The young princess swept her almost glowing golden hair out of her face. The hall was dark, with light only coming in through windows far behind her. She stood before two massive white doors, adorned with many intricate golden designs. She adjusted her white gown and took a deep breath. She closed her soft, pink eyes and took in another deep breath. She concentrated her hearing to the loud cheers outside the door. Her lips curled upward, her heart pulsed just a bit faster. Today was an important day. It was her birthday.

A line of light widened on Orianna's face as she opened the doors. The cheers instantly magnified many decibels. The young princess could barely hear herself think, her people were cheering so loudly. But she didn't care. She loved her people, just as much as they loved her. Princess Orianna walked out onto a large golden balcony that extended quite a ways into the crowd. She was tens of feet above her subjects, but she felt like she was nothing more than ten inches away from them.

Their supporting cheers flowed into her body, her smile becoming even wider. She finally reached the end of the balcony, walking into a space between her parents. She looked mostly like her father. He turned to her and crinkled his pale pink eyes as he smiled at her. His long arm extended outward, the cheers hushed and he opened his mouth.

"Today is an important day for this little kingdom of the valley," He said. "Today, my daughter celebrates her sixteenth year of life!"

The crowd erupted into cheers of celebration. Orianna already had a smile on her face, but the cheers, and overall happiness made it grow. It was overwhelming to have so many people support her. Orianna stepped forward, and the King gave a swift motion of his arm to silence the people.

"I just have to thank each and every one of you for attending my birthday celebration," she said. "But today is not just my birthday. I'm sharing my birthday with the people I love so much! It's not just my birthday today, it's everyone's birthday!" Orianna said, giving a small laugh, her thin, graceful hands covering her ears as the people cheered even louder. Orianna's eyes were glued to the scene before her. Her vision blurred slightly as she realized tears had formed. She stopped cupping her ears and before she got a chance to wipe the tears away she noticed something.

The cheers of joy and frivolity had changed to screams of fear and panic. There was a dull boom behind her. Orianna's golden waves were like the wind of a tornado as she spun around. An explosion sounded behind her as she stared with horror at a large, flying metallic ship made its way into the valley. Black smoke billowed from four large columns like black food coloring mixing with clear water. There was another dull boom, followed by a deafening explosion a few seconds later. The booms and explosions became more frequent, and the panic was escalating.

"GET THE PRINCESS OUT OF HERE NOW!" A guard shouted.

"PROTECT THE ROYAL FAMILY AT ALL COSTS!" A second bellowed.

The tears in Orianna's eyes were no longer those of joy. Sadness, fear, panic, anxiety; there were so many emotions and feelings inside Orianna that her body stood rigid, unmoving.

"Princess Orianna! You must come with us!" A chambermaid said, pulling at Orianna's hands. But it was as if Orianna's feet were apart of the stone bricks she stood on. She wouldn't move. Something was keeping her there.

There was a pillar of black light directly in front of Orianna, coming from the North Mountain. To Orianna's left, a pillar of white, and to her right, a pillar of deep blue. She looked over her shoulder, and her suspicions were confirmed. A pillar of red light could be seen at the South Mountain. The Four Guardians were awake.

"Please…" Orianna started. Her voice was soft, acting on it's own accord. "Help us."

A figure of vibrant red landed next to Orianna on the now deserted balcony. Fires raged on around her in the city and smoke had filled the air, but once the figure of red stood next to Orianna, it was as if nothing was happening.

"Princess," the figure said. The voice was stern, but comforting. Orianna tried to get a good look at the red figure. One second she saw a large bird, the next she saw a woman dressed in feathers.

"There's not a lot of time to explain to you what's going on," The figure continued. "But your mission is now simple."

More explosions sounded, and if the red figure said anything more to Orianna, it was not heard. Cracks webbed through the stone of the balcony, but stopped as they reached the red figure. Some of the stone on the balcony even began to corrode and crumble away. The Valley of Gold would be destroyed in minutes. The red figure opened her beak to say something more when a wide pillar of golden light erupted all around Orianna and the red figure. A faint roar echoed along with the light. The pillar soon became nothing more than a small golden thread that then flickered out of existence.

