Inside the Faber kitchen, Bette watched the Keurig machine as it drew a steaming cup of coffee into a mug placed beneath its spout. At the kitchen table, Yurik, and Walt sat on the longer sides while Twilight sat at an end, her eyes red, bloodshot, and droopy. Once Bette came over with the coffee, placing it on the table and exiting the room, Applejack and Fluttershy came down the stairs, slowly walked towards Twilight.
“You feeling better, sugarcube?” asked Applejack.
“Better?” Twilight weakly responded, bringing her coffee to her lips with her flickering aura shaking the cup. “Ponyville is destroyed and is being taken over by Sunset Shimmer and Chrysalis, and you’re asking me if I’m feeling better?”
“Well,” Fluttershy said with uncertainty in her voice, “we were just talking with Clark and… and…”
“We all think that that nightmare you had was just that: a nightmare.”
Twilight jerked her head to Applejack and Fluttershy, her disheveled appearance and the clatter of her mug falling onto the table causing the latter to squeak with fear and hide behind Applejack. Yurik quickly grabbed some napkins from a holster upon the table, placing them upon the puddle of coffee that had spilled over.
“You weren’t even there!” Twilight hissed. “I saw them. I saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo run for their lives as those monstrosities of hers destroyed our palace and the rest of the town! I even saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and their foals weren’t even with them!”
“Okay,” Applejack huffed, “that has to be a nightmare. There’s no cotton-pickin’ way that they would up and abandon those foals like that.”
“I’ve never seen or heard of those monsters that Sunset used, and the damage I felt from their attacks were real! I swear on my life that what I was seeing and feeling was real!”
“Twilight,” spoke Walt, “listen, the second Yurik and I dried you off, I called Kieran and asked him to investigate. He’s sending a satellite to check for any damages to the town.”
“Yeah,” Yurik attested, “and we’ll be going over to the factory to get everyone else their decks and duel disks anyways. So, not only will we be prepared to fight back, but you can even see the results for yourself.”
“Besides,” Applejack reasoned, “she could just be trying to lure all of us into a trap.”
“A trap?” Twilight wondered.
“Well, yeah! She makes you see all this doom and gloom, we rush over to try and stop her, and then she just up and blindsides us just like that!”
“And while we sit here talking,” Twilight spat, “she and Chrysalis and whoever else is working for her probably has your sister and is doing horrible things to her!”
“Twilight, get a hold of yourself! She might be pulling you in hook, line, and sinker, but I’m not biting until I’m one-hundred percent sure!”
“And what if I’m one-hundred percent sure? I was actually there!”
“You don’t know that!”
“Girls!” Yurik barked. “Stop! Applejack, please, Twilight’s still very traumatized. Quit being so hard on her. But… Twilight, try and consider what Applejack is saying. It hasn’t been confirmed that what you experienced last night was real.”
“I need someone to confirm what’s real or not to me now?” moaned Twilight. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“Twilight, is there any kind of chance that this Sunset Shimmer has the ability to manipulate your dreams?”
“There… there is, but don’t you dare interpret that as the conclusive answer. The only pony known to enter a pony’s dreams and make them as real as they did was Princess Luna. For a human… or a pony… or whatever she is to be able to have such a power… it’s… its just unfathomable!”
Yurik leaned forwards and put his hand upon Twilight’s shoulder consolingly.
“Twilight,” Yurik said, “don’t forget, my Twilight Alicorn was able to conjure your entire planet here. If a single card can hold so much power, then why couldn’t she?”
Twilight looked down, unable to find an answer no matter how hard she tried to think of one.
“Twilight,” said Walt, also putting his hand down on the opposite shoulder, “we’ll get everything confirmed once we get to the factory. I’m also sure Kieran and everyone else would really like to learn as much as you know.”
“Suppose Ponyville ends up being just fine,” said Applejack. “Then you’ll have worried for nothing.”
“Well,” Walt added, “she certainly isn’t worried about nothing…”
Twilight looked around at her friends with as appreciative of a smile as she could muster. Resting her head back down, she hid a frown away from them.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yurik, Walt, Alice, the ponies, Spike sat inside the control balcony above the dueling chamber while Kieran sat before the computer along the window, browsing through pages showing a group of pendulum monster cards, the machines on the artwork, resembling the cards that Sunset had used.
“Twilight,” Kieran asked, pressing the enter key and allowing a hologram of the screen to appear to her, “are these the monsters you talked about?”
“Y- Yes!” shouted Twilight. “How did you find them?”
“You might not have heard of these cards,” Kieran said, “because they were meant to be someone else’s.”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “What does that mean?”
“Apparently,” he continued, moving and clicking his mouse around so more pages of articles and images appeared before the people and ponies behind him, “the deck was created privately for a professional duelist named Rich Kowalski. However, it was stolen last night from the factory that created it, and Rich had posted the images of his cards so that if anyone uses the cards, they’ll find the culprit.”
“Too bad they’ll never be able to reach her,” concluded Walt.
“If the description of the monster that nearly defeated you is any indicator, this must be it…”
Kieran made another scroll and a click on an image of an effect monster card with art of the massive, four-legged fortress, making Twilight shiver with fear.
“Apolqliphort Towers,” Kieran read. “If this card is Normal Summoned/Set, it is unaffected by Spell/Trap effects and by activated effects from any monster whose original Level/Rank is lower than this card's current Level.”
“Unaffected by spells and traps?” Yurik gasped. “But that means…”
“Yes,” Alice responded, “this asshat just inadvertently created the perfect defense against the Elements of Harmony for her.”
“That’s crazy!” Applejack shouted. “There’s no way a card like that should exist!”
“Do not fret,” Kieran said. “There are still many ways to combat a card such as this. No card is completely invincible, and this one is no exception.”
Kieran stood up from his chair, walking forwards to the ponies and Spike.
“Ponies,” he said, “go to Donald and allow him to get you prepped for your duel disks and decks.”
“But how’s that gonna’ to work?” asked Pinkie Pie, clopping her hooves together. “How are supposed to hold cards without no hands to hold them?”
Kieran smirked.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“Well,” Donald proudly replied, swiveling around in an office chair in a small lab to reveal a sleek, nylon sock that matched the color of Pinkie Pie’s coat, “I’m glad you asked.”
Yurik, Walt, Spike, and the ponies looked oddly at the sleeve, Twilight especially.
“But wait a second,” she said, “isn’t this just like my own sleeves?”
“Not quite.” Donald responded. “Unlike your sleeves which allow you to use your tablet, there are a few more… added features to this one.”
“Such as…?” pressed Rarity, genuinely interested.
“Well, Pinkie, may you give me your arm?”
