Chapter 1
“Hmm…” Adam rolled his eyes impatiently as he waited for his friend to pick a booster pack. “Hmmm…”
“Oh, come on, man!” he finally exclaimed. “Seriously, you’re the only guy I know who takes four bloody hours to pick a stupid…”
“Alright-y, I’ll take this one,” Shawn exclaimed, ignoring him and grabbing the Harmony Avenged pack along with his new lime-green sleeves.
“…besides the fact that you only bought one freakin’ pack,” Adam continued, following his friend to the front counter. “Okay, if you were buying like, 150 of them, then sure, take all the time in the world.”
“Sorry man but not everyone can afford to be you,” Shawn replied as he counted out enough change to pay for his stuff. Adam shrugged.
“Touché.”
“Hey boys, what’s going on?” Tosh (pronounced “Toh-sh”), a young man of mixed Asian descent approached them from among the shelves of nerd-related goodness, taking away any chance Adam had of a retort. “No Maria today?” He asked, gesturing towards Shawn.
“Hey man, we’re not married yet,” Shawn replied. “I’m allowed to have some fun once in a while.”
“That’s true but most guys go to…” Tosh paused. “Like, strip clubs or something, right? Something like that.”
“Or we could play children’s card games,” Shawn replied quickly. “I like that option.”
“And she agreed to marry you why?” Adam asked in an exasperated tone.
“Um…why question these things, right?” Shawn replied somewhat nervously. Sometimes it’s better to just leave well enough alone, heh, heh…”
“I agree,” Tosh said. “We’ll let Maria’s future shrink figure that one out.”
“Oh ha, ha,” Shawn rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the Deck tips, by the way.”
“No problem, bro,” Tosh replied with a casual shrug. “Those Synchrons were gettin’ kinda old anyway.”
“Hey, easy man, you’ll hurt their feelings,” Shawn protested. “Still, I have to admit that this new Deck is pretty cool. It’s nice not having to rely on special summoning so much and hemorrhaging any and all hand advantage every turn just to make a reasonable play.”
“About time you caught up to the rest of us.” Adam added with a grin.
“Says the guy still whoring the crap outta his Lightsworns at every tourney we go to,” Shawn retorted. “Didn’t those come out in like, the 40’s or something?”
“And yet, they still kick so much ass.”
“Too bad they never get you any.” All three couldn’t help but laugh at their own antics.
“Listen guys, it’s been a blast but I’ve gotta get back to work,” Tosh said as their laughter subsided. “Someone’s gotta show these clown how inventory’s supposed to be done.”
“Just another day at Galactically Reviled, huh?” Adam added. Tosh nodded.
“Yep. Everyone thinks owning and running this place is sooo easy. Well, they can all just go jump out of a building on fire or something.”
“Alright, we’ll get outta your hair,” Shawn answered as they headed for the door. “Later, dude. Remember, next MLP night’s at Adam's place, right?”
“You got it. We can finally test out his new surround sound in all of its 12-speaker glory.”
“Sounds good!” With a wave, Adam and Shawn left the store and made their way to Adam’s car. Shawn grinned and reclined as much as he could as Adam navigated the streets of Neo Capital.
“Get anything good?” Adam asked at a red light as Shawn opened the pack.
“Let’s see…” Shawn mused as he flipped through them. “Crap, crap, crap…wait, what’s this?” He paused and studied the card.
“What? You finally get a good one?” Adam asked.
“I think it could be.”
“Well, what’s it do?” Adam asked impatiently.
“It says “Activate by discarding one level 7 or higher monster from your hand to the Graveyard; the Levels of all face-up monsters you control become the level of the monster you discarded. During the End Phase of this turn, Banish all monsters whose levels were changed by this effect.” Dude, this is badass!”
“Not bad, not bad at all,” Adam replied. “I can see how it would be useful to you at least. Might make those Rank Eight’s a little easier to get, eh?”
“That’s for sure,” Shawn agreed. “Anything to make life at the Academy a little easier. It’s been a tough semester. I freaking hate the meta right now.”
“I know,” Adam agreed. “It’s all Wind-Ups and water and crap like that. There’s just no originality anymore.”
“Yeah but someone’s gotta remind ‘em that it’s not all about money or prestige.”
“That’s noble of you but isn’t that why you’re there?” Shawn shrugged.
“Maybe. Haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
***
“Let’s hear it for the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Somepony’s voice boomed over a set of giant speakers. The light-blue mare beamed as a spotlight made the stars on her cape and hat shine in the middle of the Canterlot gardens. The fanfare that followed made it even better. Now this is how show business is supposed to be, she thought in triumph.
