A Tale of Sparkles and Black Magic

The Duel Monster Spirit Realm: A land where science and fantasy work both in opposition and harmony, where fantastical beings war and befriend pedestrian creatures, and the development of culture never follows a natural line of evolution. Vast deserts, lush forests, frozen tundras, enormous oceans, and infinite shadow realms all exist without any sense of geographical cohesion. Medieval castles, modern military bases, fantastical temples, and many more are frequented regularly by beings of all shapes and sizes. A world inhabited by the monsters, known as Duel Spirits, that make up the game of Duel Monsters, created by one Pegasus J. Crawford and adapted from magic games Ancient Egyptians would play for power and wealth.

Within this fantastical realm existed a library known for vast amounts of arcane knowledge, collected from all across the realm, simply known as the Royal Magical Library. Populated by miles high bookshelves and tended to by faceless, purple-cloaked figures, this was the premier destination for aspiring master Spellcasters. Advanced magic could be studied here for those deemed worthy or under the tutelage of a master. Truly, this was the final destination of all magic users who called the Duel Monster Spirit Realm their home.

“AGH! Come on, Sensei!”

A purple-robed man with matching hair, a conical hat, and holding a pointy green staff sighed. He placed the book he was perusing back on the shelf and turned to face his pupil, a blonde, sweet-looking girl with pink cheeks and a similarly-shaped outfit colored blue and pink, but with a skirt that showed off a good bit of her legs. Her staff was the same colors as her outfit but with a yellow, swirly tip. Her face was that of the supremely childish and impatient, typical of his pupil. It was a shame, given her sheer potential.

“No,” he replied strictly. “Return to your studies, now.”

His pupil, known throughout the realm as the Black Magician Girl, but known personally to him as Mana, stomped her foot in frustration. Her normally pink cheeks turned a noticeable shade of angry red as she glared at him.

“You’re making me study basic magic! I know that stuff by heart. I’ve known it forever, Mahad!”

Mahad, known throughout the realm as the Black Magician, themselves both servants of Atem, formerly the Spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh, matched her glare but remained composed in his reply.

“I brush up on the basics myself from time to time. It’s important never to forget your roots. You’ll get a vacation eventually.”

“Eventually!?” she groaned. “At least let me study Resurrection of the Dead or something more advanced!”

“One step at a time,” he said with conviction. “Now go. I’ll be over there to check up on you in a little while.”

She wailed and stormed off, knocking through one of the faceless caretakers who reacted dispassionately.

Black Magician sighed and picked another book off the shelf. She was a handful, no doubt, but both as a teacher and a friend, he was committed to her magical growth.

Black Magician Girl sat at a long table, an enormous tome opened before her, filled with arcane matrices and equations and all kinds of stuff she’d long since memorized and knew by heart, having pulled off the spells a million times over the course of her incredibly long-lived life as a Duel Spirit. Her face held all the focus of the undead, staring blankly at the pages and occasionally wandering somewhere else to the room. Not helping matters was how dark and dreary most of that particular section of the library was, greatly lacking in windows to the outside. Not helping matters any further was how sunny it currently was outside. All the boredom broke her mind down as time went on, pushing her to think about things that were actually exciting.

Such thoughts led her to all the adventures she’d had with both Mahad and their master. Lots of world-ending catastrophes such as the rise of Leviathan to more personal conflicts such as helping the Nameless Pharaoh regaining his memories. All the studying was boring, particularly whenever she wasn’t allowed to learn something new, but getting a chance to put her studies into practice against big bad villains made it all worthwhile. Going all zap! zap! pow! pow! Black Burning! was so much fun!

Her mind eventually turned toward one event in particular. A couple of years ago, she and her mentor found themselves in a duel between their master and a purple unicorn creature under the control of the Seal of Orichalcos, a spell of evil that stole the soul of whoever lost a duel in which it was played. Only by forcing a draw in the duel were they both able to come out safe. It wasn’t until later when her master surprisingly stepped through a strange different dimensional ‘Window’, as he called it, and told them how that one duel was merely a small part of a greater multiversal event. An event which saw the formation of a multiversal hub called the ‘Singularity’ that connected every single world affected by it, including the world of her master with the Spirit World acting as a bridge in between them for some reason.

Out of everything her master had told them, the land of Equestria was by far the most interesting place from his descriptions. A colorful land full of monsters and magic? Populated by such cute and kind ponies and other races, including many she was familiar with? Best place for a vacation for someone like her who’d seen most of the Spirit Realm already. And that world was little more than a short walk away from her current position to boot!

The tome before her was eventually forgotten. She buried her face in her arms, her mind now brainstorming ways she could give her mentor the slip and make it to the Window. The library was well staffed and Mahad had told them all to not let her leave without his permission. Footsteps sounded outside the room, no doubt one such cloaked figure or even some of the guards that had been stationed here to guard the Window. The guards she could deal with, but Mahad would track her down the instant he realized she was gone. She admired him greatly, but sometimes that power and sharpness could really bite her in the butt.

