My Little Pony: CardFighting is Magicby PuckDaFoliceChapters[02] Stand Up!![03] I Ride--a Pony?[01] Just Your Average Morning[02] Stand Up!!Stand Up!! "I suppose they are." mused Twilight Sparkle, while she gingerly levitated the contents of the box and placing them on the wooden floor. "They look...fancy." muttered Twilight as she eyed the package. There, on the floor, were multiple decks of cards. The front cards of all the decks appeared to contain magnificent art of various themes. Twilight spotted what appeared to be a bipedal knight, a dragon, some sort of machine, another bipedal creature clothed in an elegant dress, and many others. Spike waddled over to the one with the dragon. As he bent to pick it up, his eyes scanned the title "Dragonic Overlord...h'uh, sounds cool." As Spike began to flip through the cards, he spotted more dragonoid beings as well as other lizard creatures. "Uh...Twilight? Can I keep these?" Twilight Sparkle smiled at her number one assistant "Of course Spike, you deserve it." Spike cheered, throwing his claws, as well as the cards at the air. Unfortunately, this caused the deck to scatter throughout the library. Spike flinched as the cards hit the floor. "Uh-Oh, I guess I got a little excited." Spike rubbed the back of his head nervously. Twilight simply giggled at Spike's antics. Spike reached out for the scattered cards "Ugh, I got it!" he said. While Spike was off cleaning up his mess, Twilight decided to take a close look at one of the deck of cards. Grabbing at one randomly with her magic, Twilight scrutinized the front card of the deck. It was the one with the clothed bipedal being. "CEO Amaterasu..." Twilight mumbled. Suddenly, a light switched on in her brain. "Amaterasu?" Twilight thought aloud "Now where did I hear that before? Hmmm..." As Twilight was off to one of her usual brainstorming, Spike grabbed the final card of his deck. "There! I got you Lizard Soldier, Conroe!" Spike said triumphantly. As he placed it back into his deck, Spike noticed something else littered on the floor. Spike walked over to it, clutching his deck tightly in his left claw. As Spike picked up the piece of paper, his eyes widened. "Twilight!" Spike called out, effectively cutting Twilight Sparkle from her day-dreaming, "I found the manual!" "So, after we've chosen our starting Vanguards, which are all Grade 0, we shuffle our decks. Afterwards, we draw 5 cards and then decide randomly who goes first! Oh, and it said in the manual that if you're not happy with your initial draw, you are allowed to mulligan any number of cards back into the deck and re-draw the same amount you returned! But, you're only allowed to do this once, got it?" Spike gawked at Twilight; she only read the whole manual in a few minutes and now she's ready to go play? 'Well, it was Twilight after all.' Spike thought. Staring at his deck, he briefly pondered on what to use as his starting Vanguard, when it hit him. Smiling to himself, Spike plucked out the card in front of his deck. 'Let's do this Lizard Soldier, Conroe!' "Spike! Are you ready?" Twilight asked excitedly. Nodding, Spike placed his chosen starter onto the table they chose as the play-field; it was the same table they used to eat their breakfast. "You're pretty excited about this." Spike mused. Twilight nodded her head furiously "It seems like a very interesting game! And I chose the deck I know is the best pick for me! Oracle Think Tank! They don't rely on chance or luck as much as the other clans and-" Spike quickly shoved his free claw in Twilight's mouth. Glaring at Twilight, Spike removed his claw after he saw Twilight's pleading eyes. "*sigh* I know you're excited and all, but I think I'm gonna have a headache if you keep going on! Let's just--play! OK?" Twilight's sheepish smile transitioned into a smirk "Heh, I'm gad you feel the same way. I'm ready when you are." Nodding, Spike returned Twilight's cocky smile with a smirk of his own. "You're about to feel the pain of--uh, hold on..." Spike quickly flipped a random card and squinted at it. "Of, uh, Kagero, yeah!" With both of their respective Vanguards and decks in place, Twilight and Spike flipped their starters face-up. "Stand up, Vanguard!" Twilight cried. "Um...yeah, stand up!" Spike replied. As both of their starting Vanguards were exposed, a strange light engulfed the room. "Wh-whoa!" Spike exclaimed as a strange sensation filled his entire being. "This wasn't in the instructions!" Twilight retorted; as she too, felt a similar feeling. After the fleeting moment of weirdness passed, Twilight found herself standing on what looked like a barren area. "What happened?" Twilight asked to no one in particular. Suddenly, Twilight spotted movement directly in front of her. Squinting her eyes, she noticed it was Spike. Only he seemed different somehow. Spike was standing in front of her, waving away what looked like smoke around him, he was clad in scale armor and was brandishing a blade and a shield. "Twilight?" Spike croaked. "What happened? And why are you in a silly dress?" Twilight Sparkle tilted her head at her assistant, eyeing a red cape billowing behind him. Twilight was about to question how a piece of garment could move without any wind present when she noticed a bigger slap-to-the-face to physics. Hovering on top of Spike, is what appeared to be a two-dimensional sign sporting the text: "POW: 5000" Twilight pointed at her sighting "Spike! Do you see that?" she asked; alas, her question fell on deaf ears as Spike was gawking and pointing at Twilight as well. Curious, Twilight directed her head to the spot Spike was pointing at then let out a gasp. Floating above her as well was the same sign as Spike's, only difference was hers had the text: "POW: 3000" Twilight's jaw dropped at the sight. Twilight Sparkle turned her head back at Spike, noticing for the first time the appearance of her hoof. Twilight's