ryou was a high-leveled character, and therefore had a great deal of Hit Points. But even they were quickly depleted as he transformed nearly all of it into the shield, constantly regenerating it while it was worn down by Zorc.

Sunset could only watch it all in frustration, hating that there wasn't anything she could do to help Ryou deflect the onslaught. Bakura was also watching it in frustration, but moreso due to the fact that the Zorc Inferno wasn't incenerating those colourful pests.

Mercifully, the attack at last came to an end after what had felt like hours. As Zorc's fiery attack faded, so did the white shield encasing the adventurers. But the very moment it had faded completely, Ryou suddenly seemed to go completely limp, falling unceremoniously to the unforgiving ground.

"Ryou!" Twilight and the others rushed over to their downed friend, praying that he would be alright. Crouching down beside him, Twilight gently turned him over, allowing them to get a good look at Ryou's face. He looked completely and utterly exhausted, as if nearly all the life had been sucked out of him. His expression looked constantly strained and in pain, and he was completely drenched in sweat.

"You took the hit for us." Pinkie Pie observed quietly, her usual cheerfulness gone as she solemnly looked over Ryou's fallen form.

In the real world, Sunset was watching all of this with worried eyes, but still determined and not ready to give in. "Just wait, Ryou!" She hoped that she sounded as assuring as possible as she adressed him. "On the next turn we can use Twilight's restoration magic to heal you!"

"Y-Yeah!" Twilight agreed, stumbling only slightly in her speech due to her eagerness to get Ryou better. "As long as Sunset rolls another good roll then I'll fix you right up!"

Instead of the eager acceptance one would expect from a person in Ryou's position, Twilight got a curt and very strained-sounding, "I'm fine."

"What!?" The Rainbooms all gasped, not believing what they were hearing.

"Darling," Rarity started feverently, "You are most certainly NOT fine!"

"Please!" Fluttershy pleaded, kneeling down beside Ryou, "It's our only chance to help you!"

But their words went ignored by Ryou, who instead focused his gaze on Twilight. Despite his weakened state, his soft voice was hardened with resolve. "Twilight, should you have any magic for healing me... use it all to attack instead!"

The white wizard then looked down despondently, "I don't have the power to protect you all anymore..." Ryou stated in a hollow and saddened voice, before pleading to all of the girls to see reason, "Unless we finish this on the next turn then we'll surely be wiped out!"

"No way!" Rainbow Dash fiercly denied, hating the feeling of not being able to helo her clearly injured friend. "Look, we're gonna get you up, y-you're gonna be alright!" It was hard to tell wether the athletic girl was trying to assure Ryou or herself. "As long as we-"

"LISTEN!" All of the Rainbooms went silent as the grave, staring at the downed wizard in absolute shock. None of them had ever imagined Ryou, dear quiet and polite Ryou, to be able to shout in such a loud and commanding way. Knowing that he know had their attention, Ryou continued,

"I may not be the real Ryou Bakura. Heck, compared to him I am but an elaborate shadow." The white wizard sounded somewhat melancholic as he said this, but none could dwell too much thought on it as he then continued on, "However, I DO possess every single one of his memories, thoughts, and emotions! I know what he wants!"

The confidence and power of the character seemed to completely leave him know, and to the Rainbooms he now acted more like the Ryou they knew than ever before. They all looked on worriedly as they saw his kind brown eyes become watery, tears starting to roll down his pale cheeks.

"I'm sorry I got all of you dragged into this." Hearing him say these words felt like a stab in the heart to all of the Rainbooms. They had never heard a voice quite so regretful, sounding so guilty and so pained all at once as Ryou's did at that moment. "I wish none of this had happened."

Through the tears, Ryou still managed to gather himself and, while not hiding his sorrows, still pleaded determinedly to his friends. "But please understand! If anything were to happen to you girls then I would never be able to live with myself! If you don't want my pain to be for nothing, use every roll you have to defeat Zorc!"

"Ryou..." Twilight could only murmur, her and the other girls all looking down at the white wizard with great concern. It didn't suit well with any of them, having to leave a friend to suffer when there was something that could be done to stop it. But they also all realized that he was making a good point. No matter how much it pained them, defeating Zorc was the main objective.

"... Alright." Rainbow Dash conceded after a moment of silence, her violet eyes looking determined as she placed a comforting hand on Ryou's nearly unconscious form. "We won't let you down, pal."

Pinkie Pie nodded, again, looking oddly solemn, "You got that right, Dashie." She then leveled a glare up at the Dark Master, pumping her magic gun, "He's going down!"

The other girls, despite how it made them feel inside, swallowed their own desires to instead face and take on Zorc. However, that would prove to be quite difficult.

"But there's somethin' Ah don't understand." Applejack then said, looking inquisitive as she rubbed her chin in thought, "If this Final Form raises Zorc's attack 'n defense, then why didn't he just transform first?"

The other adventurers were silent, none of them really having the slightest clue about why. Thankfully, Sunset knew and was quite eager to explain.

"That's beause it's Zorc's last resort." She answered with what appeared to be calm, but on the inside she too was troubled. She was well aware that Ryou was right in needing to use all their energy to defeat Zorc should they ever hope to escape the Shadow Game. But that didn't make it taste any less foul on her tounge.

Ignoring these feelings, she instead elaborated to her team, using whatever knowledge of games she had on her to guess, "Zorc's definetly got more power, but a move like that has to come at a pretty high cost."

"A cost?" Rarity repeated dubiously, she herself still crouched down by Ryou.

Sunset nodded, "Exactly. It's kinda like the Death Star in 'A New Hope'."

Rarity blinked, "... I haven't got a clue as to what you just said, darling."

The fiery-haired girl found herself rolling her eyes and sighed, "The big... planet-destroying... ball-thingie from that one space movie we made you watch last month."

The fashionista's eyes lit up in recognition at this way of phrasing it. "Well, why didn't you say so, Sunset?" She know looked thoughtful as her eyes landed on Zorc, "So, what you are saying is that Zorc has got to have some manner of weak spot that his evolved form is exposing?"

"Yeah," Sunset confirmed, "Look closely at him! Is there any one place that seems out of the ordinary?"

The group of adventurers did just that, their eyes feverently scanning the Dark Master's form for anything particularly standout-ish. It didn't take long before Twilight noticed one particular detail.

"The eye!" She exclaimed, pointing over at the slited, red eye. "It was the emission spot for his magic attack! That eye has got to be it!"

The idea sounded rather sound to the others, all of them staring right back at the unblinking, demonic eye. However, that bizarre instance of eye-contact was then broken, as the teeth-like guards began to close in over the eye once more, albeit rather slowly.

"It's closing up!" Twilight gasped, her and the others watching these new happenings fearfully.

"We're too late!" Applejack despaired, feeling the dreaded feeling of frustrating helplessness with her, "That thing'll close before we get the chance to counter attack!"

Sunset grit her teeth as she watched this, and she only did so harder once she heard the sick laughter of the spirit. Bakura had remained strangely silent ever since Ryou had cast the white shield, but now he was back in full force.

"It's over!" He sneered victoriously at his opponent, "Once the emission spot is sealed off, your attacks will be powerless no matter what number you roll! This is MY win!"

Then something rather unexpected occured.

"Poki!" Exclaimed the yellow puffball, despite the simple phrase, his high-pitched voice sounded strangely determined as he glared at the Dark Master. Without as much as a word of warning, the little creature flew forward, aiming for Zorc's chest. He struck true, landed right infront of the eye. The guards were stopped from covering the eye, but dug into poor Poki instead.

"Poki!" The Rainbooms and Ryou all shouted, being able to nothing but helplessly watch as their little companion quite literally flew into death's maw.

"What are you doing, Poki!?" Fluttershy felt tears starting to build in her eyes, hating to see her little guy in such obvious anguish. "You have to get out of there!"

But the cute creature wouldn't budge, it's little face clenched in as much pain as resolve, the sharp teeth-like guards only closing in harder, "Use this chance to destroy us both! Poki!"

In the real world, Sunset's eyes widened in horror, starting to realize just what Poki wanted them to do. "No..."

"Everyone, thank you for letting me join you guys." The puffball's thanks sounded incredibly pained, but it was clearly not just from the sharp objects slowly digging further into him, but also knowing that he might never get to see his master, Pao, or his other friends ever again.

But as tears began to fall from Poki's eyes, he knew that protecting his new friends was all that mattered, "It was for a short time, but I've never been happier! Poki! Now hurry! Hurry!"

Ryou and the Rainbooms were all silent, none of them wanting to accept this horrid solution, but at the same time seeing little other alternative. Poor Fluttershy was completely crying now, putting her face into her hands. As someone who cared for all little creatures, the death of any animal struck her hard. And, even though it truly hadn't been all that long, this adventure she had shared with Poki had really brought them closer together. And t have to kill a friend like that... it was just unthinkable!

"Thanks, Poki." Rainbow Dash said after a tense and morose silence, though she still sounded melancholic. But as she griped the handle of her sword tighter, the atheltic girl looked up with a fire burning in her violet eyes. "But there's no way we're gonna sacrifice a friend that we've been through so much with!"

"Wh-what? Poki." The ball-shaped creaute sniffled, eyes wide in shock as it stared at Rainbow Dash despite the pain.

"Ah reckon Dash's right!" Applejack walked up beside said girl, a small, but tough smile on her face as she looked at little Poki. "There ain't no way we're ever gonna defeat evil by sellin' out our friends! We ain't doin' it with Ryou and we ain't doin' it with you, Poki!"

"Just wait, Poki..." Fluttershy murmured, the words of her friends bringing her out of her funk. Whiping the tear off of her face, her usually soft eyes hardened in resolve, "I promise that I'll save you! Sunset!"

Said fiery-haired girl, whom she herself had been quite gripped by the whole thing, snapped into action at Fluttershy's words, "Y-yeah?"

Glaring over at the demon who had her little buddy trapped with surprising intensity, Fluttershy told Sunset, "Roll for me! I think I know how we can save him!"

The shere fact that Fluttershy, sweet Fluttershy who almost never raised her voice, was now speaking in such a militaristic and ordering fashion, still made Sunset unable to stop herself from having her mouth gape slightly. And yet, Sunset knew that this was only proof over how determined her usually timid friend was to save Poki.

Thinking this, Sunset nodded with a smile, "You got it, Fluttershy! I won't let you or Poki down!" She then swiftly grabbed her two dice and readied to throw them, Bakura simply watching silently. The same as he had been doing ever since Poki first flew into Zorc

"Dice roll!" Sunset exclaimed, putting all of her faith into it as she watched the dice fall and roll about on the board.

"You're all set, Fluttershy!" Sunset called out to her friend, her green eyes watching anxiously, "I hope you know what you're doing..."

But Fluttershy did not answer, instead keeping all her focus on her objective; Saving Poki. Feeling the powerful surge of magic welling up within her, Fluttershy clenched her right fist hard, deciding to channel her magic in a more... offensive manner.

Focusing her whole being into this move, a familiar giant gloved hand, which one had come to associate with Fluttershy's magic, suddenly appeared hovering over her. Though unlike when she used her spell to hypnotize enemies, this time there was only one hand, and it was clenched into one great fist. And it just so happened to be aimed at Zorc.

"Guilding Hand; Jet Stream Punch!" As soon as the spell had left Fluttershy's lips, it was as if there was rocket of some kind within the glove, as the hole in it suddenly lit up in flame and the fist surged forward at unprecedented speed!

Keeping this lightning pace, the gloved fist swiftly struck AND pierced the centre of Zorc's chest, hitting his week spot and obliterating it all at once. The fist wasn't stopped in any way, continuing to fly off even after it had struck throught the Demon King, who himself howled in great pain.

"Fluttershy!" The others all screamed in horrified shock, not believing what they had just seen.

"But... But what about Poki!?" Rainbow Dash quickly demanded angrily, getting closer to her timid friend. "I thought you said you could save him! You just SQUASHED him!"

Fluttershy simply gave the athletic girl a serene smile, "Don't worry, Rainbow Dash. Poki is safe as can be!"

Everyone simply looked at her as if she was insane, anf Fluttershy actually let out a small giggle as she helpfully pointed towards the still moving gloved fist. As the other Rainbooms and Ryou all turned their gazes towards it, an just as they did, the clenched fist opened up, revealing a certain someone in.

Lo and behold, little Poki was alive and well within the fist's safe grip, grabbed straight out of Zorc's trap, smiling brightly at them all.

"Poki!" They all exclaimed once more, only this time in relief at seeing the little guy alive and unharmed. The gloved fist soon faded away, allowing Poki to float over towards the adventurers where he was swiftly embraced by a tearful Fluttershy. Though her protective iron grip was almost a little too strong, Poki just laughed cutely.

"Thank you! Poki!" He happily told his master.

Fluttershy just rubbed her cheeks againt him, looking as if she would never let the little puffball out of her arms, happy tears running down her face. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again!"

The little creature laughed, snuggling up to her. "I promise! Poki!"

Ryou and the other Rainbooms all observed this heartfelt interaction with warm smiles, some of them even shedding a few tears of their own.

"... Are yah cryin' too, Dash?" A tearful asked her friend with a small, teasing smile, though it obviously lacked any malice or mockery.

"N-No!" Rainbow Dash denied feverently, quickly sniffling and rubbing feverantly at her eyes. "I just got something in my eyes, that's all!"

As the group all shared a light-hearted little chuckle, they had almost briefly forgotten about Zorc, who after Fluttershy's hard-hitting assault, was now keeling and lying over, looking as if all the strength had left his demonic body.

In the real world, Sunset was observing this touching scene with a smile of her own, happy that Poki had now been saved.

Bakura, on the other hand, was quietly raging, slamming his right fist into the table HARD. His eyes were twitching and his teeth almost looked as if they were about the shatter with how hard he was gritting them. The spirit's anger and frustration with these colourful fools was starting to reach its peak. He had been robbed of his ultimate triumph by his host and a damn puffball!

Sunset didn't care about her opponent's rage, instead grabbing the dice once more, hoping to finnish this whole thing off as quickly as possible. Now that Zorc's weak point had been struck, he should loose almost all of his power, offensive and deffensive. One solid strike at this point could win them the game!

Taking a deep breath, she then steadily met the gaze of her malicious opponent, and cast the dice, "Furthermore, the warrior attacks!"

Sunset allowed herself a smirk, looking over at the practically powerless Dark Master. "You ready to have a final go, Rainbow Dash?"

Said girl only scoffed good-naturedly, getting ready into a battle-position as she glared over at Zorc. "Do you even have to ask?"

Before she could rush off, though, the downed Ryou called out to her, "Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash swiftly turned around, freatfully looking over the white wizard to see if anything was amiss or he was in pain, "What? Is something wrong!? Do you need help!?"

Instead, Ryou simple have her a very bold smirk, despite his lack of strength, and confidently said to her, "Give him Hell for me, will you?"

The athletic girl simply blinked at him for a good moment, her mouth moving up and down slightly, before a friendly smirk spread across her face before she once again turned to face the enemy. "You got it, Ryou!"

Without further ado, Rainbow Dash let out a fearsome battlecry and rushed forward, the fire of a warrior burning within her as she raised her sword, ready to deliver a deadly strike. Zorc was powerless to even attempt to move, still paralysed over the pain Fluttershy's attack had caused him.

As such, Rainbow Dash had almost no problem simply running up and swiped her sword in a broad and fierce motion, resulting in the feared Demon King actually being cut in half! His two body-halves then fell limp to the ground. In the real world, Bakura couldn't hold back a hiss this time, as he himself felt as if Rainbow Dash had cut his own body in half. For the umteenth time that day he found himself cursing the mortals.

"Yay Dashie! Boo Zorc!" Pinkie Pie cheered, practically jumping up and down and applauding her friend. The other girls and Ryou all cheered the best they could, as well. Though some were more cautious than the rest.

"D-Did we really win?" Twilight cautiously asked, observing Zorc's divided body with sceptic eyes. After all the deciet in this game, it almost felt too good to be true that the Dark Master could have at last been defeated, even after all of their hard work.

Twilight was not alone in her sceptisism, Sunset also observing the the whole scenario with narrowed eyes. "No." She answered in a steely voice, "Not yet."

As these words left her lips, everyone's attention was suddenly taken away by none other than Zorc. The Demon King who had plagued their entire gameplay, who by all accounts should rightfully be dead at this point, was instead starting to twitch. His sliced off upper body began to twitch speradically, before it seemed as if there was actually some real life in the ruined body, Zorc using his huge arm to crawl closer to the adventurers, growling all the way.

"... Aw, come on!" Rainbow Dash whined in righteous frustration to break the stunned silence of their team-mates, all of them watching Zorc's advancement while frozen in shock. "Why can't we just WIN for once!?"

"No such luck, I'm afraid!" Bakura almost giggled down at the group, "I still have options!"

The spirit's and Sunset's eyes once again clashed, their wills coliding and battling as neither one of them was willing to show weakness to the other. Bakura's grin was manic and sinister as he adressed his opponent, "Your descision to save that accursed puffball and not finishing off Zorc during your last turn will now cost you!"

Not giving Sunset a chance to respond, Bakura instead spread open his arms in a grand desture, looking down upon the gameboard like a wicked god about to smite some poor, unknowing souls, "On the next turn, Zorc and one adventurer of your choice will get the chance to attack simoultaneously!"

Sunset gasped softly at this revelation, realizing that the game had now quite literally entered the last turn. The fate of all her friends were all hanging on the outcome on this next dice roll.

"Shimmer!" Slightly startled at the harsh adress, she looked over and saw Bakura pointing imperiously at her, grinning like the cat who caught the canary. "This is the last dice roll! We both roll, and whoever rolls the lowest gets the first attack and will be our Shadow Game's ultimate winner!"

Feeling determination like never before, Sunset glared at the spirit, clenching her hand around the dice so tightly that hw wouldn't be surprised if her nails would soon pierce the skin. But that did not matter to her. The only thing she cared about now was saving her friends and stopping the monster sitting opposite of her. "You're on, Bakura!"

The demon disguised in human flesh simply scoffed at her confidence, his dark eyes lighting up in a twisted and sadistic confidence, looking eager to send Sunset and her friends six feet under. "You may be confident, but this is the end of the line for you!"

He turned his evil gaze down towards the adventurers, an almost impossibly wide grin of malice spreading, as if it was on the edge of splitting his cheeks open. "Your next adventure will be in Hell!"

As Bakura laughed maniacally, the adventurers all stared down the approaching, injured form of Zorc, sweat treading down their faces as they knew that this would be the end of their adventure. Whether it was a good ending or a bad one remained to be seen.

Sunset was collecting herself, still gripping the dice tightly as she reminded herself just why she needed to win this. Not only to save the lives of her best friends, but to make everything right with her newest one. She couldn't lose now! She WOULDN'T lose!

While the fiery-haired girl was doing just that, Bakura still had one last hidden trump card to play, and it was one that would assure his victory. Looking at the pair of regular dice in his right hand, the spirit used his own last resort.

'With the power of the millenium ring, I'll seal away but a splinter of my own soul within these dice!' He gripped the two dice hard, using the ancient magic to split away a small portion of his own dark soul and channeled it into the two gaming items.

Bakura's smile was that of a savage monster, knowing that with this technique he was garantueed a super critical. Then he would be free to take the wenches magic and do away with his rebellious host!

"It's time." He then declared aloud, both him and Sunset holding up their dice, ready to determine the Shadow Game's long-awaited conclusion. Their eyes never closing as they glared at eachother, the two players simultaneously threw their respective dice up in the air, watching them spin and fall towards the board.

Sunset's dice fell to the board first, afterwards both spinning to determine the result. 'Please!' Sunset pleaded internally, images flashing by in her mind of everything she had to protect through this roll. 'I have to save my friends! I have faith that we'll win this! Please, answer that faith!'

The pair of dice at last siezed their movement, falling to reveal Sunset's number.

'Alright!' Sunset cheered internally, before swiftly turning her attention towards her opponent's still moving dice, 'Unless the other Game Master gets a super critical too, then this game is won!'

Bakura, on the other hand, was grinning like a madman as his dice spun, knowing that his offshoot dice had a zero percent chance of failing. And it didn't matter that Shimmer had rolled one as well, for the Dark Master always won in a tie. The damn mortals were all finished now!

His dice then came to a stop, and through the will of Bakura's evil soul they fell exactly as he wanted them too.

All the hope Sunset had turned to ash as she saw her opponent's result, knowing full well what this meant for her own roll. Every bit of energy seemed to leave her, the light in her green eyes died out, "No... No, please!"

Bakura only laughed, thinking that he had finally broken his annoyingly defiant opponent, but now his time was at hand!

"How sad!" He sneered mockingly, sounding anything but sympathetic, "From the heights of victory to the dregs of defeat! You put your faith in friendship and failed misserably!"

The sense of victory, along with the spirit's already unrivaled egotism and intense loathing for Sunset Shimmer and all that she stood for, at last made him completely snap. Letting out his longest and most evil sounding laugh yet, Bakura rose from his seat an leered at his crushed opponent.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT, SHIMMER!?" He screamed at her, shaking in sadistic excitement while the veins on his face become so visible that they almost looked ready to pop. Bakura didn't care, wanting to savour every bit of the sweet taste of triumph, "THIS IS MY PERFECT VICTORY! THAT'S RIGHT! I WIN!!"

Sunset said nothing, looking down with a face filled with utter heartbreak. She didn't know when tears had started streaming down her cheeks, but they were now falling freely and she made no move to stop them. What was the point? What was the point of anything? She had lost, Bakura had won. It was all over.

Not minding the silence of an opponent without hope, Bakura decided that it was time to end this farce of a Shadow Game once and for all, "I got a super critical as well! And now Zorc will blow himself up with all o-!"

The demon gasped, both him and the despondent Sunset , despite the pure heat of the moment, noticed that there was definetly something off about Bakura's dice. For, without any warning, the white dice representing the one's position began to glow in a pure, white light. Even stranger, it began to move ever so slightly, barely noticeably.

"What the...?" Sunset murmured to herself, confused despite her melancholy. Misinterpreting the situation, she glared at her opponent with hateful, teary eyes, "What's the point!? You've already won!"

But before Bakura could get a spiteful word in, the already glowing dice seemed to explode in light, bathing the entire game room in a birght, strangely comforting white light. While Sunset felt herself somehow becoming warm inside, Bakura hissed like a vampire at the light, as if it's purity was causing him pain.

It died down eventually, allowing both of the players to regain their vision.

What they shocked them both to their inner core.

For by the white dice, a transparent figure now stood, almost as if it were standing behind a misty old window. Though the figure's back was facing Sunset, there was no mistaking who it was. The blue-and-white striped t-shirt, the grey jeans, the pale skin, and the large amount of pristine white hair was a dead giveaway for both players.

Bakura couldn't believe his eyes, finding himself shaking as he was stared down by a pair of brown eyes, "This can't be! You-You're...!"

"Ryou!" Sunset finished the sentence, staring at the apparition of her friend in absolute wonder, "But... I-I don't understand."

Her words went ignored by both Ryou and the spirit, the latter having gathered his wits and glared with all his hate at the image of his host, "You damn bastard!" He seethes, "You made your way into the white dice!?"

For a good amount of time, Ryou said nothing. Instead merely glaring at the spirit who for so long had been allowed to take away so much from him, and was planning to do it again... Well, no more.

"I won't lose any more of my friends." The apparition stated, unflinchingly staring at the demon inhabiting his own body. "I won't let you do as you please anymore!"

As Ryou's angry words grew louder, the white dice movements became more violent and more noticeable. Sunset and Bakura both quickly realized the boy's intention. Ryou was sabbotaging the spirit's dice roll, which would make Sunset and the others winners.

"Like Hell, I'd let you!" The demon growled, his usual cool nonexistent at this point. Noone had the right to defy him! Least of all his pathetic host. Rising from his chair, the item imbedded in his chest began to glow in a sickly golden light, readying a magic charge.

"I'll use the millenium ring to FORCE YOU OUT!!" A beam of burning hate and darkness exploded out of the ring, striking at the apparition of Ryou. Strangely enough, it did not pass right through him, instead continously assaualting Ryou who cried out in anguish, the dark magic burning away at his very spirit.

"Oh no! RYOU!" Sunset screamed, feeling that hated sense of powerlessness as she stared at how her friend was assaulted by Bakura's magic. Though it did not strike her, she could still feel that whatever the spirit inhabiting her friend's body was using, it was not equestrian. No, it was something far darker, going beyond even that she had heard about the Pony of Shadows during her studies.

And Ryou was taking the full force of it.

It seemed as if all was lost, until, once again, something rather odd happened before their very eyes.

Slowly, one by one, appearing beside the pained Ryou, translucent figures of the Rainbooms' six other members made themselves visible, standing supportively behind their friend and glaring heatedly over at Bakura, who once again found himself completely speechless. Even moreso as their presence actually seemed to diminish the assault of his ring.

"Wha-WHAT!?" The spirit screamed in complete and utter rage and confusion, glaring at them with twitching eyes filled with malice and hate, "HOW CAN YOU DO THIS!? WHAT IS THIS MAGIC!?"

