Scott and Zelda were both walking through the town observing all of the ponies dueling, but they kept a watchful eye out for the four agents, as they were the ones they really needed to defeat. However, they knew that since they only made two of hundreds of teams that were competing, it would be foolish to try and run all over Ponyville to find them. Plus, the less duels they won, they slimmer their chances of getting into the finals, and knowing what skills Ryan had, the other three would be just as likely to make it there. They would need some wins in if they would even hope to see their names on the tournament bracket.
Thankfully, they came across a couple of familiar faces, it was Scootaloo and Apple Bloom riding their own scooters. While Scootaloo propelled hers by her small stubby wings, Apple Bloom had a motor attached to hers, having it run automatically.
“Hi Scott. Hi Zelda,” greeted Scootaloo.
“Hey guys,” cheerfully greeted Scott. “How are you holding up so far? You’re not too tired yet, are you?”
“Naw,” said Apple Bloom, “we’re just gettin’ started.”
“Would you like to be our first opponents?” asked Scootaloo.
“Sounds alright with me. What do you say Zelda?” asked Scott.
Zelda looked a little confused. Scott was a powerful duelist and it seemed outside of his nature to challenge two children like that.
“Scott,” she protested, but got cut off by Apple Bloom.
“Now wait just a minute,” said Apple Bloom with a hint of anger and hurt in her voice. “We’re the champions of the 2nd annual EFDC, so you shouldn’t brush us off like that.”
“They’re right,” said Scott matter-of-factly. “There’s a fire in those fillies hearts that couldn’t even compare to the spirit that burns in most adults. They’re something else Zelda; a force to be reckoned with.”
Zelda looked at the determination on the two foals’ faces.
“Alright, if you really think so,” Zelda relented with a small smile on her face.
“He don’t think so,” said Apple Bloom.
“He knows so,” finished Scootaloo.
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They made a quick stop at the Lamss Theater (having been renamed by the townsfolk in their memory). Scott and Zelda came around the back with a pair of slick, light motorcycles, Scott’s being white and Zelda’s being black. They each wore their wrist dealers while the D-Pad tablet was on the dashboard.
“Woah,” said Scootaloo and Apple Bloom in unison.
“That’s a mighty fine machine you got there,” said Apple Bloom.
“Thanks,” said Zelda nonchalantly. “We have a guy in Slateport who builds them for us. Nice guy.”
“Is that one of the cities where you guys live?” asked Scootaloo.
“Sharp kid,” said Zelda quietly to Scott but loud enough for Scootaloo to hear her question confirmed.
“Okay, let’s do this then,” said Zelda putting on her helmet.
Zelda and Apple Bloom were the first to go for a riding relay match. Zelda wanted to test the strength of these two fillies who claimed that they won this tournament the previous year. When the green “Go” light flashed, she would take off as fast as she could. It was crucial to gain the first turn in any duel, and she knew that if she was going to win, she’d need every advantage possible.
Apple Bloom and Zelda readied their D-Wheels and activated Speed World 2, enveloping the area in a bright aura. As they aimed their vehicles at the outskirts of town where there would be plenty of open space, the countdown went off. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
*BEEP!*
Zelda blasted off from the starting line, nearly blowing over Apple Bloom’s scooter.
“Oh Jesus, Zelda,” grunted Scott in disbelief in her lack of humility.
It was obvious that Zelda got the first turn, but she braked her bike and waited for Apple Bloom to eventually catch up.
“Hey, that wasn’t very nice,” said Apple Bloom.
“Tough,” said Zelda bluntly. “We have four people out there right now that would gladly inflict great pain on you and your friend given half a chance. If you’re going to complain about me taking the first turn a little roughly, then turn around and quit the tournament, because it will get harder from here on out.”
Apple Bloom just glared at her and sped off, leaving Zelda to catch up to her. They each drew five cards from their deck.
“DUEL!” they both yelled.
Zelda and Scott vs. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo
Round 1: Zelda vs. Apple Bloom
Zelda’s Turn: Z:1 AB:0 Zelda places 1 card face down. Next, she summons Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1300). Then she activates the effect of Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind, special summoning it from her hand, as she controls a Blackwing monster (ATK: 1300 DEF: 400). Zelda tunes Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite with Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind to synchro summon Blackwing Armor Master (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1500). When Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite is in Zelda’s graveyard, Zelda can return one card she controls to the hand and take 400 damage to special summon it from her graveyard.