hoof was covered in a piece of armor colored in a mix of white and beige with a tint of pink. As she stared at her hoof, she noticed something out of place as well, a floating staff engulfed in her magical aura floating right next to her. It was adorned by a perfectly cut ruby in the center. It was similarly colored as her armor , which she noticed covered the majority of her body. "What...what is this?" Twilight whispered to herself, obviously taken aback by the sudden changes over the course of a few moments. Shaking her head in an attempt to recollect herself, Twilight noticed something yet again slapped physics in the face. Hovering in front of Twilight, were the handhoof cards she previously drew. Twilight's jaw dropped yet again. After a few uneasy moments of silence, Spike decided to break it. "So...um...should we play?" This statement brought back Twilight from her otherworldly thoughts. Twilight's brain was wracked with several questions she knew would never be answered by her companion. Twilight Sparkle decided to formulate a theory to at least calm herself down. Thinking for a few seconds, Twilight grinned, she had managed to create a feasible hypothesis. "Spike!" Twilight called out "I think we're in a pocket universe temporarily created by the cards to sustain it's awesome magic. The only way to break through is to finish the game!" Spike replied with the most logical statement he could think of: "What?!" Shaking her head, Twilight looked at her battle-ready assistant. "We just have to play the game." [03] I Ride--a Pony?I Ride--a Pony? "So let me get this straight...we're basically in a different place and we have to finish playing to go back home?" Spike inquired, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Twilight Sparkle nodded "I suppose we'll have to start, and since I know the rules more, I'll take the first turn!...let's see...first I draw a card...hey wait a minute where's my de--?" Twilight didn't finish her sentence, because after she spoke the word "draw", a card was added to her hand hoof. Twilight stared at the new addition to her hoof; before proceeding with the next step. "Hmmm...magic I suppose...anyway, on with my turn! Listen Spike, this is a very crucial part of the game. Whenever it's your turn, you have the ability to upgrade your Vanguard into a stronger one! How you ask? Well, all you have to do is to pick a card in your hoof with a Grade equivalent or one point higher than your present Vanguard! Got it?" Spike squinted her eyes at Twilight, "...uh, yeah, I got it..." "Good...well, here I go, my starting Vanguard; Lozenge Magus who is a Grade 0 unit shall be upgraded into Grade 1!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed with glee. Spike kept on nodding, eyes glued in anticipation at Twilight Sparkle. "They have a term used for this process...what was it again...oh yeah! I ride, Oracle Guardian, Gemini!" Twilight Sparkle magicked the mentioned card from her hoof cards and placed it on top of her starting Vanguard (who also magically appeared in front of her; floating in mid-air) A bright light engulfed Twilight Sparkle as she slammed her card down...in mid-air. After a few moments, the light subsided, revealing Twilight Sparkle looking exactly as she did before playing the game. Except for the long cylindrical objects poking out of her back and the fact that Twilight Sparkle was floating, she was indeed, exactly the same. A new sign hovered above Twilight Sparkle, it read: "POW: 8000" After examining the changes to her body, Twilight Sparkle looked at Spike whose mouth was agape from surprise. Twilight Sparkle smiled at herself "That's not all Spike! My earlier Vanguard, Lorenzge Magus had the ability to go to the Rear-Guard whenever she was ridden! Come on, Lorenzge Magus! I call you directly behind my Vanguard!" A bright light appeared directly behind, though it wasn't as bright as when Twilight Sparkle upped her Grade. Nonetheless, when the light subside, it revealed a pale-colored clone of Twilight Sparkle in her previous form. "Reminds me of Discord..." Twilight Sparkle muttered; as she eyed the colorless version of herself staring back at her with a stoic expression. Shaking her head, Twilight Sparkle faced her assistant to see that his earlier expression of shock was replaced by admiration. "That looks so amazing! I can't wait to try it out!" Spike gushed. Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat "Well, it said on the manual that since I went first, I'm not allowed to...attack..." Spike didn't respond, he appeared to have been captivated by Twilight Sparkle's clone. Giggling, Twilight Sparkle motioned something to Spike "Your turn." Spike blinked. "R-right...my turn...so I, uh draw!" A card flew to his handclaw cards. Spike briefly inspected the floating cards in front of him for a while; then he finally made a move. "I, uh, ride Embodiment of Armor, Bhar." Looking uncertain, Spike pulled out one of his claws and poked the mentioned card. As he did, a light engulfed Spike just like Twilight Sparkle, although this light was a deep shade of red. After the light cleared, Spike was standing tall before Twilight Sparkle. He was adorned in a red armor to suit his now tall stature. Spike was also equipped with a long sword that Twilight Sparkle eyed frantically. "S-Spike...?" Twilight Sparkle croaked, fear evident in her voice. "Y-yeah Twilight?" asked Spike, who was currently looking at his new form. "You look...dangerous." whispered Twilight Sparkle, still looking at Spike's blade with unease. Spike gulped "Don't worry Twilight...I wouldn't hurt you...I can't hurt you!" Spike laughed, but ended up choking. "Uh-huh...go on ahead then...it's still your turn." "*cough* R-right!" Spike sputtered "So...with, um, Lizard Soldier, Conroe's skill, I move him to the...Rear-guard, was it?" Spike looked at Twilight Sparkle quizzically. Taking