"What magic, you ask?" The apparition of Rainbow Dash asked with a snort, a hand on Ryou's shoulder as she met the crazed eyes of Bakura, "You still don't get it, Mr. Hyde?"

Pinkie Pie, still smiling, though with a noticeable edge to it, then said, "As long as we have faith in our friends than nothing is impossible!"

"'specially when it comes to dealin' with crooks like you!" Applejack scowled.

"Precisely!" Rarity glared daggers at the spirit. "We won't allow you to hurt our friend anymore, you ruffian!"

Twilight faced the spirit's manic expression without fear, "There's nothing that can stop us as long as we're united, Bakura!"

Fluttershy said nothing, simply gowing for giving Bakura the best glare she could muster.

Sunset, now realizing what was happening, stared hard at her bewildered psycho of an opponent, "This is the most powerful magic of all, Bakura! The magic of friendship!"

At this declaration, the beam of the millenium ring actually seemed to give in, as if some invisible force was making it strike right back onto it's caster, who had now completely lost it.

“WHAT KIND OF ‘CARE BEARS’-BULLSHIT IS THIS?!” Bakura screamed in utter and helpless frustration as his assault was deflected right back at him.

Now that he was unchallenged, Ryou and all the other apparitions shared proud and grateful smiles, which they then also gave to Sunset, who was whiping away the last residue tears from her earlier despair. Having seen the powers and will of her friends, hope was on her side once more.

The transparent figures all faded away, but there presence and actions were still very much felt. For at that moment, the white dice managed to roll over all on it's own, making it display a brand new number for Bakura's result.

"M-MY DICE!" The demon in human flesh wailed, feeling his victory being violently wrenched out of his very hands.

Sunset felt herself let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, feeling a great sense of relief and joy brewing within. Her friends, all of her friends had pulled through together. Bakura was wrong, friendship was the furthest thing away from pointless, and now she would prove it once and for all.

Giving the deranged spirit one final glare, Sunset declared, "Your dice have the higher number, Bakura! The first move is ours!"

The deranged Game Master said nothing, only seething and shaking, and Sunset took some kind of dark satisfaction in seeing the absolute terror on the once high-and-mighty demon's face. The face which she would return to its rightful owner soon enough.

"This is the end for you!" Sunset looked down on the game board, her eyes locking on a certain one of them, "Finish this guy off for good, Twilight!"

"You got it, Sunset!" She replied steadily, raising her magic staff and feeling a great surge of magical energy welling up inside her. Looking at the pathetic excuse of life called Zorc infront of her, Twilight channeled the magic through her staff and aimed it at the Dark Master, longing to end the game and get everything back to the way it should be.

Imbuing not only her own, but the fury and will of al her friends, Twilight unleashed her ultimate attack, "Final Big Bang!" Much as the name says, a single ball of blue-coloured magic flew through her staff and struck the cowering Zorc. The result was a magnificent explosion that would put even Micheal Bay to shame, blasting Zorc apart until there was nothing left.

Bakura, who felt everything Zorc did, let out a long, raspy, blood-curling scream of pain as it felt as if his own body was being torn apart by burning light. But not only the pain, with such a blow and Zorc being defeated, Bakura knew full well that he was, in fact, the loser of this Shadow Game.

'NO! NO, IT CAN'T BE!' He raged within his mind, the pain of loss burning his already wounded ego and pride. Worse of all, he could steadily feel himself losing the senses of his body, and that could only mean one thing; He was losing power, and therefore control over his host!

'NO! I-I CAn't lose! I REFUSE!...!' His inner voice grew weaker, and Bakura despaired in knowing that this loss had severly weakened his spirit and power. 'But... I can still... use her...'

And then the spirit of the ring completely lost control of the body. Said body therefore faceplanted unceremoniously to the table, and the millenium ring slid off his neck and fell to the floor with a heavy CLANG.

Of course, to Sunset, it seemed as if her opponent had simply collapsed, but she had bigger problems. After Twilight's attack, the game board had gone oddly quiet and still, as if all the life had been sucked out of it. The figurine containing her friends' sould were still as can be, and for a brief, horrifying moment, Sunset wondered if they had done something wrong.

Fortunatley, Sunset was spared from further worry, as she felt a light stirring next to her. Getting a little spooked by the sudden movement, she jumped just a tad in her seat and looked downwards to her left side, where the body of Pinkie Pie, was actually starting to move.

The girl's pink face scrunched up, before her pair of bright blue eyes opened slowly, and Sunset couldn't stop the happy gasp that escaped her even if she tried.

"... Sunny?" Pinkie asked after a bit of silence, in which she had manage to get herself up from her slouching position, rubbing a spot of her head.

"It's me, Pinkie." Sunset confirmed with a joyful smile, happy to actually be able to truly interact with her friend once more. "We defeated Bakura, you're all free now!"

"... Does that mean I won't get to keep my magic gun?" Pinkie simply asked her with a small pout, before quickly shrugging it off and instead giving Sunset a big smile. "Eh, who cares? Who needs magic guns when I got a whole group of friends waiting for me right here!?"

Sunset couldn't help but chuckle, and Pinkie quickly joined in with a full-on laugh. As they did so, the other five girls all began to stir and awake as well, their souls now back in their rightful place.

Twilight blinked a couple of times, adjusting her glasses and looking around somewhat sceptically. "This... this isn't another trick, is it?"

"Ah don't think so, sugarcube." The now awakened Applejack answered with a big, yet relieved smile, Rarity doing the same beside her. "We're all out o' the game for real now!"

"Because we're awesome!" The always energetic Rainbow Dash exclaimed, raising a fist in celebration, "We beat a game that was legit impossible to beat! That has to increase out cool-factor by at least 20 percent!"

"But we didn't do it alone." Fluttershy said quietly, though smiling nonetheless, "We all worked together to beat Zorc." She then let out a little despondent sigh, "I'm going to miss Pokie and Pao, though. Feels like I just started to get to know them."

Before any words of comfort could be said by anyone else, the seven girls' attention was gripped by a painful moan coming from the other side of the table. They all gasped in horror, remembering that they weren't the only ones trapped by the game!

"Ryou!" Sunset called out in concern, her and the others practically jumpin out of their chairs and running over to the body of their slumped over friend. Once they got there it was quite a messy sight, indeed.

Ryou looked paler and weaker than ever before, his body shaking like a leaf. Blood was still leaking out of the wound in his left hand, and it almost looked as if he was barely breathing at all.

Sunset took the initiative and quickly, but gently lifted the near lifeless body into something off a sitting position. However, this only revealed a more gruesome sight. Though the ring had indeed fallen off and the spirit was gone, the fact remained that the artifact's five prongs had dug DEEP into Ryou's poor body. And as those prongs were no longer there, Ryou's pale skin by his chest and stomach was now a red, sticky mess of blood steadily leaking out of where the prongs had pierced the skin.

It was a gruesome sight, and some of the girls had to stop themselves from vomiting or fainting on the spot. They merely stood there in horrified shock for a small moment, their earlier triumph over the sadistic spirit forgotten. Instead, they were saddened by what fate had befallen their innocent friend.

But it was Twilight who first snapped out of this horror-induced trance, her eyes wide and panicky as she got to Ryou's side, "W-We have to call an ambulance!"

"On it!" Rainbow Dash was quick as always, bringing up her phone as swiftly dialing 911.

"We have to stop the bleedin'!" Applejack the declared, moving to Ryou's side and swiftly ripping off a piece of his white shirt to at least have something to hinder the bleeding. "This is bad, girls! He could bleed out if he don't any help soon!"

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Poor Fluttershy, though eager to help her friend, was almost on the verge of hyperventalating, seeing the great deal of blood and pain Ryou was in.

Sunset, feeling more protective of her friends than ever before, knelt beside Ryou and shook him very gently, hoping to all that is holy that she would get some kind of response! "Ryou? Ryou, please answer me! Y-You can't die! I- We all worked so hard to save you!"

Though it seemed as if all life had completely left the body, the girls at last spotted a movement. Ryou's head turned just slightly in Sunset's direction, his eye-lids slowly opening just a tad. Even those mere moves looked as if they drained all of Ryou's energy.

"S-Sunset...?" He asked weakly, his voice barely more than a whisper. His brown eyes were cloudy and tired beyond imagening, but they were still filled with pleading, "I s-swear... I-It's me..."

"I know, Ryou, I know." Sunset assured him kindly, gently taking hold of his right hand. She and the others knew full well what Ryou was trying to assure them about so she simply told him, "He's gone now. The spirit is gone, we're all safe."

The boy let out a small sigh of what the Rainbooms thought to be relief, but it was quickly forgotten, as the poor boy then began to shake lightly, his pained brown eyes welling up with tears and his tired face filled with guilt, "Girls... I-I, please... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"Ssshh." Twilight soothed gently, her and Rarity rubbing his back comfortably, "It's alright, Ryou. It's okay. We're here now."

Ryou didn't seem to hear her, instead his right hand shakily almost touched his bloody mess of a chest, though not touching it. "M-my chest... it-it hurts...!" He sounded so vulnerable as he said this, even worse when he barely moved his head, but the girls could clearly tell that he was gesturing to his mutilated left hand, "My... he did... m-my hand..."

"Just hang in there, sugarcube." Applejack tried to sound as calm and soothing as she could, pressing the cloth just enough to not cause pain, but hopefully to stop any more bleeding. But despite that, she herself was on the verge of breakin down at seeing a friend in such a sorry state. "We're gonna get yah help."

"You're going to be okay." Pinkie also tried her best, though even her own smile was shaky, and her usually poofy hair almost seemed to deflate.

Rainbow Dash then walked over, pocketing her phone and looking relived. "The ambulance is on their way now. Should be here any minute." Before anyone else could get a word in, the atheltic girl spotted a familiar piece of gold lying almost forgotten by Ryou's feet.

Ah, there's the little devil." She bent down to pick it up, seeing nothing wrong with that plan, "We should probably-"

"Don't touch it!" Sunset harshly scolded Rainbow Dash, who in turn flinched and pulled back her hand and herself from the millenium ring.

"I don't believe picking up jewelry containing an evil spirit is the best idea, Rainbow." Rarity scolded her friend, still doing her best to comfort the wounded Ryou.

Despite the situation, Rainbow Dash let out a self-depricating chuckle. "You got a point, there." Her brief levity was sompletely forgotten as she looked at Ryou's shaking and injured form, feeling a great sense of protectiveness welling up within her.

As such, she went to his side and very gently placed a hand on his shoulder, meeting his weak brown ones with her own, passionate violet ones. "You're gonna be alright, pal." Rainbow Dash told him, soundin both commanding and assuring. "The ambulance will be here any moment and we'll get you to the hospital!"

"I-I-I..." The poor boy could barely speak in this state, though his tears were ever flowing. After a moment of stammering, he, with visible effort, looked all around at the friends surrounding him, pleading with them with every ounce of energy he had, "Don't leave me! I-I don't... I don't want to be alone! P-Please...!"

The girls all looked at the poor, shivering mess infront of them. This wasn't right, they all thought. Ryou Bakura shouldn't look like this. He shouldn't cry, not ever like this! He should be smiling, his kind brown eyes that lights up everytime he sees them too, he should be laughing at one of Pinkie Pie's antics or another.

But this... this was just all kinds of wrong.

"We won't leave you, Ryou." Sunset woved, her and the others all looking more determined than ever to help out and be there for their friend, "And that's a promise."

Ad Monstruosis - Deinde

None of the Rainbooms would ever say that they liked hospitals all that much.

The dull white interior, the stuffy warmth, the reek of saturated alcohol and antiseptic, the sheer feeling of disease and death in the sterilized air. None of those factors made for a particularly good spot for seven teenage girls to hang out on a Saturday.

And yet, there they were, lounging about by themselves in the waiting room of Canterlot City's hospital. The atmosphere was slightly tense as they waited for the moment they could head on in and visit Ryou whom they hadn't seen since the day before this one.

After the whole shadow game RPG, though the boy had been set free from the spirit's control, he had also been severely injured and lost a lot of blood. The girls had all later been informed that they had made the call just in time, and that things might've not gone so smoothly had they've been just a few minutes late. Luckily, the ambulance Rainbow Dash had called had arrived and taken Ryou to the hospital without any complications, the girls all followed as they were determined to not leave him alone after everything that had happened.

Of course, once Ryou had been taken to the emergency room for blood-repleneshing and surgery, the seven girls had been forced to answer a few questions regarding the nature of their friend's injuries, as not only the locations of the wounds and why he hadn't been given aid sooner was put into question.

It was all thanks to the group's quick thinking that they had managed to give a good enough explanation for the medical staff. The Rainbooms had told them that all of the wounds were due to simple accidents with some homemade RPG-props, which held some truth to it. A castle miniature was blamed for the mutilated hand whilst the five seperate chest wounds were blamed on a sharp replica of a magic pendant.

It had led to some raised eyebrows for sure, but the inquisitive medical personel eventually seemed to accept it with a stern warning about handling such things with more caution in the future.

After that, the girls had been informed that they couldn't get any more information or be present during the procedures, as they were neither Ryou's guardians or immediate family. Though certainly peeved by the dismissal, espescially knowing that Ryou would probably need them now more than ever, the band of friends did concede and went home, though not without deciding amongst one another that they would come back the next day.

That friday night they had all decided to have a sleepover, all seven of the girls spending the night at Fluttershy's house as it was the closest one to the hospital. Only this time the night wasn't filled with laughter, games, outrageous pizza-toppings or even any real sense of fun.

No, even though they had defeated the spirit, the sheer emotional weight of what they had experienced, what they had learned, the fact that all of them had nearly lost their lives to some twisted being, all of it had truly began to fall down upon them once the urgency to simply stay alive was out of the equation.

Instead, the sleepover had served more as a way for the girls to assure themselves and eachother as the true implications of their confrontation with the spirit of the ring grated on their minds. All throughout the night they had held eachother as they slept.

A few of them had even woken up a couple of times in a cold sweat, each of their dreams haunted by that sinister laughter and the face of their suffering friend twisted into an evil grin. Worse were those dark, terrible eyes filled with hunger and an ancient cruelty. Everytime it had happened, the girls had simply cuddled tighter together, assuring eachother that the demon posing as Ryou could no longer hurt them.

It had been a rough night for all of them, but by being there and supporting eachother they had all managed to somehow get some sleep. Once they had woken up and eaten a balanced vegetarian breakfast, they had gone straight to the hospital with one clear goal in mind. Which leads us to the present.

Everyone of the Rainbooms were all finding ways to keep themselves busy as the seconds ticked away on the waiting room's clock, without being to rowdy as they WERE in a hospital. Twilight was working away on some light math problems (by her standards, anyway), Rarity was casualty knitting some accessory or another, Fluttershy was flipping through a veterinarian's catalouge, and Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were playing Among Us.

Sunset would normally have joined them, but not this time. No, the fiery-haired girl was instead deep in thought, the plain enviroment and nearly hypnotic ticking noise of the clock helping her focus on the implications of what had transpired the last couple of days, and it was no understatement to say that some of it terrified her.

For one, she now knew for certain that there was magic in this world that wasn't equestrian, at least if the millenium ring was anything to go by. That had shocked Sunset, as back when she was still a bully and relatively new to the human world, she had desperatly tried to find any sources of magic that would aid her in her vengeful pursuit of power.

She could still remembering spending countless sleepless night in the Canterlot City library, looking through human folklore and myths, trying to find something of value but always ending up with nothing.

And yet here she was, still trying to process the direct result of a twisted game created by this unknown magic. Sunset was thinking back to what princess Twilight had written to her, about those ancient documents from ponies who had explored the human world 3000 years past.

Ryou had told them that his father had found the ring in an ancient egyptian tomb, and those pony explorers should've entered this world during the high point of the egyptian civilization. Egypt, Egypt, Egypt, it always seemed to come back to Egypt. It was something Sunset would have to remember to look into thoroughly later.

Another point of concern for her was that, according to the documents, there were six other items like the ring possibly out there somewhere. The knowledge did little to soothe Sunset's increasingly longer list of concerns. The millenium ring alone had displayed powers beyond anything she had ever seen, and that included her time as Celestia's personal student.

The damn thing could manipulate souls, for crying out loud! And Sunset had the sinking feeling that the old piece of gold could do a whole lot more. And if one of these 'millenium items' could do all that, who's to say what kind of chaos those six other items could cause!?

And then there was the spirit of the ring himself... Sunset nearly flinched thinking about that malicious entity, rage welling up within her as the memories of what he had done to her friends still burned brightly within her.

The spirit had been unlike anything Sunset or the others had ever faced before. He wasn't just some power-hungry force exiled from Equestria or some poor person simply playing with powers beyond their control.

No, the spirit was pure evil. He clearly knew full well what he was doing and had been doing it for five years, probably even long before that. He didn't seem to want power so that he could rule over the world, instead it seemed more like he would want power just so he could destroy it. And the way he referred to himself and them... He didn't even sound human.

But that begged the question: If he wasn't human, and he wasn't equestrian... Just what in the Hell was he?

Sunset was hindered from further dwelling on this, as the jarring sound of approaching footsteps echoing in the hospital halls drew the attention of all of the seven girls. The source of the steps proved to be a middle-aged doctor of average height. He had cream caramel skin, dark caramel hair and a set of dark cyan eyes obscured by a pair of hornbill glasses.

He appeared to be looking through some medical information or other on a clipboard, before looking up as he now stood near the colourful group. The man looked up and smiled kindly as he saw them.

"You young ladies are friends of Mr. Bakura, here for a visit, correct?" He asked.

"We are." Rainbow Dash affirmed, sounding proud to do so as she and the others all rose from their seats.

"Excellent. I'm doctor Greymare." he introduced himself before gesturing towards the door he had presumably come from, "We've just finished some standard checks and he appears to have recovered the necessary strength. You may see him for a bit now."

Naturally, the man recieved quite a hefty amount of heartfelt thanks from the seven teens, some more enthusiastic than others. Pinkie Pie shook his hand so much that he was still vibrating after Sunset had pulled him away. Luckily, the good doctor took it in good humor, simply chuckling at them,

"No need to thank me, kids. I'm sure he will be happy to have friends like you come and visit." His tone then turned more professional, "Just keep in mind that he is still recovering. NO rough-housing, clear?"

"As crystal." Rainbow Dash answered for them.

Without any other complications, the girls were all lead down the hall before arriving at one particular door. Doctor Greymare gestured for the girls to wait a minute. He then knocked lightly at the door thrice before opening it up, not letting the girls get a look on the inside.

"Mr. Bakura?" He called out gently into the room, "You have some visitors."

"Who is it?" The soft voice sounded just slightly raspy, but it made all of the Rainbooms happy to hear their friend's voice again after spending so much time worrying for his health.

"Your friends, son." The doctor answered, "There are seven girls out here who've been waiting to visit you."

"..." The initial silence from the room felt sickening, and for a brief horrifying moment the girls wondered if they had done something wrong in some way. But then there came a very soft and very simple,

"... Send them in, please."

The girls all let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding, doctor Greymare then stepping aside and allowing them to step inside the room.

Once they stepped inside they first noticed that the room was nothing out of the ordinary for what one would expect from a hospital. No, what imediatley drew their attention was the bed located alongside the middle of the room's opposite wall. Or rather, the familiar figure sitting upright in the bed.

"Ryou..." Sunset muttered, she and the others taking in the sight and moment of finally getting to see their friend whom they had been fretting over for so long.

The boy certainly looked better than the last time they saw him. His chest was no longer bathed in his own blood, for one. Instead, a load of bandage was visibly wrapped around his chest, visible beneath the hospital gown he was wearing. His left hand was also all wrapped up, some dried blood visible at the area where the wound presumably was. He was no loger looking like a corpse, and had instead returned to his normal pale complexion.

Ryou had seen them all come in, and his large brown was currently looking them all over, a varying mix of emotions visible all at once. Shock, awe, happiness, but also some hints of guilt, shame and other unsavoury emotions. None of that was too apparent to the Rainbooms, though, as they instead were almost spellbound by the sight of their hospitalized friend.

"Girls... Y-You came." he remarked, breaking the silence. His soft voice sounded filled with child-like awe and shock, as if what was happening was like some sort of crazy dream come true, "I-I'm so happy you're all alright but... You're really here..."

"Of course we are, darling." answered Rarity, almost sounding a little offended. "Why wouldn't we want to visit you in the hospital? Espescially after everything that has happened."

"I just thought that, well, with everything that..." Ryou's voice died off, his whole face falling into a sad frown, "N-Nevermind."

It was an answer that didn't exactly ease any of the concern the girls were already feeling concerning the boy, all of them exchanging worried looks. But before they could say anything, the pure force of energy that was Pinkie Pie rushed towards the hospital bed, an ear-to-ear smile on her face as she closed in on the boy.

"Hiya, Ryou!" She greeted him enthusiastically and quickly, "How are ya? I'm quite fantabulous myself, now that I get to see your handsome mug again! Are you feeling any better? Did the doctors check your butt temperature? Are you in the mood for cupcakes? 'cause I can get you some cupcakes! What kinda flavours fit hospitals? Do ya know if-"

"Easy there, Pinks." Rainbow Dash of all people chided Pinkie and interrupted her speedy rant, her and the other girls having walked up to the bed as well, "We're in a hospital, remember? Gotta take it cool."

Pinkie paused for just a moment, seeming to realize just what she had been doing. Scratching the back of her poofy-haired head, she blushed just a bit, "Sorry, Dashie." she then got a more guilty look on her face as she turned towards her hospitalized friend, "Sorry, Ryou..."

But Ryou didn't seem to mind, actually letting out a light chuckle at Pinkie's antics. It was a positively amazing sound for the Rainbooms to hear at this point. "Nothing to apologize for, Pinkie."

"So, how are yah feelin', sugarcube?" Applejack then asked him, genuine concern for him evident in her tone as she and the others managed to grab a few seats and gather around the bed.

"Q-Quite good, actually." Ryou answered, managing to give the girls a small smile, "Doctor Greymare said I'll have to stay in the hospital for a few days, but I'm expected to make a full recovery."

Everyone of the girls smiled at that.

"Um, wh-what about your injuries?" the timid Fluttershy asked, looking concerned as her large eyes roamed over the wounds now covered by bandages. "W-will they heal up alright?"

Ryou's smile dipped, "It doesn't really hurt anymore, but that might just be the anaesthetic talking." His expression was unreadable as he looked down on his left hand."The doctor said I was lucky I didn't suffer any nerve damage and that I'll be able to use my hand without any issue. As for my... my chest, well,"

He brought a hand to the aforementioned area, rubbing it slightly, "The wounds were quite deep, but they've been stitched up and will heal eventually. Apparently it was a miracle that no vital organs were punctured."

An uncharacteristically bitter look came across Ryou's face, "I couldn't exactly tell him that a 3000-year old spirit just wanted to not hurt me too badly so he could continue to steal my body."

Another bout of uncomfortable silence followed, the girls not really knowing just how they should respond to such a remark. Feeling the effects of the silence himself, Ryou let out a troubled sigh,

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, rubbing at his eyes as if he was tired, "It's just... There's been a lot on my mind lately."

"Yah don't say." Applejack remarked dryly, though clearly not in an attempt to make light of the situation.

"I'm just thinking about... About what this all means. For me, I mean." His eyes were misty, ghosts of the past dancing about within them, "To think that I've had that... that demon around me for so long and I never even knew."

A deep sadness came across Ryou's face, his voice choking up with emotion, "Just think, a-all the people he's hurt... All because of me... Who knows how many?"

"We've actually got some news on that front, Ryou." Sunset told him, a gentle and reasurring smile on her face, "We think that when we defeated the spirit, we weren't the only souls who were set free. All those other people he turned into dolls were freed, as well."

"Wh-what?" Ryou questioned, not being able to keep the disbelief out of his voice even if he tried, "How can you possibly know that?"

"It was all over the news this morning." Twilight held up her phone which was displaying a recent article, "Over 20 different comatose patients in Japan all alledgedly woke up out of nowhere. Doctors all over the world are baffled but it seems that all of them are on the road to recovery."

Ryou's mouth hung agape, a small spark of hope lighting within him, "D-Do you really mean that-"

"Yes." Sunset couldn't stop herself from smiling as she responded, "They're all free now, as they should be."

It almost sounded too good to be true, and given his previous experiences in life, that's exxactly what Ryou thought this was. Though a noticeable part of him still hoped, "Wh-What about Trixie?" He asked worriedly, remembering the spirit's ominous words regarding the stage magician, "I know the spirit targeted her before the game. I-Is she-"

"She's just dandy, Ryou." Applejack assured him, patting his legs lightly.

"Unfortunatley..." Rainbow Dash muttered, her opinion of Trixie Lulamoon not having changed because of what had no doubt happened to the boisterous girl. This only served to make the athletic girl recieve a sharp, reprimanding elbow-jab from Fluttershy of all people.

"She apparently woke up shortly before the ambulance arrived to pick you up." Sunset explained, "After a few small check-ups she was all good to go."

"Thank goodness." Ryou let out a relieved sigh, leaning back into his makeshift-seat, his brown eyes staring up at nothing, feeling as if a huge weight had just been lifted off of his shoulders, "Ever since the spirit told me what he'd done... I was just so worried."