"Well that complicates things a little…" The red figure said. "Listen to me Orianna. The Valley is to be destroyed in mere moments. The other three Guardians and I are going to try and fight off these attackers. But we need you to do a favor."

Orianna said nothing, but her bouncing waves let the red figure know she was listening. The figure clapped her hands four circles winked into existence in front of Orianna. Four thin, multicolored compass needles floated above the circles that Orianna now realized were compasses.

"Take these compasses," the figure said, waving her hand. To Orianna's right a portal opened full of swirling colors of blue, yellow, pink, white and many others. "Go to the Human World and find the Pretty Cure Warriors. Once you've done that, I'll try my best to contact you again and give you more instructions. We don't have the time for me to tell you much more. Hurry, go child!"

Orianna snatched the compasses, finally regaining control of her body. She ran to the portal, but before she entered, she looked back and saw her home fall into utter ruin.

"GO!" The red figure urged. Orianna turned back around, but apparently, she was not acting quickly enough. An intense pressure on her back forced her through the portal and everything fell silent.

Compass Pretty Cure – Episode 1: A Princess's Mission! Cure Cinder Bursts into Action!

"Go, go gogogogogogogo Yu-Ri-Na!"

"Go, go gogogogogogogo Yu-Ri-Na!"

"Swim, swim swimswimswimswimswim Yu-Ri-Na!"

"Swim, swim swimswimswimswimswim Yu-Ri-Na!"

"Swim!"

"Swim!"

"Go!"

"Go!"

The shouts echoed throughout the indoor natatorium. When the girls weren't cheering, the hard slap of hands on water could be heard as the swim team practiced. It was the first Off-Season practice both the Boys and Girls Swim Teams had. The new school year started just a week away, and it was the first practice for the first year high schoolers. It was still the spring break, but students in clubs were getting ready for all the club activities that took place in that first week of April as a last ditch effort to recruit more members.

"What are you guys all shouting about?" Yurina said, staring at them from the water.

"We're practicing our cheers!" Natsumi said, brick red hair clinging to her face, having just been in the water herself.

"Practicing cheers?" Yurina asked, getting out of the water effortlessly. The group members around Natsumi separated and fell into chatter as Yurina walked over "You're a first year, right? Minami-san?"

"Yes! That's me! Minami Natsumi!" Natsumi said.

"Nice to meet you. I'm the captain, Kawaguchi Yurina. I've heard you were quite the swimmer in middle school. I even heard you turned down being captain."

Yurina pulled off her cap, releasing whatever short, dark hair that had been trapped by it.

"I don't really see myself being a leader," Natsumi said, looking down at her feet. "I've always felt more comfortable being a supporter."

Yurina gave a small giggle.

"Well then you'd be a perfect captain. It's a captain's job to be the team's number one supporter."

Natsumi looked up at Yurina's stormy blue eyes.

"Maybe by the time I'm a third year, and being captain is offered to me, I'll have changed my mind." Natsumi said, giving a weak smile.

"Swim hard, work hard and support hard, and maybe you'll be a candidate." Yurina said, giving a small half smile. "Nice meeting you, Minami-san. Okay! Team! Time to clean up and close up. That's the end of morning practice! Be here at 4:30 for the afternoon practice! Don't be late!"

The day passed without too much going on. Natsumi headed back home to finish up some of her homework and did chores with her sister around the house. Natsumi would be living with her sister for seven years that coming June. There was quite an age difference between them. Natsumi's parents had her later in their lives, when her older sister, Hotaru, was sixteen. Natsumi had celebrated her sixteenth birthday that January. Her parents named her Natsumi, which meant "Summer Beauty," for purely ironic reasons.

The practice came and went, and Natsumi offered to help clean up and close up at the end of practice. When most of the equipment was put away, Natsumi told the other two underclassmen that stayed with her to go on ahead, that she'd finish up. Soon, she was by herself.

"Man that was one tough practice," Natsumi said. "Now I know why Shizenshima Center High School's swim team has the reputation it has."

Natsumi locked the equipment closet door and turned around to head out. There was a sudden change in the air pressure in the room. Natsumi's ears felt muffled, like someone was jamming wax or earplugs into her ears. A wide, multicolored circle opened above the pool. Natsumi couldn't hear anything at first. Light danced on the surface of the water with the miniscule waves of almost still water.