Twilight Sparkle's smile as a sign of approval, Spike went on with his turn with renewed vigor. "So! I move Lizard Soldier, Conroe directly behind my, uh, what was it again van-gourd, van-cougar..? Vanguard?...yeah! My Vaguard!" As Spike finished his sentence, a red flash appeared behind Spike. Craning his neck to take a look, Spike noticed that a dull-colored clone of his previous form had found itself standing behind him. "H'eh, well aren't you a handsome little dragon! Looking good Spike, looking real good!" The dull clone kept a stoic expression while Spike scrutinized his entire being. Noticing the "POW: 5000" hovering above his lesser self, Spike looked around himself. "Oh cool, I have 8000 POW...whatever that means." Spike said, ogling the sign above him. "Anyway! Um, what do I do next? Twilight?" Spike directed his view to the purple unicorn in front of him. "It's time to...attack." said Twilight Sparkle. "Oh..." Spike gulped "H-how am I supposed to attack anyway?" "Well...firstly, you choose your attacker from the front row?" "Front row?" Spike tilted his head, and given his freakishly large body, looked freaky. "Oh right! I forgot to tell you, there are six, um, circles, each circle can hold one unit each. Do you follow?" Spike nodded "So far, yeah." "Good." said Twilight Sparkle "Now, there are two types of these circles, the Vanguard circle and the Rear-guard circle. Apparently the Vanguard circle is the representation of the respective players while the Rear-guards are like... assistants!" Spike grinned "Oh! I get it now!" "Right, so there are six circles. Three in the front row, and three in the back row! They are aligned by the way." retorted Twilight Sparkle. "Hmm...so, what's the point of that?" "I'm getting there Spike...see, only the front row cards are allowed to attack. The Vanguard and two other Rearguards! The units in the back can't attack--" "Well they're useless!" Spike glared at his Rear-guard. "--but they can help in the attack, by supporting!" retorted Twilight Sparkle. "Listen closely, they can support in an attack by resting them when their Grade is 1 or 0. Resting is when you tilt a card sideways to represent an action that has been done by that particular unit. You 'rest' the 'supporter' when a unit directly aligned to the would-be-supporter is attacking! When a unit supports another, the supporters POW, or power, is added to the power of the attacking unit!" "Oh. But wait...so...how do you attack?" Spike scratched his head. "It's basically the same as supporting, but only the front-row units are allowed to do so; as I've stated earlier. You just have to rest your attacker, rest any supporters you want, and then...well, target the unit you desire to hit. Also, you may only choose to attack front-row units as well. When the attacking units total power is equivalent to or higher than the one being attacked, that particular battle is considered a hit. "When a Rear-guard is hit, they are retired, meaning they are disposed of, and they are put into the drop zone... When a Vanguard is hit it takes damage based on the Critical of the attacking unit. When a Vanguard takes damage, the player does a damage check." "Uh..." "To do a damage check, the top card of the deck is revealed and any trigger effects are applied before that cards is sent to the damage zone. The damage zone is kind of like the circles in the sense that it can only contain six units. Because when a damage zone exceeds six cards...well, that's how you lose!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle. "Um.." "Oh for Celestia's sake! Just attack already!" cried Twilight Sparkle. "Alright then...you sure do know a lot about this, it's like you've played before..." mumbled Spike; as he proceeded to rest his Lizard Soldier, Conroe and Embodiment of Armor, Bhar. "I support Bhar's attack with my Conroe." Spike said flatly. "I don't guard." Twilight Sparkle replied. Spike tilted his head once more, "G-guard?" "Oh right...well, when a unit is attacked, the one being assaulted can't just stand there you know! They can be guarded by allies from the hoof. You are allowed to guard by dropping a unit from the hoof whose Grade is equivalent or lower than your Vanguard's. When you guard, the Shield value is added temporarily to the power of the one being attacked in an attempt to block off the damage. Oh, and in case I haven't mentioned it before, the power boosts from supporters are only temporary, once the battle is finished, the power goes back to normal. Same with guarding" Spike looked at Twilight Sparkle incredulously "Wow Twilight...you read all of that in less than 5 minutes?" Twilight Sparkle smiled feebly. "Augh! Whatever, My Bhar attacks~whoa!!" As soon as Spike finished his command, Conroe appear to have directed energy towards Spike. A dinging sound could be heard as the numbers floating above Spike changed from "POW: 8000"" to "POW: 13000" With no control of his body, the now-large Spike charged directly at Twilight Sparkle. As Spike was forced to attack, a card flew up to his claw. It was revealed to Twilight Sparkle as well; "Dragonic Overlord..." she whispered. "That's what you call a drive-check, Spike. Whenever the Vanguard attacks--" Twilight Sparkle didn't manage to finish her sentence. Due to the fact that, suddenly; a very sharp edge was a few inches from meeting her face. [01] Just Your Average MorningJust Your Average Morning "Another perfectly normal day in Ponyville!