"... What was it like, by the way?" Rainbow Dash asked after a bit of silence, not being able to contain her inate curiousity, "Being possessed, I mean."

She realized rather quickly that this may not have been the smartest question to ask at this time, given the way Ryou seemed to tense up where he sat and how the rest of the girls gave her dirty, incredulous looks. Naturally, she tried to do some damage controll.

"M-my bad, dude." She stammered out in a nervous laugh, "I-It was a stupid question. You don't have to-"

"No." Ryou interrupted her, his tone of voice sounding just a bit off, "It's alright."

"A-Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, both her and the others looking concerned. Ryou just nodded before taking a deep breath in and out, as if bracing himself for what he was about to tell them.

"... It's an awful sensation." He said, after a while of thinking of the best way to describe it, "Usually I think he did it in a way that I didn't really notice it. But something about this place made him more wild than usual. This time, I could actually feel how the controll of my body slowly left me. It was as if every sense in my body dulled until even my mind completely went unconscious."

The Rainbooms were all silent throughout this explanation, trying to take in this rather horrifying piece of information. As he wasn't interrupted, Ryou simply continued.

"I suppose that I usually just black out when he takes control of my body. But this time..." The boy's entire body tensed up, the events of yesterday shrieking and haunting his consciousness within. For it was with great shame that he remembered this next revelation.

"... I was fully aware of everything that happened." Horrible memories of yesterday's events flashed by in his mind, "It was like being a prisoner in my own body. I could just look on as he did all of those... those horrible things to all of you and I couldn't do anything to stop it... I was useless."

The Rainbooms' mouths hung agape in shock, none of them having imagined that Ryou had been forced to watch all of the spirit's actions during the possession. Not only that, but his last few words worried some of them greatly,

"Ryou, it was because of your intervention that the spirit missed so many criticals." Twilight insisted, not liking what her white-haired friend seemed to be insinuating, "We wouldn't have made it through the game if it hadn't been for you."

Ryou didn't look convinced, looking down despondently as he muttered, "But none of you would've been in that situation in the first place if it hadn't been for me..."

A tense silence what was followed his statement, the pure self-loathing apparent in his words shocking and horrifying all the girls there. None of them liked the implications of his words.

"Dude," Rainbow Dash broke the silence, looking incredulously at Ryou, "You're not seriously thinking that we blame you?"

The boy said nothing, simply keeping his melancholic gaze fixed upon his lap. He couldn't do it, he couldn't look any of them in the eye. How could he after everything that had happened because of him?

"Ryou," said Rarity after another bout of stunned silence, looking sympathetic as she observed her friend, "None of this is your fault, darling."

"But it IS!" Ryou cried out at last, tears of guilt starting to run down his cheeks as he brought his face into his hands, "I brought the spirit to this place! How is it NOT my fault!? Had I just stayed away from you then none of this would have happened!"

This was all his guilt, every last bit of doubt self-loathing which had been building up ever since he first met them, now being unloaded at last. "I betrayed you, I lied to you, I knew full well what happened to the friends I made in the past and I never said anything! How can I live with myself knowing that you all nearly died because of me!?"

The girls were all silent, momentarily too stunned to even attempt to comfort their friend. How could they even begin to fix this? Poor Ryou was pouring his heart out to them, blaming himself for somthing which was far out of his control.

As none of the room's other occupants were speaking, all of the Rainbooms heard how Ryou whispered to himself in between his sobs, his words overflowing with self-loathing, "I don't deserve any of this... All of you, I mean. I'm a horrible person... I-It's all my fault."

"No." Sunset's voice then broke the silence, Ryou's words striking a chord with something deep with in her. Scooting closing over to where Ryou was sitting, she carefully, but firmly, placed a hand on Ryou's shoulder. The girls' hearts collectively ached as they saw how Ryou flinched at her touch.

Sunset's heart ached most of all, though she forced aside, knowing that the shaking and broken boy infront of her needed something else. So instead, she didn't hesitate and instead said, "Ryou, look at me."

Her words were firm, demanding, and yet there was a clear tender tone and intention intertwining with it. Almost as if he hadn't heard her, Ryou kept his face in his hands, weeping softly.

"Um... Sunset?" Fluttershy interjected timidly, seeing Sunset in no way faltering and knowing that Ryou's and Sunset's last real interaction hadn't exactly gone over well, "M-Maybe we should-" she fell silent as she felt Applejack placing a hand on her shoulder, signaling to let Sunset keep going.

Said fiery-haired girl had not yet wavered, simply continuing to give her hospitalized friend that same firm, yet kind expression, "Ryou... We need to sort this out. I know it's hard, but I need you to face me, to face all of us. So please, get your face out of those hands and look at me."

At first the boy didn't make a single move, and for the briefest of moments the girls feared that maybe Sunset had crossed some sort of line. But then, Ryou's pair of pale hands slowly, but surely, began to lower away from his face, shaking like leaves in the wind. His head hung low in clear shame, but just as slowly, his head rose up and turned fully towards where the girls were all sitting, allowing them to get a proper look at the boy's face.

Ryou's pale face had clear, red puffy lines where tears were still faliing. His lips were quivering slightly as his large, lost and guilt ridden brown eyes met Sunset's own kind, determined green ones. It made for a pitiful sight, honestly, but it only served to make the girls more determined to help their friend.

"Now you listen to me and you listen good." said Sunset, her expression filled with a steely resolve and no small amount of empathy, "You are NOT a bad person, nor is any of what's happened to us, to Trixie or to all those other people your fault."

"B-But, I..." Ryou stammered helplessly, sounding confused at the very idea, "The spirit-"

"Came here with you, yes." Sunset acknowleged, her and the others' expressions souring at the mention of the malicious entity, "But that doesn't mean that you are responsible for his actions."

Before Ryou could feebly object, Twilight gently intervened, "It would been one thing had you known about the ring's true nature and brought it anyway. But that's just it: You didn't know, Ryou."

"To you, that old ring was nothing more than a gift from your pops." Applejack spoke up, her words and expression sympathetic, "There ain't no way you could've known about the spirit. Or that he would run out in the world and cause trouble the moment you made some friends, for that matter."

Fluttershy then adressed Ryou, her eyes worried but kind, her horrible memories of the ring's true owner still burning strong, "And from what we've seen... I-It didn't seem like the spirit gave you much choice..."

"What she said!" Rainbow Dash quickly agreed, "It's not as if he asked you to do all that stuff or you turned people into dolls because you wanted to! That buttface literally stole your body and did it while disguised as you! It's not your fault, man! Look at what he did to your hand for crying out loud!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie chimed in with a smile, scooting just a tad closer to the bed and actually keeping a respectful distance, "He was the meanie here, not you! You're as far off from a meanie as they get, Ryou!"

"That... that thing tormented you for five years, darling." said Rarity, giving Ryou a gentle and comforting smile even when her tone made her distaste for the spirit quite clear, "You are as much of a victim in this situation as we are, if not more so."

Sunset then adressed him, giving the boy's shoulder an assuring squeeze, "You hear, Ryou? None of us blame you, nor should you be blaming yourself for any of this." Her tone then got sterner, "It's the spirit's fault, not yours. He is the terrible one, not you."

Ryou's mouth was moving slightly, not a word leaving his lips as he could only stare at the group of seven girls, nearly stunned to the core. For a brief moment he felt the almost alien feeling of hope kindling within. It really seemed as if none of his friends blamed him for what had happened.

A small smile appeared on Ryou's face, but it was not to last. As quickly as it had appeared the smile went out like a light, as more melancholic thoughts surfaced to replace the old ones.

"I still lied to you." The boy mumbled despondetly, lowering his gaze away from his friends, not finding the emotional strength to do what Sunset had asked of him, "I may never have wanted it to happen or known that a spirit would possess my body to do it, but I still knew that people I got close to always got hurt!"

His voice had gotten louder and more distressed with each word, the tears begining to flow once more. For while Ryou started to think that maybe he trule couldn't have done anything to stop the spirit of the ring, the fact of the matter was that he had still endangered his friends' lives!

Like a fool he had ignored his entire history of the terrible fate that tended to await his school mates. At all his previous schools, his friends would always end up in comas, why should CHS have been any different?

"But worse of all is that I kept it all from you!" Ryou now faced the seven girls once again, his conscience and heart aching at the sight of their worried and sympathetic expressions. He didn't deserve it, the boy thought. Why couldn't they see that he had betrayed them all!?

"At my first day here, you all took me in and for once in my life, I actually felt welcome at a new school." said Ryou, unable to keep the wistfulness out of his voice as his lips formed a nearly indiscernible smile. He truly meant every word.

At every single one of his previous transfers, it had always felt rather shallow to Ryou. Though people had always greeted him politely and showed him around, it was like what people would do for any other student. And, as he was forced to transfer more and more, the white haired boy had eventually almost become numb to the experience. The thought that whatever bonds he may form at a new school could be taken away like all the others constantly looming over him.

But Canterlot High School had been different, and it was all because of the girls gathered by his bedside in this hospital.

"Hanging out with you all these last weeks has been some of the most fun I've had in years." Ryou continued, sounding both nostalgic and regretful, "I-I really shouldn't have gotten as close to you as I did. In fact, I should have warned you all on that first day that no good would come from associating with me."

"Ryou..." Twilight started, her tone sad as she tried to get a word in, but the white haired boy wasn't having it.

"But..." For a moment it seemed as if he struggled to find the right words, once he spoke his words were quiet, "I-I don't really know. As I got to hang out with you all... I just couldn't do it. I couldn't tell you."

Memories flashed by in his head, the plenty of good times they had shared in this short time. Some of it may have seemed mundane to anyone else, but to Ryou it had been completely magical. For during those weeks and through those everyday-situations he had gotten to now seven amazing people, unlike any had ever met before.

"The more time we spent together, the more afraid I was of losing that friendship." said Ryou tearfully, his voice choked up as the guilt began to overwhelm him. He looked at the girls with pleading and pitifull eyes, his lips trembling as words left them, "What I'm getting at is that I just wanted to belong for once, okay!"

Ryou's eyes closed, his head lowering in shame as he continued to sob, "I just wanted friends... I'm sorry."

Once again silence reigned in the hospital room, and to Ryou the silence felt suffocating. His heart was still beating wildly in his chest, its loud thumps echoing in his ears like crazy. The quiet room did little to soothe it, melancholy settling in Ryou's mind as his closed eyes allowed his imagination to fill in the unsaid.

Fortunatley, Ryou was once again mistaken.

"Amazing." Sunset muttered , thus breaking the silence, "Nearly every thing you just said... was wrong."

"Wha-" the boy once again fond himself helplessly confused, "What do you-"

"We won't lie to you, Ryou. The fact that you didn't tell us anything about all this kinda hurt." Applejack stated seriously, the other girls briefly averting their eyes in a sign that said they agreed with her. For a brief moment the sorrowful boy felt a lump in his gut, her words doing little good to ease his guilt.

But then, the country-girl continued, her tone gentle and a small smile on her face, "But... We get where you were comin' from, sugarcube."

Startled, Ryou now looked up, his eyes looking lost as he could only stare at the girls, all of which were now looking at him with similar smiles, "I don't understand..."

"It's not that hard to understand, pal." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in good humor, "We're sayin' that we understand why you didn't exactly go around blabbin' about your history. Heck, if I'd been in your shoes I probably wouldn't have wanted something like that to get out, either."

"You've been all by yourself for so long..." Fluttershy remarked sadly, "All those years... I-I don't know what would happen to me if I had to go so long without even a single friend. I don't want to think about it... But you had to live through it, a-and I want you to know that... I'm sorry that happened to you."

"We are all sorry, darling." lamented Rarity, and Ryou could've sworn he saw hints of tears at the edges of her eyes as she spoke to him. "And that's why we don't hold you secrecy against you. Though the deceit may have hurt... It wasn't done out of malice or because you wanted to help the spirit lure in victims... You just wanted some friends."

The Fashionista's next few words were extra determined, looking at the hospitalized boy with compassion, "And we do not blame you for that want, nor anything else, for that matter."

Pinkie Pie was next, her poofy hair looking as if it had been slightly deflated as she slid up closer to Ryou with a comforting grin, "There's nothing bad about you wanting friends, Ryou. In fact, I'd say it's super!"

Twilight adjusted her glasses, giving the boy a smile of sympathy, "It just seems like you've gone for quite a while without a friend, that's all." Bitter memories of her lonesome time at Crystal Prep flashed through her mind. It was not an experience she wanted anyone else, let alone Ryou, to go through, "I know what that's like."

"Me too, for that matter." Sunset chimed in, giving a bitter-sweet smile of her own. Even know, after their tango with the Dazzlings where she truly felt accepted by not only her friends, but also the rest of Canterlot High, there were still times where she felt haunted by the kind of person she once was.

A bully, plain and simple. She had ruled CHS with an ironfist forged out of deceit and intimidation, loving nearly every minute of it.

Or at least, that was what she had told herself.

Because, the more Sunset thought back to and reflected over those times, the more she had realized just how much she herself had been suffering, how much she in actuallity had been craving the warmth of companionship. That's the sole reason she had personally seen to splitting apart the relationships of six of the seven girls seated beside her. Her jealousy and bitter longing over what they had, the friendship they shared, had been her main driving force during those times.

And seeing how Ryou's deceit had been driven by a similar longing, it made her feel all the worse for not only her previous suspiscions regarding the boy, but also the guilt he was apparently feeling for wanting to experience the wonders of friendship.

Once again placing a supportive hand on his shoulder, Sunset smiled kindly at the still silent boy, yet managed to keep her words firm and passionate all at once, "Don't you ever apologize for wanting friends, Ryou. Friendship is what makes life great, it's what makes you different from him."

Ryou was silent for a good while, his lips moving without a sounds as he just stared wide-eyed at the seven girls, their kindness and empathy once again taking him completely by surprise.

"But... It's been so long." He finally muttered with doubt, the weight and emotion of the girls' words steadily making their way into his thoughts. "Even after all this time... Everytime I made some friends they were ripped right out of my hands by him. I-I don't think I honestly know anything about real friendship."

"Dat there's nothin' but hogwash, Ryou!" Applejack interrupted him firmly, in a manner similar to a stern parent. It was enough to make Ryou jump in his seat, looking at the cow girl in surprise.

"Applejack, what-"

"No. 'Hogwash' is quite right, darling." Rarity then interjected, hands on her hips, and a small smile on her face, "If things were as you say, and you truly don't understand friendship... Well, then, none of us would be sitting here right now, that much I can assure you."

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked, his melancholy making way for his innate curiosity.

"'cause without you we wouldn't have lived through the game, dummy!" Rainbow Dash chastised him, though there was no real heat in her words. In fact, they sounded downright encouraging, "We would've been goners loads of times if it hadn't been for you!"

"I don't know if-"

"It's true." Fluttershy added on, giving Ryou a gentle smile, her usual timidness set aside for this moment of supporting her friend, "It was with your help that the spirit missed so many chances of finishing us off... And you wouldn't have been able to help if it wasn't for our friendship."

Before Ryou protest, Twilight spoke up, "First you sabotaged the spirit from the inside. Because of Rainbow Dash's critical slash you were able to take over your left arm and sabotage his rolls!" she couldn't help but grimce slightly as she looked at his bandaged left hand, "Even if you yourself were injured in the process..."

"Not to mention," Sunset started, her arms crossed as she looked at Ryou with a cool grin. "I remember a certain white wizard making a dramatic entrance and not only boosting the team morale, but actually making sure that we had a chance to beat an unbeatable game rigged against us. That same white wizard sacrificed himself for us, because he was confident that his friends would pull through and win."

Pinkie Pie, who had been uncharacteristically silent for a while, now began to talk, very enthusiastically and very fast, making over-the-top gestures as she went on and on with her own retelling to convince Ryou,

"But best of all was when you actually went inside one of the dice and came out all force-ghosty! The spirit was all 'WHAAAT!?', and then he tried to blast you out but then ALL of us got all transparent-y through magic friendship-powers and fired it right back at him! AND you changed the dice, and the spirit went all 'NOOOO', going all cliché-villain on us! Then Twi fired a gigantanormous magic blast that made Zorc go kablooey, and it was all thanks to you!"

After this rather lenghty explanation, their was silence for a short time.

Then, there came a titter. Then a chuckle. Followed shortly by full-blown laughter, all coming from one Ryou Bakura. Pinkie Pie seemed to have been working her magic once again, spreading laughter as she went. Ryou didn't really know why he found the summary so funny, wether it was because it was genuinley witty or because he had simply gone insane, he didn't know.

Though shocked by this development, the seven girls in the room were quick to join in, and soon all eight of the youths were laughing heartedly together in the hospital room. They laughed and laughed, so much that their sides hurt. And though it was certainly an odd situation, it was a more than welcome moment of levity for the youngsters.

Through the dark stormclouds of melancholy there now shone the bright rays of laughter and comraderie.

Eventually, the laughter gradually subsided, though even as it once again brought forth a silence to the room, it was no longer tense and constricting. Even Ryou had noticeably cheered up quite a bit, a small smile still holding itself upright on his pale face even after he stopped laughing.

Getting her own chuckling under control, Sunset spoke to Ryou once more,

"Don't you see, Ryou?" she asked him, gesturing to the other six girls, all of them smiling at him, "The frienship we all share, what we have build all this time, that is what defeated the spirit. Not just luck or high-level attacks, but the fact that we had faith in not only ourselves but in eachother! And that includes you, too."

Ryou still looked unsure, his small smile dipping noticeably. Not having any of that, Sunset continued, wanting nothing more than for the boy to understand what she was saying,

"Saying that you don't know anything about friendship, even after all of this, well..." for a brief moment Sunset tried to think of an eloquent way to phrase it, but eventually she settled for, "That's just stupid."

For a moment, Ryou was silent, not a sound escaping him as he thought over what the girls had been telling him. As he did so, his large eyes slowly wandered over each and everyone of the girls gathered at his bedside. The girls who had welcomed him, who had embraced him in this scary new chapter of his life... The girls who had saved him from the very creature who had made his life beyond difficult for so very long.

These girls, all of them looking at him with eyes filled with such great levels of compassion and concern, who had fough teeth and nails for him... How could he ever doubt that? Doubt them? Doubt the very bond that had carefully grown in the short, but eventful time he had known them?

Because, as he thought back to the moment he had managed to infiltrate the spirit's final dice roll, he could remember experiencing the burning pain of the millenium ring's assault, fearing that his gamble wouldn't pay off.

But then... his friends had appeared by his side, standing along side him as they fought back the horrible demon that stole his body. He could still remember the warm and revitalizing sensation that had welled up within him as the girls' allowed him to ensure Sunset's victory.

What kind of fool was he to deny he knew nothing of friendship, when the friendship between him and those seven amazing girls had been what saved them all in the end?

He gave them all a sheepish expression, a slight blush apparent on his pale cheeks as he scratched the back of his head, "I suppose I have been kind of stupid, huh?"

Sunset gave him a friendly smirk, happy to see her friend finally coming to his senses, "Maybe a little."

Everyone shared a little chuckle at that, even Ryou doing so into his bandaged hand. But as he did so, his gaze just went a tad cloudy once more, gazing at the injury his tormentor had inflicted oppon him, his right hand subconsciously going towards his bandaged chest.

The girls all saw this, and exchanged worried, yet determined looks between them. For they all knew that Ryou must have been scarred by this experience more than any of them had, both mentally and physically. It was a depressing fact, but a fact nonetheless. A sinister being had forcefully taken control of Ryou's body, making sure that he was all by himself for five years, and once he got but a taste of true warmth, of true companionship, the spirit tried to take that away as well,

Something like that won't go away all willy-nilly, that much was for certain. Heck, it hadn't even done so for them. But as such, it was their job, as Ryou's friends, to not only help him in any way they could, but through that help eachother.

“Ryou, listen to me." Ryou looked at Sunset, seeing empathy written all over her face, "No one can go through what you did and be perfectly fine afterwards. It’s impossible… But you don’t have to go through this alone."

She looked over her six other friends, the girls that had made Sunset see the light and become a better person for it. "There's a way to heal and it's through the help of those who care about you."

Ryou remained silent, briefly conscidering remarking bitterly if anyone did care about him. Luckily, he angrily squashed that pessimistic thought down, feeling shame welling up within him that he could even conscider the sincerity of the seven girls who had visited him in the hospital simply because they care.

Of course, none of the girls knew of these thoughts, Sunset continuing to speak while the others looked on hopefully, "I meant what I said back when we won the shadow game. We promised we wouldn't leave you and we're not the type of girls who goes back on their word. Not only that, but I promised that I would make it up to you, and I'll be damned before I go back on that promise."

Sunset once more placed a hand on Ryou's shoulder, smiling as she noticed there was no flinchin this time. Her green eyes were filled with both a burning resolve and kindness, "We’re here to help. You just have to let us in.”

"I..." the boy trailed of for just a moment, a frown of doubt still disfeaturing his face. But then, like a gift from the heavens, it slowly, but surely, made its way into a genuine, beautiful smile, "I think I'd like that."

Judging from the delighted smiles the Rainbooms all send him, he had answered correctly.

"Maybe we should start things over properly, and do it right this time." Sunset mused before giving her bedridden friend an honest and inviting smile, "Ryou, would you like to be our friend?"

"Yes, definetly. Aboslutely!" He answered honestly, unable to hinder the warm, fuzzy feeling welling up inside him as the words' meaning truly started to settle in his mind. Of course, he then realized that he might've been a bit too enthusiastic, as was clear by the bemused way the girls all looked at him.

Ryou blushed and looked away slightly, but he didn't feel ashamed or embarassed, even managing to get out a small chuckle at himself. To him, it now felt as if the huge weight which had burdened him ever since he came to Canterlot City had been lifted at last.

Quickly collecting himself, Ryou gazed at the seven girls and shyly asked, "W-would you all like to be mine?"

He didn't know why he still felt that small sting of tredipation within as he asked, but it was quickly forgotten. For the looks of joy he recieved in return were more than enough answer to his question,

"Heck yeah, we do!"

"We'd love to, darling."

"You betcha, pardner."

"A MILLION TIMES, YES!"

"Um, I would like that a lot..."

"More than anything."

"Do you even have to ask?"

Ryou felt his lips spreading into a great, thankful smile and he saw no reason to stop it.

The pure wholesomeness of the exchange proved to be too much for Pinkie, and she decided to proceed with what she had wished to do for days now. Making sure that she was very careful not to adgitate any injuries, she crept up and wrapped her arms around Ryou's frame in a hug, wishing to convey all of her well-wishing and emotion towards the boy in that one gesture.

She didn't say anything, which was actually sort of unusual as far as Pinkie Pie-related actions were conscidered. Instead she wanted to let her simple action to get her point across to Ryou. Said point simply being that she was his friend, and she would always have his back.

Though surprised, the other girls shared a look before shortly following their poofy-haired friend's example. They clustered round the white-haired boy, making sure to be careful, and formed a large group-hug with him at the centre, causing his visin to be filled with various styles of multi-coloured hair.

It was odd, in a way. Ryou hadn't been hugged once in the past five years of his life. Now he suddenly found himself trapped by seven hugs all at once. He nearly flinched at the contact, but the part deep within him which had longed for this sort of contact for years won over his fears. Instead he decided instead to accept it, practically melting into the sheer warmth of the large group-embrace.

By all rights, it should have been sort of strange. It certainly looked that way with seven girls all akwardly making their way and wrapping their arms around a bedridden boy.

But it didn't feel that way to Ryou. No, to him it felt beyond amazing to be embraced, to know that there truly were people out there who cared about him... An experience of which he had been severly lacking lately.

But no longer.

He didn't exactly know when it started, wether it was before or after he had been embraced, but the fact remained that Ryou was now crying. Not the bitter and sorrowfilled tears of guilt or shame, no. Instead, they were tears of joy, joy of finally feeling like he belonged after so many years in solitude. So the tears fell, but Ryou smiled all the same.

The girls could hear him crying and only hugged him tighter, most of them even letting tears of their own fall. But much like Ryou's, their tears were happy.

And so they stayed for quite a while, holding and supporting eachother as they each felt the full emotional impact of what they had been forced to experience strike down upon them. And sure, it wasn't painless for any them, but it wasn't nearly as painful as it could have been. All because they were there and comforted eachother, as all good friends should.

The moment had to come to a close eventually, as all things do. The girls were later all shooed out by the fretting and stern nurse Redheart who insisted that Ryou needed more time to rest and heal.

The Rainbooms had all untangled themselves from the large group hug as they didn't wish to upset the nurse. But though everyone was sad that the group's moment had to come to a close, no one, espescially Ryou, felt too sad about it.

This was mostly due to the fact that the girls all promised that they would come and visit him the very next day, as they would each and every other remaining day Ryou would be forced to stay in the hospital. Pinkie even promised she would get him some more cupcakes every day, and a whole cake once he was healthy enough to leave. Ryou took this in good humor, saying he was expecting nothing but the best from her.

So, as Ryou waved goodbye to his seven friends from his bed whilst they all walked out, he didn't feel the pit of worry or mild melancholy he would usually feel whenever he was alone. The constant worry of losing any friends he made was finally gone, all because those girls had fought for and along side him to free him from the evil spirit which had been the source of so much missery.