Zelda’s Life Points: 4000 -> 3600
Zelda places 1 card face down and ends her turn.
Status: Hand-3 Life-3600 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-1
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Apple Bloom had a brief flashback.
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“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo,” said Eli with unease inside the Lamss Theater, “I can’t give you any Numbers. Doing so will endanger your lives, and as the guardian, I won’t let that happen.”
“Come on,” complained Scootaloo, “we’re the champions of last year’s EFDC. We wouldn’t ask for Numbers if we weren’t willing to pay the price.”
“Yeah,” butted in Apple Bloom. “Heck, I almost lost my life once tryin’ to protect Equestria from evil. I think I can handle that responsibility again.”
Eli was very close to his breaking point. He knew of these stories, as they were told by the Lamss members.
“You do know that there are people out there who will have no problem hurting you to get these cards from you, right? You must protect these cards with your life. You got that.”
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nodded in eager agreement.
“Alright,” said Eli. He handed them two Numbers apiece.
“Mr. Eli, sir,” said Apple Bloom saluting him. “You don’t need to worry about us. We’ll take those Number hunters down a few pegs if it’s the last thing we do.”
Eli couldn’t help but be moved by their unwavering bravery. Apple Bloom squinted in concentration, as she knew what she was about to do.
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Apple Bloom’s Turn: Z:1 AB:1 Apple Bloom activates Overboost, increasing her speed counters by 4 (SpC.: 1 -> 5). Next, she summons Karakuri Komachi mdl 224 "Ninishi" (ATK: 0 DEF: 1800). When Karakuri Komachi mdl 224 "Ninishi" is on the field, Apple Bloom can normal summon another Karakuri monster this turn, choosing Karakuri Soldier mdl 236 "Nisamu" (ATK: 1400 DEF: 200). Apple Bloom tunes Karakuri Soldier mdl 236 "Nisamu" with Karakuri Komachi mdl 224 "Ninishi" to synchro summon Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei" (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1900).
When Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei" is synchro summoned, Apple Bloom can special summon a Karakuri monster from her deck, choosing Karakuri Ninja mdl 7749 "Nanashick" (ATK: 2200 DEF: 1800). Next, Apple Bloom activates the speed spell Synchro Defuse, taking control of Blackwing Armor Master. Apple Bloom overlays Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei" and Blackwing Armor Master to xyz summon Number 107: Titanic Comet Trebuchet (ATK: 0 DEF: 0). Apple Bloom attacks Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite with Karakuri Ninja mdl 7749 "Nanashick".
Zelda’s Life Points: 3600 -> 3000
Apple Bloom then activates Number 107: Titanic Comet Trebuchet’s effect. By detaching one xyz material from it, she can gain ATK equal to the detached xyz material until the end phase and have Number 107: Titanic Comet Trebuchet attack. This attack is treated as an effect. Apple Bloom detaches Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei" and inflicts damage equal to its ATK (ATK: 0 -> 2600).
Zelda’s Life Points: 3000 -> 400
Zelda activates Black Feather Beacon, special summoning a level 4 or lower Blackwing monster when she takes effect damage, choosing Blackwing – Etesian of Two Swords (ATK: 400 DEF: 1600).
Apple Bloom places 2 cards face down and ends her turn. Number 107: Titanic Comet Trebuchet’s ATK returns to normal (ATK: 2600 -> 0). Because of Overboost, Apple Bloom’s speed counters become 1 (SpC.: 5 -> 1).
Status: Hand-0 Life-4000 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-1
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“Where the hell did you get Numbers?” asked Zelda frightened.
“Eli gave them to us,” said Apple Bloom casually. Zelda then grew a look that said that she wanted to beat Eli to a pulp.
“You don’t need to worry about him,” assured Apple Bloom, “or even us for that matter. It’s obvious that I have this duel under control. You just gotta trust me.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Zelda furiously.