“Sure thing!” she chirped, reaching out to him. “Just be sure to give it back!”
Donald chuckled as he tenderly put his hand around her hoof and shin. As he pulled towards him to bring her closer, an odd popping sound was heard. Once everyone turned to see, Pinkie Pie’s right arm was replaced by a small hole of tucked in skin. The entire group minus Pinkie was stunned and frightened by this, but no more than Donald, who dropped the arm to the ground with a yelp, the prosthetic limb clattering like plastic to the floor.
“Gets them every time!” laughed Pinkie Pie, her arm sliding out from the socket like an inflating balloon.
Donald stared down and back up at Pinkie Pie’s fake arm and her real one, then finally back at the pink pony’s wide smile.
“Pinkie,” instructed Rainbow Dash, “just let him put that thing on you and quit horsing around!”
“Hmm,” Donald shuddered as she grabbed the pony’s hoof, “they’re both comedians…”
Pinkie Pie stood obediently still as Donald carefully slipped the sleeve onto her, patting the sides for good measure.
“Sorry,” spoke Applejack, “but can you tell us what this thing does?”
“Why not see for yourself?” Donald asked, pulling a Duel Monsters card from his pocket and setting it down on the table. “Now, Pinkie, with your hoof, I’d like you to pick up that card.”
Yurik, Walt, Spike, and the ponies looked at Donald as if he were mad. Pinkie Pie blew a raspberry through the corner of her mouth, reaching down at the card.
“Alrighty,” Pinkie Pie said condescendingly, putting the hoof down on the card, “I know I pulled a fast one on you, but you can’t fool me twice… or something like that. I mean, tell me…”
Pinkie Pie lifted her hoof up and stuck it in front of Donald’s face, making the others behind her let out a small gasp.
“…do you think that there’s going to be card on my hoof!”
“Why,” Donald said with a victorious grin, “yes. In fact, there’s one on it right now.”
Pinkie Pie looked to her hooves, smiling dumbly at the card stuck on her hoof as if she saw nothing there. Upon the sudden realization that there really was something there, she flicked her arm with a shrill cry, sending the card flying at Donald, which he caught with an eye blink’s speed.
“Pretty incredible, huh?” he asked.
“How did she do that?” gasped Walt. “What’s in that sleeve?”
“Numerous neural sensors all inside the sleeve’s lining,” he explained. “Signals were sent from the brain to the sensors in the sleeve that activated it. When Pinkie went to pick up the card, the sleeves began to charge with a static electricity that allowed the card to cling to the bottom of your hoof, allowing you to hold onto it like a human would with hands. When you got scared and threw the card at me, the signals in your brain told you to let it go, which you did. And there you go, your hoof functions like a hand now!”
“Well…” Twilight said, failing to hide her impression, “that’s... actually very good, Donald.”
“But wait,” Yurik asked, “these ponies are going to have their hooves on the ground most of the time. Wont the cards get ruined if they have to hold them like that?”
“Normally,” Donald said, “yes, but I thought around that as well, so check this out.”
Donald placed the card back on the table while fishing into his left pocket, pulling out a retracted switchblade. Flipping it open, he held the card down with the tip of the knife on the table’s surface. With a quick swipe, the others gasped as the blade ran over the knife. Donald then picked the card back up and tossed it to Yurik.
“See?” he asked Yurik as he caught it. “Not a scratch.”
Much to Yurik’s surprise, the card was completely spotless with no signs of damage.
“What’s this now?” he asked.
“It’s a special lamination that I created. It’s very thin and practically unnoticeable, but it’s resistant to tearing, scratching, water, and yes, cutting.”
Yurik tossed the card back to Donald, putting his fists to his hips in defeat.
“Well,” Yurik breathed, “that takes care of that.”
“Now come on,” urged Donald, “let’s go shopping for decks. If we hurry, you might be able to get a duel in before lunch.”
Donald stood out from his chair and walked to the exit door, glancing to Yurik and Walt.
“I think you should help them,” he suggested. “Might help speed up the process if you do.”
As Donald walked out from the room with the ponies and Spike following him, Yurik and Walt gave him a shrug before being led by the ponies.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Sunset Shimmer sat exhaustedly upon her throne, fanning through her deck with careful consideration. Just then, Chrysalis came in through the entrance doors, which opened by a green aura that matched the one on her horn.
“Chrysalis,” Sunset greeted emotionlessly. “Where have you been all this time?”
“Cloudsdale and Manehattan have both finally surrendered,” she said. “Have you gotten the others yet?”
“Yes,” she responded, standing up. “I’ve sent them back home, and they are currently awaiting their targets. According to Cory, one of the new recruits, he tried seeing if Yurik or Walt were home, but their mother said that they were away, probably back at the factory hideout.”
“Do you think it will be enough? The ponies have the Elements of Harmony back with them and could easily defeat us with them!”
“Hmm…” Sunset sighed, walking down to the black equine. “That’s too bad.”
“What’s too bad.”
“That you had to miss the show last night.”
Sunset took the top card off of her deck, allowing Chrysalis to hold it in her magical grasp, her eyes widening with shock as she glanced over each word.
“However,” Sunset mused aloud, “as much as I had wished to actually defeat her, I’d certainly love to see what’s going on through that poor alicorn’s head right about now…”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Throughout the length of the room, the ponies and the humans stood apart from each other along the long sides of the room, their bodies each equipped with an active duel disk. Rarity stood proudly with her new mechanism and dueling sleeve. Much like Twilight’s, Rarity’s dark-purple duel disk was affixed to her arm with the blade disk and its blades with a golden rim floated out in front of her chest.
On one of her zones was a synchro monster showing a silver, monolithic, cross-shaped monster with diamonds studded throughout its center, along with large, versatile arms that floated beside the monster, based at the corners beneath the arms of the cross. The same monster appeared on Rarity’s side of the field, facing an excited Pinkie Pie.
ATK: 2900
Lvl.: 8
Pinkie Pie wore a bright yellow duel disk upon her arm, her blade disk and blades with a cyan edge floating perpendicularly beside the duel disk and parallel to the ground. There seemed to be very few cards inside the deck slot and several cards pinned down by Pinkie Pie’s hoof. However, her Parstival Mane Blaine stood defiantly before Rarity’s fearsome monster.
Parstival Mane Blaine
ATK: 2000
Lvl.: 6
“I have to say, Rarity,” twittered Pinkie Pie, “thanks for giving me such a great hand!”
“It’s the least I could do,” Rarity exclaimed with a whip of her hair. “However, you only have a few cards left to draw, and that should mean, I win, right?”