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle, arching her back much like a cat. She briefly looked around, noticing everything in place, just like always. She hopped off of her bed and directed her snout at a bundle covered by a blanket. "It's time to get up, Spike! Breakfast won't cook itself you know!" Twilight giggled, perfectly knowing she could cast a spell to do just that. But she didn't. Evil, I know. The bundle moved, but not enough to satisfy Twilight the Evil One. She readied her horn, pointing it at the makeshift bed. A sudden magenta flash covered the blanket. Twilight grinned, continuing her magical assault, causing the blanket to dissipate after a moment. With the blanket gone, all that's left was a sleeping purple baby dragon known as Spike. Twilight nudged him again. " *mumble* 5 more minutes! *mumble* " Twilight had managed to elicit a response, but it still wasn't enough. Twilight grinned, a plan formulating in her mind. "Oh Spiiike!" Twilight coaxed in a sing-song voice, "I think somepony's at the door! Maybe it's Rarity?" Spike immediately jerked forwards, wide awake. " *mumble* H'uh? R-rarity?" Spike asked, wiping away the sandman from his eyes. Twilight nodded. Turning around so Spike wouldn't see her mouth, she cried out "Oh I wonder what's taking Spikey Wikey so long! I am dreadfully in need of breakfast!" mimicking her alabaster friend known as Rarity. Spike suddenly sped out of the room, almost leaping off the staircase. "I'm coming, oh most beautiful one!" Spike called out. "I can't believe you lied to me, Twilight" Spike frowned, a forlorn look plastered on his face. Twilight levitated a mug of coffee and sipped it gingerly. As she finished drinking her beverage, she placed the cup on an oaken table. Twilight cleared her throat "Well Spike, how else could I have woken you up?" Spike looked up from his plate of freshly baked haycakes. "How about a way that didn't involve my heart being shattered into tiny rubies?" Spike sniffed. Twilight squealed inwardly, Spike looked so adorable when he was heartbroken! In fact, he always does look cute with whatever he did. Except the time times Twilight made him gigantic--. "Twilight?" Spike asked, breaking Twilight's trail of thought. Jumping slightly, Twilight looked over to Spike, who has apparently finished his plate and was eyeing Twilight's. "Go on ahead, I'm not hungry anymore...say, did you hear that?" Twilight asked, her ears perking up. Spike eagerly grabbed the remaining pieces of haycake on Twilight's plate, flinging it to the air and catching them with his mouth. "Nope." Spike replied, mouth full off food. Twilight nodded nonchalantly "I'll go check it out, it sounded like somepony at the door." Twilight got up, leaving Spike alone with his meal. Twilight trotted over to the door "I'm coming!" she called out. Magicking the door open, Twilight found that there was nopony in sight. Scanning the effects of an early morning regarding Ponyville, she smiled. It was beautiful, so serene, so...peaceful. Twilight closed the door after finishing her observations--well at least tried to, a box that somehow appeared was lodged between the door and the doorway. "Huh, wonder if it's for me." Twilight mused, levitating the box inside while simultaneously closing the door. Casting two separate spells at once was considered difficult, but of course, it was Twilight Sparkle. What else could one expect from the Element of Magic, personal student of the renowned Princess of the Sun? As Twilight entered the living room, she noticed Spike had finished eating and was now cleaning up after their breakfast. Twilight smiled once more, amused with Spike dependability. Spike saw Twilight walk in, as well as spotted the box she carried. "Hey Twilight, where'd you get that box?" Spiked asked. "I saw it outside, when I tried to see where the noise came from. I kinda just stumbled over it." Twilight replied in a monotone voice. Spike finished cleaning the plates and was now wiping the crumbs off the table, "So you gonna open that?" Spike inquired, obviously curious what was in the box. Twilight suddenly grinned, a plan hatching in her head. "When you finish all of your chores. I'll be going out for a while, oh, and don't bother opening the box, I put a spell to protect it." Twilight bluffed. Spike groaned. "I'm done now Twilight! So can we open the box Twilight? Can we, can we? Pleeease?" Spike practically begged, hopping up and down. Twilight gave Spike an amused glance, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha--Since you--haha--asked nicely, I guess so." Twilight replied, trying to muffle her laughter. Spike practically squealed like a little filly. Magicking the box she stashed near a pile read books (believe me, that pile is massive), she set it in front of Spike and herself. Slicing through the duct tape with the help of her spells once again, Twilight wondered what it would be like to live without magic. Meanwhile, Spike was bouncing up and down beside her. "I wonder what's in it? I hope they're gems! But, oh wait, they don't smell like gems. Maybe they're a unicycle! I've always wanted a unicycle! C'mon Twilight what's in it? C'mon, c'mon!!" Spike continued to jump around. "Gee, Spike, you're almost as excited as Pinkie Pie when there's a new pony in town!" Twilight chuckled. That caused Spike to settle down. "R-really?" Spike asked, his face reddening "I'm sorry...? It's just that I usually do nothing in Ponyville, I mean sure, you guys go out and have all sorts of fun and adventure...meanwhile I'm just stuck here cleaning up...." Spike mumbled, somewhat angrily. Twilight ceased laughing and looked at her number one assistant. "I'm sorry Spike...but it's just--I don't want you to get hurt, I don't know what I could do to myself if you get a single scale of yours gets harmed. Remember that time when the dragons migrated?" Spike nodded his head. "Well, we did that because we all love you..." Twilight informed, snuggling Spike with her nose. "Um...y-yeah....right" Spike smiled sheepishly. "Sooo..what's in the box?" Twilight grinned "Well, let's go and find out..." Twilight lifted the scraps of the tape and flung it at a nearby garbage can. Opening the box carefully, Twilight peeked at the contents. "...Oh...wow." Spike couldn't bear the suspense any longer, he stoop on the tip of his claws to see the box's goods. "Are those...cards?"