After what seemed like hours, Natsumi began to hear a faint noise coming from the circle; it got louder and louder with each second. Natsumi's ears finally popped as a girl dressed in white with long golden hair fell, screaming, into the water with a splash. The circle shrunk with incredible speed and disappeared with a barely audible ping.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!" Natsumi shouted, throwing her stuff on the ground and running to the pool. The girl in white hadn't surfaced yet, but it was obvious she was alive and kicking. Literally. The girl was kicking underwater, seemingly unsure of what to do.

"Hang-hang on! I'm coming to get you!"

Natsumi dove into the water and swam after the girl, her hands cutting through the water with speed. The swimmer wrapped her arms around the girl, who was still kicking and flailing her arms, and swam back to the surface.

"HELP! HELP! I CAN'T SWIM! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

The girl was speaking in a language that Natsumi didn't understand. It sounded almost like English, but there was something about the way the girl formed the words that made it seem like it wasn't.

"Calm down! Calm down! I can swim, just let me help you, okay?" Natsumi said, removing one arm from the girl's waist to swim over to the shallow end of the pool.

"What? You can swim? Oh, thank heavens. I thought I was about to drown."

"I'm just letting you know right now, I don't know English, or whatever language it is you're speaking," Natsumi said.

"I'm terribly afraid I can't understand a word you just said. Were those even words? Oh, we're at a shallow end. I can stand now, thank you."

The girl freed herself from Natsumi's grip. She looked around the pool, unsure of what she was looking at. She finally eyed the rails that people used to get out of the water and waded over to them.

"Is someone not going to help me out of the water? It's so empty in here. I do love the echo though."

The strange girl stood in front of the steps and rails, literally waiting for someone to help pull her out of the water. Natsumi's brows furrowed as she swam over to the steps. She wasn't so much angry with the girl as she was frustrated at the fact she couldn't understand what the girl was saying and the fact that she seemed rather stuck up.

Natsumi grabbed the rails, and pulled herself up out of the water. A hand extended out to Natsumi the second she was out of the water. Natsumi stared at the girl's hand.

"No, you can help yourself out." Natsumi said, arms folding across her chest. The girl didn't seem to understand what Natsumi had said, but she could understand body language.

"Help me out of the water, please!"

Natsumi had eventually helped the girl out of the water, but because they couldn't understand one another, it took longer than it should have. Once the girl with golden hair understood what the steps were, it was easy from then. The girls dried themselves off – the strange girl using what seemed about ten towels to dry off various parts of her body – and unsure of what to do, they sat down in the small bleachers next to the pool.

"So," Natsumi started. She wasn't sure how to continue considering the girl didn't understand her.

"I think… I think I have a something that will help us understand one another. Here," the girl said, taking out a small compact and opening it up. Natsumi's dark red eyes stared back at her as she looked in the small mirror.

"It's a pretty mirror." Natsumi said. The girl then placed the compact in front of her own face.

"Speak." She said. There was a soft, small golden light at the girl's neck. When it faded, she turned to Natsumi and smiled. "Thank you for assisting me out of the water. It was highly appreciated."

Natsumi stared at the girl; shock the only expression on her face.

"How-how did you do th-that?" She stammered

"This?" The girl said. "This is one of the Royal Family's communication compacts. It works for appearances as well." She said simply.

"Royal Family?" Natsumi asked.

"Yes, I am Princess Orianna Aneirin of the Valley of Gold Kingdom. I've been sent to this world to find something called the Pretty Cure Warriors."

"Princess Orianna…" Natsumi's words were thin, barely audible. A million thoughts were racing through her mind. Natsumi's was glad they were sitting down. Her thoughts finally collected and she looked at Orianna.

"Well, I know one thing's for sure," she started. "You definitely can't go around the looking like that."

The smoke darkened the air; the fire danced, raged and ravished the Valley. All but one member of the Royal Family had been captured. The young Princess was nowhere to be found. A sixteen-year-old girl was the Machine Empire's only threat. The Four Guardians had retreated to their mountains, as they needed to protect those more than the Valley itself. The fighting had weakened them, but they still had managed to do damage to the Machine Empire. The initial airship that attacked had been completely obliterated the second the Guardians attacked. Many more airships held them off, while the Queen's Airship remained far behind.