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Zelda’s Turn: Z:2 AB:2 Zelda activates Angel Baton drawing 2 cards and discarding 1. When Blackwing - Breeze the Zephyr is added from her deck to her hand by a card effect, Zelda can special summon it (ATK: 1100 DEF: 300). Zelda then special summons another Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind from her hand with its effect. Zelda overlays Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind, Blackwing - Breeze the Zephyr, and Blackwing – Etesian of Two Swords to xyz summon Number 199: Lunar Wolf Spirit (ATK: 2200 DEF: 1300).
Zelda activates Number 199: Lunar Wolf Spirit’s effect. By detaching one xyz material from it, she can normal summon without tributing until the end of this turn. Zelda summons Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1800). Once per turn, Zelda can have Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake lose 1000 ATK to send all of the opponent’s spell and trap cards to the hand (ATK: 2600 -> 1600). Zelda attacks Number 107: Titanic Comet Trebuchet with Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake. Because Numbers can only be destroyed by other Numbers in battle, Number 107: Titanic Comet Trebuchet isn’t destroyed, but due to Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake’s effect, it’s sent to the hand at the end of damage calculation, which is still applied.
Apple Bloom’s Life Points: 4000 -> 2400
Next, Zelda attacks Apple Bloom directly with Number 199: Lunar Wolf Spirit.
Apple Bloom’s Life Points: 2400 -> 200
Zelda places 1 card face down and ends her turn.
Status: Hand-0 Life-400 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-1
Apple Bloom’s Turn: Z:3 AB:3 Apple Bloom places 2 cards face down. Next, she activates the speed spell Speed Storm, inflicting 1000 points of damage onto Zelda.
Zelda’s Life Points: 400 -> 0
Apple Bloom wins the round.
Status: Hand-0 Life-400 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-2
Zelda switches with Scott and will pass Number 199: Lunar Wolf Spirit, Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake, and her face down card on to him.
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“Incredible,” said Zelda in awe as she watched Scott take off. “That little filly… defeated… me.” Zelda was then deep in thought as she considered whether leaving Numbers with these two fillies was such a good idea.
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Round 2: Scott vs. Apple Bloom
Scott’s Turn: S:4 AB:4 Scott activates Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake’s effect, decreasing its ATK by 1000 to return all spell and trap cards on the opponent’s side of the field to the hand (ATK: 1600 -> 600). Next, he activates Number 199: Lunar Wolf Spirit’s effect. By detaching 1 xyz material from it, he can normal summon this turn without tributing.
Scott summons Majestic Mech – Goryu (ATK: 2900 DEF: 1800). Scott places 1 card face down. Scott attacks Karakuri Ninja mdl 7749 "Nanashick" with Majestic Mech – Goryu. When Karakuri Ninja mdl 7749 "Nanashick" is chosen as an attack target, it’s switched to defense position. When Majestic Mech – Goryu attacks a defense position monster, piercing damage is applied.
Apple Bloom’s Life Points: 200 -> 0
Scott wins the round.
Status: Hand-4 Life-4000 Monsters-3 Face Down Cards-2
Apple Bloom switches with Scootaloo, who will pass nothing on to her.
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Apple Bloom rode and broke up next to Zelda, who was still thinking about her defeat.
“You alright, Zelda?” asked Apple Bloom curiously. This was enough to break her concentration.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said finally.
“You’re still not mad that we took the Numbers, are you?” asked Apple Bloom with a touch of worry in her voice.
“No, no, no,” sighed Zelda. “I’m pretty sure that even for as little as I’ve known Eli, he wouldn’t just give Numbers to just anybody, but you do know that now that you-”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Apple Bloom, “Eli went over this with me. Plus, if I’m good enough to beat you-”
“Okay, okay. I get the point.” Zelda then looked out to see that Scootaloo just caught up with Scott.
“Can I see?” asked Apple Bloom putting her front hooves on Zelda’s legs.
Zelda knew exactly what this meant, and so she picked her up and had her sit on her shoulders, much like a parent would its child. They both then watched the end of the duel together.