[02] Stand Up!!Stand Up!! "I suppose they are." mused Twilight Sparkle, while she gingerly levitated the contents of the box and placing them on the wooden floor. "They look...fancy." muttered Twilight as she eyed the package. There, on the floor, were multiple decks of cards. The front cards of all the decks appeared to contain magnificent art of various themes. Twilight spotted what appeared to be a bipedal knight, a dragon, some sort of machine, another bipedal creature clothed in an elegant dress, and many others. Spike waddled over to the one with the dragon. As he bent to pick it up, his eyes scanned the title "Dragonic Overlord...h'uh, sounds cool." As Spike began to flip through the cards, he spotted more dragonoid beings as well as other lizard creatures. "Uh...Twilight? Can I keep these?" Twilight Sparkle smiled at her number one assistant "Of course Spike, you deserve it." Spike cheered, throwing his claws, as well as the cards at the air. Unfortunately, this caused the deck to scatter throughout the library. Spike flinched as the cards hit the floor. "Uh-Oh, I guess I got a little excited." Spike rubbed the back of his head nervously. Twilight simply giggled at Spike's antics. Spike reached out for the scattered cards "Ugh, I got it!" he said. While Spike was off cleaning up his mess, Twilight decided to take a close look at one of the deck of cards. Grabbing at one randomly with her magic, Twilight scrutinized the front card of the deck. It was the one with the clothed bipedal being. "CEO Amaterasu..." Twilight mumbled. Suddenly, a light switched on in her brain. "Amaterasu?" Twilight thought aloud "Now where did I hear that before? Hmmm..." As Twilight was off to one of her usual brainstorming, Spike grabbed the final card of his deck. "There! I got you Lizard Soldier, Conroe!" Spike said triumphantly. As he placed it back into his deck, Spike noticed something else littered on the floor. Spike walked over to it, clutching his deck tightly in his left claw. As Spike picked up the piece of paper, his eyes widened. "Twilight!" Spike called out, effectively cutting Twilight Sparkle from her day-dreaming, "I found the manual!" "So, after we've chosen our starting Vanguards, which are all Grade 0, we shuffle our decks. Afterwards, we draw 5 cards and then decide randomly who goes first! Oh, and it said in the manual that if you're not happy with your initial draw, you are allowed to mulligan any number of cards back into the deck and re-draw the same amount you returned! But, you're only allowed to do this once, got it?" Spike gawked at Twilight; she only read the whole manual in a few minutes and now she's ready to go play? 'Well, it was Twilight after all.' Spike thought. Staring at his deck, he briefly pondered on what to use as his starting Vanguard, when it hit him. Smiling to himself, Spike plucked out the card in front of his deck. 'Let's do this Lizard Soldier, Conroe!' "Spike! Are you ready?" Twilight asked excitedly. Nodding, Spike placed his chosen starter onto the table they chose as the play-field; it was the same table they used to eat their breakfast. "You're pretty excited about this." Spike mused. Twilight nodded her head furiously "It seems like a very interesting game! And I chose the deck I know is the best pick for me! Oracle Think Tank! They don't rely on chance or luck as much as the other clans and-" Spike quickly shoved his free claw in Twilight's mouth. Glaring at Twilight, Spike removed his claw after he saw Twilight's pleading eyes. "*sigh* I know you're excited and all, but I think I'm gonna have a headache if you keep going on! Let's just--play! OK?" Twilight's sheepish smile transitioned into a smirk "Heh, I'm gad you feel the same way. I'm ready when you are." Nodding, Spike returned Twilight's cocky smile with a smirk of his own. "You're about to feel the pain of--uh, hold on..." Spike quickly flipped a random card and squinted at it. "Of, uh, Kagero, yeah!" With both of their respective Vanguards and decks in place, Twilight and Spike flipped their starters face-up. "Stand up, Vanguard!" Twilight cried. "Um...yeah, stand up!" Spike replied. As both of their starting Vanguards were exposed, a strange light engulfed the room. "Wh-whoa!" Spike exclaimed as a strange sensation filled his entire being. "This wasn't in the instructions!" Twilight retorted; as she too, felt a similar feeling. After the fleeting moment of weirdness passed, Twilight found herself standing on what looked like a barren area. "What happened?" Twilight asked to no one in particular. Suddenly, Twilight spotted movement directly in front of her. Squinting her eyes, she noticed it was Spike. Only he seemed different somehow. Spike was standing in front of her, waving away what looked like smoke around him, he was clad in scale armor and was brandishing a blade and a shield. "Twilight?" Spike croaked. "What happened? And why are you in a silly dress?" Twilight Sparkle tilted her head at her assistant, eyeing a red cape billowing behind him. Twilight was about to question how a piece of garment could move without any wind present when she noticed a bigger slap-to-the-face to physics. Hovering on top of Spike, is what appeared to be a two-dimensional sign sporting the text: "POW: 5000" Twilight pointed at her sighting "Spike! Do you see that?" she asked; alas, her question fell on deaf ears as Spike was gawking and pointing at Twilight as well. Curious, Twilight directed her head to the spot Spike was pointing at then let out a gasp. Floating above her as well was the same sign as Spike's, only difference was hers had the text: "POW: 3000" Twilight's jaw dropped at the sight. Twilight Sparkle turned her head back at Spike, noticing for the first time the appearance of her hoof. Twilight's hoof was covered in a piece of armor colored in a mix of