Jonah looked out a window from the command room. The Green General had no emotions in their eyes.

"Long live the Queen," Jonah said. Thin, dark fingers laced themselves through short, light green hair. The Green General turned around and walked to the center of the command room. A pillar of black steel stood tall, the faint figure of a woman could be seen at four points of the cylindrical pillar.

"Jonah," a metallic, almost automated voice sounded. It was feminine, cold, calculating and harsh. "Take this Industrialite bullet and find the princess. She must be captured at all costs. Under no circumstances can she be allowed to run around and be a threat to us."

"Yes, my Queen. I'll find the princess and bring her back."

Jonah's dark figure glowed with green light before vanishing seconds later.

Orianna had found a fashion magazine in the natatorium and once again used her compact to alter herself. A pale pink sweater with frills and a "u" shaped pattern of flowers on her chest that hung off her shoulders had replaced her white gown. She wore short, cropped white shorts, and a pair of thigh length pink boots. Her blond hair had dulled a little in color and was shorter than what it was before. She had a thin, red-pink belt with a large pink bow on it wrapped itself around her sweater at her waist. Lastly, a perfectly white satchel was draped over her left shoulder and was resting on her right hip.

The two girls had left the natatorium, hopped on a train and started walking down the street that lead to Natsumi's house. Natsumi explained to Orianna that she was now on the island of Shizenshima, or as tourists called it in a literal sense, "Nature Island."

"Are there any kings or queens on the island?" Orianna asked, the two girls walking down a street.

"No… Not really? The island is separated into five prefectures. There's Shizenshima North, Shizenshima South, Shizenshima East, Shizenshima West and Shizenshima Central. We're in Shizenshima South now, but we were in Shizenshima Central before we got on the train. And each prefecture has a mayor. They deal with the political laws and things like that."

"So like a king or a queen?" Orianna asked.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that…" Natsumi said.

The two were quiet for a while. Natsumi had decided to take Orianna back to her place. She wasn't sure where else to take the poor girl, exactly. Not wanting the walk to be awkward or too quiet, Natsumi attempted for more conversation.

"So… What's in that bag there?" She ventured.

"It's got some important artifacts in it." Orianna said, seeming to be unsure of what was in her bag as well.

"You said something about… finding Pretty Cure warriors? What are those?"

Orianna was silent for a while. Natsumi could see how the other girl's eyes squinted, her brows pushing downward, her fingers grabbing her chin that she was thinking.

"I've only ever heard about them in legends when I was a child. They weren't taught to me much. But as far as I know, they were warriors who protected my Valley long ago. Some say they became the Four Guardians that protect the Valley. Others say they went back to their home in another world." Orianna said, trying to think of more to say. "That's what's in this satchel of mine. These artifacts are apparently items used by the Pretty Cure Warriors."

It was all a little too much for Natsumi to take in. After all, things like what Orianna was describing belonged in books, or on TV, not in real life. However, Natsumi had no reason to not believe what the girl was telling her.

"Well I hope you find them without too much trouble." Natsumi said.

The rest of the walk went by quietly, though Natsumi didn't feel awkward around the girl. The sun was setting, and tones of orange, pink and blue blended in the sky. The street the two girls were walking on was just a few blocks away from the ocean. Natsumi could almost smell the salty spray from the ocean.

"Natsumi," Orianna said, her voice ringing with urgency.

Natsumi stopped walking and noticed that Orianna had stopped a few steps behind her.

"What's the problem?" Natsumi asked.

"I'm the problem." A voice said.

Natsumi looked around, searching for the voice. A tall, slender figure was walking up the hilly street the two girls were walking down. He (or she, Natsumi couldn't tell, even if the figure wasn't that far from them) had dark brown skin and green eyes that were almost an unnatural shade of green for human eyes. The figure had short, messy green hair with a portion of it shaved off just above the left ear. They wore a short sleeved, long green coat, the tail end of it fluttering behind the figure in the wind.

"You should have been careful with your magical use, princess." The figure's voice was somehow both feminine and masculine at the same time. Natsumi still couldn't figure out if this person was a man or a woman, but that didn't matter. The person gave off a vibe that told Natsumi they were dangerous. "It made you incredibly easy to find. Now," they said. "If you just come with me, no one will have to get hurt."