Though there still was a lot of ground to cover between them regarding their future and the true nature of the more mystical elements of their lives, that day had truly tied the bonds of friendship between the Rainbooms and Ryou. What had transpired between them, what had been done, what had been said, it finally made one thing very clear to the white-haired boy:

Those girls were his friends, and he, in turn, was theirs. And that fact alone made Ryou Bakura the happiest he had ever been.

Author's Note

Sorry this one took a while. I was afflicted by a bad case of writer's block during all of October, not to mention I've been pretty stressed out with my school work.

Spiritus Signantes

Canterlot High School was no stranger to music. A majority of the student body shows a great appreciation for the art if not outright talent. There was rarely ever a time that the school's music room wasn't occupied by one student band or another, honing their skills and perfecting the melodies of their young hearts.

At this particular Thursday afternoon, the music room was occupied by what was arguably the school's most popular and well-liked band; The Rainbooms.

They were in the middle of playing one of the bands' favourite songs: Better than ever. Together the seven girls all worked in perfect sync, both their instruments and voices working expertly to create a beautiful and catchy piece of music. As a result, they had all ponied-up and each of them was currently sporting long, mane-like hair and a tail along with a cute pair of pony ears. This being with the exception of Twilight, who didn't really mind not being affected by the magic for reasons she kept to herself.

Twilight Sparkle had at first been hesitant about joining the band, as she herself had never had any real music experience. However, after much encouraging from her friends and even a mini-audition of sorts she had joined the band as a singer and actually found herself enjoying it quite a lot.

The Rainbooms even had their own little audience, consisting of a single certain white-haired boy. Yes, Ryou Bakura had been released from the hospital just about two days earlier and had been able to at last join his friends back in school without any real complications. Of course, his left hand was still bandaged but it was healing nicely and proved to not be a hinderance to his daily activities.

It was just another piece of evidence of just how much the boy's life had improved because of his move to the city, the simple fact that he had actually longed to return for another day of academics just so he could hang out with his friends. Ryou still remembered how the moment he had stepped through the halls his vision had been bombarded with confetti and a very big and delicious-looking cupcake, compliments of Pinkie Pie who had wanted to celebrate his return.

Returning to school had actually been quite fun for the boy, espescially when it came to moments like this between classes where he could just enjoy his friends' company, something he had been craving all those lonely days at the hospital. This was actually the first time he was hearing the Rainbooms performing. After hearing of how passionate his friends were about their music, he was happy to say that he wasn't disappointed.

Ryou himself was leaning against the piano, bopping his head and tapping his foot to the beat. The boy was smiling widely, a certain glint of almost child-like wonder in his brown eyes as he watched them play, his eyes going over the girl's transformation.

Eventually, as all good things do, the song came to an expertly handled finish,

🎵We're better than ever🎵
🎵Wah-oh, oh-wah-oh🎵
🎵Oh yeah🎵
🎵We're better than ever!🎵

"Bravo!" Ryou cheered, applauding lightly as he approached them, watching with sparkling eyes as the pony features simply faded away after the song, leaving no trace behind whatsoever, "You girls were great! I can see why you're conscidered to be the school's best band."

While the other girls accepted his compliment with silent and humble nods and smiled, Rainbow Dash scoffed good-naturedly, pointing a thumb at herself, "Well, duh! We're awesome!"

"Way to be humble there, Dash." Applejack snickered, punching her friend lightly on the shoulder while the others just rolled their eyes.

The athletic girl shrugged with a smirk, "Hey, it ain't my fault that we got our very own fanboy hangin' around now."

Said boy looked very offended, "Hey~! I like your music a lot but Ryou Bakura is no one's fanboy!"

Twilight let out a hurt gasp, "Not even of Tolkien!?"

There was a pause, "... Alright, Ryou Bakura is no one's but Tolkien's fanboy!"

Rarity was tittering into her hand, "Forgive us, darling, but it's difficult to interprit it in another way given how you look like a child at Disneyland everytime we pony-up." The smirks and knowing looks the other girls sent him told him they all thought the same.

Ryou blushed before he shook his head with a laugh, that same stupid yet endearing smile on his face as he thought over the whole concept, "Come on. I'm still in the process of taking all of this in, you know." he said, somewhat defensively. Not really knowing any other way to illustrate his point, he gestured towards them all, "Just thinking that I'm standing in the presence of magical horse girls... That's going to take some getting used to."

The seven members of the Rainbooms simply observed the curiosity and awe of the boy with knowing smiles, all of them having grown used to this sort of behaviour ever since Ryou had first found out about them and their dealings with equestrian magic.

Indeed, shortly after Ryou had been released from the hospital and been able to return to school, the Rainbooms had all decided amongst themselves that it had been high time to tell the boy of their school's, and by extension their more mystical and wondurous history. The girls had sat Ryou down and told him everything, about Equestria and how Sunset was originally from there, Princess Twilight, the Fall Formal, the Battle of the Bands and, of course, the Friendship Games.

Ryou had admitadly thought it was part of some elaborate joke at first. A colourful parallel universe inhabited by pastel ponies which one of his friends was apparently from and magic had been leaking out of it into their world? It all sounded rather insane. But after being shown footage, feeling it his heart that his friends were telling the truth and the fact that it would explain why the spirit of the ring had been so interested in the girls, he had accepted it.

He had then become a bouncing ball of wonder every time he saw the magic in action, such as when he was allowed in to watch the Rainbooms practise their singing. After having his limited exposure to the mystic arts being mostly negative, seeing such vibrant and rainbow-coloured powers was a very welcome breath of fresh air. The Rainbooms themselves weren't bothered, instead they found the boy's child-like wonder to be rather endearing. Pinkie Pie had even let him scratch one of her pony ears, and judging from how she had reacted and the various noises she had made it had apparently been a very pleasurable experience for her.

Ryou had refused to touch another pony ear since. Everytime Pinkie asked him to do it he would just blush and try to find an excuse to be literally anywhere else.

But of course, with talks of Equestrian magic and the events relating to it had of course lead to a rather sore spot for one Sunset Shimmer, that being her past as CHS' tyranical overlord. In retrospect Sunset felt all sorts of stupid for doubting the kind boy whom she had so quickly come to conscider to be one of her closest friends. But the fact was that the interdimensional girl had feared how Ryou would react to the sort of person she once was, what she had attempted to do back when she had let her own ambition and arrogance run her life.

Imagine her surprise once Ryou had simply told her with a smile that he didn't judge her for her past, that he only cared about the person she was in the present. In fact, he had told her without a trace of a lie of how Sunset had proved to be one of the best people he had ever known. Ryou himself had then shortly thereafter found himself wrapped in a tight and appreciative hug by the interdimensional girl, who could only whisper a very choked out yet very genuine, "Thank you."

Going back to the present, Twilight concurred with Ryou's statement, "I know what you mean." she said from beside him, a similar smile on her face while the fires of her inquisitiveness burned brightly behind her spectacles, "My mind was basically on cloud nine when I first found out."

"She ain't kiddin'!" Applejack laughed, smirking at Twilight as she nudged her playfully, "We all had to fend off this crazy gal with a stick for a week the way she were houndin' us for testin' an' all dat junk like some sort o' mad scientist."

Twilight blushed, stuttering "I-I was just curious and wanted to know more! You can't blame me for that after having my entire understanding of the universe flipped upside down!"

Rainbow Dash raised a single brow at her, crossing her arms and saying in the most deadpanning of tones, "Dude, you tried to cut off a lock of my hair while I was sleeping. That's just creepy and you know it."

"It was for science! And you deserve it for falling asleep during one of mr Doofenshmirtz's lectures!" Twilight defended herself, causing the others to laugh and the bespestacled girl to pout. But as she was not one to hold a grudge, Twilight quickly found herself joining in on the laughter.

Once the snickering had died down, Ryou was still finding himself smiling in absolute wonder. He put his hand to his forehead while all sorts of thoughts were surging through his mind. Thoughts of other dimensions, ponies and magic, not to mention regarding his own friends and their ability to freaking grow equine features when they play music! "I still have SO many questions."

Sunset gave the boy an understanding smile whilst she put down her guitar, "If you're trying to really understand it: Don't. Trust me, I've tried." she smirked slightly, remembering the numerous disasters of experiments she had conducted shortly after the Battle of the Bands, most of them usually ending with rainbows exploding in her face, "Magic in this world really is nothing short of unpredictable. Trying to understand exactly how it works is the very definition of a suicide mission."

Ryou blinked, "So... You're basically telling me that I just have to shut up and accept it?"

Sunset shrugged unapologetically, "Pretty much."

The boy pouted slightly at the answer, grumbling, "I hate soft magic systems..."

While the other girls simply found this attitude to be rather endearing, Sunset walked across the room and placed a hand on the boy's head, patting it almost condescendingly, "I feel your pain, little buddy."

Ryou was not amused, looking at her with half-lidded eyes "Sunset, you're only three inches taller than me and you are the only one here taller than me. Stop acting like I'm a midget."

Sunset just grinned at him, giving his fluffy hair a playful ruffle, "Try and make me, shortstack."

While Ryou simply continued to mildly glare at her, the other girls had found the whole scenario rather amusing, as they had done the other few times this issue had been brought up.

Applejack groaned, though there was no real heat in her tone, nor could she fight the smile off her face as she admonished her friend, "Oh, grow up, Sunset!"

Sunset just shrugged, keeping her hand on the boy's head, "I think Ryou's the one who needs to grow up." while their friends tried desperatly to hold back their laughter, Sunset turned to Ryou with a teasing smirk, "Get it? It's funny 'cause you're short."

The boy let out a huff, crossing his arms and turning his nose up in the air, much to the amusement of the others. The girls had now fallen into a fit of giggles, Sunset included, not even attempting to hide their mirth any longer. However, instead of being cross with his friends for the teasing, Ryou knew that there was no real heat or malice behind it and therefore shortly joined his friends in a good laugh.

This was exactly the sort of thing that both Ryou and the girls had come to appreciate all the more after their victory against the spirit of the ring. For there was now a new air of levity and companionship between them that, depsite the good times they've had before, had only been able to truly blossom after the Monster World-ordeal. At this point there was no real secrets between them, no need from either Ryou nor the Rainbooms to actively hide great parts of their lives from eachother. The great unseen burden that was deciet had been lifted off of everyone's shoulders.

After all, battling the forces of darkness and freeing your new friend from an evil spirit tends to bring people closer together.

Unfortunatley, this good mood was not made to last.

"By the way, any luck with trying to talk to Trixie?" asked Twilight, both her and the others knowing that it had been on their white-haired friend's mind ever since he had gotten out of the hospital.

Ryou's smile fell, immediatly telling the Rainbooms that things had gone badly. His lips instead settled into a morose frown as he shook his head, closing his eyes, "No... She's been avoiding me like the plague. Every time she sees me she just bolts away before I can even say so much as hello."

The girls all frowned in concern.

"Well," said Pinkie, giving him an uneven smile and trying to cheer her friend up, "Isn't she a member of that Tabletop RPG club you joined a few days ago? Can't you two get a chance to talk it out there?"

Ryou could only shake his head sadly, "I asked for her, but Applejack's brother told me she left it as soon as she heard I had signed up."

None of the girls could hold back a wince at that. Even if they didn't know Ryou as well as they did at this point, it wasn't hard to see that Trixie's attitude towards and blatant disregard for Ryou's attempts to talk things out was absolutely devastating the poor boy's mood.

"Why do you wanna talk to her anyway?" asked Rainbow Dash, her tone and expression making it clear that she did not think highly of Trixie Lulamoon. She couldn't help but be angry, angry at the way the boisterous street magician was making her friend feel worse. Ryou didn't need that kind of burden right now. "After everything she put you through, I wouldn't wanna come within twenty feet of her except to punch her in her stupid face."

Though they would have worded it with more tact, the other six girls couldn't help but agree with Rainbow Dash's sentiment.

As for Ryou, he just looked down. When he spoke, his voice sounded so small and so very hurt, "I want to tell her I'm sorry."

Wow. Those words, the way they were said, who was the one saying them, it all just felt like the cold stab of a knife to the Rainbooms' hearts. Even those of them which weren't all that tactful could quickly piece together just why Trixie's rejections were hurting Ryou so badly.

The spirit had gone after Trixie shortly after she had exposed his secret to the whole school, trapping her soul in a Monster World-figurine. Now Ryou was feeling as if he was the one to blame.

"Ryou," Sunset walked up to him, placing her hands on the boy's shoulders in a tight, yet comforting grip. He looked up at her, his brown eyes shining with a sensation of guilt she herself was all too familiar with. She gave the boy a gentle, comforting smile,"We've gone over this; What happened wasn't your fault."

Ryou didn't meet her eyes, mumbling softly, "I know that... I just want her to know that, too."

The girls could only look between themselves with worried frowns, all of them feeling concern over Ryou and his apparent guilt. Though some of them were certainly familiar with feeling guilty over the past, one of them had ever had a situation like Ryou's. For in the case of Sunset and Twilight, it had still ultimatley been them who had made the wrong choice, leading to disaster.

But Ryou wasn't like that. One could even go so far as to say that the poor boy hadn't done anything wrong, he had been forced to be the unwilling vessel of a malicious spirit. Even though they had told their friend time and time again that he had been as much of a victim as they were, Ryou felt responsible for Trixie's fate. This was beyond anything any of the girls truly knew how to fix.

"Aww, don't be sad, Ryou." said Pinkie Pie comfortingly, suddenly popping up from behind him, "I'm sure you two'll patch things up in no-time!"

Ryou did not look convinced, "Maybe." he said before giving his energetic friend the biggest smile he could muster, "Thanks anyway, Pinkie." Letting out a sigh, Ryou then abruptly turned away from the concerned looks of his friends and walked over and picked up his schoolbag, opening it up to dig through its contents.

"Uh... What'cha doin' there, partner?" asked Applejack with a single raised brow.

"I'm craving chocolate." was Ryou's blunt answer, his hands still digging through his bag. "I always have a bar in my bag for emergencies."

While six of the seven girls didn't exactly know how to take this piece of information, Pinkie Pie let out a delighted gasp, "Emergency chocolate!? Ryou, my respect for you has grown!"

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, snickered into her hand, "Man, you are such a girl!"

Ryou sent her a quick, withering look, "Very funny." he then continued to rummage through the innards of his bag, "Now, where did I put the-" he cut himself of as right at that very moment, out of his bag there fell a very familiar piece of gold which landed unceremoniously on the floor with a single, terrible clang.

The silence that followed was the very definition of defeaning, each and every one of the teens staring at the millenium ring which now was lying innocently on the floor.

Just as quickly, there was a sudden flurry of movement, all of the seven girls letting out small squeaks as they hurried over into a cluster by the wall, leaning back and putting as much distance between themselves and the item as possible.

"What in heaven's name possessed you to carry that awful thing around!?" demanded Rarity, her voice high in both fear and slight anger, clinging to Applejack who looked down at the fashionista in apparent annoyance.

"Relax." said Ryou soothingly, kneeling down quickly to pick it up, holding it casually as if it were any other object, "As long as I don't wear it then it's just an old piece of gold. Not that I'll try tempt fate, though."

"That doesn't explain why you have the item that possessed you and threatened all of our lives in your schoolbag." said Sunset, her expression grave and stern as she disloged herself from her friends and approached the boy with determined steps. Even though she now trusted the boy, she had never been one to take chances. She walked straight up to his face, crossed her arms and leveled him with a demanding glare, "Explain. Now."

Ryou avoided Sunset's intense stare for a moment, fidgeting under it. It didn't last long as he then let out a sigh, realizing that no good would come out of hiding such things from his friends. So he turned to look at not only Sunset, but all of the other girls and explained, "I've been doing a bit of research lately. I have the ring with me because I intended to take it with me to the library after school."

"Doing research on what exactly?" asked Twilight, her tone wary as she had a pretty good idea of what it could possibly be.

"The ring, of course." Ryou answered, not the slightest hint of deciet or and edge to his expression or his voice that the girls had come to associate as a sign of the ring's malevolent spirit.

"But... why?" Fluttershy couldn't help but ask, fidgeting slightly on the spot as memories of the spirit flashed by in her head, "A-After everything that happened, what he did to you, what he has done... I dunno. I thought you would much rather just burry it away forever after all of that."

Ryou just shook his head, suddenly looking very tired, "That's exactly why I am doing all of this research, Fluttershy." he looked down at the artefact in his hands, the thing he had once held so dear, and narrowed his eyes, a deal of different emotions raging behind his usually soft gaze, "This little bugger made my life hell for five years. I want to- No. I need to know more!"

Without really intending to, Ryou began to anxiously pace around the room, troubled and deep in thought, "Who made it? Are there other items like it? Where did it come from? Where did he come from?" he raised the ring upwards, glaring at it as he had found himself doing so many times since he left the hospital.

It always felt as if that unblinking golden eye was taunting him, bombarding his life with pain and questions only to offer an even greater lack of answers. Once more recieving none, he lowered the ring, a defeated sigh leaving his lips, "I just can't help but feel as if there's been someting huge going on right underneath our noses and it always comes back to this damned little thing... I want some manner of closure, is what I'm saying. I've accepted the fact that I have suffered, but I want to know who or what caused what lead up to it."

Sunset's earlier intensity had evaporated at this point, now understanding the boy's motives. Letting out a morose sigh, her eyes were full of sympathy as she looked over at Ryou, "Too bad there's not any experts on magic here like there is in Equestria." Sunset's tone was sullen, as were her thoughts. She, much like Ryou, had found herself wondering more often than not about the spirit of the ring lately. The demon's very existence was a complete and utter enigma to her, a very frightening one at that.

However, her bitter frustrations were arguably greater, as she was bluntly reminded of the well of knowledge she used to have almost unlimited access to as Celestia's personal student. She wanted nothing more than to rid Ryou of this menace, not only for his own sake, but for the sake of all of her friends. But at the moment, she was at an absolute loss and Sunset hated it.

"Well..." Applejack said, scratching her head in thought, "Dat's not entirely accurate."

Everyone turned towards her, now curious at this vague statement. Seeing the looks her friends were giving her, Applejack knew she had to elaborate. After clearing her throat, the she began to explain, "Two years ago this lady, Zecora Abebe settled here in the city. Most folks thought she was a bit of an oddball, coming from so far away an' all. The fact that she then set up a curio shop with all sorts of spooky stuff didn't exactly help matters but-"

"Wait a minute." Ryou interrupted her. Both his tone and epxression were serious, even looking downright betrayed as he demanded, "Are you girls saying there's an actual Voodoo shop in Canterlot and you never told me!?" What was even stranger was the fact that the boy did not look frightened in the slightest at the mention of such a potentially frightening place. Quite the opposite, Ryou looked downright excited of how there was such an establishment in Canterlot.

The girls looked between themselves, not sure how to react. Some of them even thought for a moment that this was just Ryou playing an elaborate prank on them. Sweet, innocent, kind Ryou Bakura, a boy who wouldn't hurt a fly, who himself had been under the mercy of a malevolent entity, interested in such supernatural and gross things? There was just no way.

"You're saying that you like that kind of stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked, her and the others looking at him as if he had suddenly grown to heads.

Ryou shook his head, though there was a huge smile on his face all the same, "I don't like it, Rainbow Dash. No, I love it, always have! Back home I got my own Ouija board, Tarot cards, a basic alchemy set and so much more! Ever since I was a kid I've wanted to visit one of those Voodoo-shops in New Orleans!"

Ignoring the incredulous looks his friends were senidng him, Ryou then turned towards Applejack, his excitement clear as day, "You're saying that there's a witch doctor like that here in the city?"

Setting her surprise aside for an amused smile, Applejack answered, "Eeyup. Zecora helped this one family with an excorcism about a year ago. After that, she's kinda been unofficially been declared Canterlot's expert on all things spooky."

Ryou's eyes sparkled with intruige, "An exorcism? Really?"

Applejack nodded, "If there's anyone who might be able to help us even a bit with all this ring-business, Ah think Zecora's the best shot we got."

Before the boy could inquire further, Rarity said, "Wait just moment, darling. Are you referring to that unsavoury business with Blanche Burke?"

The name alone seemed to have an effect on most of the girls, their faces falling into varying expressions from troubled frowns to resentful scowls as Applejack nodded in affirmation. As for Twilight and Ryou, the pair could only blink owlishly, not recognizing the name Rarity had mentioned.

"Who's Blanche Burke?" asked Twilight.

Fluttershy answered, "She used to go here at CHS but graduated just last year so neither of you two could have met her. Last I heard I think she managed to get into Harvard."

"Well, good ridance, I say!" Rarity sniffed disdainfully, "I for one am happy that I won't have to endure that unpleasant girl's presence for the rest of my high school days!" Judging from the lack of protests and the mere expressions most of the girls were showing, it seemed as if they all agreed.

Ryou tilted his head, surprised at the mere level of conemt the girls were displaying for this Blache-person, "How unpleasant are we talking here?" he asked.

Shrugging, Rainbow Dash explained it as bluntly as she possibly could, "Think Trixe, but goth."

Ryou winced, though he let out an impressed whistle, "Yikes."

"Anyway," Sunset continued to explain, "When she was still a student here, she wasn't exactly well-liked by, well, anyone, really." It brought the interdimensional girl no small amount of guilt to speak of the Burke-girl like that, espescially conscidering this had been when she herself wasn't all that good of a person, "Though she didn't actively seek out to bully people like I did, she always kept to herself and snapped angrily at anyone who even tried approaching her."

"I remember this one time I tried to give her a pamphlet about volounteering at the animal shelter." Fluttershy practically whispered, trembling at the memory, "I-I was as polite as I could, I-I didn't want to bother her, I though it was innocent enough! But she just yelled at me before shoving me into my locker..."

Ryou and Twilight gasped, the latter saying, "That's terrible!"

Pinkie Pie was next, a frown on her face, "And every time I tried giving her a birthday cake she just threw it in the garbage can! WHAT SORT OF MONSTER THROWS AWAY GOOD CAKE!?"

Sunset nodded solemnly, "She always had this look about her like she thought everyone else was just dirt underneath her shoe. Not unlike myself, back then..." she shook her head, refusing to wallow in her old self-loathing, "Anyway, though she never made friends with anyone, everyone at CHS knew that Blanche was a fan of all things occult. The school term just before princess Twilight came here, Blanche had apparently used a Quija board and-"

"She used a Ouija board by herself!?" Ryou gasped in horror, eyes wide as saucers, "That is, like, the FIRST rule: 'Never play alone'! Why would she do that!?"

Applejack shrugged, "Mah guess is that no one wanted to do it with the gal. Remember, Blanche was a real piece o' work. But, like what Sunset said, after she had done this, Blanche wasn't in school for the next few days afterwards... And that's when real weird stuff started happenin' at the Burke family's house. Ah'm talkin' somethin' major spooky."

"Oh, I remember that!" said Rarity, a troubled frown on her face, "The whole house just seemed to suddenly be so much... colder. You couldn't walk past it without getting some serious goosebumps even though it happened during a rather hot spring! I should know, I pass the place nearly everyday on my way to school."

"It didn't just feel colder." said Rainbow Dash, her face unreadable as she seemed to be searching for the right words, "The whole place just felt... off all of a sudden."

"Don't forget the screams." Fluttershy's words were subdued and even sounded more timid than usual, her eyes looking almost haunted, "E-Every night there were these... these horrible screams coming from within the house. They didn't even sound human just... really, really scary."

"We don't know much about just what exactly happened in there." said Sunset, "All we know is that it apparently made Mr and Mrs. Burke so desperate that they sought out Zecora and asked her help. One night visit later and just like THAT," she snapped her fingers for emphasis, "Everything just seemed to go back to normal. The house was normal again, the screams stopped, and Blanche even returned to school the day after... Though she was still as unpleasant as ever."

Ryou looked impressed, "That sounds incredible!"

"Yeah, maybe a little too incredible." said Twilight, causing everyone to turn to her in puzzlement. Letting out a small sigh, she elaborated,

"Listen, I know we've seen some stuff, dealt with magic, an ancient spirit, and one of my best friends is literally a pony from a parallel dimension, but this just sounds a bit too far-fetched. Sunset said herself that this world was magicless before the other me came here." she shook her head, "I'm sorry, but exorcisms are just as phony as baloney. I'm sure this Blanche-person, if she now is like Trixie, just did this for attention or something like that."

Ryou looked as if Twilight had slapped him. Five of the six other girls looked unsure what to think of it.

However, Applejack frowned at her, crossing her arms, "Ah don't know 'bout dat, Twi, but me an' Granny met the head Burkes at the grocery store while all the hauntin' business was apparently happenin'."

Applejack took a deep, haggered breath, as if bracing herself for some great trial. Once she spoke, her down-facing eyes looked so very tired, plagued by the ghosts of the past. Her usually easy-going voice was serious enough to capture the attention of all who listened, "Ah've never seen two folks lookin' that terrified in my whole life, guys. They were white as sheets, haggered as if they hadn't slept in days. When Ah asked 'bout Blanche, Mrs. Burke burst into hysteric tears while Mr. Burke... He just dead-stared out into nothin'."