“Uh-huh! Unfortunately, that won’t happen, because your monster just gave me this!”
Pinkie stood to her hind legs and put her left arm up, the blade disk and its blades suddenly aligning parallel to each other. Glancing through her cards, she found her pendulum monster, Parstival coaster among them. Carefully touching the top of the card with her sleeved hoof, she took it out and placed it upon her right pendulum zone.
“I place Parstival Coaster on my pendulum zone!” cried Pinkie Pie.
Stopping back on her fours, her blade disk, turned back, still facing evenly parallel to the ground. Just then, a large ring of blue formed beside Pinkie Pie, and rising from the ground was the small coaster train on the circular track, the front of the train pointed at Rarity’s field.
Parstival Coaster
Pendulum Scale: 5
“I now activate the effect of Parstival Coaster,” she shouted, “allowing one of my Parstival monsters to attack directly!”
“What was that?” gasped Rarity.
“All aboard!”
The anthropomorphic lion hopped on the front car of the train as the tracks the roller coaster was not stopped on disappeared.
“Now, battle!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “Parstival Mane Blaine, attack Rarity directly! Rocket Rush!”
The train sped forwards, the monster standing upon the front reeling its arm back prepared to take Rarity on. The hairs on Rarity’s mane stood up straight as Mane Blaine swung its clawed paw, the train beginning to zoom past Rarity. The paw struck Rarity, sending her flying back and screaming.
Rarity’s Life Points: 1800 -> 0
Pinkie Pie wins.
With the duel over, Pinkie Pie and Rarity’s monsters disappeared in a bright flash and burst of sparks. Pinkie Pie worriedly ran to Rarity as she tried getting back to her hooves.
“Rarity!” cried Pinkie Pie. “I didn’t hurt you did I? I don’t know what to do with myself if I hurt you!”
“I’m fine,” Rarity said, brushing herself off while standing perfectly on all hooves. “Honest.”
“Oh, good! Like I said, I don’t know what would happen if I hurt you!”
“That’s good of you. Now, let’s see how the others are faring.”
Pinkie Pie and Rarity jointly walked to one of the ends of the room, passing the other duelists. Walt and his Tungsten Dragon faced Rainbow Dash whose duel disk was colored bright red with blades that were rimmed with alternating rainbow lights. Beside them was Alice facing Fluttershy, wearing a dark green duel disk with blades outlined in blue light. Yurik went off against Spike, his Twilight Alicorn facing a large bipedal dragon heavily adorned in royal-blue armor. The line ended with Rarity and Pinkie Pie finding Twilight facing off against Applejack, allowing them to stop and observe.
Twilight had a very sizable hand, but she had no monsters nor spells and traps on her side of the field. Applejack, equipped with a red duel disk with blades rimmed with green light that floated parallel above the ground, had a fusion monster card on her monster zone. The monster appeared to be a bulk, smiling, anthropomorphic bull with a sparkling lasso and a large hat.
ATK: 2600
Lvl.: 7
Twilight stood nervously against the monster and its mischievous stare, making her situation feel all the more dire.
================
Twilight:
LP: 300
================
“Come on, Twilight,” called Applejack. “You telling me you’re going to fight Sunset and Chrysalis like this?”
Yurik and Spike glanced over at Twilight and her poor defense. Twilight looked up to face both Applejack and her monster, only for a new sight to come into consciousness with the next blink: Sunset Shimmer, her duel disk, and Apoqliphort Towers. Twilight’s eyes narrowed down and trembled as her smile grew wider and wider.
“Is this all the fight you have?” she said in an echoed voice. “This should be easy…”
Twilight’s vision began to blur as Sunset wound her arm out, preparing her command to attack.
“My turn!” Twilight shouted with a suddenly loud volume. “Draw!”
Twilight quickly removed another card from her hand, adding it with the card she had just drawn.
“I set the pendulum scale with the scale 4 Mechjic Hydrogen and Scale 9 Mechjic Mercury!”
Twilight threw both cards onto the outer zones on her blades, making two blue pillars shoot from the ground beside her, making the sky around them grow dark blue. From the ground inside the pillars, two monsters arose. First, to the left of Twilight, there was a hazy green android with a white robe, almost as if it were made of vapor itself. To Twilight’s right, was a silvery robotic humanoid whose body rippled and jiggled as if it were made of liquid. A 4 and a 9 appeared over both monsters, respectively.
Mechjic Hydrogen
Pendulum Scale: 4
Mechjic Mercury
Pendulum Scale: 9
“I can now special summon monsters from my hand and extra deck whose levels are 5 through 8!” Twilight declared. “O magic machines,” she suddenly chanted, “show thee a power when sorcery and science become one! Pendulum summon!”
Twilight took three cards from her hand, slamming them all on three of her available monster card zones. At once, a red portal appeared beneath the large bright star, allowing three orange auras to shoot out from it and onto the field. The lights morphed into three distinct shapes before Applejack and her monster.
The monster on Twilight’s right was a glimmering golden-brown android with a gold cape, the one in the center another cyborg with armor and a cape colored a dull white, and the last one on the left an robot colored with glowing shades of red, green, and purple.
“Appear!” she commanded. “Mechjic Copper! Mechjic Calcium! Mechjic Neon!”
All three monsters widened their stances, prepared to battle on Twilight’s behalf.
Mechjic Copper
ATK: 2100
Lvl.: 7
Mechjic Calcium
ATK: 1500
Lvl.: 7
Mechjic Neon
ATK: 2000
Lvl.: 5
Applejack hissed, both in fear of Twilight’s furious face and in anticipation of the move she clearly had planned.
“I now activate the effect of Mechjic Neon!” Twilight shouted. “Once per turn, I can make this card’s level equal to another Mechjic monster I control, and I choose my Mechjic Calcium!”
The armor on Mechjic Neon’s chest suddenly changed to white, shining brighter than before.
Lvl.: 5 -> 7
“I now overlay my level 7 Mechjic Copper, Mechjic Calcium, and Mechjic Neon!” she cried out.
All three monsters transformed back into their aural forms and danced above the field as a red portal formed in the ground before Twilight.
“With these three monsters,” she declared, the auras soaring in, “I construct the overlay network! Xyz summon!”
The portal burst open, Twilight’s massive android with the coal-black armor rising out from it, three orbs of light going around the monster.
“Appear!” she cried. “Mechjic Carbon Cyber!”
The monster held its fists up, facing Applejack’s cowboy monster in a threatening stance.
Mechjic Carbon Cyber
ATK: 2200
Rnk.: 7
“Now, I activate Mechjic Carbon Cyber’s effect!” Twilight declared as her magic aura slipped out a card underneath her monster. “By detaching one xyz material from it, its ATK is increased by 1000!”