Orianna took a few steps backwards, her frame visibly shaking. Natsumi stood in between the two, looking back and forth between them.

"Orianna, do you know this guy?"

"No… I haven't the slightest idea." Orianna said with a quivering voice.

"My name is Jonah. I am the Machine Empire's Mechanic, the Green General. I'm here to take the princess to Queen Platania. That girl is a threat to the Machine Empire."

"Yo…nah? The Machine Empire? Orianna…?" Natsumi kept her gaze on the foreign girl.

"Natsumi, run!" Orianna jerked forward, snatching Natsumi's wrist before turning around and running in the opposite direction of Jonah.

"I guess we'll have to play it the hard way." Jonah muttered. The Green General pulled out a simple black gun. It looked like a toy gun, but it had one purpose: To imbue a piece of living metal with dark energy and create an Industrialite. Jonah clenched the gun with both hands, and aimed at a parked car. Jonah pulled the trigger, and the bullet slowly came to the front of the gun. Purple sparks flashed around the bullet as it began to grow. Two glowing purple eyes opened on the surface and the bullet – now the size of a beach ball – shot forward and collided with the car.

Within seconds, the car roared to life, and tripled in size. The headlights turned into the purple eyes that were on the bullet, the back wheels turned horizontally as the car monster stood upright.

"INDUSTRIALITE!" It roared.

"Orianna, what is that thing?!" Natsumi shouted in between pants as the girls ran.

"I don't know, but let's just keep running!"

"I don't think we can! That thing is already caught up to us!"

The two girls stopped running as the car monster, which had gone down on all four wheels, screeched past them as it tried to turn itself around and corner the girls.

"What do we do? Orianna, what to we do?" Natsumi said.

"I… I don't know. I haven't found the Pretty Cure Warriors yet! If I remember correctly, they have the power to take care of these things."

Natsumi was quiet, but her face seemed to say it all to Orianna.

"No. Natsumi, no! I can't do that. This is my job. For all I know, you may not even be a Pretty Cure!"

Natsumi said nothing, but the roar of the engine from the monster was too deafening for her to hear herself think of any other alternative. Jonah had appeared in front of them as well. The Green General seemed to be bored and annoyed, but they seemed determined to get their job done.

"Just let me use one of those Pretty Cure things. At least let me protect you." She said. Orianna looked at the bag, then back at Natsumi.

"O… Okay."

Before Orianna could say anything, her satchel began to glow with a warm, red light.

"Industrialite, get the princess!" Jonah ordered.

Natsumi didn't wait for Orianna to give her the compass. She shoved her hand into the bag, grabbed the first thing she could find. It was a compass with a red, glowing needle sitting on the face of the compass. The car was about to slam into the girls. Natsumi shoved the princess away and faced the car. The right light grew harsher and seemed to create an invisible dome around Natsumi. The car couldn't get close to her. Natsumi heard a voice speaking in her head. Each word got louder and louder before she finally felt the need to shout them out herself.

"Pretty Cure! Direction Change!" She shouted. She flicked the needle and it spun twice before landing on an "S." "South!"

Instantly, Natsumi was engulfed in a fiery red light. She spun around, red fiery energy collecting on her torso. A red and white vest with two white shoulder straps appeared, stopping just above her bellybutton. Red fire clung to her waist, forming a pair of red compression shorts. Natsumi spun around as a white skirt appeared around her waist. It didn't wrap entirely around her waist though, so the pants underneath could still be seen. She flung her arms around, energy collecting on them and instantly bursting away to reveal two fingerless white gloves with thin, red piping. Red light slid up her legs, stopping just below her calf on her right leg. The light on her left leg, however went up to mid thigh. The light faded into two white socks and instantly her feet were swarmed with red energy. The red light burst apart to reveal two red, baggy boots that rose just above her ankles.

Her red hair glowed and began to flicker and rage like it was fire itself. A red band of energy appeared, putting her fiery hair into a pony tail. The light surrounding her hair burst away to reveal a pony tail that pointed out in four directions, like an "X." A light red bow tied itself together on her chest, a bright ruby red orb sitting on the knot. Lastly, a red orb flew down from above and attached itself to the left side of her hip. It burst into a red pouch with a small tongue of flame on the cover. Inside was her compass. She spun around, flames dancing around her before she struck a heroic like pose.