She looked back up at her friends, her expression serious but not without a hint of true fear, "Ah've only seen a look like that once before on Granny this one time she told me an' Big Mac 'bout what she saw durin' the second world war... Dat's the look of someone who's seen Hell." Applejack shook her head, not wanting to fall to far into the dephts of melancholy, "Ah dunno what exactly happened at the Burke's place... All Ah know is that it was somethin' terrible. And Zecora fixed it."

The other girls could only look among themselves, Applejack's vague, yet very telling description not exactly making them feel any less uneasy about heading to the shop of a woman who could possibly have dealt with something so monstrous.

Ryou, on the other hand, was looking postively intruiged, clapping his hands together in delight, "Oh, we just have to go to her ASAP after school!"

Sure enough, as soon as school was out, the group of friends had wasted no time in heading deeper into town to search this local witch-doctor and see if there was anything to do about the ring. Twilight, who had looked up the adress on her phone, was leading the way while the others trudged alongside her. Ryou was looking quite happy for the whole walk, his excitement and curiosity for what they could possibly discover clear as day. It was not a sentiment shared by many of the others.

After a few minutes of navigating through the shopping-centered districts of Canterlot, the kids finally managed to find the shop in question. It was a quaint little establishment, looking almost squished between two larger appartment complexes. The look of the place was rather gloomy with its dark colour and the bizarre, exotic items displayed in the storefront windows gave the place a mysterious air.

"Well, here it is." Twilight announced, a sceptic glint in her eyes as she read the name of the place aloud, "'Zecora's Hut of Oddities'." she scoffed lightly to herself, "It's not even a hut. That's just blatant false advertising."

The others shared a brief chuckle at this, though it died down rather quickly as the slight tredipation of entering the shop began to fester within some of them.

Rarity shuddered just slightly, having walked by the shop a number of times in the past with no intension of entering, only to have to do so now. She turned to her friends, a slightly forced smile on her lips, "Are we positively sure that we have to enter this dingy place, darlings? Can we not simply google 'millenium ring' and see what pops up?"

"I second that." said Fluttershy timidly, seeming to cower away from the sight of the shop, "This place seems... sort of scary."

"I know!" Ryou agreed, though he was full on smiling as he gazed upon the building with wonder and intrigue glinting in his eyes, "Isn't it great!?"

The girls all looked at him as if he were insane.

Sunset sighed, "I'm not crazy about it either, Fluttershy. But this may be the best shot we have at getting some answers about the ring."

Those words were enough to settle almost any and all qualms that the girls had about entering the shop. For no matter what may await them inside, they would head straight on and face it for one simple reason: That inside they might find something which could help not only themselves, but Ryou to move on and gain some level of understanding of the demon who had tormented them all.

With this in mind, the group of eight all went inside of the shop, some more willing than others. The entry bell announced their entrance with a little pling, though it was the only sound to be heard. Indeed, within the shop it was as if all sound from the outside world had been cut-off, creating an eerie silence which only contributed to the already creepy atmosphere.

The shop's owner was nowhere to be seen, nor was any other people beside the group of kids, for that matter. The inside of the shop was sort of dingy, with dim lighting and an odd, but far from unpleasant scent in the close air. The walls were all lined with various shelves, all of which were filled with unique and odd items looking as if they had come from all corners of the world.

"Wowza!" Pinkie exclaimed, looking around the place with a curious grin, "Look at all this crazy stuff!" Without further word of warning, she ran up to a particular shelf displaying tribal masks of some kind, all of them carved and painted into various nasty and frightening grimaces. Not at all frightened, Pinkie immediatly started to twist and pull at her own face in an attempt to replicate the masks' appearance.

While the others shared a chuckle at this, Twilight gazed over some of the other objects with an impressed look, "There must be artifacts from all over the world in here."

"Well, Ah've heard that Zecora used to travel round the world before she settled in Canterlot." said Applejack, both she and Rainbow Dash looking over some antique weapons that were displayed, "She's mentioned that she's collected some things over the years but Ah never thought it was this much!"

Rarity sniffed, clearly unimpressed by not only the store's select stock of items, but the general aesthetic of the place, "Well, I, for one, will never understand how shops like these stay in business, the interior alone is enough to turn away any potential customer!" she gestured towards the wall filled all sorts of odd and exotic objects, "It's ghastly, it's creepy, it's-"

"Amazing!" Ryou exclaimed happily.

Rarity nodded without thinking, "Yes, ama-" she cut herself off as she realized just what her friend has said, "... Wait, what?"

But Ryou was paying neither Rarity or the other girls any heed as he eagerly headed over towards the bizarre collection, his eyes alit with wonder and enthusiasm as he eagerly drank in the sight of every item, "Wow! Not only are there some wicked trinkets here, but just look at some of these artefacts! There's aztec masks, incan necklaces, paleolithic tools and-"

The girls could only watch their friend go at it, observing his sudden flurry of enthusiasm and movement along the shelves with both surprise and amusement.

"Well, Ah'll be." Applejack adjusted her hat, a small smile on her face as she saw the boy fawn over what looked like a Ouija board, "Ryou sure wasn't kidddin' when he said he liked all this weird ooga-booga stuff."

"Tell me about it." added a smirking Sunset, "He's a little kid in candy store... Or Pinkie Pie in a candy store, the more I think about it."

"I heard something about a candy store!" Pinkie exclaimed suddenly, popping up behind her interdimensional friend who jumped in surprise, "Whomst has summoned me!?"

Getting back to Ryou, the boy eventually seized his enthusiastic rant, instead freezing in his surprise, his attention completely consumed by a lone skull like model of clay that looked like it would fit in his hand sitting by itself.

"No. Way." Ryou bent down slightly to get a better look of the small object, "An authentic aztec death whistle?"

"D-Death whistle?" Fluttershy questioned timidly, both her and the other girls looking just a tad unnerved.

The boy simply nodded, his amazed eyes not leaving the object, "Mhm. It's an ancient sort of whistle that gives off a very unique sound. The aztecs used them to-"

"Unique sound!?" Pinkie Pie asked eagerly, suddenly appearing over Ryou's shoulder and, without a warning, snatching up the whistle, "I wanna try it!" she took a great breath, preparing herself to blow into it.

Ryou was not as enthustastic to the idea, "Pinkie, don't! That whistle-!"

His warning fell on deaf ears, as Pinkie then proceeded to blow straight into the ancient whistle with all her might. Though that action quickly proved to be a huge mistake. For instead of the high-pitched and energetic sound that one might expect from a whistle, the old aztec tool instead gave off a very different and very off putting sound.

It sounded like a human scream. Like the loudest, most ear-piercing and agonized scream any of them had ever heard and probably will ever hear. It sounded like a spine-tingling wail of a thousand souls being carried on an unforgiving and cold wind.

Naturally, everyone inside the shop flinched and had to immediatly cover their ears, which did little to protect them from the terrible noise. Fluttershy was worst off of all, shaking and practically cowering right where she stood at the horrible sound.

Quickly realizing that it wasn't just any old whistle, Pinkie stopped blowing air into it, thus marking the return of the peaceful silence, much to the relief of everyone else involved as they all let out sighs of relief.

"What in the heck was that!?" Rainbow Dash demanded, both her and a lot of the others digging around in their ears as it kept on ringing within them.

The girl who had blown the whistle did not seem affected by the horrible noise, instead only looking down upon the object with a confused frown, "That's not what a whistle is supposed to sound like..."

Ryou sighed, "I tried to warn you, Pinkie." he gently took the whistle out of his friend's hands, looking at it in fascination in spite of the horrible sound it made, "You see, historians believe that these things were used in certain aztec rituals and sacrifices, probably those regarding death."

"How barbaric!" an outraged and disgusted Rarity said, and the others couldn't help but agree.

"That's not what whistles should be used for at all!" Pinkie Pie protested, a sort of, but not really, angry look on her face while she counted off on her fingers, "Whistles are for blowing at trains, parties, soccer games, parties, meetings with my bank teller, and of course, parties!"

Ryou laughed lightly, but just as he was about to defend the ancient item, a new, pleasant and accented voice was heard from somewhere within the shop,

"Sacrificial rituals were not their only use. In war, they made fear easy to induce."

With most of them already on edge because of the shop's spooky atmosphere, the teens all jumped in surprised and turned around to see where they thought the voice had come from. There, standing in the doorway of the room behind the counter, stood a tall woman that was as unique as the establishment they were in.

Her skin was mostly a light shade grey, though it was graced by a number of darker stripes all over her. Her neatly done mohawk was black-and-white and coloured to match the stripes by the sides of her head. Her cobalt-blue eyes were looking over the group of kids with a welcoming, but also sort of mysterious gaze. Dressed in a rather exotic dress which appeared to made out of animal skins of some kind, the woman also wore a lot of golden accesories in the form of multiple bracelets, neckbands, rings, and two earrings.

It was Applejack who then broke the silence, greeting the stranger like an old friend, "Howdy there, Zecora! It's been a while."

The woman, now identified as the shop's reclusive owner, nodded in her direction with a smile, "Applejack, with that I can agree." her blue eyes wandered from the cowgirl and settled on the seven others teens, a delighted and welcoming look on her face, "You have brought some friends, I see."

There was a quick exchange of introductions between Zecora and the teens, after which Rainbow Dash decided to be the one to bluntly ask what each and every one of them had been thinking, "What's with the rhyming?"

The woman didn't appear to be offended, simply chuckling at the girl's words, "You think my way of speaking is unorthodox? Well, you should meet my cousins, Para and Dox." without elaborating further, Zecora stepped behind the store's counter, taking on the mantle of saleswoman, "Now, what can I do for you young ones today? Mayhaps you like what I have on display?"

For a moment there was naught but a silence among the teens, each of them trying to think of a good way to convince this woman that they had a piece of jewelry possessed by a 3000 year old demon without making themselves sound crazy.

Eventually, it was Twilight who said, "Applejack told us you have some experience with-" she coughed into her hand, trying her best to keep the scepticism out of her tone, "The occult."

Zecora chuckled modestly and waved her hand, as if she had just been given a particularly pleasant compliment, "You flatter me greatly, child. My encounters with the supernatural have been rather mild."

If what the girls had told him about the case with the Burke family had even an ounce of truth to it, then Ryou thought Zecora's words must've been the understatement of the year.

"Nonetheless," said Rarity, trying her best to look anywhere other than the store's interior, "We believe that you might be able to help us regarding a certain matter."

Zecora blinked, tilting her head slightly as her sense of curiosity became more apparent, "Your words has my interest growing. Please, keep going."

There was another bout of silence, each of the teens thinking to themselves that it was now or never.

"Well," Applejack started, trying to think of the best way to phrase their conundrum, "There's this... object Ryou has and..." she trailed off. Ryou had no such qualms and picked up the pace.

"It's possessed." he said without a hint of emotion in both his expression and tone, looking dead straight at Zecora.

The woman's inquisitive smile fell into a concerned frown, "Yours is not a claim to quickly dismiss. Are you children sure of this?" recieving eight different nods and noticing the rather subdued air that had settled among the youngsters, Zecora eventually settled for a slow nod, "Well, in that case, do not be shy. I shall examine it with a careful eye."

Ryou hesitated for just a moment, but seeing the enouraging looks from his friends, he knew there was no point in stalling. Taking a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm himself, the boy hurriedly trudged over to the counter and, without as much as a word, swiftly brought out the millenium ring from his bag and placed it within Zecora's view.

As soon as she layed eye upon the item, it was as if Zecora transformed infront of them. The easy-going and friendly air she had been upholding earlier was gone in the blink of an eye, instead replaced by a look of utter astonishment and even slight fear. The woman's lips parted, moving without a noise moving past them. When she spoke, her tone was hushed and dead-serious, "Where did you get this?"

To say that the kids were somewhat spooked by this sudden shift in attitude was a bit of an understatement. The fact that Zecora was no longer rhyming was quite telling of just how seriously she was apparently taking this.

"I-It was a gift from my father." Ryou stammered slightly, still being somewhat unnerved by this new sense of urgency and seriousness the woman was displaying, "He found it in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings five years ago."

"So another one has resurfaced..." Zecora mumbled mostly to herself. None of the teens understood what she meant, only watching as her blue eyes remained fixed upon the ring. Her hand moved closer towards it, elegant fingers dancing just over the golden artifact but always flinching back when they got just a bit too close. It was as if she was afraid to even touch it.

The striped woman then looked up, her eyes those of someone who was taking the matter with absolute severity, "You are saying this item is possessed?"

Sunset nodded, "By a spirit of some kind, a malicious one at that." She hesitated for just a second, looking over at the one whom the spirit had tormented for so long. Deciding that this was ultimatley to help her friend, she told the truth, "He possessed Ryou and threatened all of us about a week ago... and the spirit's been possessing Ryou from time to time ever since he first got the ring."

Zecora gasped, her hand flying to the front of her mouth, her next words barely abobe a whisper, "Oh, you poor boy." It almost looked as if she wanted to hug him, only to ultimatley restrain herself from doing so. Ryou himself didn't exactly know how to react, fidgeting uncomfortably under the woman's empathetic gaze.

Luckily, it didn't last long, as Zecora suddenly took a thinking stance, placing her hand on her chin. The group of eight teens could practically see the cogs turning around in her head. Eventually, she spoke, her tone a strange mix of wary and enthusiastic, "This is troubling... Yet also exciting."

"What do you mean?" asked Ryou, only to recieve a stern and serious look from the striped woman in return.

"If you have truly dealt with a sinister spirit possessing this item, then I believe there is something you should see." Zecora said. She then abruptly turned around and walked, beckoning the youngsters with her hand to follow her, "Come."

There was an exchange of looks between the group of friends before a silent agreement was made. This was their chance, the chance of learning more of their mysterious and sinister enemy... Maybe even learn how to be rid of him for good. Exchanging nods with eachother, they all wasted no further time and followed Zecora into the store's backroom, each of them mentally preparing for what they might discover.

As they entered, the backroom turned out to not be that much different from the rest of the store. It was dimmly lit by a single candle-lit lamp which hung from the cieling, its coloured glass giving everything in the room a green tint. The room itself had a single large table in the middle, of which almost none of the wooden surface was visible because of the multitude of maps and scattered notes scattered all over it. The walls were completely covered in books and scrolls, most of them bound in old black or brown leather.

Speaking of which, the group of friends watched as Zecora rummaged through her walls of books something fierce, whispering titles softly to herself as it was appeared she was looking for something in particular. After a few seconds of this, she let out a pleased, "Ah!" before pulling out a great deal of parchments and books which she hastily pushed down in a black leather bag which she then quickly carried over to and put down upon the table.

"Oooh! Mysterious scrolls and potions!" Pinkie observed with an intruiged grin as she shamelessly began rummaging through the woman's possessions, "Are you gonna tell us that we're finally of age to go to wizard school? Is there an owl in this bag!?"

"No!" Zecora interjected, quickly taking the bag back from Pinkie and securing a distance between the two, "I can assure you that if there is an owl in this bag then he is long dead. No, I have called you children here for something far more important." No sooner than she had said this, she swiftly brought up some of the weathered looking scrolls and books before placing them on the centre table, allowing the eight curious teens there to get a closer look as they approached.

"Are these egyptian?" Ryou asked, his eyes quickly becoming alit with fascination as they beheld some of the pieces of parchment, recognizing some hieroglyphs and even some of the more archaic symbols drawn upon them.

Zecora sent him an impressed smile, telling him, "You have a keen eye, my young friend." Ryou blushed at the praise, his hand moving to scratch the back of his head as he let out a small laugh.

The woman's smile quickly disappeared and made way for a stern frown as she whacked away the eager fingers of Rainbow Dash which had gotten just a bit too close to the documents.

"Youch!" The athletic girl glared at Zecora as she nursed her now red and throbbing hand, "What was that for!?"

"Careful, girl." Zecora scolded, "Some of these are 3000 years old and I will not have you destroying them with your greasy teenage fingers." The other Rainbooms and Ryou couldn't help but chuckle while Rainbow Dash sputtered indignantly. Before the athletic girl could think of a snappy comeback, Zecora cleared her throat and began to explain.

"I don't know if you children are aware of this, but the history of games can be traced back as far as ancient egypt. Some used games for entertainment, others saw it as a means to predict the future of others." there was a wise and gripping air about Zecora as she spoke, none of the kids daring to make a sound as they were so entranced by her story, "However, a long time ago, when the pyramids were still young, egyptian kings and sorcerers of old played a game of great and terrible power."

The teens all felt a lump for in their guts, Zecora's talk of terrible games raising a great slew of memories from the Monster World-fiasco.

"Do you..." Sunset's words died on her tounge, her mouth suddenly feeling insanely dry as she remembered the phrase the spirit had used to describe the psychotic and twisted game he had put her and her friends through. Gulping softly, she hesitantly asked, "Do you mean shadow games?"

Zecora looked surprised, clearly not having anticipated that Sunset, or any of the children would have this kind of knowledge. She remained in complentative silence for just a moment, before she eventually spoke, "... Yes. These shadow games were fought with real magic and real monsters."

Seeing that the kids did not fully understand her, she brought forth certain pieces of parchment for them to see. They, too, were egyptian, the drawings upon them appearing to be of different humans, all in ornate clothing. But what caught their attention the most was the fact that the drawings also depicted what looked like several bizarre and monsturous creatures being commanded by the humans.

"These look awfully familiar..." Ryou muttered softly to himself, though none heard him. There was a strange sense of Deja Vú welling up within him as he observed a certain few of the depicted monsters. It felt as if he had seen them somewhere before.

"Zecora, are you telling us that the ancient egyptians used to summon real monsters to battle eachother?" asked Rarity, but she quicklt thereafter shook her head, as if giving up, "Sure. I mean, why not?" Her tone of voice was surprisingly calm. She supposed that after everything she and her friends had seen lately, ancient egyptian monster fights didn't seem too out of the ordinary at this point.

Fluttershy whimpered, her mind picturing herself having to face one of these dark creatures, "That sounds scary..."

"Are you kidding, Flutters?" asked an incredolous Rainbow Dash, gesturing towards the ancient illustrations with a grin, "This is so cool! I've always felt that history needed more magic and monster fights!"

"Speaking of, you'd think that the history books would've picked up something of THIS magnitude!" said Twilight, her violet eyes roaming over each and every one of the scrolls she could find. A frown was on her lips, the things that Zecora had told them not sitting well with her usual logical and rational way of thinking.

Then again, hardly any of the recent events in her life hadn't flipped her entire view of the world upside down, much to the girl's amazement but also chagrin. Why should this be any different?

Almost as if she could sense the girl's annoyance at the lack of information, Zecora placed an understanding hand on Twilight's shoulder, "Much that once was in this world has been lost to the sands of time, Twilight." the woman's smile slipped, replaced with a frown as her gaze also turned towards the documents, "But, if I must be honest, I cannot mourn the loss of this particular piece knowledge too badly."

This only served to make the teens even more curious. Sunset asked, "What do you mean?"

Zecora sighed, looking almost sad as she continued to explain this strange mythos, "You see, children, the power of the shadow games were never meant to be wielded by mortal hands. The ancient egyptians were greedy for power, for control, and the magic of the games inevitably escalated out of their control. This inevitably lead into a great and terrible war that threatened to destroy the entire world."

To emphasize her point, the striped woman brought forth another pair of scrolls, these ones mostly illustrated. Painted upon them was what looked like a simple desert landscape but with one notable snag. The land was on fire, the ground littered with bones and what was probably meant to be corpses whilst the skies were filled with shadows of dragons, beasts and all sorts of monsters. It was quite an unnerving image to say the least.

"However," Zecora continued, her lips now lifting upwards into a smile, "When the night was at its darkest, the light of hope still burned in the form of the Nameless Pharaoh." Once more, she brought up a different scroll, this one appearing to be a self-portrait of some kind, most likely meant to be the pharaoh which she was refering to.

As soon as the kids all looked at it, one particular question quickly made its way to everyone's minds:

"What the Hell is wrong with his hair?" Rainbow Dash asked bluntly.

Though in any other situation her friends might've chastized her for such crude language, this time all eight teens found themselves agreeing that the Pharaoh depicted on the scroll had one of the most ridiculous haircuts they had ever seen. It was painted in black and violet colours with a distinct starfish-like shape to it with the addition of several golden spikes reminiscent of lightning bolts pointing upwards.

The question went unanswered, though. Instead, Ryou asked about a rather important detail which he had been quick to pick up on, "You called him a nameless pharaoh, but why is that? I thought the egyptian dynasty was fairly well-recorded."

Zecora shrugged, "The king's name has been lost to time. It seems as the king was quite determined to erase any and all records of his own name, apparently not even some of his closest confidants knew it. Many explorers and archeologists have slaved away their whole careers trying to find it, myself included."

Pinkie let out a horrified gasp, "That's awful! If no one knew his name, what did they yell out when they wished the pharaoh a happy birthday? What did they write on his ancient egyptian birthday cake!?"

"I don't think they had those, Pinkie." Ryou disputed gently, though he was smiling all the same.

This only served to make her all the more horrified, "No birthday cake!? WHAT KIND OF TWISTED NATION WAS THIS!?"

Pinkie's friends could only share a few chuckles amongst themselves while Ryou patted her on the back. Though amused by Pinkie Pie's antics, Zecora ultimatley ignored it to instead recount her tale, "As I was saying, this Pharaoh managed to vanquish the terrible power of the games to save us all. Realizing the threat these powers still posed to humanity, he then gave his own life and locked the magic away within seven mystical artifacts."

"The millenium items." Sunset whispered to herself, eyes going wide in realization. Both she and her friends remembering that it had been the term used by the spirit to describe the ring. Said artefact was still secured in Ryou's grip who was staring down at it with a look of great tredipation.

"So, you mean that my..." Ryou pointedly cleared his throat, as if his words pained him, "This ring is one of them?"

Zecora could only nod gravely, "My guess is that the spirit inhabiting it is most likely an old, egyptian soul who wielded its power 3000 years ago. Wether he sealed his soul within the ring of his own accord or if he was locked inside by someone else I do not know."

All was silent in the store for a good few moments, the pure weight of recent revelations starting to weigh down upon the teens. In a strange way, they all supposed it brought some manner of closure, at least now knowing more of the origin of the wicked powers that had terrorized them in the past. Yet at the same time, knowing that they had all been exposed to the very same powers which had almost destroyed the world 3000 years ago was in no way comforting.

Sunset was espescially thrown deep in thought, remembering the accounts of the equestrian explorers who had come to this world around the same time these shadow games had apparently been happening. She remembered how princess Twilight had described the drawings on their documentations, of the seven depicted items with that same eye-symbol. The pieces she had been struggling to put together for so long were just starting to fall into place.

Eventually, Ryou spoke, his words cutting through the silence like a knife. Without any sort of warning, he simply reached out his right arm, and therefore the millenium ring to the striped woman. The words that left him were pleading, "Zecora, please take it."

All others of the room's occupants could only gape at the lone boy there, not believing what their ears had just heard.

Zecora looked stunned for a mere second, but her expression quickly returned to a stern and very determined one as she gave the boy the honest and blunt answer, "... No."

Ryou shook his head, as if in denial of what he had just heard. He thrust his hand holding the item forward forcefully, raising his voice and narrowing his eyes, "I want you to take it!"

While his friends stared at him in concern, Zecora just closed her eyes and shook her head, a sad frown on her face. Once she opened her eyes, she fixed her cobalt-blue eyes upon the boy with a striking intensity, "Understand, Ryou, the items themselves chose their wielders, NOT the other way around. It is an obligation set in the stone of fate since 3000 years past."

For a moment it looked as if Ryou would explode in a loud rage, the negative emotion clear as day as his face twitched speradically while he grit his teeth and glared visciously at the woman. However, like a passing storm, it seemed as if the intense rage suddenly lifted off of Ryou's whole presence. Instead, he closed his eyes and let out a long, painful-sounding sigh whilst his entire being seemed to deflate before the others' eyes.

He opened his eyes once more, but instead of anger, those brown orbs were filled with nothing but pain, exhaustion and desperation as he looked at Zecora. "Please." he pleaded, his soft voice sounding small and tired in a way no human being his age should. "It hurt me, it hurt my friends and God knows how many others!" Ryou felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes, but he didn't care. He let the tears fall as he practically ran up to Zecora, grabbing her shoulders, "D-Don't let him take me again, I beg you!"

"Ryou..." Twilight whispered in concern, the hearts of her and her friends aching something terrible as they saw their friend being reduced to such a pitiful state. Though they all knew that their experiences with the spirit had scarred Ryou in more ways than one, this was one of those moments that made them truly understand the tragic magnitude behind it.

To see Ryou, the sweet and kind boy who had so quickly become one of their closest friends, practically breaking apart like this was nothing short of devistating.

As for Zecora, she simply let out a small sigh. Then, she gently reached up with her hands and lifted Ryou's own pale ones off of her shoulders. She then made a point of not releasing his hands, instead taking a gentle hold of them before leveling the weeping boy before her with a pitying and mournful gaze, "It matters not how much I myself would love to liberate you from this burden. I cannot deny that I have long dreamed of possessing one of the legendary millenium items."

