http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV25QVdVAZE

Sweetie Belle groaned. She'd just woken up to a broken alarm clock, beeping non-stop. She had to destroy it with her magic to make the accursed beeping go away. However, due to being inexperienced at magic (even if she was already a teen), she was suffering a short headache.

"Aaaagh....." she said, rubbing her horn a bit to release some of the stress.

She suddenly smelled something bad. After a bit of sniffing around, she found out that it was her who smelled like garbage. She made a break for the shower.

One desperately needed shower later...

Sweetie was drying herself, feeling refreshed. Her mind was on a different train of thought, though, as her eyes wandered to a deck of cards on top of her study table.

"Hmmmmm..." Her deck's Grade 3 list was pitiful, really. She used 2 copies of Stardrive Dragon, 2 Gancelot, 2 Marhaus, and 2 Bors. She desperately needed to upgrade her deck.

Her eyes then wandered to a note on the table and sighed. Rarity was going to Canterlot for the month because of fashion business, and her month's worth of allowance was managed by Twilight Sparkle, the local librarian and Element of Magic.

When she finally finished drying her coat and mane, she remembered a meeting she was supposed to have with the other Crusaders.

She immediately packed her saddlebags, went outside, locked the door, and ran towards a certain shop nearby.

When she finally got her destination, she nearly bucked the door down due to excitement.

"Welcome to Card Capita-" began the clerk, but Sweetie Belle galloped by so fast he was sent spinning.

"Hi girls!" she said as an orange pegasus and a yellow earth pony looked at her.

"Y'all are late again. Right, Scoots?"

"AB, ya don't buckin' say!?"

Just as the two were about to squabble, Sweetie inquired, "When are we gonna open that box we ordered?"

"Here it is." said Apple Bloom as she took out a blue box depicting a white pony-knight in regal armor.

"I'll take the first pack!" huffed Scootaloo impatiently, getting a Booster Pack and ripping the plastic off. "Aw, man. I got a Wyvern Guard Barri. Does anypony want this?"

Everypony except Sweetie and Apple Bloom (who were tearing through boosters) looked at her and raised their hooves.

"Well, too bad. Ya have to buy this from me for 28 bits."

Everypony who had wanted the Kagero RR Perfect Guard groaned.

Apple Bloom gave a shriek of delight as she pulled a crimson robo-pony with axes for appendages. "Ah finally got it!!! Standspam, here Ah come!"

Sweetie Belle sighed as she put a robotic dog wielding a knife to her ever-growing pile of shiny cards. She immediately noticed a card with a different kind of foil, the same knight who had been used as an illustration for the Booster Box.

"Hey girls, why's this card's foil different?"

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's jaws dropped and their eyes widened.

"Sweets! How could you NOT know what that thing is!?"

"Sweetie, that thing y'all are holding is the rarest card of this dang Booster Set! That's an SP unit!!!!"

Sweetie looked at it. The card read:

King of Knights, Alfred (G3/10000)

"I command you under the name of the King of Knights! Warriors, heed my call!"

The white unicorn mare the proceeded to immediately replace some of her cards with the shinier ones, Alfred included, in her deck, leaving a pile of Kagero units which she forked over to Card Keeper, the manager, for some credit.

As she finished fixing her deck, the doors of the shop swung open, revealing a white colt with a green mane, with flaming stars as his cutie mark.

He then proceeded to go to a table, put a card there face down, and waited, until...

"Hey Spark!" yelled Sweetie Belle, waving her hooves.

"Sweetie Belle, do you know this guy!?"

"Do y'all know him, Sweets?"

"Yeah. He was that awesome cardfighter I was talking about." said Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo snorted. "Yeah right. I bet this guy's insanely weak."

Right then, the doors were blasted open by a burst of magic, revealing three colts wearing black.

"ALRIGHT EVERYPONY!!! SHUT UP OR I'M GONNA DESTROY Y'ALL!" their leader yelled, but three mares and a colt were ignoring him. "HEY, YOU THERE! I SAID SHUT UP!!!!"

"Trash." said Spark, rather loudly.

"WHAT THE BUCK DID YOU CALL ME!?"

"Trash. Scum. Dirt. Didn't you hear me?" said Spark, coldly. "Or is your stupidity reaching the point where you can't even process a simple sentence?"

Angered, the thug put a card face down on the table where Spark was at. The Crusaders backed away. "LET'S SETTLE THIS ON THE BATTLEFIELD, LOSER!!!!"

Spark smirked and rolled his eyes. This is gonna be fun. he thought.

"Stand up..." they began.

"....the...."

"...Vanguard!!!!!" both of them yelled, flipping over their Starting Vanguards.

"Lizard Soldier, Conroe!" said Spark, as a green dragon-warrior wielding a nagitana* appeared right next to him.

"Mecha Trainer!!!" the bully said, as a pony-bot decked out in coaching equipment appeared.