One of the lights orbiting Twilight’s monster fused into its chest, its body shining with bright light, only to quickly fade away to reveal its entire armor change from black to a cloudy white.
ATK: 2200 -> 3200
“Shoot!” Applejack spat. “Now she’s stronger than me!”
“Battle!” shouted Twilight! “Mechjic Carbon Cyber, attack Wildwest Pecos Bull! Diamond Destruct!”
Reaching behind itself, Twilight’s mechanical monster opened its hand, allowing a sword made of diamond to appear inside. Grabbing its weapon, Mechjic Carbon Cyber charged at the bovine cowboy as it futilely put its arms up for defense. With a single slash, the android slashed through Applejack’s monster, making it explode with a powerful force that thrust into Applejack, sending her sliding back on her hooves.
Applejack’s Life Points: 2800 -> 2200
“I’ve still got plenty of turns left…” hissed Applejack as the gusts settled.
“No you don’t,” corrected Twilight. “I will now show you how quickly it can all end.”
“Just what in Sam Hill is that supposed to mean?”
“I activate the effect of Mechjic Hydrogen in my pendulum zone! By destroying it when my monster destroys an opponent’s monster by battle, I can inflict damage to my opponent equal to the destroyed monster’s ATK!”
Applejack gasped as Mechjic Hydrogen on Twilight’s field began to glow and the light of the aura on her horn began to shine even hotter as well. Yurik and Spike’s eyes grew wide with fear as they looked upon it.
“Twilight!” cried Yurik, running towards Applejack. “Stop!”
Applejack shielded her face and shut her eyes tight, preparing for the painful blast that was to come while being completely unaware of Yurik’s approach. Up in the balcony, Kieran looked nervously at Yurik’s actions, quickly running to the door.
Twilight gasped as Yurik slid to his knees and embraced Applejack tight with his back to Mechjic Carbon Cyber. Before Twilight could do anything more, Mechjic Hydrogen condensed into a green ball of light and shot itself out towards Yurik and Applejack.
The light let out a powerful blast throwing Yurik and Applejack back to the side wall screaming. Everyone inside the room looked over and watched as Yurik and Applejack flew back. Yurik’s grip of the orange pony slipped once they hit the ground, tumbling down and hitting the wall, bringing them to a painful stop.
Applejack’s Life Points: 2200 -> 0
Twilight wins.
“Yurik!” screamed Walt
“Applejack!” cried Rainbow Dash.
Immediately, both ran from their spots across each other with their active duel disks on their wrists and to their fallen friends. The others quickly gathered around the mortified and flustered Twilight as Yurik and Applejack got up.
“You alright?” groaned Yurik, slowly stepping to his feet.
“Yeah,” Applejack rasped. “I think so…”
Seeing their friends perfectly mobile, Walt and Rainbow Dash stopped and turned to Twilight, who was blushing profusely with her ears hung down.
“What the hell did you do?” asked Walt.
“I…” Twilight stammered backing up like a timid animal. “I don’t know… I was just trying to…”
Before Walt could approach her, Kieran ran through the doorway, heading right to Yurik and Applejack. Seeing that they were mostly unharmed, he turned to Twilight, an angered frown on his face.
“What happened here?” he calmly asked.
“Kieran…” Twilight tried to speak. “l was just dueling Applejack, and then all of a sudden, Yurik ran in front of Applejack…”
“Yurik and I both saw your horn glowing brighter than normal. We both saw what was coming, and he only meant to protect his friend from what you almost did to her.
“I didn’t mean to…”
“Twilight,” Applejack huffed, “I still cherish you as my friend, but don’t even start fibbing to me about something like this. The only reason you’re so upset right now is because you could have really hurt Yurik…”
Twilight bared her teeth as her mouth morphed into a frown.
“You know what, Applejack?” shouted Twilight. “I’m sick of you trying to patronize me! If you went up against what I did last night, you would be obliterated by it!”
“And so you’re trying to train me by hurting me?”
“If you don’t want to get hurt, then get better by beating me!”
“Twilight,” shouted Rainbow Dash, “we’re not even sure if what you went up against was even real! Don’t start taking your fears out on me!”
“And what if it were real? What if Sunset Shimmer has already destroyed Ponyville and are putting our friends and family in danger?”
“You don’t think we already know they’re in danger by us being here? I want to help them too, but not at the cost of one of us!”
“If you’re not prepared, she’ll decimate us!”
“And you’re so prepared?” Kieran butted in.
“What?!” Twilight snapped to him, jerking her head.
“You’ve gone up against her once, right?” Kieran continued to calmly respond. “You lost to her, didn’t you?”
“Wha… I… yes, I did, but I didn’t know what deck she was going to use… and the card she now has to beat us all…”
The glares Twilight received softened along with Twilight’s rage, fully seeing the trepidation that was eating away at her.
“Twilight,” Kieran said, “I’ve already told you, no card is invincible, and we will find a way to defeat it. However, trying to rush your friends into battle is not going to accomplish that.”
“I…” Twilight began to weep, “I just can’t stand the thought of everyone in Ponyville…”
“Twilight, if it makes you feel any better, I want you to duel me.”
Twilight’s wet eyes opened up as she turned to face Kieran’s serious gaze.
“What was that?” she asked.
“You’re still rather anxious of what could very well be a sick fantasy,” he said. “Don’t take that out on your friends; take it out on me. I want to show you a duel that will better prepare you for the tough road ahead. Now, accept my challenge, Twilight. I want you and your friends to learn from this.”
Twilight continued to stare up at him, looking into his expectant gaze. After not much longer, Twilight’s eyes narrowed into determined slits. Seeing the answer he was looking for, Kieran reached to the pin on his shirt.
“Donald,” he said. “Keep watch on the satellite. Marcus, get me my duel disk.”
Kieran looked back to Twilight, observing her ready looks.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yurik, Walt, Alice, Marcus, Spike, and the ponies stood off to the side as Twilight stood off against Kieran at the center of the dueling chamber, each of their duel disks equipped to their arms with their blade disks in their grasp, physical and magical.
“Twilight,” Kieran instructed. “Do not hold anything back. Duel me like you were dueling Applejack.”
Twilight revealed a toothy grimace as Applejack frowned from the reminder.
“Stop that” demanded Twilight. “I’m not going to duel like that again.”
“Fine,” Kieran coolly relented. “Then duel me as if I was Sunset Shimmer.”
Twilight gasped with shuddering eyes.
“You heard me,” he continued. “For this match, I am your enemy, and you will do this as such.”
“What are you talking about, Kieran? I thought you were supposed to be helping me.”