For the briefest of moments, Zecora looked over at the millenium ring with a hungry look, a gleam of desire burning within her blue eyes. But just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone with a shake of her head before she focused on Ryou once more, "However, should I have tried to take this ring from you, even just to keep it safe, it would have found a way to strike back at me with a terrible vengeance. Such is the nature of the millenium items."

It was with no joy that Zecora told him this unpleasant truth, but it was the truth nonetheless, "As much as you may loathe it: The ring is yours, as it has been since the moment you first touched it."

Ryou couldn't keep himself form scoffing bitterly, glaring over at the item, "It was never mine. It's always been his! I would much rather be rid of it."

Zecora frowned, though she looked no less sympathetic, "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. For no matter the nature of your bond with the ring, it is a bond nonetheless. Should you attempt to rid yourself of the item... I assure you it will always find its way back. One way or another."

Ryou's breath hitched, the woman's words felt like hot-flaming knives to the boy's heart. The implication that he was forever tied to that monster made him feel as if he was about to vomit. Ryou let out what sounded like a choked whimper, his lips trembling as fat tears streamed down his face. It just wasn't fair.

Before the boy could break down completely in his own missery, Ryou suddenly found himself wrapped up in a tight, comforting hug on the behalf of Sunset Shimmer. The girl was rubbing calming circles on the boy's back, not being able to stand seeing her friend in such a miserable mood. The other girls had wanted to comfort their friend as well, Sunset had simply been the one standing the closest and thus was the first to reach him.

"It's gonna be okay, Ryou." Sunset gently tried to comfort him, yet the words felt hollow and bitter on her tounge. However, she knew better than anyone that it did no good to simply keep one's emotions bottled up, and sought no reason to not let her friend express his feelings. "You're gonna be okay."

"Are you telling us that there's nothing we can do?" asked Rarity with true desperation in her voice and expression, her and the other girls wanting to assure Ryou and even themselves that not all was lost.

"Yeah, can't you make that meanie go away like you did with the Burke's spooker-wooker?" asked Pinkie.

Zecora shook her head, though her eyes darkened consciderably when Pinkie had mentioned the Burkes. "That situation was different." she said, "The phantasm that plagued that family was a bitter and low-living soul. Wild and sadistic, but not too difficult to exile. The dark magic of the millenium items is beyond even my knowledge. However," she stopped to scratch her chin in thought, "I do know a man who is well-versed in the workings of these artefacts. Yes, Shadi was his name."

"Shadi..." Ryou whispered to himself, his eyes going misty as he at last disloged himself from the concerned Sunset's caring embrace, the girl keeping her hand on his shoulder. Deep within his mind, the bells of familarity rang for reasons he did not know.

"Then, um, can you please take us to see this Shadi-person?" asked Fluttershy. To be perfectly honest, she was terrified of the prospect of meeting a person who knew more of the cursed kind of magic that had tormented both her and her friends, espescially after what they had found out about the magic's true origin. However, she would face this person, or all sorts of other dangers for that matter, all for the purpose of helping her friend.

It felt like a punch to Fluttershy's gut when Zecora only shook her head, "One cannot simply find Shadi, rather he finds you." an emotion ranging somewhere between nostalgia and exasperation appeared on Zecora's face, "That man cannot be contacted in the traditional sense, but goes wherever he feels he is needed. Besides, I suppose calling him a man is not quite right. He is something else."

"Th-Then-" Ryou cut himself off, embarrassed over his own stammering. Taking a deep breath and gulping softly, he continued, his eyes whole demeanour looking utterly defeated and his voice sounding so very tired, "What can I do? How can I be free of him?"

Surpisingly enough, Zecora actually managed a small smile as she said, "You have already taken the greatest step you can take, Ryou. All there is now is that you continue on as you have since you and your friends last defeated the spirit."

To say that the group of youngsters were surpised was an understatement. Ryou blinked, his lips moving up and down without a sound leaving them as he could only stare at the woman in bewliderment. "Wha- What do you mean?" he asked at last.

Zecora gave the boy a grave look, lifting stern finger as she spoke in a tone of utmost seriousness, "If you truly wish to be free, then you must never, EVER, put on that ring again. Though the spirit may indeed be powerful, he requires a host to act freely on the physical plane. Keep the ring out of sight and the hands of others. Keep it away from from unwanted eyes, including your own."

Ryou was quiet just a moment, feeling strangely frightened at the small, yet warm sensation of hope starting to spark within him. Could he do it? Could he really dare to hope that it was that simple? Realizing that he might've remained silent for just a second too many, he cleared his throat and asked, unable to keep the frail hope out of his tone, "If I do this... H-He can't touch me again?"

Zecora gave the boy a warm and wise smile, "Even beings such as him have their limits, child. The spirit's greatest strength was that you did not know of his existence. But in his eagerness and arrogance he revealed himself to you and stripped himself of that same advantage. Now you can take the precautions to ensure that he can never take hold of you ever again."

"Really?" asked Twilight hopefully, her and the other Rainbooms all starting to smile at this welcome piece of news. She excitedly turned towards the boy, practicaly beaming as she asked, "Isn't this great, Ryou!?" However, both her smile and that of the other girls slowly faded once they got a good look at the white-haired boy.

Ryou tried to smile, he really did, but it quickly fell into a frown as more morose thoughts inevitably followed, "But what if this isn't enough?" he asked mostly to himself, keeping his head down as he did so, not thinking of how everyone else also heard him. After everything that he had seen in his life, everything he had lost, there was a part of Ryou that felt as if all of what Zecora had told them was too good to be true, "What if he finds another way? What if he comes back someday to finish what he started? What if-"

He was held back from continuing his frantic and pessimistic rant by the feeling of a strong, yet comforting squeeze of his shoulder. Turning, he saw that it was Sunset who had done it, a confident smile on her face that Ryou couldn't help but feel assuring. She said to him, without even the slightest hint of doubt, "IF that monster ever shows himself again then we'll be ready."

For a moment Ryou almost let himself snap at the fiery-haired girl, frustrated by such blind optimism. And yet, nearly every bit of frustration, those small surges of helpless anger the boy had felt building up because of this whole situation felt as if it just left him as he fully turned, thus letting him to get a good look at the seven girls who in such a small amount of time had come to mean so much to him.

"D-Do you really mean it?" Ryou found himself asking.

The seven expressions of utter kindness and resolve he recieved from his friends was all the answer he would ever need.

Sunset gave his shoulder another assuring squeeze, her eyes alit with a conviction to protect those she held dear, "We will never let him touch you, Ryou. And that's a promise."

There were still a few tears running down Ryou's cheeks, but not tears of sadness or frustration like earlier. Rather they were tears of joy, falling because of this one simple act of reassurance that he wasn't alone from those seven amazing people he called friends. Managing to summon a geniune smile, he let out a very heartfelt and appreciative, "Thanks, girls."

Recieving many warm grins and nods in return, Ryou then turned towards the one who had at last shed some light on one of his live's greatest mysteries. "Thank you, Zecora, for helping me understand." he said, meaning every single word.

Zecora simply chuckled as she waved a dismissive hand, "Oh please, I hardly did anything."

"I wouldn't say that." Ryou argued with a smile, though it fell slightly as he remembered what he had done in his earlier desperation, "I'm so sorry about trying to force the ring on you. You were right, it's my burden to carry."

The woman shook her head, "Nothing to apologize for, my boy. However, might I give you one last word of advice?"

Surprised, Ryou and the girls nodded all the same, "Of course."

A grave frown suddenly settled on Zecora's face, her cobalt-blue eyes hardened and serious, "Throughout my travels I have found that all burdens weigh heavy on those who live without the warmth of love and companionship." However, her lips then tilted upwards as she continued,

"Just as much, all burdens weigh lighter on those surrounded by people who care about them." She sent a poignant look over at the seven Rainbooms, a knowing smile on her lips, "A single drop of water is not mighty, but with others it can form a great ocean."

While Ryou absorbed this in contemplative silence, Sunset couldn't help but smirk, "Do you always talk in wise old woman-speech?"

Zecora let out a hearty laugh, shaking her head fondly, "A habit one picks up when dealing with too many stubborn teenagers. And I'm not THAT old!"

Said teenagers couldn't help but join in on the laughter, such a break from the previously heavy atmosphere and subject-matter being a most welcome one. One the laughter had subsided, the kids all decided that their business at the curio shop was all but finished. They had come for clarity and clarity they had recieved.

After Ryou had securily tucked the ring away Zecora led them all outside, standing in the doorway as she gave them one last goodbye, "I wish you luck, children. And remember, my door is always open." Ironically enough, she then closed the door.

For a brief moment the teens simply stood their, each and every one of them thinking long and hard of what they had just learned. It was Rainbow Dash who broke the silence, her usually confident eyes filled with nothing but genuine concern as she and her friends turned their gazes upon Ryou, still unsure of how their friend had processed all of this, "How d'you feel?" she asked him as casually as she could, causing the boy to tilt his head slightly.

"I feel..." Ryou trailed off, his eyes begining to cloud. He took a few steps forward, hiding his expression and having his back face his friends as he pondered that one, rather simple, question.

How did he feel?

For the last five years of his life, Ryou had always felt as if there was a cloud hanging over him, poisoning his life and everything he sought to do. A cloud that took away the people he loved, something that ruined each and every attempt he ever made at having a normal life and moving on by ripping it away just as he believed it to be within his reach.

Only now, he knew it was not a cloud, but a spirit. An ancient and malevolent entity from the ancient age of the Pharaohs, inprisoned in an artifact he had previously believed was a harmless golden trinket, but now he knew it contained a dark and ancient magic that had once threatened to destroy the whole world.

There was still a lot he didn't know about the spirit who had tormented him so, and there were still a great deal of fear plaguing his every thought. The fear that the spirit would return one day to once again take away his chance at happiness. By all rights, he should be feeling pretty bad. Terrible, even.

And yet... Ryou didn't.

He turned around, seeing how these seven girls, his friends, all were at him with such concern, such compassion. Knowing that they all looked out for him, cared for him, it was all he needed. For when he saw the way his friends looked at him, all the horrors he had seen, the things he had experienced, the people he had lost, all of that concern and angst that used to constantly weigh him down was lifted off of his shoulders.

Ryou's lips lifted upwards, at last feeling as if he had an answer,

"Lighter." he said, a wistful smile on his face, "I feel lighter."

Except for perhaps Sunset, none of the girls looked as if they really understood what he meant. To be fair, Ryou didn't really think he understood it either. It was made all the more clear when Rainbow Dash bluntly said, "That makes, like, no sense."

The boy simply laughed, shaking his head fondly, "I know, Dash. I know."

Though they did not all completely understand his words, the simple fact that Ryou was standing before them, smiling and laughing was enough to get the Rainbooms smiling as well, knowing that this visit to Zecora had truly accomplished something.

Before anyone else could get another word in, a sudden, lond and deep growl was heard. Everyone of the girls could only turn their heads and stare at the source: Ryou's stomach.

Blushing, Ryou turned towards his friends who were now giving him knowing smiles. With a sheepish look on his face he placed a hand on his offending stomach, “Well," he began, doing his best to keep his cool, "I don’t know about you girls, but I think this whole thing has gotten me very hungry.”

“Oh, I understand completely, darling." said Rarity, she, too, feeling rather peckish, "Fighting the forces of evil really builds up one's appetite.”

Fully embracing this new sense of levity among their group of friends, Sunset knew just the perfect way to end this whole happenstance. Looking over the seven other teens, she asked, “You guys down for some pizza? I'm buying.”

“Now we’re talkin’!” Rainbow Dash cheered, both her and the others brightening up at the prospect of pizza, “I'm getting pepperoni! I'm guessing that goes for you too, Rares?” the fashionista in question smiled and nodded.

“Ah want sausage on mine!” Applejack exclaimed, clapping her hands together and rubbing them excitedly, "Now that Ryou's tummy rumbled it made me realize that Ah'm hungrier than a kid on their third day of fat camp!"

The eight teens shared a good laugh at that. Twilight smiled adjusted her glasses, glad that such an easy air had settled among their group, “I for one think I’ll just have a four-cheese.”

“Same." said Ryou, his mouth watering just thinking about it. He turned to the two girls to his left, "Sunset? Fluttershy?”

“Some mushrooms and green peppers for me.”

“Um, I’d like that, too, please.”

"Ooh! Ooh!" Pinkie was eager to ad her own wish of topping to the list, "And I want peanut butter, clams, and hot fudge!"

Instead of the exclamations of agreement she had been hoping for, all she got from her friends were seven different looks of confusion and mild disgust. Defensive over her prefered types of pizza, Pinkie crossed her arms in a defiant manner, "Hey, don’t knock it till you try it!”

And so they all began to treck down the street, their conversations filled with laughter and talks of pizza. Ryou found himself smiling like a fool, only now feeling at ease once more.

Was he still worried about the spirit? Absolutely.

Was he so hopeful that he thought everything would be smooth sailing from here? God no.

In spite of that, the boy who had once been so lonely walked beside his friends with an easy strut to his steps, taking part in the wacky conversations as they made their way to Soos' Really Great Pizza Place! Is That A Good Name? Does It Have To Be A Pun Or Whatever?. And yes, that was the restaurant's full name.

He was able to put aside each and every one of his inner doubts and worries, instead only focusing on the joy which was now fluttering within his heart. For Ryou knew that whatever might await him and his friends in the future, wether it be ancient egyptian evils or frighteningly exhausting exams, one thing was clear beyond all doubt:

They would face it together.

How easy it was for mortals to think they were safe because of one meagre victory.

Humans were never safe. Not from him.

Through his entire existence, he had never found something quite so comforting as the darkness.

The pulsing and utter blackness, the dark rage and endless hate constantly enveloping him, his mind, his vision, his essence... His everything. Yes, he thrived in the dark and the chaos it brought. Really, his whole being was the darkness. All of his power originated from it in some way. It was the main reason he hadn't been particularly worried of being banished to the shadows after his defeat to those pesky wenches.

It is hard to feel punished when you embrace evil as tightly as it embraces you.

In darkness he was and in darkness he would wait. For though some meagre bumps on the road might set him back, he was the very darkness itself, the personification of the cold, unforgiving void. Though he was weakened at the moment, he had other, more unorthodox ways of returning.

After all, he had learned a very long time ago that the minds of mortals are such fickle, puny things. They were naught but playthings for a being such as him.

Eventually, his time would come. The time to tear down all that the host thought he had secured. The time for when the events 3000 years prophesied would at long last come to pass, and all the world would be buried in eternal darkness.

He would have to wait, of course, if his other means of gaining leverage on the physical plain was to ever be properly acquired. And though tedious, the long wait would ultimatley be worth it all in the end. For bloodthirsty as the spirit of the ring may be, he was patient.

He was always patient.

Doctrina De Duellis

"Careful now, darling!"

"It's all up to you now!"

"Go for it..."

"Go on an' get 'im, girl!"

"You can do it, Sunny!"

"This. Is our last. CHANCE!"

The tension in the room was so thick that one could've cut through it with a knife. Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but feel pressured, her six friends practically on top of her as they tried to give her encouragement when it pretty much ahd the opposite effect. But even without them, Sunset could not deny that she felt nervous. Everything was relying on this one action, this one chance. If she should fail now, all of their struggles, all of their sacrifices, it would have all been for nought and darkness would rise to cover the whole world.

Despite her best efforts, her hand was shaking and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Loathe as she was to admit it, she was afraid. Afraid of failure.

"It's now or never, Sunset." said Ryou from straight across her, his tone and expression ice cold. "Do it!"

She gave her enemy a mild glare, but his frosty words ironically seemed to be the spark that lit the fires of hope within her. There was a roar of determination from Sunset, and so she did what she had to do, "FOR MONSLEY!"

She threw out her hand and let the dice fall, each and every one of the eight teenagers watching them roll on the gameboard with anxiousness written all over them. To them it was an agonizingly long wait, and they all held their breaths as the two ten-sided die at last came to a halt.

Sunset let herself breathe out a huge sigh of relief, a satisfied smile forming on her lips while her friends cheered and clapped hands around her.

"A super critical." observed Ryou, his usual smile returning as he typed away on the game's computer and analyzed the data, "Sunset the fire mage unleashes her Sevens Inferno assault and makes a direct hit."

The girls all smiled hopefully, "And that means...?"

Ryou let out a defeated sigh, though there was still a smile on his face, "An elemental attack of that nature and power was too much for the already wounded creature. The Ice Dragon of Angmyr perishes and the adventurers have saved the kingdom from an eternal winter."

Resounding whoops and cheers of joy were then made by the Rainbooms, exchanging brief hugs and high-fives to celebrate their victory over the threat to the imagined kingdom. Ryou watched it with a smile, happy to have given his friends another more positive Monster World experience this time around. He was also happy that Sunset could now play with a character of her own instead of having to play with characters containing the stolen mortal souls of her friends.

Strangely enough, the game was far more enjoyable without the evil spirit and constant threat of death. Who could've guessed, right?

It had been little more than a week since the visit to Zecora and since then things had actually been quite calm and pleasant for Ryou and his friends. School went on as always, even more pleasant than when he had still been new there, though Trixie was still making a clear point of avoiding Ryou as much as humanly possible.

Thoughts of the spirit and the item he possessed had hardly been bothering Ryou at all throughout this time as well. As soon as he had gotten home from Zecora, Ryou had wasted no time in hiding away the artefact. The millenium ring had been locked away in a briefcase and hidden deep underneath piles of clothes within his cupboard. Ryou had full intentions of never ever opening it up ever again.

Had anyone told him a month ago that he would get to spend friday nights playing games with friends like this, he would've called them crazy. Only now it was actually happening, and Ryou couldn't be happier.

"I think us adventurers deserve some kinda reward!" Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed, raising her fist in the air while riding high on the familiar feeling of victory. It was a very alluring suggestion, as she immediatly found herself recieving resounding cheers from her fellow saviours.

"What sort of reward did you all have in mind?" Ryou asked, a bemused smile on his lips, "I'm afraid I can't knight you."

As the girls all prepared to give the boy different answers, seven stomachs suddenly rumbled all at once, and the seven girls they belonged to found themselves blushing. Ryou blinked twice but then couldn't help but laugh.

Coughing into her hand, Sunset then gave Ryou an akward smile and suggested, "Something to eat wouldn't be too bad."

Ryou looked thoughtful for a brief moment before he then snapped his fingers as a lightbulb went off in his head, "I think that I've got a little something that'll do just the trick." He turned towards his friends, "You girls make yourselves comfortable in the living room and I'll be out there in a jiffy."

Having no objections to this plan, the Rainbooms all filed out of the game room and wandered straight into Ryou's living room while the boy himself disappeared into the kitchen. Plopping themselves down on Ryou's large, red couch, they all passed the time with idle chatter of no real importance.

It didn't take long for Ryou to exit the kitchen carying a tray filled to the brim with big, delicious-looking treats which made the girls' mouths water at the mere sight of them. "I picked up some fresh fruit at the grocer earlier today and decided to make it into some muffins." He said as placed the tray down on the coffee table before settling himself down in his favourite lamino chair. "I'm by no means an expert but I think they'll taste fine enough."

"Hogwash! I'll bet they taste great!" Pinkie Pie said, cheerful as always. Her fingers twitching in anticipation, she reached out and snatched herself a muffin and took a big bite. As soon as the fluffy treat made contact with her tastebuds, the girl froze up, eyes wide as saucers.

Pinkie's friends couldn't help but look on in slight concern at the akward reaction. Ryou felt a stab of panic in his heart, thinking the worst of the reaction. With a downcast sigh, he asked her, "That bad, huh?"

Pinkie's breathing grew more audible and more rapid, her chest moving up and down while her previously blank face began to change. Her right eye twitched while her pupils grew to almost completely make up her eyes. Like a budding flower, there quickly bloomed an enormous grin on her face. Once she spoke, her voice grew steadily more loud and cheerful with each word, "This... muffin... is... AMAZING!" With this final declaration, she eagerly took another bite. "You gotta give me the recipe, Ryou!"

Despite having gotten somewhat used to his poofy-haired friend's odd behaviour at this point, Ryou could only blink as he watched Pinkie scarf down his creation.

Encouraged by Pinkie's positive reaction, the rest of the Rainbooms all reached out and grabbed a muffin of their own to sample its taste. As they bit down and felt the fluffy cake on their tounges, they too felt themselves overwhelmed by just how scrumptious the treat was.

"Oh darling, this is positively heavenly!" Rarity was practically moaning in-between bites, a hand on her cheek as the delicious, fruit-tinted taste filled her entire being. Similar comments were made by the others.

Ryou blushed and scratched the back of his head, though he was beaming at the praise all the same, "I'm just so glad you all like it! It was a new recipe I've been meaning to try for a while so I wasn't too sure about how they would turn out."

"Tastes like a success to me!" Applejack exclaimed with a grin, raising her half-devoured treat in the air in a sort of salute.

"Seriously, where did you learn to make stuff like this?" asked Sunset while hungrily biting down on her own muffin.

Ryou gave a modest shrug, "When you've had to live by yourself as much as I have, you sort of have to pick up a few culinary skills if you don't want to eat cheap instant noodles every day. But it was honestly my mother who got me into cooking."

This got caught the girls' attention, making them all listen intently for further details. It was sort of weird to think of how none of them had ever picked up on it, but the fact was that Ryou had never once mentioned his mother to them before. Up until now, that is.

"Your mom taught you?" asked Twilight, she and the others eager to learn more.

Ryou nodded, a nostalgic smile appearing on his lips while his eyes were lost in the warmth of nostalgia, "When I was little, I would always rush into the kitchen because I was so eager to help her cook. She had long days at work and I just wanted to make things a little easier for her. At first it was just the simplest of tasks as she didn't want me burning myself or cutting my fingers off, but when she saw how much I enjoyed it, she gradually let me help her with more advanced stuff. "

He could still remember those times so very clearly. Remember the clang of pots and pans, the different aromas of the spice rack, and of course, the warm smiles his mother woud send him while he eagerly absorbed any and all culinary knowledge she would share with him.

Ryou didn't really know what compelled him to do it. He had never been one to overshare, after all. And yet, something about his company, how his friends seemed so genuinley interest, had the boy keep on going, "When I was 8, it was the first time I cooked up a meal all by myself to surprise her for her birthday. It was just a rice omelette, nothing special. But the way her face lit up when she took the first bite..." The mere thought of it was enough to make him feel warm inside, "I'll remember that till the day I die."

"Aww!" Pinkie Pie gushed and clasped her hands. "That's so sweet!"

"Oh, come now." Ryou chuckled sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed at this point. He felt his cheeks going hot as he noticed that the other girls seemed to share Pinkie's sentiments, most of them letting out small aww's and coos of their own.

"It does sound pretty adorable." said Sunset with a bemused laugh.

Rainbow Dash picked up another muffin, turning towards Ryou with a questioning frown, "Y'know, we've heard some stuff about your dad but up till now you've never really talked about your mom. What's she up to these days?"

Ryou's smile died as suddenly as a glowing light bulb, his gaze lowering and his eyes clouding. When he answered, his voice was low and subdued, weighed down by the bitter burden of loss, "My mother passed away in a car crash when I was 10."

Rainbow Dash's muffin fell out of her hand. With the sound of seven seperate horrified gasps, the room was then plunged into a tense and melancholic silense. The girls could only stare at Ryou, none of them knowing what to say. After all, how could they possible respond to an emotional bombshell like that?

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, though it was more of a gasp than anything, "Oh, dude..." Her expression, words and tone spoke of uttermost remorse, thinking that she must've brought up a sore subject, "Ryou, I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

She was effectively silenced by Ryou. The boy simply held up a hand and Rainbow Dash felt whatever apology she had attempted to make die on her tounge. For a brief moment he continued to look down, eyes closed and his lips tilting downwards. But then, he looked up to face Rainbow Dash, and his entire expression changed as if by magic.

"Don't be sorry, Rainbow. It's alright, really." Ryou was smiling, and though it wasn't as bright as usual, it was not most certainly not a false one. It wasn't like when he talked about his father, when his serene smile and words only seemed like a mask meant to hide the very ugly and very real pain underneath. No, the boy's smile and tone where as genuine as can be. "It's been five years since then. I've managed to move on."

"But don't you miss her?" asked Fluttershy timidly, though she instantly regreted asking such a tactless question.

Ryou let out a strange sound, somewhere inbetween a scoff and a light laugh, "Of course I miss her, Fluttershy. I miss her everyday." His smile dipped, though only slightly, "Though I can't deny that it makes me sad sometimes, she wouldn't want me to grieve for her my whole life."

Ryou could feel small tears starting to gather at this corners of his eyes, stinging with the bitter-sweet feeling of nostalgia that would so often accompany him any time he thought of his mother. And yet, it did not bother him. Five years ago, any conversation about his mother would've sent Ryou into hysterics, but no longer. It was an old wound, but a wound that had been mended and faded with time.

Shaking his head out of these thoughts, he turned to fully face his friends, a serene and strangely determined smile on his face while a lone tear ran down his cheek, "I figured out way back that the best thing I can do to honor her memory as her son is to move on and live my life to the fullest. I will always treasure the moments I got to share with her, and as long as I do that, well... She'll never be truly gone."