“Thank you, thank you!” She exclaimed over the cheers of Canterlot high society. “The Grrrrrreeat and Powerful Trixie wishes you all a good night! She will be here all week so don’t be afraid to come and be amazed again and again!” More cheers accompanied her final bow and even followed her offstage. She smiled; it was most kind of Princess Celestia to provide such an elaborate stage and fine venue; heck, she had even put her up in the palace for the duration of her stay. That letter of recommendation from Twilight Sparkle must have done the trick. Trixie made a mental note to thank her next time her traveling show brought her to Ponyville.
Trixie yawned as she finally reached her room at the top of a staircase. She wasn’t used to climbing stairs, especially all the way up a tower. She couldn’t complain about the lodgings, though; the room was excellent, even by Rarity’s standards and it made Trixie appreciate her new-found station in life even more. She went inside and was about to flop onto the bed…when she suddenly paused. Something that was definitely not a complimentary mint sat on the pillow and upon further inspection, proved to be a small envelope. Trixie looked at it with a puzzled expression. That’s strange; Trixie wasn’t expecting any mail. Maybe that odd mail Pegasus with the bubbly Cutie Mark dropped it or something, she thought. However, curiosity soon got the better of her and with glowing horn, she opened it.
There was no letter inside. Instead, a small rectangular piece of cardboard fell out and onto the floor. She tossed the envelope away and using her magic, picked the object up. It featured a small picture of a strange red and silver star-like symbol bordered by green. There was some strange and nearly illegible script on the bottom. There was something odd about it but Trixie shook her head and simply tucked it into a pocket on her cloak, too exhausted to care, at least for the time being. Twilight would know what it is, she thought with a yawn, flopping herself onto the large bed. Trixie will ask her when she arrives at Ponyville in a couple of days. With that, she drifted off, unable to catch an eerie red glow emanating from her cloak’s pocket…
Chapter 2
“This is it!” Shawn exclaimed triumphantly. “I think I’ve got this.”
“You can’t be serious,” Adam replied with a look of doubt. “How are gonna get through Judgment Dragon, huh? I’ve already cooked Catastor, all three Quickdraw Synchrons, and Junk Destroyer, and I have enough Life Points to nuke you again for the win next turn. I think you’re bluffing out your ass.”
“Wanna bet?” Shawn grinned. “Here we go! First off, Monster Reborn brings back Quickdraw Synchron.” The cowboy-like robot sprang up from the grave and pointed its guns at the towering Judgment Dragons. “Now I’ll Special Summon Boost Warrior by his own effect and Normal Summon Tuningware. Next I’ll draw a card for Tuningware's effect and then Tune Quickdraw and Tuningware to Synchro Summon…” There was a rumbling sound and a bright flash as a robot-like warrior exploded from under the ground wielding a giant drill on one arm. “…Drill Warrior!”
“Ha, I shoulda known!” Adam exclaimed. “Still, I never thought I’d ever actually see you Summon it again.”
“Are you kidding?” Shawn asked with a grin. “Who the Hell do you think I am?” He suddenly bellowed as Adam rolled his eyes.
“Please tell me you’re not gonna…”
“This is the drill that will pierce the heavens!” Shawn shouted, striking an unnecessarily dramatic pose. “I activate the effect of Drill Warrior! By discarding one card from my hand, I can halve his ATK and attack you directly! Go, Drill Warrior! Attack with Giga Drill Breaker!”
“Seriously, how many times have I…” Adam’s retort was interrupted by a tremendous crash as Drill Warrior flew right past the shining dragons and blew away the last of Adam’s Life Points. “…told you that it’s still not funny?” He finished as his Life Points reached zero.
“Awe, come on, it’s a little funny,” Shawn replied as the holograms disappeared. “You have to admit that that is a pretty epic way to end a children’s card game.”
“It’s not bad I guess. Sure as Hell beats those stupid draw-cards-forever-like-a-douchebag-cheap-ass Exodia Decks. Man, I can’t wait ‘till they nerf it! I’ll gladly say bye-bye to One Day of Peace.”
“Agreed,” Shawn said as they collected their Decks and put them away. “I heard a rumor that the OCG list is out.”
“Ya don’t say?”
“Yep. Apparently, Wind-Ups are dead and Sangan’s been crushed by the banhammer.”
“What about BLS? I bet Tosh 50 bucks that it’d get banned too.”
“Nope. Sorry dude, looks like it’s here to stay for another format at least.”
“Dangit! Well, at least it’s not official yet so that might change.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, man.”
The banlist was their topic of conversation as the two friends headed to Adam’s estate on the north side of Neo Capital and as such conversations usually do, changed to Shawn’s new Deck. As Adam drove, Shawn went through the new card list.