“I see. In that case, if you fail to defeat me, I will not tell you the fate of your home.”
“W… What?!”
The humans, ponies, and dragon on the side were dumbfounded by the threat, forcing Applejack to step forward.
“Kieran,” she shouted. “You’re taking this too–”
“Silence, Applejack,” Kieran said with a truthful look. “Say anything more and I’ll make sure it hurts to do anything more.”
Twilight whimpered as she looked to Applejack, who continued to stand her ground, crouching down and clearly preparing for a fight.
“No!” she cried. “I’ll do it. If you’re going to hold something like that over my head, I’ll fight you with every fiber of my being… just prepare to feel every fiber of it!”
Twilight threw her blade disk out, which quickly began to arc around Kieran.
“Perfect,” he whispered, throwing his blade disk as well.
The two disks spun around their owners’ opponent’s flying back towards them. While Kieran’s returned to his wrist, his trapezoidal blades forming from both sides of the device, Twilight’s stopped at her chest, allowing their blades to appear from it. Both of their decks shuffled up before coming to a stop.
“Connection complete,” the computerized voice of the duel disks said. “Twilight Sparkle vs. Kieran. Draw.”
Twilight’s aura and Kieran’s hand placed themselves over their decks and with a pull, five cards were added to them. With a seemingly contemptuous look to each other, they stood readily and in position to fight.
Inside the control balcony, Donald walked inside looking to a fuzzy screen that showed an image of the topography of Equus from high in the sky, tilting his head up, he spotted Kieran and Twilight in their spots, ready to go.
“This should be a good match,” he mused aloud, leaning over the counter and looking down.
While Yurik, Walt, Applejack, Marcus, Alice, and Kieran looked to Kieran, the others placed their sights on Twilight.
“Come at me, Twilight,” Kieran hissed. “Let me test that strength and resolve of yours.”
“There’s never a test I haven’t failed, Kieran,” shouted Twilight, “and you’ll be no exception.”
“We’ll see! Let’s go now!”
“DUEL!” they both shouted.
================
Twilight:
LP: 4000
Kieran:
LP: 4000
================
“I’ll take the first turn!” Twilight shouted. “I activate the continuous spell card Mechjic Preservation!”
Twilight threw her card into her duel disk, which appeared as a green card with an infinity icon and art of a shadowy cyborg frozen in a metal pod, mist escaping from the edges of the door’s frame.
“This card allows me to set Mechjic monsters from my hand without tributes while I control no monsters!” she explained, reaching for another card in her hand with her magic aura. “Next, I set one monster face down!”
Her aura slammed her card down onto her monster zone face-down and turned to the left, the image appearing on Twilight’s field as well. Kieran appeared completely unfazed by Twilight’s strategy, keeping his eyes upon the cards on her field and her hand with intense scrutiny.
“I place one card face down,” Twilight said as she threw another card into the front slot of her duel disk, the card’s backing appearing on the field, “and end my turn.”
Status: Hand: 2 Life: 4000 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Zones: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 2
“What is Twilight doing?” wondered Yurik. “It’s like she’s playing the same way I did with Alice two nights ago.”
“I certainly don’t think she’s doing what she’s doing out of fear,” Applejack commented, “but it seems as if she’s doing it out of rage.”
“Regardless of why,” Marcus said, “Kieran will not let someone, even those as skilled as Twilight make a fool of himself. Just watch him.”
Kieran, finally having learned enough of Twilight’s field, reached for the deck in his duel disk.
“My turn,” he said. “Draw!”
Looking to his card, he kept it inside his right hand, grabbing another card with it, revealing both of them to Twilight to be pendulum monsters.
“I set the scale with the scale 6 Guardia Tank and the scale 5 Guardia Phantom,” he declared.
Kieran swiped his cards onto his outer zones, the ceiling fading into a blue sky with the large bright star inside of it. Two blue pillars formed on the outer edges of Kieran’s side of the field, two monsters rising out from the ground inside them. The monster on Kieran’s left was his black tank with the skull-shaped turret. On the right was a black jet glowing with dark-blue edges on its wings and cockpit windows floating halfway between the ground and the clouds. A 6 and a 5 appeared over both monsters inside the pillars.
Guardia Tank
Pendulum Scale: 6
Guardia Phantom
Pendulum Scale: 5
“What… what is this?” Twilight wondered confusedly.
“Not only are his scales too small for him to pendulum summon,” Yurik exclaimed, “but his scale is backwards! What is he thinking?”
“Do you honestly expect Kieran to make such a foolish move on purpose?” Marcus replied.
Yurik looked back to the massive jet.
That jet has a special kind of effect, doesn’t it? he thought.
“The effect of Guardia Phantom now activates,” Kieran said. “While I control another Guardia monster in my pendulum zone, Guardia Phanton’s pendulum scale becomes doubled.”
“What?!” gasped Twilight.
The soft lights on the jet shot out brightly, forcing the others around and beneath it to shield their eyes.
Pendulum Scale: 5 -> 10
“And now,” Kieran said, reaching for another card, “I can special summon monsters from my hand whose levels are 7 through 9! Pendulum summon!”
Kieran threw his monster onto the right zone of his left blade, causing a red portal to open up in the sky beneath the center of the star.
“The behemoth who leads the army of darkness,” chanted Kieran, “come forth and crush all that stand in our way!”
A purple aura shot out through the portal and landed on the ground which grew large and morphed into Kieran’s massive, armored demon.
“Advance!” Kieran called. “Guardia General!”
The light faded, and the red skin, red cape, gold armor, and bony sword that Kieran’s monster possessed became visible. With a loud roar at Twilight, the monster had finally arrived.
Guardia General
ATK: 3000
Lvl.: 8
“No way,” Twilight grunted. “He brought it out already?”
“Damn,” Walt hissed. “He brought something that strong out on his first turn.”
“Just you wait,” Yurik said forebodingly. “Twilight’s troubles have only begun.”
Walt shuddered as he turned his attention back to the duel.
“Battle!” Kieran shouted. “Guardia General! Attack Twilight’s monster! Infernal Slash!”
Kieran’s monster took two long steps forwards, raising its sword over its head before he brought it down towards Twilight’s face-down card. It flipped over, showing Twilight’s Mechic Hydrogen kneeling there defensively.
Mechjic Hydrogen
DEF: 0
Lvl.: 7
Kieran took in a short breath as his monster’s sword slammed onto the cyborg, producing a fiery explosion. Twilight shielded herself from the embers and smoke that raced past her but looked unharmed.
“When your Guardia General destroys a monster by battle,” Twilight said, “you can inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster’s ATK, right? But since my monster’s ATK and DEF are both 0, I take no damage!”