As the Crusaders watched the tense cardfight continue, they were all shocked at Spark's playstyle and advantage.

Dang, this guy... He's insanely strong... thought Apple Bloom as a navy blue pony knight riding a dragon shot a bolt of lightning at a demonic Amareican hoofball player.

Maybe I was wrong about him... Scootaloo thought, eyes wide as Spark rested a blue dragon with a red sword.

Was... Was he even serious when he fought me? Sweetie Belle asked herself as an azure dragon lunged at the hoofball player with a blood-red sword coated with fire and water.

"Dragonic Waterfall attacks at 31000 Power!!" Spark said, discarding a copy of a reddish-orange pony wielding a staff while riding on a cloud.

The bully sent a sixth card to the damage. He suddenly faced Sweetie Belle and angrily said, "Fight me with my new deck! If I win, this shop is mine! If I lose, I get outta here and never return."

Everypony except Spark stared at her, until she said, "I'll do it."

They both prepped their Starting Vanguards and hand cards, boh now placing their hooves on their respective Vanguards.

"Stand up..." both chanted.

"..... my...."

"...Vanguard!!!" both sid flipping over their SVs. Sweetie had a greying robo-dog named Barcgal (G0/Power 4000), while the thug had Madame Mirage (G0/Power 6000), a butterfly-pony hybrid.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at Spark, who refused to look them in the eye.

"We're mighty sorry tah say you were weak..." Apple Bloom trailed off.

"Me too." said Scootaloo, with both mares raising heir hooves. "Truce?"

Spark glared at them for a minute and then proceeded to ignore them for the rest of the cardfight.

"Ummm... Rude much?" both fillies muttered, taking back their hooves.

They both turned their attention back to the cardfight, looking at the stats.

Sweetie Belle

(RC) (Blaster Blade) (Gallatin)

(Alen) (RC) (Marron)

Hand: 5 Damage: 3 Soul: 4

Thug (Current turn)

(Water Gang) (Violent Vesper) (Vesper)

(Toxic Soldier) (Phantom Black) (Black)

Hand: 3 Damage: 4 Soul: 3

"Black boosts, my rear-guard Vesper attacks!" (Power 17000)

"I guard with Epona." (Hand: 4)

"I attack with my vanguard at 17000 Power!"

"No guard."

"Drive check! First, none! Second, Sharp Nail Scorpio, CRITICAL GET!!! Power to Gang, critical to the vanguard!"

"Damage check. No triggers." (Damage: 5)

"With a boost from Toxic, Gang attacks!"

"Sacred shield of light, defend me! Perfect Guard, Flash Shield, Iseult!" (Hand: 2)

"Dammit.... Turn end."

"My turn. Stand and draw." Sweetie drew the top card of her deck, which made her squeak in delight. Her expressin became serious. "Stand up and enter the fray, Lord of the Holy Knights! Ride, King of Knights, ALFRED!!!!!!!!"

The white pony knight suddenly morphed into a recognizable knight clad in white armor, cape bellowing behind him, wielding a thick blade.**

"Rise, leader of the sanctuary! Royal Energy... BOOST!!!" (KoK, Alfred Power: 16000)

The thug was getting scared now, seeing the king of the sanctuary clothed in a veil of shining blue energy. The others just stared wide-eyed at the King, whilst Spark just... smiled a bit.

"Alfred's Counterblast! Come forth, servants of the sanctuary! Superior Call, Gallatin(G2/Power 10000)!!" Sweetie suddenly called forth a pony with a purple mane and twin laser-swords. "I call, Marron!"

(Gallatin) (KoK Alfred) (Gallatin)

(Alen) (Marron) (Marron)

Hand: 1 Damage: 3 flipped, 2 unflipped Soul: 5

"Alen boosts! Gallatin attacks at 17000!"

"I guard with Sharp Nail Scorpio and Phantom Black!" (Hand: 3)

"The King of Knights attacks at 20000!!!"

The thug looked at his hand. His only units were Grade 3s. "No g-guard."

"Twin drive, first check; no trigger. Second check; CRITICAL GET!!!!" Sweetie yelled as she revealed Bringer of Good Luck, Epona. "All effects to the vanguard!"

"I lose." the gangster says as he put the top two cards of his deck, Machining Stag Beetle and Violent Vesper, in the damage zone. "Let's go, guys."

After the thugs left, she was tackle-hugged by the rest of the Crusaders, giggling.

Spark watched from he sideline, smiling. His expression suddenly hardened as if he had remembered something.

"Wish you were here," he muttered to himself darkly. "Midnight."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRVoHUEPzuE

Author's Notes:

*Nagitana - A sword with a handle,longer than the blade, looking like a spear.
** Didn't put Lion Mane Stallion 'cos a pony riding on another pony is awkward.
Point out any grammatical errors, spelling errors, etc, please! XD