white and beige with a tint of pink. As she stared at her hoof, she noticed something out of place as well, a floating staff engulfed in her magical aura floating right next to her. It was adorned by a perfectly cut ruby in the center. It was similarly colored as her armor , which she noticed covered the majority of her body. "What...what is this?" Twilight whispered to herself, obviously taken aback by the sudden changes over the course of a few moments. Shaking her head in an attempt to recollect herself, Twilight noticed something yet again slapped physics in the face. Hovering in front of Twilight, were the handhoof cards she previously drew. Twilight's jaw dropped yet again. After a few uneasy moments of silence, Spike decided to break it. "So...um...should we play?" This statement brought back Twilight from her otherworldly thoughts. Twilight's brain was wracked with several questions she knew would never be answered by her companion. Twilight Sparkle decided to formulate a theory to at least calm herself down. Thinking for a few seconds, Twilight grinned, she had managed to create a feasible hypothesis. "Spike!" Twilight called out "I think we're in a pocket universe temporarily created by the cards to sustain it's awesome magic. The only way to break through is to finish the game!" Spike replied with the most logical statement he could think of: "What?!" Shaking her head, Twilight looked at her battle-ready assistant. "We just have to play the game."
[03] I Ride--a Pony?I Ride--a Pony? "So let me get this straight...we're basically in a different place and we have to finish playing to go back home?" Spike inquired, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Twilight Sparkle nodded "I suppose we'll have to start, and since I know the rules more, I'll take the first turn!...let's see...first I draw a card...hey wait a minute where's my de--?" Twilight didn't finish her sentence, because after she spoke the word "draw", a card was added to her hand hoof. Twilight stared at the new addition to her hoof; before proceeding with the next step. "Hmmm...magic I suppose...anyway, on with my turn! Listen Spike, this is a very crucial part of the game. Whenever it's your turn, you have the ability to upgrade your Vanguard into a stronger one! How you ask? Well, all you have to do is to pick a card in your hoof with a Grade equivalent or one point higher than your present Vanguard! Got it?" Spike squinted her eyes at Twilight, "...uh, yeah, I got it..." "Good...well, here I go, my starting Vanguard; Lozenge Magus who is a Grade 0 unit shall be upgraded into Grade 1!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed with glee. Spike kept on nodding, eyes glued in anticipation at Twilight Sparkle. "They have a term used for this process...what was it again...oh yeah! I ride, Oracle Guardian, Gemini!" Twilight Sparkle magicked the mentioned card from her hoof cards and placed it on top of her starting Vanguard (who also magically appeared in front of her; floating in mid-air) A bright light engulfed Twilight Sparkle as she slammed her card down...in mid-air. After a few moments, the light subsided, revealing Twilight Sparkle looking exactly as she did before playing the game. Except for the long cylindrical objects poking out of her back and the fact that Twilight Sparkle was floating, she was indeed, exactly the same. A new sign hovered above Twilight Sparkle, it read: "POW: 8000" After examining the changes to her body, Twilight Sparkle looked at Spike whose mouth was agape from surprise. Twilight Sparkle smiled at herself "That's not all Spike! My earlier Vanguard, Lorenzge Magus had the ability to go to the Rear-Guard whenever she was ridden! Come on, Lorenzge Magus! I call you directly behind my Vanguard!" A bright light appeared directly behind, though it wasn't as bright as when Twilight Sparkle upped her Grade. Nonetheless, when the light subside, it revealed a pale-colored clone of Twilight Sparkle in her previous form. "Reminds me of Discord..." Twilight Sparkle muttered; as she eyed the colorless version of herself staring back at her with a stoic expression. Shaking her head, Twilight Sparkle faced her assistant to see that his earlier expression of shock was replaced by admiration. "That looks so amazing! I can't wait to try it out!" Spike gushed. Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat "Well, it said on the manual that since I went first, I'm not allowed to...attack..." Spike didn't respond, he appeared to have been captivated by Twilight Sparkle's clone. Giggling, Twilight Sparkle motioned something to Spike "Your turn." Spike blinked. "R-right...my turn...so I, uh draw!" A card flew to his handclaw cards. Spike briefly inspected the floating cards in front of him for a while; then he finally made a move. "I, uh, ride Embodiment of Armor, Bhar." Looking uncertain, Spike pulled out one of his claws and poked the mentioned card. As he did, a light engulfed Spike just like Twilight Sparkle, although this light was a deep shade of red. After the light cleared, Spike was standing tall before Twilight Sparkle. He was adorned in a red armor to suit his now tall stature. Spike was also equipped with a long sword that Twilight Sparkle eyed frantically. "S-Spike...?" Twilight Sparkle croaked, fear evident in her voice. "Y-yeah Twilight?" asked Spike, who was currently looking at his new form. "You look...dangerous." whispered Twilight Sparkle, still looking at Spike's blade with unease. Spike gulped "Don't worry Twilight...I wouldn't hurt you...I can't hurt you!" Spike laughed, but ended up choking. "Uh-huh...go on ahead then...it's still your turn." "*cough* R-right!" Spike sputtered "So...with, um, Lizard Soldier, Conroe's skill, I move him to the...Rear-guard, was it?" Spike looked at Twilight Sparkle quizzically. Taking Twilight Sparkle's smile as a sign of approval, Spike went on