Kieran squinted with frustration at Twilight’s play. Up in the balcony, Donald leaned over the counter with his forearm supporting himself, a smug smile on his face.
“Gotta’ admit,” he said, “she’s got you beat there.”
“There’s still more,” Twilight shouted. “The effect of Mechjic Hydrogen now activates! When my monster is destroyed by battle, the monster that destroyed it is also destroyed.”
A spark suddenly lit up underneath Guardia General’s sword, hanging in the air as Twilight finished her statement.
“Also,” she added, “you take 1000 points of damage!”
Kieran’s eyes shot open as he moved his arms out in front of his face with a cross-like shape. The spark exploded, vaporizing Kieran’s monster and hurling Kieran back with a grunt.
Kieran’s Life Points: 4000 -> 3000
Kieran fell onto his back, sliding down the chamber a few feet before tilting his body back and flipping himself back onto his feet before the resulting smoke could clear.
“Finally,” Twilight said, reaching her hoof towards her field, “I activate my trap, Automic Assist.”
Twilight’s card flipped up, showing art of a green Mechjic monster splitting off down the middle at the torso into a red android and a blue android.
“When a level 7 or higher Mechjic monster of mine is destroyed,” Twilight said, “I can add two Mechjic monsters from my deck to my hand.”
Twilight’s deck shuffled before it produced two cards that slid out from the top of the deck for Twilight to grab and reveal to Kieran with her magic. One was her glowing green robot monster and the other was a pendulum monster; a dark brownish-red android with a dark-grey robe.
“The two monsters I add to my hand are my Mechjic Radium and my Mechjic Phosphorus!” she declared promptly adding them to her hand.
Kieran let out a short hiss before he turned to his duel disk.
“When a pendulum monster I control is destroyed,” Kieran said, reaching for his blades, “I can return my Guardia Phantom to my hand.”
Once Kieran removed the card from his right pendulum zone, the jet on his right side of the field faded away out of existence, leaving only his tank monster on the field.
“And because I no longer have any monsters on my side of the field,” Twilight remarked with a cocky smile, “your Guardia Tank has nothing to destroy with its effect.”
“Unbelievable,” huffed Marcus. “Twilight completely shut Kieran out, on his own turn no less.”
“I fully remember your duel with Yurik,” Twilight said. “I just had a feeling you’d try and bring out your Guardia General as fast as possible.”
It’s a shame that you have yet to see the surprise that’s in store for you soon, he thought.
Reaching to his hand, Kieran grabbed a card and placed it inside his spell/trap slot, the card’s backing appearing on the field in front of him.
“I place one card face down and end my turn,” he said.
Status: Hand: 3 Life: 3000 Monsters: 0 Pendulum Zones: 1 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 1
“Let’s finish this now,” Twilight huffed, her aura appearing over her deck. “My turn! Draw!”
Twilight looked to her new card, and once she added it to her hand, she took two new cards out and revealed them both to Kieran.
“I set the pendulum scale with the scale 5 Mechjic Phosphorus and the scale 8 Mechjic Sodium!” she declared.
With a single whip of her aura, both cards were placed upon her outer zones, opening two blue portals on her sides of the field with two pillars rising up into the ceiling, which became a blue sky with the large star in it once more. Rising from the left and right pillars were Twilight’s dark-red android and an icy-grey cyborg with a white robe. A 5 and an 8 appeared over the monsters inside the pillars.
Mechjic Phosphorus
Pendulum Scale: 5
Mechjic Sodium
Pendulum Scale: 8
“I can now summon monsters from my hand or face-up in my extra deck whose levels are 6 and 7!” Twilight shouted.
A card ejected from Twilight’s blade disk, and after taking it, she removed three more monsters from her hand, holding them up so only the backings could be seen.
“O magic machines,” chanted Twilight, “show thee a power when sorcery and science become one! Pendulum summon!”
Twilight threw all four cards onto her open monster zones, opening a red portal in the sky and shooting out four orange auras at the ground. Upon landing, dust was thrown around Twilight.
“Appear!” she shouted, her skinny, purple-robed android appearing ahead of the settling dust. “Mechjic Argon!”
A second android was now visible, revealing itself to be in black-and-silver armor with a grey cape.
“Mechjic Palladium!” she cried out.
A third monster appeared from the dust: a cyan-armored android in a silver robe
“Mechjic Lithium!” she cried out.
The last of the dust settled, showing Twilight’s green android revived on the field once again.
“And finally,” she called, “Mechjic Hydrogen!”
Both monsters appeared proudly on the field, facing Kieran with bloodthirsty vigor.
Mechjic Argon
ATK: 2000
Lvl.: 6
Mechjic Palladium
ATK: 2300
Lvl.: 7
Mechjic Lithium
ATK: 2200
Lvl.: 6
Mechjic Hydrogen
ATK: 0
Lvl.: 7
“And I’m not quite done yet!” Twilight exclaimed. “I now normal summon Mechjic Radium without tributes!”
Twilight put her monster upon her last open monster zone, causing a blue portal to open on the field between her Mechjic Phosphorus and Mechjic Lithium. Twilight’s glowing green android appeared from it, filling the field with a wall of robots.
Mechjic Radium
ATK: 1000
Lvl.: 5
“Whoa,” Pinkie Pie whispered. “Her field is filled up!”
“Twilight…” breathed Yurik.
“Because I normal summoned Mechjic Radium without tributes, I must reduce my monster’s level by upt to 4, and I will reduce it’s level by 4!”
The glowing on the monster died down to where there was no light visibly shining from its armor.
Lvl.: 5 -> 1
“It’s coming now,” Kieran thought aloud.
“I now tune my level 6 Mechjic Argon with the level 1 Mechjic Radium!” Twilight declared.
Mechjic Radium’s body went alight before transforming into a single green ring that hovered above the targeted monster. Mechjic Argon leapt up into the ring, its body transforming into an orange outline with six bright stars aligned in its body. The outline disappeared leaving only the stars behind. A thin beam of light pierced through the stars, spreading out beyond the rings.
“Synchro summon!” Twilight shouted. “Appear!” Mechjic Gold Cyber!”
The pillar of light faded away to unleash Twilight’ golden armored robot which landed to the ground with a mighty crash, beside Twilight’s remaining monsters.
Mechjic Gold Cyber
ATK: 2800
Lvl.: 7
“When Mechjic Gold Cyber is synchro summoned,” explained Twilight, “I can draw cards equal to the number of other spellcaster-type monsters I control. I control Mechjic Lithium, Mechjic Palladium, and Mechjic Hydrogen, so I draw 3 cards!”