For a while there was only silence except for the constant and penetrating tik-tok of the room's grandfather clock. Slowly, but surely, all seven Rainbooms found themselves with small smiles on their faces, finding Ryou's heartfelt words resonate with them. Though it was certainly sad to know that their new friend had lost his mother, it brought them all no small amount of comfort to see that the boy really seemed to have moved on.

"Still, even though it's been so long, I'm sorry for your loss, Ryou." Sunset's tone was solemn, a hand was placed over her heart while her eyes sparkled with empathy. The others wasted no time in letting Ryou know of their own sentiment regarding his mother's death and the boy found it strangely comforting. He could hear so clearly that the words of his friends was so unlike the hollow comforts he would usually recieve from strangers who found out about his mother's passing.

"And movin' on like dat's mighty big of ya, Ryou." said Applejack, tilting her hat to him and just slightly covering her eyes. Ryou didn't know why his friend's voice was so suddenly thick with emotion, nor why it looked as if a slight wetness was gathering in the corners of her eyes.

The other girls knew, however, exchanging knowing, sympathetic looks between them. For a brief moment they conscidered telling Ryou why Applejack was acting this way, but they ultimatley decided that it was for Applejack to tell him. After all, the cowgirl hadn't even told all of them straight away.

This solemn mood was not to last, however. For Rainbow Dash hadn't yet realized that she had sat herself down on the remote. Thus, the moment she shifted slightly in her seat, her butt unknowingly worked its magic and just like that Ryou's TV screen suddenly burst to life. All of the teens jumped slightly, turning and looking at the TV.

For a moment they feared that it was a case of paranormal activity, until they saw Rainbow Dash pull out the remote from underneath her, the girl chuckling sheepishly. "My bad, guys."

Before anyone could say anything, all of the teens' attentions were easily siezed by the TV. Or rather, the extravagant voice blaring from it, declaring that this would be the 'showdown of the year', whatever it was. Undoubtedly interested, the group all gazed upon what was shown on the screen.

The camera view shown panned over to what appeared to be an arena of some sort with a pair of tall podiums on either side of it, one colored red and one colored blue. On each podium there stood a person, though it was hard to make out any details by the camera angle and distance. Placed on each corner of the arena was a large post with all sorts of reflective mirrors built on the tops of them. On both the left and right sides of the arena, the number "13" was printed in black. A great crowd of cheering fans surrounded the arena, enthusiastic for whatever the arena was meant for.

As is if this wasn't strange enough on its own, there appeared to be some manner of strange, towering figures standing on both ends of the arena, staring down the other side. While none of the girls really understood what exactly was happening on screen, Ryou's brown eyes lit up in recognition and apparent enthusiasm.

"Sweet! It's a Duel Monsters tournament!" he exclaimed, his smile turning into a full on grin as his gaze was transfixed by the TV. "I'd completely forgotten that the state championships were were coming to a close! And from the looks of it these are the last two finalists!"

None of the girls really understood what Ryou was talking about. They recognized the name of Duel Monsters, of course, Ryou had mentioned the cardgame a couple of times before, apparently it was one of his all-time favourites. Twilight and Applejack both knew for a fact that their older brothers were fans of the game, but none of the girls had ever taken a shot at it themselves.

But seeing just how much Ryou seemed to be enjoying it and given the rather interesting sight displayed on the TV, the girls all decided silently on what to do. Whatever this was, it could be a good way to derail from the more melancholic talk from earlier. Following the boy's example, they turned their heads towards the screen watched.

"And we're back Live from here at this year's Duel Monsters California State Championship!" exclaimed the match's announcer, a well-dressed, balding man wearing a pair of ridiculous sunglasses. His deep and charasmatic voice echoed out throughout the arena, causing the audience to cheer even harder. "It's hard to think that after 64 well-versed competitors, we are now down to these two extraordinary duelists!"

Said duelists were glaring daggers at eachother, locked in a battle of wills. Standing by the red podium was a lean young man with light-violet skin and a bald head, dressed in a baggy shirt and an equally baggy pair of jeans. This duelist's whole stance screamed of defensiveness and weariness, his eyes narrowed over at his opponent in determination and even mild hate.

On his side of the field there was but a single face-down card and only one monster. What looked like a little girl dressed in a cute, frilly dress styled after rose petals, it was Bloom Diva The Melodious Choir (1000/2000). Though her bright and innocent features were tarnished by a look of discomfort and pain, most likely because of her being encased in some manner of chains.

Standing on the blue podium was a man looking to be around 18 years old. His skin was jade green and his hair was a wild mop of golden locks. He was wearing nothing on his upper body but a ragged looking vest and from his neck there hung what looked like a great fang of some kind made into a pendant. Unlike his wary opponent, this player's stance radiated confidence and charisma, him standing tall but also relaxed at the same time while a suave smirk danced on his lips. Given the cheers going his way, it was clear he was the fan-favourite.

This duelist's field held far more of a presence. In the backrow ther was a face-up continous Trap and a single face-down. In the frontrow there stood a great, towering figure looking like an anthropomorphic, very muscled bat with six wings draped in menacing dark armor. The creature bore no weapon, yet it was intimidating enough on its own, its red eyes glaring over at the duelist who dared oppose its master. Next to it was another towering creature, best described as a ripped, anthropomorphic tyrannosaurus dressed in gold and black armor, wielding a great axe of the same colouring. These two were, in order, Gladiator Beast Nerokius (2800/1900) and Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz (2600/1500).

VIOLET MOON - Hand 0x : LP 2000
SAVAGE STRIKE - Hand 4x : LP 3800

The announcer spoke once more, "It's Violet Moon and his majestic Melodius monsters against Savage Strike and his fierce Gladiator Beasts! Tensions are high and the stakes have never been higher! However, things don't look too bright for player Moon at the moment."

"My Fiendish Chain has rendered your little fairy worthless, Moon!" said Savage, a toothy grin befitting of his name spreading on his face. Violet Moon could only grit his teeth as his opponent pointed a finger towards the imprisoned monster, "Gladiator Beast Nerokius, destroy his Bloom Diva with Sonic Death Shriek!"

Obeying its master's commands dutifully, the red eyes of Nerokius seemed to burn ever brighter in rage and determination. Without further warning, the bat-like monster opened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing, sonic shriek, causing most audience members to cover their ears. The little Bloom Diva took the brunt of the blast, the chains preventing her effect from protecting her. She could only let out a small scream of pain before the attack destroyed her completely, causing Violet Moon to flinch.

VIOLET MOON - LP 2000 - 1800 = 200

Satisfied by the result but wasting no further time, Savage Strike then pointed straight at his opponent, "But we're not finished yet! Now, Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz! Attack him directly and end this! Reptilian Rage Slash!"

Letting out a roar of pure bloodthirst, the armored dinosaur leaped into the air and raised its enormous battle axe, quickly descending upon Violet Moon with a killing intent.

"I don't think so, Savage!" He exclaimed, pointing towards his field with a look of utter most triumph, causing the hidden Trap card to reveal itself, "Reveal face-down: Mirror Force!" On cue, around Violet Moon there suddenly appeared a dome-shaped barrier looking as if it was made out of some holy light, garantued to deflect any assault. "Your bat may have hindered me from activating it but your lizard's got no such luck!"

"Oh my!" The announcer gasped, most of the audience doing the same, "This sudden reversal could be a serious blow to player Strike!"

Violet Moon watched with a grin as Gaiodiaz continued to approach the barrier, knowing what fate would await his opponent's field once the attack conected. For a brief moment, Violet felt an elasion in his heart, feeling that this would be the moment that the duel would turn around. He felt as if victory was within his grasp, and he aimed to take it straight out of his opponent's hands!

However, as he eagerly looked across the arena, he noticed that Savage Strike wasn't scowling in bitter disapointment or cursing in frustration. Rather, the young man was smiling, quite serenly, in fact. With what felt like an icy dagger to his heart, Violet Moon knew then that something was terribly wrong.

"Well played, Moon..." Savage praised, but it sounded hollow. Like some bizarre transformation, his serene smile grew into a grin only properly described as bloodthirsty, "But not well enough!" It was with a savage eagerness he revealed the hidden card still on his field, "I activate a face-down of my own; Dark Bribe! The effect of your trap is negated and you get to draw a card. Not that it'll do ya any good at this point."

"OH, COME ON!" Violet Moon could only scream in helpless frustration, watching as the shimmering holy barrier of Mirror Force disolved into nothing, this allowing Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz to descend and swing down its axe upon him with a mighty and viscious roar. Violet Moon fell to his knees, the bitter sting of humiliation infecting his every thought as his points rapidly decreased.

VIOLET MOON - LP 200 - 2600 = 0

WINNER: Savage Strike

"And we have a winner!" exclaimed the announcer, seeming to revel in the audience's loud and exultant cheers as much as Savage Strike did, "After such an inspiring clashing between spirits filled with twists and turns, the one standing on top of it all as California's new state champion is none other than the Colosseum King himself: Savage Strike! What a guy! Let's give him a hand, folks!"

All too eager to oblige, the audience cheered louder than ever before and applauded just as hard, some even standing up and jumping in their seats. Savage Strike was clearly reveling in it all, picking up his deck and holding it upwards as if it was the holy grail, leading to even more cheers.

He waved to all his fans and was wearing an admitedly very charming smile, though none noticed the brief, sinister sneer he sent his downed opponent. Violet Moon himself appeared to have completely shut down, not moving an inch and instead preferring to wallow in his own loss.

The announcer now turned towards the many cameras there, flashing a charismatic grin and giving them a wink, "The award-ceremony shall be carried out right after these brief words from our generous sponsors! Don't you folks at home touch that remote!"

For a short few moments the only sound heard in the room was the background noise of the commercials. The Rainbooms were all still sitting in awe of what they had just witnessed. Was that really a cardgame tournament they had just watched? It had looked more like some sort of sci-fi gladiator battle. All of them turned towards the only one there who actually seemed to have fully understood what they had seen if the size of his smile was any indication.

"That was an amazing finisher!" Ryou exclaimed, his eyes still shining enthusiastically while the memory of the duel still burned fresh in his mind, "That Savage Strike really seemed to have the thing in his control the whole time! It's a shame we only got to see the end of it!"

"A-Are all Duel Monsters games like that?" Fluttershy asked, slightly hiding behind her hair. Not only had those two hulking monsters looked quite intimidating, but something about that Savage Strike-person had just sat wrong with her. But even she couldn't deny that there had been a certain thrill to watching the duel.

Ryou shook his head as he answered, "Not at all. The use of holograms to enhance the experience is quite a recent adition but it has been doing wonders for the game's popularity since its implementation."

"I can get that! That match was AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, an excited grin on her face as she turned towards her friends, "Did you guys see the way that bat-thing just destroyed that little fairy princess and that dinosaur guy just freakin' went after that Moon-guy with an axe! Now THAT'S what I call entertainment!"

"Can't say it looked boring, that's for sure." Applejack remarked with a laugh.

"It all looked so real, though." Sunset murmured mostly to herself, slightly troubled by just how convincing those holograms had looked, "For a moment I though it was Equestrian magic going wild or something!"

"That's Kaiba Corp.'s tech for you." Twilight said with a bright smile. Seeing the questioning looks her friends gave her, Twilight all too eagerly slipped into her lecturing-mode, "In these last few months they've accomplished incredible things for virtual reality simulation and holographic technology, including these Battle Arenas we saw on the TV. The reason it was used for a game like Duel Monsters is because I heard the CEO is quite an accomplished player himself."

Ryou nodded in agreement, "Oh yes. Seto Kaiba is the number one ranked duelist in Japan, if not the world right now. Quite amazing that he finds the time, actually, conscidering his company is a corporate giant."

Thinking back to the time they had all talked about their favourite games, Pinkie Pie asked him, "You play Duel Monsters, right Ryou?"

The boy nodded with a smile, "Yes, I've been playing since I was like eight. I don't suppose any of you do?"

Seven sheepish smiles were what he recieved in response at that, Rarity telling him, "I don't think any of us have really had any interest in children's cardgames, darling."

"I've seen brief glimpses of the game being played at the game shop but nothing beyond that." Sunser added, thinking back to the times she had seen the small store-tournaments, "The basic impression I got was that it's just placing cards on the table and the strongest one wins." She turned towards Ryou with a small smirk, "Buuut judging from what we just saw I guess there's a bit more to it."

The smile Ryou gave her was most fox-like, "Oh, you have no idea."

"I take it you got your own deck?" Sunset asked him curiously, finding herself becoming strangely more fascinated by the game.

Ryou looked at her as if she had asked him if the sky was blue, "Of course I do!"

"Can we see it?" Pinkie Pie asked eagerly. Seeing how the other girls seemed to want to see his cards as well, Pinkie found herself recieving a happy nod in return.

Telling the girls to wait a minute, the boy ran upstairs. He came running back down quite quickly with a small box held securily in his hands. Out of it he pulled a perfectly stacked deck of cards, handling them with an undeniable care and respect as he put the neat pile down on the table and fanned them out so that the girls could all have a look. All seven of them began to do so quite eagerly.

"You were right about it not being so simple as stronger monster wins." He explained as he sat himself back down, "With the combination of Spell cards, Trap cards, effects, even a deck consisting mostly of what one might conscider 'weak' monsters can win."

"So it's the smartest player who wins?" asked Twilight with a small smile, she herself having already starting to read some of the cards' text. Though she certainly did not understand all of the text, it seemed like the sort of complex and layered game she wouldn't have anything against playing.

"Typically, yes." Ryou answered, "I mean, there are a multitude of different strategies and basic overwhelming beatdown is one of them. But, as you saw with the duel on TV, what really makes this game fun is that practically every move has a counter. That along with the fact that everyone has their own strategies and deck builds make every duel different."

“Another question, darling." said Rarity, a somewhat unnerved expression on her face as she looked at Ryou's Curse Necrofear. "Are all the cards in the game so…” She trailed off, not sure how to describe the cards in Ryou's deck without possibly offending the boy.

“Eerie?" He finished for her, to which he recieved a somewhat sheepish nod from the fashionista. Ryou was not offended in the slightest, tough. He simply chuckled and shook his head, perfectly understanding what Rarity meant, "No, not all. There’s a large variety of card designs out there, so everyone who plays is sure to find some cards that appeals to them.”

“Some of yours look really scary…" Fluttershy murmured timidly, shuddering slightly as she shyed away from the sight of Ryou's Annihilator Archfiend. She quickly realized that she hadn't said that as quietly as she had hoped, and tried to let out a startled apology to the boy, "N-no offense!”

Once again, Ryou chuckled and waved a dismissive hand, “None taken, as that’s kind of the point. Most duelists choose some matter of theme in their deck, either in the cards’ designs or strategies. There’s a pro-duelist out there by the name of Weevil Underwood who uses only insect-type cards.”

“Really? Weevil uses insects?" Rainbow Dash asked with an amused smirk, letting out a little snicker, "A little on the nose, don’t you think?”

Ryou raised a single, elegant brow at her. When he spoke his tone was drier than the Saharah, “Gee, I dunno. How’s that hair of yours, Rainbow Dash?”

“... Touché.”

“So, your deck is horror themed?” Sunset guessed, thinking that a great deal of Ryou's cards looked as if they could probably star in some horror movie.

Ryou nodded, “Sort of. More specifically, it’s an occult deck packed with Fiend monsters and spooky spells.” His smile had grown as he explained it and the girls couldn't help but smile and chuckle slightly at their friend. There was something about this white-haired, brighthearted boy loving the occult so much that was just funny in and of itself.

Suddenly, Fluttershy let out a positively delighted gasp, her eyes sparkling as she picked up a single card she found herself liking among all the other horrors in Ryou's deck, "Oooh, this one is really cute, though!" She cooed in the way she would at one of the little critters at the animal shelter, thinking the little monster on the card was cute enough to rival a great deal of them.

Quite curious about this reaction, all the other girls leaned and reached over to get themselves a look at the one card of Ryou's that seemed to have captured Fluttershy's affection. As soon as they saw it, some of the other Rainbooms couldn't help but let out small "D'aww"s of their own, finding the little puffball on the card to be positively adorable.

"Okay, I admit it: That lil' feller's pretty freakin' cute." Applejack said with a small grin.

"'Cute' is hardly enough to describe it, darling!" Rarity argued, an adoring smile gracing her lips, "This 'Kuriboh'-creature is positively adorable!"

Pinkei nodded enthusiastically, a dreamy glint in her eyes while her hyperactive imagination began to run wild, "I wish he was real so I could feed him cookies and hug him forever!"

Sunset thought that the card itself was quite odd in spite of its adorableness, turning to look questioningly at its owner, "Doesn't seem like it fits in with the rest of your cards, Ryou."

The boy shrugged, "Well, Kuriboh is a DARK Fiend monster, so he fits in well enough in that regard, just not in asthetics." A nostalgic smile slowly bloomed on his face, "But, someway, somehow, Kuriboh always finds a place in my deck. His effect is quite useful and has gotten me out of plenty of tight situations in the past."

“There are so many different ones…" Twilight observed, noticing that, despite all of the boy's deck certainly being connected by a theme, hardly any of the two cards really looked the same, each with unique artworks and designs. She looked up and asked him, "Do you have a favourite card?”

Ryou nodded, “Of course. Every duelist has a card that’s extra special to them. And for me, it’s this one.” He held up a single card from the rest of the deck so all his friends could get a good look at it. The girls all leaned in and looked it over.

“Diabound?" Pinkie read the odd name aloud for all to hear. Some of the girls were squinting their eyes at the art of the card, finding it to be a very strange creature and unlike anything they'd seen before. The monster had a half-human body with muscular features along with three horns on the back of its head and the second on the front with different angles. It's tail had the head of a snake at the end of it, as well as four feathered wings– two on its back and two on its lower torso near the waist. It certainly wasn't something one would want to encounter in a dark alley at night.

Ryou clearly saw nothing wrong with it though, simply nodding brightly at Pinkie's question, turning the card so he could look at the art himself. A strange smile appeared on his face, speaking of fondness and something else none of the cǵirls could place. He answered her, "Mhm. I don't really know why, exactly. I've just always really liked this particular card."

"What does that 'LV' next to the card name mean?" Twilight asked, having been confused by the strange title.

It was a question Ryou eagerly answered, "Oh, that means Diabound is what is known as a level-monster, a card that can evolve and level up after it reaches certain conditions." He then put the card back with the others, having already begun to gather up his cards into a neatly stacked pile.

While he was doing that, the Rainbooms had all started to come to a conclusion of their own which had slowly been forming since they first saw the duel on TV. Duel Monsters, both from what they had seen and from how Ryou had described it, actually seemed like quite an interesting game. And given how they had all come to greatly enjoy Monster World, they figured that it wouldn't hurt to try to get into another one of the games Ryou clearly held so dear to his heart.

Being such good friends, all of these thoughts and conclusions were easily conveyed between them silently through a couple of subtedly exchanged nods and smiles. It was Sunset who turned got the boy's attention, "Ryou?"

"Hm?" He tilted head, having not caught up on the silent communication between his friends.

Sunset smirked, putting on a mock-contemplating expression as she playfully asked, "I don't suppose you'd be up for teaching us all how to play, do you?"

At that moment Ryou looked as if christmas had come early. "Y-you really want to learn Duel Monsters?" He asked, feeling hope starting to burn within him, "And you want me to teach you?"

"Yeah! You can be our Mister Miyagi!" Pinkie Pie chirped brightly while the other girls all nodded in agreement.

"ALRIGHT!" Ryou cheered, unable to hold in his excitement of the prospect of his friends learning his all-time favourite game. His enthusiasm quickly made wave for embarassment however, upon noticing that his cheer hadn't been as internal as he had thought. Surpressing a flustered blush, he crossed his arms and averted eye contact from the girls in an atempt to look non-chalant, "I mean, uh, th-that's cool. No biggie."

His friends just exchanged knowing smiles, all of them used to their friend's enthusiasm over his passions at this point.

"So, how should we best go about learning this game, darling?" Rarity asked.

Ryou answered her, "Well, as with any game, one needs to know the rules." He reached into his pocket and dug around before pulling out a small, red booklet. He held it up for all to see, "Now this is the official Duel Monsters rule book!" he announced boldly, treating the object with a care and reverence one might show for a religious text.

Sunset raised a brow, "Do you always carry that thing around in your pocket?"

Ryou suddenly looked anywhere other than Sunset's eyes, "... Maybe." Before anyone could prodd at him any further, he put the booklet on the table with just a little more force than needed. "It can seem a bit complicated at first bit give it a few read-throughs and you'll have the gist of the game's mechanics. After that we can gradually get into the more advanced stuff."

While the others found this to be reasonable enough, Rainbow Dash did not. She wasted no time in letting the boy know this by letting out a rather loud snort, rolling her eyes as well, "C'mon! I wanna get into this stuff fast! Just tell us now!"

While the other girls sent their athletic friend scolding looks at her brash words, Ryou simply looked concern, "I dunno..." He murmured, scratching the side of his cheek in though, "You sure you want this, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash let out another scoff, her expression relaxed and confident, "Ryou, my dude, it's fine. Lay it on us."

Ryou did not look convinced, but let out a defeated sigh all the same, "Alright then. Just remember that you asked for it." Clearing his throat, Ryou then went on to explain the mechanics of the world's most popular cardgame.

"Now, each duelist has a deck conscisting of a required minimum of 40 cards. You CAN run up to 60 cards but 40 is overall the best consistent number. These decks consist of a chosen variety of Monster, Spell and Trap cards. Both players summon monsters to battle their opponent's monsters while Spells and Traps are more supportive with a variety of effects. Each player begins with 4000 Life Points and the game's main objective are to reduce the opponent's Life Points to 0. The most common way of doing that is to attack monsters with stronger monsters, in which case the owner of the destroyed monster loses points equal to the difference between in power."

The girls all nodded at this, finding this to sound reasonable enough.

"Doesn't sound too complicated." Twilight said lightly. Ryou gave the girl a downright pitying look, as if to say, 'You poor fool'. Before she could inquire as to why, the boy continued without any sign of slowing down.

"Now, each card has their own subtypes. Spell cards can be divided into Quickplay, Continous, Field, Equip, Ritual, and Normal. Trap cards consist of Continous, Counter and Normal. Each of these subtypes determines when and how the card can be activated and how it affects other cards."

"Uh-"

"The subtype also determines a card's spell speed, which is a mechanic meant to restrict certain effects from actively chaining with other cards. A chain in this case is the process of activating effects on top of others, thus creating a stack, if you will, that determines the order of resolution of activated cards and effects. It's a process often used to counter."

"That sounds a little-"

"Anyway, a Counter Trap, for example, is spell speed three so it can chain to anything, but Quickplay Spells are only spell speed two, so they can't chain to Counter Traps because they're of a lower spell speed."

"O-okay, slow down-"

"Now, while some have no abilities whatsoever, Monster cards can also have effects. These effects can be divided into certain types such as Ignition, Continous, Quick, Trigger and Flip. Those effects in turn are all activated in different ways and can be played thusly. Heck, depending on wether its a colon or a comma in the text can completely change how an effect works."

"Ryou-"

"These effects may have their own restrictions listed in the card text, such as only being allowed to be used a certain amount of times per turn or when either you or your opponent performs a particular move or certain conditions are met. Now, there's this thing called the Banished Zone and-"

"RYOU!" Sunset's sudden shout almost made Ryou fall out of his chair. Seeing that she now had the boy's attention, Sunset cleared her throat and continued in a far more relazed manner, "I think we'll do what you said and get into this gradually."

Ryou looked over his friends and noticed that they were all looking helplessly lost at this point, the finer intricacies of the game having clearly overwhelmed them. Pinkie Pie's eyes was practically spinning in their sockets.

The boy couldn't help but feel slightly smug, giving his friends a smirk that told them as much, "Thought so." Ignoring their mild grumbling, Ryou instead clapped his hands together to regain their attention, deciding upon a different route. "Well, first things first, you all need to have dueling decks of your own. It's impossible to play without one." There was a contemplative pause, then Ryou's face broke out into a smile, "Give me a second."

Getting out of his chair, Ryou then hurried out of the room and went deeper into his house, leaving his now confused friends behind.

"... Did he just bail?" asked Rainbow Dash after a few beats of silence. Before anyone could answer her, Ryou came wandering back into the room, only this time his arms were now filled with different tin boxes and quite a few binders. The girls could only observe in silent interest as the boy walked over and carefully placed the many binders down on the table.

As soon as he had sat himself back down, Ryou wordlessly opened up one of the tins, thus revealing the great amount of Duel Monsters cards inside of it. Unsurprisingly, the Rainbooms found themselves impressed.

"Woah!" Twilight gasped, adjusting her glasses to get a better look at the huge collection, "Are all of these really yours?"

"Yep." Ryou answered with no small amount of pride in his tone, "Though the cards in those tins are mostly commons which I have plenty of. No, the real treasures are kept in the binders. There's where I keep all my rarest and most powerful cards." To illustrate his point, he threw one of the binders open at random allowing the girls a better look at the cards within.