The footsteps entered the room, coming towards her. She lifted her head up and turned around, thinking she’d find one of the library’s staff. To her great surprise and immense delight, they were a person she not only knew but was extremely great friends with. A fellow magical girl with a similar dress sense to her own but with green and purple colors and darker blonde hair.

Black Magician girl squeed, jumping from her seat and rushing over to her friend as she began perusing book spines.

“Magician’s Valkyria!”

She threw her arms over the shoulders of her friend, embracing her in a warm hug. Magician’s Valkyria made no reaction beyond a casual grunt of acknowledgment. Same old Valkyria.

Black Magician Girl broke away from the hug and came around to see her face. “What are you doing here? I thought you were called for a summons with Hades?”

“It went quicker than expected,” she replied. “Thought I’d brush up on some material on my way home.”

Black Magician Girl groaned. “I wish I could love it like you do! Black Magician won’t let me study anything bigger. You have no idea how much I want to learn Resurrection of the Dead!”

“I know all too well.” Magician’s Valkyria took a book off of the shelf and flipped to the first page.

Black Magician Girl leaned against the bookshelf, staring absently up at the sky-high ceiling above her; it was the best place to see the sun in this dark, boring room. Having a good friend here was a much-needed reprieve from all the boring, unnecessary studying.

“Do you ever get curious what kinds of worlds we might find on the other side of the Window?” she asked. “Everything my master told me sounds so exciting! Imagine how the Spirit Realm would change if we established connections!”

Magician’s Valkyria sighed. “Is that where you’re going with this?”

“You mean, do I want to go beyond the Window to take a vacation? Yes, yes I do! Can you help me with that, please!?”

“I’ll never accuse you of beating around the bush.” Magician’s Valkyria finally made eye contact with her never-smiling face and furrowed brows. “Why should I help you do something that’s going to get both of us in trouble?”

“Because we’re friends?”

Magician’s Valkyria stared deadpan.

“Okay, okay, how about this? You help me and I’ll help you get together with Warrior Dai Grepher. All the way until you succeed, I promise.”

That did the trick. A noticeable blush crept across her friend’s cheeks. Her face struggled to remain stoic.

“... Curse you.”

Black Magician Girl giggled. “Which one?”

Black Magician navigated the halls of the Royal Magical Library towards the room where his pupil was, hopefully, studying fervently. It wasn’t likely at all, but he hoped one of these days she might learn the importance of reinforcing one’s past learnings. He wouldn’t be half the Spellcaster he was if he hadn’t applied himself in such a way.

He made it to the study room and scanned it from corner to corner. He spotted his pupil sitting at a desk in a shadowy corner, hunched over a tome. Satisfied, he turned to leave, then paused. Black Magician Girl hated working in the shadows. He turned back into a room and walked at a brisk pace toward the imposter. A sigh sounded from them as he approached. Closer now, the shadows no longer obscured the coloration of the imposter’s dress. He immediately saw who it was.

“Magician’s Valkyria,” he addressed her.

Another sigh. Magician’s Valkyria turned to face him. “Black Magician.”

“Where is my pupil?”

“You know where she is. So, what’s my punishment?”

“That’s a matter for a later time.” Black Magician hurried his way out of the room, down the halls towards the room housing the Window, all the while pondering his choice of words for his student.

He turned a corner and nearly grit his teeth at the sight laid out before him. All the guards that were standing watch over the entrance lay on the ground, blushes coloring their cheeks with uncouth, lovestruck expressions. The door was slightly ajar, a small sliver of light shining through. He stepped forward and opened the door, beholding the sight of the large rectangle of different dimensional space hovering above the floor, surrounded by mundane supplies and storage items. The white expanse beyond, the Singularity— he had never once stepped foot beyond the threshold.

He ventured one step into the room. Then another. A strong feeling of dread washed over him. His steps became more hesitant the closer he got. What kind of unholy terrors might lie beyond? All the more reason to go in after Mana, but still hard to force himself forward. He eventually shook himself free of such doubt and crossed over into the Singularity. The infinite expanse of white was populated by dozens upon dozens of other different dimensional spaces. Off in the distance, he could even see figures that he assumed were dimensional travelers. One of the many ‘Guides’ intended to help such travelers hung in the air nearby. He approached it, uneasy over the odd, seemingly random design— a set of darkly-colored spheres set in a cross pattern.

“A blonde girl in magician attire with a staff came through here some time ago,” he said. “Where did she go?”

Equestria.

Equestria… Ah, yes! The place his master described during his recounting of the Convergence. A land he described as… quite saccharine, a place far beyond his ability to fit in with. But his pupil would be safe there. Let her have her vacation, he decided, she’ll be studying twice as hard and long when she gets back.

And if she stayed too long then he’d come through himself to force her back home.