Her magic aura took three cards from the top of her deck, being placed in front of her as her new hand. Kieran squinted as he prepared himself for what was yet to come.
“And now,” Twilight cried out, “I overlay my level 7 Mechjic Hydrogen and Mechjic Palladium!”
Twilight’s declared monsters transformed into two bright orange auras that spiraled over a red portal forming on the ground at the center-right side of Twilight’s field.
“With these two monsters,” she shouted as both auras flew into the portal, “I construct the overlay network! Xyz summon!”
The portal exploded with bright light as Twilight’s silver-armored cyborg leapt out from it and into the air, two aural spheres orbiting its body.
“Appear!” shouted Twilight. “Mechjic Silver Cyber!”
The monster landed down on the field, putting Mechjic Lithium in the center of the field between the two Mechjic Cybers.
Mechjic Silver Cyber
ATK: 2500
Rnk.: 7
Donald shifted closer to the window, arrested in his intrigue.
“Does she have it?” he wondered aloud.
“Finally,” shouted Twilight, “I activate my spell card Mechjic Hyper Fusion!”
The ponies gasped loudly as Twilight threw her card into her duel disk, appearing on the field as a green card showing art of two androids melding together with another glowing android between them.
“This card allows me to target three Mechjic monsters on my field or pendulum zones and use them for as the materials for a fusion summon!” she called out.
“No way!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Synchro, xyz, and fusion summoning in the same turn?” commented Spike.
“It’s a summon-palooza!” chirped Pinkie Pie as she excitedly hopped up and down.
Marcus stared intensely at Kieran, which the latter did not seem to acknowledge in the slightest.
“I now fuse my Mechjic Phosphorus and Mechjic Sodium in my pendulum zones and my Mechjic Lithium on my field!”
A bright, colorful portal swirled into existence behind Twilight, leading her two pendulum monsters and her middle monster to be sucked in, swirling with the portal into one incongruous shape.
“Fusion summon!” she cried out.
The portal burst, a large android with shiny, spiked armor and wielding a large, gleaming sword with a glowing mace on the bottom of the handle flying out from it.
“The unbreakable future!” she shouted. “Mechjic Titanium Cyber!”
The monster’s feet landed on the field, taking its place between Mechjic Gold Cyber and Mechjic Silver Cyber, forming a fearsome trio of monsters for Kieran and the onlookers to behold.
Mechjic Titanium Cyber
ATK: 3500
Lvl.: 10
“Whoa,” Donald huffed with respectful surprise, “didn’t see that one coming.”
The others inside the room stood dumbstruck at the act that Twilight had managed to do once again.
“Yeah!” cheered Spike, with a sudden jump. “That was amazing!”
The other ponies cheered on as well. Twilight turned to them, putting her eyes on Applejack, who in turn gave her a soft gaze. With a proud nod, Applejack allowed Twilight to return to her match.
“All it will take to defeat you now is just one attack from my Titanium Cyber…” Twilight shouted. “Even if I fail, my other monsters will have their turn, and with Silver Cyber’s effect, if you destroy either one of my monsters, I’ll just bring them back with its effect, and if you destroy it, then its effect will bring back my Mechjic Hydrogen and Mechjic Palladium. No matter what you do here, there is no way for you to survive this!”
“Amazing,” Alice spoke. “She really put Kieran on the spot.”
Marcus’s glare intensified, not gaining any reaction from him.
“Battle!” Twilight shouted. “Mechjic Titanium Cyber, attack Kieran directly! Tremendous Incapacitation!”
With a single bound, Twilight’s monster leapt up at the calm and steadfast Kieran, its sword held over its head.
“You’re finished, Kieran!” cried Twilight.
“Not quite,” he said. “I activate my trap, Guardia Ghost Gardna!”
The card flipped open, revealing art of a puff of smoke shaped as Guardia Sentra deflecting a red laser originally aimed at Guardia Sniper.
“During my opponent’s battle phase when my opponent declares an attack,” he explained, “I can special summon one Guardia monster from my graveyard or face-up in my extra deck in attack position!”
The ground before Kieran exploded with dark-purple fire.
“Return!” Kieran commanded. “Guardia General!”
Kieran’s giant demonic monsters quickly rose out of the hole, winding its sword out as it prepared for Mechjic Titanium Cyber’s strike.
Guardia General
ATK: 3000
Lvl.: 8
“Your monster still doesn’t have enough ATK!” shouted Twilight. “My monster will win!”
“We’ll see about that,” Kieran responded.
“What?”
Mechjic Titanium Cyber and Guardia General’s swords swung in and collided, and despite the bolts of energy flying off their blades, neither monster appeared to yield.
“What is this?” Twilight gasped. “Why isn’t your monster destroyed?”
“The monster special summoned by Ghost Gardna cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, so I will indeed survive this battle.”
“Grr,” rasped Twilight in anger her horn beginning to increase its brightness. “However, you still take battle damage!”
The bolts of lightning snaked around Guardia General, striking Kieran in the chest and throwing him hard off his feet, letting a shocked yelp from his mouth.
Kieran’s Life Points: 3000 -> 2500
Kieran bounced off the ground, but managed to roll and tuck in his body so that the next bounce brought him back onto his feet, sliding back only a few more inches. Marcus let out a small sigh of relief that went unnoticed by those around him.
“At the end of the battle phase,” Kieran said, “the monster summoned with Ghost Gardna is shuffled into the main deck.”
Guardia General transformed into a bright light that soared up and back down onto Kieran’s duel disk, melding with the deck. The deck began to shuffle itself and quickly came to a stop.
“You might have escaped me this time,” Twilight said, “but let’s see if you can get out of this. I equip Mechjic Titanium Cyber with Mechjic Cobalt Shield!”
Twilight took one of the two cards left in her hand and put it inside her spell/trap slot, making a card appear on the field with art of a circular blue shield protecting a greyed-out Mechjic monster. Likewise, the same shield from the card began to materialize from the air before Twilight’s monster, prompting it to put its arm up so the shield could protect its entire chest.
“While this card is equipped to my monster,” Twilight said, “any of your card effects that target a monster I control must target the equipped monster. However, with Mechjic Titanium Cyber’s effect, it cannot be targeted by the effects of the opponent’s spells, traps, or monsters.”
“Unbelievable!” Rarity crooned. “Twilight’s really protected her field now.”
“Now Kieran can’t target any of Twilight’s monsters with any effects,” Walt commented.
Now you’re more or less put in the same scenario as I was, Twilight thought with a vengeful smirk. Let’s see this lesson of yours at work now.
“I end my turn,” Twilight declared.