"Ooooh, shiny!" said Pinkie Pie upon seeing them and the others couldn't help but agree, smiles of light awe appearing on their lips. All of the cards within the binder were obviously well-treated and kept in mint condition, lined up and sorted neatly. What set them aside from the ones in the tins were that these cards all had different sorts of holographic finishes to the card art, making them almost sparkle like jewels.

Ryou saw their reactions and smiled, feeling as if they were already off to a good impression of the game. He continued, "To make this as fun as possible, I say you should pick the cards you find to be the most appealing, then we can go on from there to build each of you a deck that's just right." Having said that, he gently pushed the pile of binders and tins towards the girls, "Go ahead, pick out some cards."

That came as a suprise, the girls looking at the boy as if he had grown a second head.

"Are you really fine with us just taking your cards?" Fluttershy asked timidly, twiddling her fingers while her eyes roamed over the pile of Duel Monsters cards, "You must've been building this collection for years... It wouldn't feel right."

That got the other girls thinking as well, troubled frowns appearing on their faces. But Ryou wasn't having it, a stern frown on his lips as he lifted a single finger, "First of all: You are not taking anything, I'm giving them to you. And second;" He held up another finger, only now the frown lifted into a heartfelt smile, "What good is it to have these things to just gather dust in some binder when I could use them to have fun with my friends?"

None of the girls could have kept the grateful and endeared smiles off of their faces even if they had wanted to. Ryou really was a great friend, willing to hand out something that clearly meant a great deal to him just so to make things easier and more fun for all of them. If any of them still had any doubts about learning Duel Monsters, this simple gesture of generosity was enough for it to evaporate completely.

"But should we really just pick the ones we like best?" Sunset then asked, a small frown on her face. Despite now being a better person than she had ever been before, the pony-turned-human had always been competitive in nature, "Shouldn't we search for the ones that can help us the most in a game?"

Ryou looked at Sunset as if she had said something hysterical. A soft smile on his face, he gently shook his head and explained, "Building your deck is half the experience, Sunset." He looked down at his own cards, the images of ghouls and spirits resonating deep within him. Ryou placed a hand over his heart, "In a way, the cards you chose are a representation of your passions and who you are. If you chose a deck concept just to have the strongest possible thing, so much of the magic in this game is lost."

He looked back up at his friends, the smile on his face the very definition of earnest, "When you chose cards that mean something to you, even if they aren't the best, it can be a whole journey in and of itself to find a way to make it work. Remember, there's no such thing as a useless card." He removed the hand from his heart and once again gestured to his collection, "Just chose the ones that speak to you. Then I can help you find some other cards and deck builds that best compliments your choices."

Once again, the girls found themselves amazed by just how seriously Ryou seemed to be taking this cardgame. The way he talked about these trading cards as if they were a way of life was actually quite amazing to hear. And from the way he put it, building a deck sounded almost like some sort of spiritual journey. By all rights it should have sounded rather silly, but to the Rainbooms it was just more proof of how much this cardgame meant to their friend.

Finding Ryou's words to be reasonable, each of the girls grabbed themselves either a binder or a tin and started to look through them. They quickly found out that the boy's words had been true, this game truly did have a great variety of cards. As they flipped through the binder pages or rummaged through the tins, they saw everything from magicians, dragons, fairies, machines, zombies, you name it. Sunset even briefly thought she might've seen a card with a man made out of lego blocks. She immediatly dismissed it though because otherwise that would've been one of the dumbest things she's ever seen.

"Hm?" Twilight was the first one to stop her persuit. As her finger trailed along a row of cards in the binder she held, none of them had caught her eyes. That was until her eyes landed on one certain card. Cyber End Dragon. She didn't know what it was but something about the pure power displayed by the mechanical beast on the art just appealed to her.

Making sure to be very careful, she slid the card out of the binder and just admired it for a second. A smile then appeared on Twilight's face as she put it down on the table so it couldn't leave her sight. With a new sense of direction, she began to look once again, only know she was on the hunt for more mechanical wonders.

Rarity quickly followed in her wake, her eyes sparkling while a delighted gasp escaped her lips,"Oh my! This one is positively gorgeous!" She gushed, the myriad of gems depicted in the card she had found along with its holographic quality was enough to resonate with her. She read the name aloud, "Brilliant Fusion, hm? Quite a fitting name for such a stylish card!"

Applejack chuckled, she herself flipping through a binder filled with dragons of different kinds, "Y'know what they say 'bout appearances, Rares. They can decieve ya."

While Rarity pouted at that, she was quickly defended by Ryou, who was looking quite approving of Rarity's choice, "I wouldn't say that." He argued, turning towards her with an encouraging smile, "Brilliant Fusion is a powerful card and a good basis to build a deck around. Now you just need to find yourself some Gem-Knights."

"Gem-Knights?" Rarity parroted, her eyes gleaming with interest at the name alone.

Ryou nodded before turning towards a binder, briefly flicking through it before he found what he was looking for. He swiftly but expertly pulled out a couple of cards and handed them out for Rarity to take, "Here."

Rarity did as much, carefully taking the cards into her own hands to get a better look. The instant her critical eyes landed on them, eyes that were able to spot even the smallest specks of dust, the aspiring fashionista fell positively in love with the artworks. Each one of these 'Gem-Knights' were aptly named, each card depicting a warrior dressed in armor made out of brilliant minerals of all sorts.

Though her gaze was locked on the beautiful cards, her ears still listened intently as Ryou explained more about them, "They're a series of cards, or 'archetype', focused on the concept of rapdily combining different monsters to create a new one in a process called fusion. A good example of such a card is that Gem-Knight Master Diamond you're holding."

Rarity looked at the card he pointed to, seeing how it differed from other Monster Cards with its purple colouring. The fact that it added another set of elements to this already complicated game she had set out to learn did not bother her. For the girl's mind was already made up, her practically singing, "I think I know what my deck's going to be~!"

Ryou nodded approvingly, happy to already see some progress, "Gem-Knights are an excellent choice with a somewhat simple yet effective game plan of rapid fusions and beatdown." He then turned towards the girl whose choices of cards had caught his eye earlier as now adressed her, "In fact, their style is quite similar to the style of those Elemental Hero-cards you're holding there, Rainbow Dash."

Said girls looked up at being adressed, but quickly looked back down at the cards with enthusiastic eyes, shrugging lightly in response, "I don't know about style. All I know is that all these guys look freaking awesome!" The one called Elemental Hero Sunrise had caught her eye in particular, apparent by the way she held it up closer to simple admire it. All of these cards looked as if they had come straight out of one of her comic books and that alone was enough to draw her in. But, being Rainbow Dash, she couldn't resist a small boast, "Not to mention that they fit me perfectly. What's better for a hero to duel with than heroes?"

While her friends all shared a small round of chuckles at that, Rainbow Dash turned towards the girl sitting to her left, "What you got there, Flutters? Find anything good?"

Fluttershy nodded brightly, her large eyes alit with adoration and tenderness as she looked over the cards in her hands, "Oh yes! I found this group of cards that just has the most adorable little critters on them! I just have to have them in my deck!"

Interested by Fluttershy's apparent gushing, those sitting closest to her leaned over girls' shoulder and got themselves a look on the cards that had caught her interest. Sure enough, depicted on her cards were a great deal of cute little animals, each of which looked as if they had little toy wings on their backs. There was a bear, a mouse, a lion, a penguin, even a cute little octopus. It didn't take a genius to figure out why Fluttershy took an interest in these cards.

Rainbow Dash did not look impressed though, saying, "That's cool and all, but they don't look all that strong. Even the name, Fluffals don't sound very imposing."

"That's because the Fluffals are only part of the deck, Rainbow." said Ryou, causing both her and Fluttershy to look at him questioningly. In order to explain further, he held up another card named Edge Imp Scissors which showed what looked like a row of scissors lined up, only within the grips there was a pitch black darkness from which there only glowed a pair of red, menacing eyes. "You see, Fluffals also focus on fusion, only they combine with the Edge Imp monsters like this one to create a completely new brand of monster called Frightfur."

Fluttershy tilted her head, feeling only a slight tingle of fear within at the rather menacing name, "And what are the Frightfurs like?"

For a moment Ryou hesitated, wondering if he would completely shatter poor Fluttershy's enthusiasm for the Fluffals if he were to show her what they turned into. But ultimatley, he figured that it was pointless to try and hide it since he brought it up. As such, he let out a barely audible sigh before opening up a binder and swiftly finding a good example of the monsters, Frightfur Tiger. It was with a slight tredipation that he leaned over and handed it to her.

"They're basically all like that." He told her, watching carefully for how she would react as she turned the card in her hand to get a look at the artwork. Rainbow Dash and Twilight who sat at Fluttershy's sides leaned over to also get their own look at the card. They immediatly flinched back, however, seeing the horrifying creature the card depicted. Ryou expected that, as was the usual reaction people had to the Frightfur-designs.

What he most certainly did not expect was the way Fluttershy reacted. She didn't gasp in horror or flinch back in fright. Instead, her face lit up in joy as a soft coo left her lips, "Aww, this one is cute, too!"

Ryou almost dropped the card he was holding. Twilight's mouth was moving up and down without a word escaping her. Rainbow Dash could only sputter, "A-Are you serious!?"

Fluttershy's head bopped up and down, her adoring gaze not leaving the card, "Just look at his little button nose! He's adorable!" She turned eagerly to Ryou, demanding to know, "Are there any more like this!?"

Ryou blinked once. Then Twice. After the third blink he could only let out a small chuckle. Leave it to Fluttershy of all people to find compassion for beasts others might find terrifying. He answered her, "Yes, I think there are about 10 different Frightfur monsters out there."

The squee of absolute delight that left Fluttershy at that was sweet enough to give anyone type 2 diabetes. Knowing that there were more little critters like the Frightfur bear out there, she then immediatley went back to looking through the binders, now on the hunt for both Fluffals, Edge Imps and Frightfurs. Her friends could only look on in amusement.

Shaking his head fondly, Ryou then turned towards the girl who sat closest to him, "What about you, Sunset? Find anything you like?"

"I dunno..." Sunset murmured, shuffling through and looking over a few cards from a tin. "Not that the cards aren't cool and all, they really are. But... I guess I just haven't found anything that really speaks to me like you said."

Ryou couldn't help but frown, placing a hand on his chin as he thought over what she said. If Sunset had trouble finding something on her own... maybe he should help her, much like she had helped him so many times before. Thinking long and hard, Ryou went over all cards he had in his head, trying to think of one that could fit his interdimensional friend just right.

A lightbulb went of in his head just as the perfect card came to mind, "I got it!" He exclaimed in the tone of someone who had just figured out one of life's great mysteries, causing his other friends to look at him strangely. Ryou ignored them, instead turning towards Applejack, "Could I have that dragon binder?"

She nodded and handed it over without a fuzz, "Of course. The thing's yours, anyway."

Giving her an appreciative nod, Ryou then swiftly opened the binder and began flipping through it, eyes roaming over each row after that one certain card. Once he found it, he let out a satisfied little, "Ah!" before he carefully brough it out of the binder. He then turned to Sunset with a soft smile, reaching out with the card in a clear want for her to take it. "It's ultimatley your choice, but I think this card is a good fit for you, Sunset."

Intruiged, Sunset accepted the card and looked it over, reading the name aloud mostly to herself, "Red-Eyes Black Dragon?" As Sunset turned to the artwork, she couldn't help but be impressed. The creature depicted on the card could only be described as fierce, it's red eyes glistening like rubies because of the holographic finish. The dragon was depicted standing admist raging flames, making its black scales glisten in a crimson glow. Its head was reared upwards, as if it was in the middle of a mighty roar.

It reminded Sunset of some of the dragons of legend she had read about back in Equestria. But something about this card in particular, how it stood among the flames of adversity yet remained mighty, it just appealed to her. Looking back up she saw how Ryou was looking at her hopefully. Giving the boy a small but clearly grateful smirk, she let him know that she had decided, "I love it."

Ryou let out a huge sigh of relief and Sunset couldn't help but chuckle. The boy then said, "You can always try acquiring more support cards for Red-Eyes in particular later on. I unfortunatley don't have a great deal of Red-Eyes cards on hand. Until then, I'd say your best shot is to try and build a dragon-centered deck." Sunset absorbed the information intently, giving the boy an appreciative nod before she began searching for more dragons, all the while she gripped her Red-Eyes carefully, but tightly, already feeling a sort of connection with the black dragon for reasons she did yet not know.

Having heard of her inter-dimensional friend's choice of card, Applejack couldn't help but chuckle and add her own two cents, "Sounds like ya found yourself a dragon there, Sunset. But Ah think mine is just a wee bit cooler."

Sunset scoffed good-naturedly at that, already convinced that nothing could match her Red-Eyes. Ryou, on the other hand, turned to Applejack with a curious smile, "Have you got a thing for dragons, too, Applejack?"

The cowgirl shrugged, still smiling, "Well, not so much 'dragons' as it's a dragon." She held up the card in question rather proudly to her friends, it depicting a rather ferocious-looking dragon that appeared to have features similar to that of a carnivorous plant of some kind.

While the rest of the Rainbooms' opinions varied on the card, Rainbow Dash thinking it looked cool while Fluttershy thought it looked sort of scary, Ryou was the only one who really recognized it, a knowing smile on his face as he adressed her, "Starving Venom Fusion Dragon is a very powerful card, Applejack. What made you choose it?"

She simply shrugged, turning the card around so she could look at it again, "Ah don't rightly know the fine details. Ah guess Ah really liked his design. It may sound a lil' silly, but Ah can tell Starvin' Venom here is a fierce feller, just like me!" Shaking her head lightly, Applejack then turned to Ryou, "But it's the only card Ah got at the moment. Any ideas for what could go well with 'im?"

Ryou looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon is very good in the way that one can play it in basically any deck with DARK-attribute monsters. Heck, I could probably run a copy in my own deck if I wanted to. But anyway, there are a ton of good archetypes centered around the DARK-attribute. Hmm..." His face then lit up with a smile as the thought hit him, "But I think I know something that should suit you and Starving Venom perfectly, Applejack."

Recieving no objections to this idea, Ryou reach over to one tin and quickly pulled out a bunch of cards which he then gave to the curious Applejack. When she looked them over, the cowgirl saw that all of them seemed to depict strange hybrids between plant and animal. As outlandish as the concept was, she couldn't deny that she found herself curious as she began reading them over, "Predaplants, ey?"

Ryou nodded brightly, "Mhm. They're an archetype focused on aggresive fusion summoning and causing huge amounts of destruction and damage. That along with disrupting the opponent's plays with the use of these little things called Predator Counters makes for a troublesome opponent. And they're all DARK-attribute so brining out Starving Venom with them should be a piece of cake."

Applejack soaked up the information like a sponge. She was just about to thank the boy, when she felt that little nagging, tingling sensation in the back of her head, telling her that there was something she needed to do. Acknowledging this, she simply looked at Ryou for a while, her thoughts inevitably turning towards what she had found out about him earlier that day. Applejack knew what she needed to do. It was only fair.

"Uh, Ryou?" She asked him, her voice only barely tinged with her inner unease for what she was about to do. When Ryou turned to her with a questioning look on his face, Applejack felt that small, nagging sense of doubt increase. She was quick to squash it down, however. Instead, she coughed somewhat akwardly, slightly averting looking him straight in the eye as she asked him, "Can Ah talk with ya in private fer just a second?"

Slightly confused by the request, Ryou nodded all the same, "Of course." He then rose up from his seat and Applejack shortly followed, both of them starting to head towards the more secluded kitchen. While the rest of the girls looked confused, Applejack just sent them all a brief look of pleading as she mouthed, "I'll tell ya later."

Sparing them no further glance, she then wandered into the kitchen where Ryou was already standing, his expression that of curiousity but also of slight concern. There was a small bout of silence between the two until Ryou hesitantly spoke, "So... What's this about exactly?"

And there it was, the one pointiant question that Applejack had been asked no less than six times by her friends all the other times she'd had this kind of talk. In spite of that, it rarely felt as if it got any easier. Heck, there was a part deep within Applejack that never wanted to talk about this subject with anyone.

But in the end she managed to steel herself. She was an Apple, after all. Ryou had shared something obviously extremely personal with all of them, and now it was her turn to return the favour. Realizing that she had simply stood there in silence for maybe just a bit too long, Applejack decided that it was now time to act. After taking a deep, soothing breath to calm her raging nerves, she focused her attention on the boy and told him the truth,

"Ah lost mah parents, too, Ryou."

The choked on a breath he hadn't known he had been holding, his jaw dropping while he could only stare at his friend in shock and horror. Whatever he had been expecting Applejack to tell him privately, it certainly wasn't something as horrible as this. It almost felt surreal, as if it was a part of some horrible, twisted prank. After a beat of silence, all he could get out was a very quiet, "What?"

Applejack could only nod tersely, her usually bright and confident eyes sinking downwards and filled with clouds of years worth of sorrow. Knowing it was now or never, she made her best attempt to swallow down the old grief and began explaining further to Ryou,

"It happened when Ah was five years old. They we're on their way to a big farmer's convention in Denver or somethin' like that. Ah was devestated, of course. Ah didn't want mah Ma an' Pa to leave an' Ah told them so, quite loudly too." She couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the memory of how silly she had been, yet it quickly died as she continued, "Ah remember how they would pat me on the head like they've done so many times before, tellin' me they wouldn't be gone fer long. Just a couple o' days and then they'd be back."

She paused briefly to, in a move that greatly surprised Ryou, actually reached up to her head and removed her signature cowboy hat. Ryou was actually hard-pressed to find a memory where he had seen Applejack without her hat before, only to turn up short.

The girl held the hat out infront of her, looking down at it in a way a mother would look down upon her child, her smile soft as she spoke, "The day they left for the show, Ma an' Pa knelt down and looked me in the eye an' told me that Ah just had to be good an' behave for Granny for a few days, look after Applebloom an' keep mah big brother out o' trouble."

With a wet sounding chuckle, she placed the hat back on her blonde head, patting it a few times as if to make sure it was secured. She then turned to Ryou with a look of nostalgic fondness on her faces as the precious memories played over in her head, "Pa then took of his hat and placed it on mah head, sayin' it was a promise between us. That everytime Ah looked at this hat, Ah would know that he would come back and take it off sooner than Ah'd think. After that, Ah gave both him an' Ma one last hug and watched as they stepped into the car and drove off."

Applejack's smile then died, feeling familiar and bitter sting of tears in her eyes as her story came to its inevitable conclusion. Her shoulders shook ever so slighty. When she spoke, her voice broke with emotion half-way through, "Little did Ah know that... That it would be the last time mah folks ever held me."

"Oh, Applejack, I..." Ryou tried to think of something to say. Heck, to him it felt as if he had too many things he wanted to tell her all at once. How sorry he was for her loss, if there was anything he could do for her and what felt like a million other things, yet he could not find a good way to say it. Of course, he had no experience comforting people, least of all had ever had any people in his life that needed comforting. He cursed himself internaly when all he could do was to stutter, his own voice filled with sorrow for his friend, "I-I'm so sorry."

But Applejack gave him a shrug that looked only slightly forced, wiping her tears away before leveling the boy with a surprisingly sturdy smile, "Don't be. Ah've had time to mourn, Ryou, just like you. And it's true what you said, 'bout how as long as we remember them, those we love are never really gone."

Ryou said nothing, simply standing there and blinking, still trying to think of something appropriate to say. Noticing this, Applejack couldn't help but roll her eyes fondly. She then placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, causing him to jump only slightly in surprise. He locked eyes with Applejack and felt how she gave him a firm, yet reassuring squeeze.

"Now Ah know you seemed to've moved on, and Ah'm happy that you've done that, believe me." Her expression was steel, yet it was one forged by the fires of compassion as she gave Ryou a gentle smile, "Ah just took ya here cuz Ah wanted to tell you that... Well, if ya ever feel like you need someone to talk to, y'know, 'bout the whole... 'no mom'-thing... Ah'll always be there. Ah learned first hand that keepin' those kind of emotions to yourself won't do anybody any good."

"I-I don't know what to say." Ryou truly didn't. Despite him certainly having moved on from his mother's death, he had never once truly had a person in his life who could truly understand his pain, someone he could really talk to about such a heavy thing. He had never felt comfortable discussing his mother's death with his father. Even if he would, Ryou had never really had a chance to talk about such things with his remaining parent since his mother's passing as his father had been completely engrossed with his work ever since.

Before he came to CHS he certainly hadn't had any friends whatsoever to speak of such things. Though he now had true friends in his life and he was insanely grateful for all of them, Ryou had never suspected that any of them could ever REALLY understand how he felt, having lost the person who meant the most to him.

Finding out that Applejack DID in fact understand, but had put him aside just so she could tell him that she would always be there for him if he needed her... Easy to say, it lifted a certain burden off of the boy's shoulders that he hadn't even known he was carrying.

And just like that, Ryou suddenly found himself embraced in a tight, yet incredibly reassuring hug by the cowgirl. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke to him, yet her words were so full of warmth and sympathy that at that moment it was all Ryou would've wanted to listen to, "You don't have to say a word, sugarcube. Ah understand."

There was only a brief, slight moment of hesitance, but Ryou found himself returning the embrace wholeheartedly. Tears had started running down his cheeks yet he smiled all the same. "Still... Thank you, Applejack."

She let out a wet chuckle, patting him comfortingly on the back, "Don't mention it, partner. Don't mention it." The two of them disloged from the hug, but Applejack kept her hand on Ryou's shoulder. "And again, Ah'm sorry 'bout your mom. If she were anythin' like her son, Ah would bet mah hat she was a wonderful lady."

Ryou could only let out a wistful sigh, yet he couldn't have stopped the warmth that build up within at Applejack's words even if he tried, "She really was. Your parents sounded like wonderful people, too."

"Thanks." Applejack said with a warm smile, clearly appreciating his words. A comfortable silence then passed between the two teens, a new sense of understanding only they could truly appreciate between them. The then cowgirl clapped her hands together, her usual jovial and steady demeanour quickly returning as she turned to hang her arm around Ryou, a friendly smirk on her face, "Now, enough 'bout this depressin' stuff. You gotta help me build a deck that can beat Rainbow Dash's."

Ryou laughed, his own mood quicklt brightening as well, "Sounds like a plan."

Without further notice, the two of them walked out of the kitchen side-by-side, sitting down to join their friends once more. Said girls all looked up from their cards and gave the pair brief hello's. It was Rainbow Dash who felt it was necessary to prod, asking them, "So, what was all about?"

Applejack and Ryou shared a brief look, the same smiles from earlier remaining while a silent agreement passed between the two. It was Applejack who turned to answer Rainbow Dash with a dismissive shrug, "Oh, it was just a lil' talk between friends, nothin' special."

"Yeah." Ryou concurred easily, "Nothing of note, I'd say."

While the other girls looked as if they suspected they weren't being told the full story, Rainbow Dash seemed to accept it without issue, shrugging slightly as she returned her attention to the cards, "Whatevs. You guys do you."

As none of the girls deemed it necessary to prodd any further, they all followed Rainbow Dash's lead and once more began to look through Ryou's collection, each determined to find the best cards for their future decks. The sight was enough for a huge smile to spread on Ryou's lips. Yet he noticed somehting odd as he looked over at the one girl who hadn't seemed to have taken even a single card, "Pinkie, why haven't you taken any?"

"Oh, I got it covered!" She answered him with a cheerful smile, waving a dismissive hand, "Don't worry about it."

The boy blinked twice in light confusion, but quickly accepted it as he was dealing with Pinkie Pie, after all. Still, as his brown eyes wandered over the table and the girls seated around it, today turned out to be a very fulfilling friday-afternoon indeed. He had gotten his friends into another one of his favourite games and he had been rid off a previously unseen burden. Though he couldn't stop his imagination from going wild as he started to think about what was soon to follow.

After all, with the Rainbooms learning Duel Monsters, who knows what could happen?

Ryou paused from his musings upon hearing a loud rustling coming from outside, "Wait a minute... Is someone rooting through my trash?"

Leaving the girls to keep experimenting with different cards, Ryou grabbed himself a broom and hurried outside. It didn't take long for him to find the culprit.

Standing with her head down in one of his garbage cans was a girl appearing to be around his own age. She had blueish-white skin, artic blue hair with two running lines of darker blue tied up into a pony tail and a pair of raspberry-coloured eyes. She was dressed in a baggy hoodie and sweatpants that both looked as if they had seen better days, dirtied and colours faded. The girl herself looked up like a deer in headlights once she was alerted by Ryou opening the frontdoor.

"Hey! Hey! Get outta here!" Ryou shouted, holding his broom aloft in a threatening manner in hopes of driving her away. Turns out it was more than enough, the strange girl letting out a frightened squeak before she quickly went down on all fours, not unlike a racoon. She then scurried off into some bushes and out of sight, an old bag of nachos gripped securily between her teeth.

Setting the broom down, Ryou let out a tired sigh and shook his head in frustration, "Darn beautiful women! Always... e-eating out of my trash..." He trailed off. Like a speeding train, it suddenly registered in his mind what he had just witnessed, "Wait, what?"

Author's Note

Pinkie's deck will be the focus of the next chapter, don't worry.