"The Fiery Southern Bird! Cure Cinder!"

The light died down and Orianna, lying on the ground looked at Natsumi, who was now Cure Cinder.

"It… It actually worked." She said, her words full of disbelief.

Cure Cinder charged for the Industrialite, which had now stood on its back wheels. The two parried one another for a few moments.

"This feels… so natural to me." Cinder thought. The two exchanged one more blow before Cinder jumped backwards in an elegant arch, giving herself some distance between herself and the monster.

"This is me now?" She asked, finally taking in the transformation that had just taken place.

"Don't just stand there, you stupid car! Destroy her!" Jonah shouted.

Cinder's reflexes had dramatically increased, she noticed. She matched the Industrialite's attack. The car monster sounded its horn, emitting a sound that felt like it would burst Cinder's eardrums. She lowered her arm that had blocked the monster's attack and covered her ears. The car took the opportunity, slamming its wheel into Cinder's stomach, sending her backwards.

"Cure Cinder!" Orianna shouted.

The girl in red was motionless for a few heart-stopping moments. Orianna realized she had been holding her breath, only letting it go when she noticed Cinder began to move. A bright red fire surrounded Cure Cinder, and she charged at the Industrialite once again. Cinder punched as hard as she could into the monster's "face," causing it to fall backwards. Once again, Cinder's head was filled with words that she knew she must speak. She grabbed her compass from the pouch on her waist and held it in front of her. The white face of the compass began charging a red light.

"Pretty Cure! Cinder Flame!" She shouted.

Fire erupted from the compass and engulfed the car monster completely. The monster too began to glow with red light, before exploding into red-white smoke. Once the smoke cleared, the car returned to the way it was before. Cinder looked around for Jonah, but didn't see the Green General anywhere.

"Natsumi! I can't believe you're a Pretty Cure Warrior! Oh, I knew it was fate working when I met you!" Orianna squealed with glee as she threw her arms around the now normal Natsumi.

"Yeah, I can't believe I it either." Natsumi said, staring down at the compass. It was made of a polished, brown wood that was a little bigger than Natsumi's palm. The face of the compass appeared to be made out of marble, or some kind of stone. There were four letters on the compass: "N," "S," "E," and "W," each letter a different color. The needle rested in the center of the compass, still pointing downwards to the "S."

"Alright... Let's think of an excuse to make sure you have a roof over your head." Natsumi said.

"You want to do what, again, Natsumi?"

Nastumi tried her best to look her older sister in the eyes. The two looked similar enough, but Hotaru had brown hair, though the two shared the same dark red eye color.

"I… Have an exchange student with me, and apparently at the last minute, her host family pulled out. I got to talking with her today, and we became quick friends! So, I-I, uh, offered our place for her to stay?" Natsumi said, rubbing the back of her head. Hotaru was quiet for a few moments, arms folded, her finger tabbing her upper arm.

"Kazu!" Hotaru shouted.

A few moments later, a tall, thin man with messy black hair and wire glasses over his surprisingly bright green eyes stood behind Hotaru.

"What's up, hun?"

"Natsumi?" Hotaru said.

Natsumi took in a deep breath before speaking once again.

"Long story short, the exchange student that was coming this year doesn't have a host family anymore, and I offered our house for her to stay."

"Really? That's great, Natsumi!" Kazu said.

"Kazuhito!" Hotaru protested. Seeing that she was outnumbered, Hotaru sighed. "Fine, she can stay with us."

"Yay! Thank you very much!" Orianna said, appearing from behind Natsumi.

"Oh, so you're from America? Or London? Your accent is pretty strange." Kazu said. The four all went back into the house.

Preview:

Natsumi: So what does being a Pretty Cure mean?

Orianna: I'm not sure.

Natsumi: How long am I going to be doing this for?

Orianna: I'm not sure.

Natsumi: I'm sure it'll be fun though!

Orianna: Hey, who are those people on your mantle?

Natsumi: Who? …Oh. Those are my parents.

Next time on Compass Pretty Cure: "Smiling Bird, Golden Flower! Natsumi and Orianna's New Friendship!"