Status: Hand: 1 Life: 4000 Monsters: 3 Pendulum Zones: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 2
Kieran shot his eyes over Twilight’s field, observing every card on her field and the one in her hand. The people and ponies on the side watched intently as Kieran stared Twilight’s monster’s down, which only heightened once his eyes made contact with hers.
“Twilight,” he said, “you have certainly created a respectable defense and offense for me, but if you’re trying to mimic Sunset’s defense, don’t bother.”
“Huh?” Twilight exclaimed.
“Apoqliphort Towers’s effect ensures that it is unaffected by the effects of any spell or trap card, while your monster’s only affect effects that would target a monster. In the face of the Elements of Harmony, that defense of yours would be absolutely useless, but for Apoqliphort Killer, your Elements of Harmony to it are just that: worthless.”
Twilight, the ponies, and Yurik shuddered as Kieran continued to talk.
“If you want to truly give me a challenge comparable to yours with Sunset, then you are going to have to try harder than that. However, I shall give you no such opportunity. Now, watch Twilight! I will now show you the duel that you and everyone in under this roof must learn! My turn! Draw!”
Kieran drew his card, and looking to it, it appeared to be a Guardia Phantom. Adding it to his hand, he put his fingers upon another card within his hand.
“Brace yourself, Twilight,” he said. “The turn that will decide your fate! I activate the spell card Guardia Coup!”
Kieran threw his card into his duel disk, the card appearing on the field showing art of three Guardia Tanks obliterating the walls of a mighty fortress with their cannonfire.
“While my opponent controls three or more monsters,” Kieran explained, “and I control three level 5 or level 6 Guardia monsters in my hand with the same name, I can conduct my normal summon three times!”
“Huh?” Alice wondered aloud. “If that’s true, then…”
“That must mean…” Yurik spoke.
Kieran answered them all by revealing three Guardia Phantoms to Twilight, shocking her and the bystanders greatly.
“With three Guardia Phantoms,” Kieran responded, “my spell’s effect can activate.”
“But with three level six monsters,” Twilight stammered. “You can’t summon any of them without any monsters of your own!”
“Normally, yes, but I won’t be using any monsters of mine.”
“What? How?”
“With Guardia Coup’s effect, I can tribute my opponent’s monsters for the tribute summoning of my monsters.”
Every pony and human around gasped with great severity, even Donald up above taken aback.
“Damn, Kieran,” he blurted. “You never told me you had a card like that.”
“But…” Twilight wheezed, “you… my Mechjic Titani…”
Suddenly, a thought shot Twilight’s eyes open wide.
No, she realized. The spell doesn’t affect my monsters, it affects him! That means… he can…
“I now tribute your Mechjic Gold Cyber to summon Mechjic Phantom!” Kieran exclaimed, throwing his monster upon his empty monster zone. “And because my spell’s effect does not target any of your monsters, there's nothing your Titanium Cyber or its Cobalt Shield can do about it!”
To Twilight’s shock and despair, Mechjic Gold Cyber molded into a ball of swirling purple-and-black light that flew over to Kieran’s field, morphing into the shape of Kieran’s dark jet before its features became more defined, appearing fully on the field.
Guardia Phantom
ATK: 1000
Lvl.: 6
“Next,” Kieran exclaimed, throwing a second copy of his monster beside his other, “I now tribute your Mechjic Silver Cyber to summon my second Guardia Phantom!”
The other humans and ponies watched with awe and fear as Twilight’s xyz monster, body and xyz materials in all, transformed into a single ball of purple energy and flew back to Kieran’s field, changing its shape and appearance into Kieran’s black jet.
Guardia Phantom
ATK: 1000
Lvl.: 6
“And because your monster was tributed and not destroyed,” Kieran further clarified, “you cannot summon its xyz materials back.”
Twilight’s eyes shrunk and her teeth clenched in pure contempt.
“Finally,” Kieran said, throwing his last card onto his field, “I tribute your Mechjic Titanium Cyber to summon my final Guardia Phantom.”
Twilight’s monster began to glow purple as its body was forcefully crumpled into a tight, uncomfortable ball. Twilight watched with sadness and exhausted fury as her last monster was taken from her as a sphere of purple light, flying to Kieran’s field and taking form as his third and final jet.
Guardia Phantom
ATK: 1000
Lvl.: 6
“No…” Yurik whispered. “No way…”
“Just like that,” Applejack muttered, “and he just cleared Twilight’s field.”
Twilight, although seemingly broken, returned to a face of determination, pointing to Kieran’s field.
“However,” Twilight said, “all of your monsters have only 1000 ATK and you no longer have any cards left in your hand. I’ll survive next turn with that!”
“I never doubted that,” Kieran said. “However, your situation is far direr than you think it is.”
“Huh? How’s that?”
“I now overlay my three level 6 Guardia Phantoms!” declared Kieran.
As Kieran’s three monsters transformed into three dark-purple auras, Twilight and the spectators all watched with shock and awe as the streams of light spiraled over a red portal forming on the ground before Kieran.
“With these three monsters,” Kieran declared, the auras racing inside the portal, “I construct the overlay network! Xyz summon!”
The red portal began to slowly change color to a dark, sickly purple, the light becoming more of a bubbling fluid as it mixed with the portal’s light.
“The ultimate machine of the battle,” chanted Kieran. “It’s massive and horrifying might will end the armies that dare oppose it!”
A massive robot with a metal bull’s skull for a head began to crawl out of the portal with hands with small cannons for fingers.
“Ascend!” cried Kieran. “Guardia Jaeger!”
With a final heave, Kieran’s monster hopped out through the hole, standing strongly and flexibly despite its frighteningly massive size.
Guardia Jaeger
ATK: 2000
Rnk.: 6
“No way,” Walt gasped, the other mouths of the humans and ponies around him hung open and silent. “Such a monster…”
Twilight found herself backing away in fear, nearly stumbling on her back hooves.
“Do you see it, Twilight?” Kieran said. “If you want to have any chance of saving your world, you must control your emotions and fight me with everything you have. Only then will you see the path to victory. Well, can you see it?”
Twilight failed to respond, only able to look at Kieran’s monster and the fading red glow inside the skull’s eye sockets.
“I see,” Kieran said with a disappointed closing of his eyes. “Guardia Jaeger,” he said, “attack Twilight directly.”
The massive robot pressed its palms against each other, pointing each of the tips of its fingers at Twilight.
“Rabid Razing,” he finally ordered.
Ten missiles shot out from the monster’s fingertips, each one arcing downwards towards Twilight. Twilight bared her teeth at the oncoming attack, her friends on the sides watching with fright as the missiles approached faster and faster.