with his turn with renewed vigor. "So! I move Lizard Soldier, Conroe directly behind my, uh, what was it again van-gourd, van-cougar..? Vanguard?...yeah! My Vaguard!" As Spike finished his sentence, a red flash appeared behind Spike. Craning his neck to take a look, Spike noticed that a dull-colored clone of his previous form had found itself standing behind him. "H'eh, well aren't you a handsome little dragon! Looking good Spike, looking real good!" The dull clone kept a stoic expression while Spike scrutinized his entire being. Noticing the "POW: 5000" hovering above his lesser self, Spike looked around himself. "Oh cool, I have 8000 POW...whatever that means." Spike said, ogling the sign above him. "Anyway! Um, what do I do next? Twilight?" Spike directed his view to the purple unicorn in front of him. "It's time to...attack." said Twilight Sparkle. "Oh..." Spike gulped "H-how am I supposed to attack anyway?" "Well...firstly, you choose your attacker from the front row?" "Front row?" Spike tilted his head, and given his freakishly large body, looked freaky. "Oh right! I forgot to tell you, there are six, um, circles, each circle can hold one unit each. Do you follow?" Spike nodded "So far, yeah." "Good." said Twilight Sparkle "Now, there are two types of these circles, the Vanguard circle and the Rear-guard circle. Apparently the Vanguard circle is the representation of the respective players while the Rear-guards are like... assistants!" Spike grinned "Oh! I get it now!" "Right, so there are six circles. Three in the front row, and three in the back row! They are aligned by the way." retorted Twilight Sparkle. "Hmm...so, what's the point of that?" "I'm getting there Spike...see, only the front row cards are allowed to attack. The Vanguard and two other Rearguards! The units in the back can't attack--" "Well they're useless!" Spike glared at his Rear-guard. "--but they can help in the attack, by supporting!" retorted Twilight Sparkle. "Listen closely, they can support in an attack by resting them when their Grade is 1 or 0. Resting is when you tilt a card sideways to represent an action that has been done by that particular unit. You 'rest' the 'supporter' when a unit directly aligned to the would-be-supporter is attacking! When a unit supports another, the supporters POW, or power, is added to the power of the attacking unit!" "Oh. But wait...so...how do you attack?" Spike scratched his head. "It's basically the same as supporting, but only the front-row units are allowed to do so; as I've stated earlier. You just have to rest your attacker, rest any supporters you want, and then...well, target the unit you desire to hit. Also, you may only choose to attack front-row units as well. When the attacking units total power is equivalent to or higher than the one being attacked, that particular battle is considered a hit. "When a Rear-guard is hit, they are retired, meaning they are disposed of, and they are put into the drop zone... When a Vanguard is hit it takes damage based on the Critical of the attacking unit. When a Vanguard takes damage, the player does a damage check." "Uh..." "To do a damage check, the top card of the deck is revealed and any trigger effects are applied before that cards is sent to the damage zone. The damage zone is kind of like the circles in the sense that it can only contain six units. Because when a damage zone exceeds six cards...well, that's how you lose!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle. "Um.." "Oh for Celestia's sake! Just attack already!" cried Twilight Sparkle. "Alright then...you sure do know a lot about this, it's like you've played before..." mumbled Spike; as he proceeded to rest his Lizard Soldier, Conroe and Embodiment of Armor, Bhar. "I support Bhar's attack with my Conroe." Spike said flatly. "I don't guard." Twilight Sparkle replied. Spike tilted his head once more, "G-guard?" "Oh right...well, when a unit is attacked, the one being assaulted can't just stand there you know! They can be guarded by allies from the hoof. You are allowed to guard by dropping a unit from the hoof whose Grade is equivalent or lower than your Vanguard's. When you guard, the Shield value is added temporarily to the power of the one being attacked in an attempt to block off the damage. Oh, and in case I haven't mentioned it before, the power boosts from supporters are only temporary, once the battle is finished, the power goes back to normal. Same with guarding" Spike looked at Twilight Sparkle incredulously "Wow Twilight...you read all of that in less than 5 minutes?" Twilight Sparkle smiled feebly. "Augh! Whatever, My Bhar attacks~whoa!!" As soon as Spike finished his command, Conroe appear to have directed energy towards Spike. A dinging sound could be heard as the numbers floating above Spike changed from "POW: 8000"" to "POW: 13000" With no control of his body, the now-large Spike charged directly at Twilight Sparkle. As Spike was forced to attack, a card flew up to his claw. It was revealed to Twilight Sparkle as well; "Dragonic Overlord..." she whispered. "That's what you call a drive-check, Spike. Whenever the Vanguard attacks--" Twilight Sparkle didn't manage to finish her sentence. Due to the fact that, suddenly; a very sharp edge was a few inches from meeting her face.
