It's Your Move! II

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…