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Final Round: Scootaloo vs. Scott
Scootaloo’s Turn: Sctl:5 Sctt:5 Scootaloo activates her Angel Baton, drawing 2 cards and discarding 1. Next, she summons R-Genex Overseer (ATK: 200 DEF: 100). When R-Genex Overseer is summoned, Scootaloo can special summon a level 3 or lower Genex monster from her hand, choosing Genex Ally Solid (ATK: 500 DEF: 1200). Then, Scootaloo activates the speed spell Summon Speeder, special summoning a level 4 or lower monster from her hand, choosing Genex Ally Powercell (ATK: 1700 DEF: 0). Scootaloo tunes Genex Ally Powercell and Genex Ally Solid with Genex Overseer to synchro summon Genex Ally Axel (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2000).
Scootaloo activates Genex Ally Axel’s effect. By discarding 1 card, she can special summon a level 4 or lower Machine-type monster from her graveyard and double its ATK until the end phase, choosing R-Genex Ultimum (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1400) (ATK: 1800 -> 3600). Scootaloo attacks Majestic Mech – Goryu with R-Genex Ultimum, but Scott activates Battle Stun Sonic, negating the attack and special summoning 1 level 4 or lower tuner monster from his hand, choosing Vylon Stella (ATK: 1400 DEF: 200). Scootaloo then attacks Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake with Genex Ally Axel.
Scott’s Life Points: 4000 -> 2000
Because of Blackwing – Abrolhos the Megaquake’s effect, Genex Ally Axel returns to Scootaloo’s hand after damage calculation. Scootaloo places 1 card face down and ends her turn. Because of Genex Ally Axel’s effect, R-Genex Ultimum is removed from play.
Status: Hand-0 Life-4000 Monsters-0 Face Down Cards-1
Scott’s Turn: Sctl:6 Sctt:6 Scott attacks Genex Ally Axel with Majestic Mech – Goryu.
Scootaloo’s Life Points: 4000 -> 3700
Scootaloo activates Card of Last Will, drawing 5 cards if a monster she controls is destroyed. Scott then attacks with Number 199: Lunar Wolf Spirit, but Scootaloo activates The High Priestess’ Staff from her hand, negating the attack, ending the battle phase, and inflicting 500 points of damage to the opponent, but Scott activates Barrel Behind the Door, inflicting that effect damage on Scootaloo instead.
Scootaloo’s Life Points: 3700 -> 3200
Scott activates Speed World 2’s effect, removing 4 speed counters (SpC.: 6 -> 2) to inflict 800 damage to Scootaloo for each speed spell in his hand. He has 3.
Scootaloo’s Life Points: 3200 -> 800
Scott ends his turn.
Status: Hand-4 Life-1500 Monsters-3 Face Down Cards-0
Scootaloo’s Turn: Sctl:7 Sctt:3 Scootaloo summons Genex Controller (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200). Next, she activates the speed spell Creature Swap, removing 3 speed counters (SpC.: 7 -> 4) to have each player take control of a monster their opponent controls. Scootaloo takes control of Majestic Mech – Goryu while Scott is forced to take Genex Controller. Scootaloo attacks Vylon Stella with Majestic Mech – Goryu.
Scott’s Life Points: 2000 -> 500
Scootaloo then activates Speed World 2’s effect, removing 4 speed counters (SpC.: 4 -> 0) to inflict 800 damage to Scott for each speed spell in her hand. She has 1.
Scott’s Life Points: 500 -> 0
Scootaloo wins the round.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo win the match.
Scott and Scootaloo rode their vehicles to where Zelda and Apple Bloom were watching them.
“So what do you think?” asked Scootaloo as she took off her helmet. “Do you still think we can’t handle the Numbers?”
“I already talked to Scootaloo about that,” replied Zelda. “You two certainly have some undeniable skills. I hope that when you do come across those four agents, that you two will be ready.”
“Don’t worry, ma’am,” said Apple Bloom with respect, “they’ll rue the day they set foot on Equestrian soil.”
“If you say so,” said Zelda trying to be as supportive as possible.
The two foals rode off after congratulatory handshakes and good-byes. “Do you think they’ll be alright?” asked Zelda to Scott.
“You’d be surprised how well the ponies here can look after themselves. Especially those two.”
“I sure hope you’re right,” said Zelda. “Because I can’t be too sure that I am.”