[01] Just Your Average MorningJust Your Average Morning "Another perfectly normal day in Ponyville!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle, arching her back much like a cat. She briefly looked around, noticing everything in place, just like always. She hopped off of her bed and directed her snout at a bundle covered by a blanket. "It's time to get up, Spike! Breakfast won't cook itself you know!" Twilight giggled, perfectly knowing she could cast a spell to do just that. But she didn't. Evil, I know. The bundle moved, but not enough to satisfy Twilight the Evil One. She readied her horn, pointing it at the makeshift bed. A sudden magenta flash covered the blanket. Twilight grinned, continuing her magical assault, causing the blanket to dissipate after a moment. With the blanket gone, all that's left was a sleeping purple baby dragon known as Spike. Twilight nudged him again. " *mumble* 5 more minutes! *mumble* " Twilight had managed to elicit a response, but it still wasn't enough. Twilight grinned, a plan formulating in her mind. "Oh Spiiike!" Twilight coaxed in a sing-song voice, "I think somepony's at the door! Maybe it's Rarity?" Spike immediately jerked forwards, wide awake. " *mumble* H'uh? R-rarity?" Spike asked, wiping away the sandman from his eyes. Twilight nodded. Turning around so Spike wouldn't see her mouth, she cried out "Oh I wonder what's taking Spikey Wikey so long! I am dreadfully in need of breakfast!" mimicking her alabaster friend known as Rarity. Spike suddenly sped out of the room, almost leaping off the staircase. "I'm coming, oh most beautiful one!" Spike called out. "I can't believe you lied to me, Twilight" Spike frowned, a forlorn look plastered on his face. Twilight levitated a mug of coffee and sipped it gingerly. As she finished drinking her beverage, she placed the cup on an oaken table. Twilight cleared her throat "Well Spike, how else could I have woken you up?" Spike looked up from his plate of freshly baked haycakes. "How about a way that didn't involve my heart being shattered into tiny rubies?" Spike sniffed. Twilight squealed inwardly, Spike looked so adorable when he was heartbroken! In fact, he always does look cute with whatever he did. Except the time times Twilight made him gigantic--. "Twilight?" Spike asked, breaking Twilight's trail of thought. Jumping slightly, Twilight looked over to Spike, who has apparently finished his plate and was eyeing Twilight's. "Go on ahead, I'm not hungry anymore...say, did you hear that?" Twilight asked, her ears perking up. Spike eagerly grabbed the remaining pieces of haycake on Twilight's plate, flinging it to the air and catching them with his mouth. "Nope." Spike replied, mouth full off food. Twilight nodded nonchalantly "I'll go check it out, it sounded like somepony at the door." Twilight got up, leaving Spike alone with his meal. Twilight trotted over to the door "I'm coming!" she called out. Magicking the door open, Twilight found that there was nopony in sight. Scanning the effects of an early morning regarding Ponyville, she smiled. It was beautiful, so serene, so...peaceful. Twilight closed the door after finishing her observations--well at least tried to, a box that somehow appeared was lodged between the door and the doorway. "Huh, wonder if it's for me." Twilight mused, levitating the box inside while simultaneously closing the door. Casting two separate spells at once was considered difficult, but of course, it was Twilight Sparkle. What else could one expect from the Element of Magic, personal student of the renowned Princess of the Sun? As Twilight entered the living room, she noticed Spike had finished eating and was now cleaning up after their breakfast. Twilight smiled once more, amused with Spike dependability. Spike saw Twilight walk in, as well as spotted the box she carried. "Hey Twilight, where'd you get that box?" Spiked asked. "I saw it outside, when I tried to see where the noise came from. I kinda just stumbled over it." Twilight replied in a monotone voice. Spike finished cleaning the plates and was now wiping the crumbs off the table, "So you gonna open that?" Spike inquired, obviously curious what was in the box. Twilight suddenly grinned, a plan hatching in her head. "When you finish all of your chores. I'll be going out for a while, oh, and don't bother opening the box, I put a spell to protect it." Twilight bluffed. Spike groaned. "I'm done now Twilight! So can we open the box Twilight? Can we, can we? Pleeease?" Spike practically begged, hopping up and down. Twilight gave Spike an amused glance, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha--Since you--haha--asked nicely, I guess so." Twilight replied, trying to muffle her laughter. Spike practically squealed like a little filly. Magicking the box she stashed near a pile read books (believe me, that pile is massive), she set it in front of Spike and herself. Slicing through the duct tape with the help of her spells once again, Twilight wondered what it would be like to live without magic. Meanwhile, Spike was bouncing up and down beside her. "I wonder what's in it? I hope they're gems! But, oh wait, they don't smell like gems. Maybe they're a unicycle! I've always wanted a unicycle! C'mon Twilight what's in it? C'mon, c'mon!!" Spike continued to jump around. "Gee, Spike, you're almost as excited as Pinkie Pie when there's a new pony in town!" Twilight chuckled. That caused Spike to settle down. "R-really?" Spike asked, his face reddening "I'm sorry...? It's just that I usually do nothing in Ponyville, I mean sure, you guys go out and have all sorts of fun and adventure...meanwhile I'm just stuck here cleaning up...." Spike mumbled, somewhat angrily. Twilight ceased laughing and looked at her number one assistant. "I'm sorry Spike...but it's just--I don't want you to get hurt, I don't know what I could do to myself if you get a single scale of yours gets harmed. Remember that time when the dragons migrated?" Spike nodded his head. "Well, we did that because we all love you..." Twilight informed, snuggling Spike with her nose. "Um...y-yeah....right" Spike smiled sheepishly. "Sooo..what's in the box?" Twilight grinned "Well, let's go and find out..." Twilight lifted the scraps of the tape and flung it at a nearby garbage can. Opening the box carefully, Twilight peeked at the contents. "...Oh...wow." Spike couldn't bear the suspense any longer, he stoop on the tip of his claws to see the box's goods. "Are those...cards?"