“Sounds like Tosh’s really come through for ya,” Adam commented. “He could make a full-time job outta saving your Dueling skin.”
“I think he already does,” Shawn replied with a hint of amusement. “I just need to test it out and make sure everything’s running smoothly. I think that new card I picked up the other day’ll help quite a bit.”
“Oh yeah, the one that changes your monsters’ levels based on what you discard, right?”
“Yep. “Level Ascendancy”. The name certainly works. It’s like the card “prepares” your monsters for difficult high-level Xyz Summons or something.”
“You could always read the card trivia on the Wiki.”
“I could do that too.” Shawn agreed as they pulled into Adam’s driveway. “Your dad gone on another business trip?”
“Sure is,” Adam said with a nod. “Looks like we’ve got the house to ourselves for Pony Night.”
“Sweet! Maybe we can actually give that new surround sound system of yours a true test.”
“For sure,” Adam agreed as they walked up to the house. “Best of all, he won’t ask me why I’m watching it.”
“Don’t tell me he…”
“Well, it’s not that he’s against it or anything he’s just…Dad. You know how he is. His idea of a friendly fun-filled afternoon is a hostile corporate takeover with a side of mass layoffs while outsourcing to China. Cartoon ponies ain’t exactly high on his list of things to love and tolerate.”
“Ah well, to each his own, right?” Shawn said with a shrug. “Hey, you got any Coke left?”
“Yeah; fridge.”
“Thanks. Nice, you bought the ones in glass bottles!”
“That’s how Coke tastes best, right?”
“For sure,” Shawn replied, helping himself to one. “Everyone thinks I’m crazy ‘cause I can taste the difference but it’s seriously the best way to drink it.”
“By the way,” Adam said from the living room. “What episode are we on?” Shawn thought about it.
“I’m pretty sure we’re on Season Three, episode six. Yeah, that’s definitely where we left off.”
“Cool. Got the DVD?” Adam asked. Shawn nodded and took them out of his backpack. “Perfect. Give ‘em to me and I’ll put ‘em by the DVD player for now.”
“Guess that means we’re all set unless you wanna go out and pick up some snacks to go along with our pizza tonight.” Shawn suggested.
“Right, forgot about that. We’d better do that now before we get fucked over by rush hour.”
***
“Hey Trixie!” The blue mare tuned to find Twilight Sparkle approaching her cart. “I’m glad you made it back. Everyone’s been asking when your next show will be.”
“Thanks, Twilight,” Trixie replied. “Trixie should be able to perform tonight as promised. After all, would the Great and Powerful Trixie ever disappoint a crowd of adoring fans?” She asked in her usual flair.
“No, I don’t think she would,” Twilight replied with a chuckle. “Well, I’m glad you’re here anyway. I think Ponyville could use some entertainment. It’s been kinda boring here lately. Even Rarity went camping with Applejack and Rainbow Dash and the Crusaders.”
“Trixie thinks she just wanted a vacation. Or perhaps she wanted to avoid another unfortunate mane incident.”
“Yeah, probably,” Twilight agreed with a smile.
“By the way,” Trixie added, stopping what she was doing. “Trixie has something she’d like to show you. Do you have some time?”
“Of course. Come to the library. We’ll talk there.”
Later…
“Wow…” Twilight murmured as she examined the small piece of thin cardboard with the odd picture. “Trixie, what is this?”
“Trixie doesn’t have a clue. She thought you might since you’re an expert on this kind of thing.”
“Hmm…I can tell it’s magical. Very magical. It’s just…” She hovered a magnifying glass over it and examined it even closer. “…whatever this writing is on the bottom, I can’t read it. It doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever read about either.” Trixie was taken aback; if Twilight hadn’t read about it, it either didn’t exist or was something rather extraordinary. Of course, Trixie hoped it was the latter.
“So…how magical are we talking here?” Trixie asked.
“From what I can sense, it’s loaded with magic but it’s sealed by something…” Twilight sighed and set the magnifying glass on the desk. “That’s all I can do for now. I’d need to keep it here overnight and study it more, maybe dig out some reference books on obscure magical items.”
“If you don’t mind, Trixie will hang onto it for now,” Trixie replied, levitating it into a pocket in her cape. “It might be valuable and Trixie would rather not lose it.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Twilight agreed semi-reluctantly. “Just be careful with it. There’s no telling what it might be or what it’s capable of. Remember the Alicorn Amulet?” Trixie rolled her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Trixie will be extra careful this time,” she assured the purple unicorn. “I’ll just keep it with me to make sure nopony steals it.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you at the show tonight?”
“Yes. Try not to be late! You wouldn’t want to miss the Great and Powerful Trixie, would you?” Twilight laughed.
“No, I suppose I wouldn’t.”
