RANK 18: Little Duel of Horrors:
RANK 18: Little Duel of Horrors:
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THE STORY SO FAR...:
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In Canterlot High School, every student is wild over the world's most popular trading card game: Duel Monsters! Every day, players of the card game, known as "Duelists", go head-to-head to see who among them is the best around. Among the Duelists in attendance at CHS, one of the best is a young teenager named Sunset Shimmer, a girl from another world...
While Sunset is regarded as Canterlot High's strongest Duelist, there are many other students at the school that wish to make their marks in Duel Monsters' history as well. Three young girls in particular have shown a strong interest in the card game as well and want to become stronger. Those three girls are none other than Apple Bloom, who is Applejack's younger sister, Sweetie Belle, Rarity's younger sister, and Scootaloo, who idolizes Rainbow Dash and even considers herself as a "sister" to her.
In order to help each other achieve their goals becoming powerful Duelists, the three of them formed a club centered around refining their skills, as well as to help other new Duel Monsters players get their start into the game. Unfortunately, the trio have yet to win a Duel against someone other than themselves. However, they are determined to get better, and won't give up on their dreams so easily. To that end, they have even enlisted Sunset herself as a "special member" of the club to act as their guru.
Today, the three girls are welcoming a new member to their club; a young girl who had recently moved to Canterlot City from Manehatten. At first it seems perfectly normal, but this new member has a few skeletons in her closet that may soon be revealed...
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Several months ago...
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Far from the outskirts of Canterlot City, on a dark, rainy night, stood a large school building. However, the building was falling apart, dilapidated from years of neglect. No one had bothered to maintain the structure in a very long time. However, the distinct sounds of running footsteps indicated that the school was far from abandoned.
In the dark, debris-filled hallways of the crumbling building, a young girl was breathing heavily as she ran down the snaking passageways of the school, n a hurry to gt out as quickly as possible. The girl had caramel-brown skin, short, apple-red hair, and olive-green eyes, with a few freckles under each eye. She wore a dark-green shirt with a white, tattered undershirt, a grey skirt with a plaid design, pink socks, and black, leather boots. Her ears were pierced with silver ring earrings, and she also wore a pair of silver bracelets while carrying a pink purse, which she wore around her waist.
The girl panted as she turned a corner, concealing herself in a pitch-black hallways. Trying to catch her breath, she could hear the voices of other people from far away. "Hey!! Where did she go?!" shouted one of them.
"We don't know..." said another, not sounding very confident. "We were following her as far as the cafeteria, but after that... we... we lost her..."
"You LOST her?!?!" screamed the first voice in anger. "How could you have lost her?!"
"We tried our best...!" said a third voice, whimpering slightly. "But this school's so big and dark... Once she got far enough away, she just... disappeared...!"
"...Unbelievable!" scowled the first voice. "You know she's going to have a massive fit about this once she hears about what YOU allowed to happen! You had just better hope that she's in a good mood right now..."
The young girl, still hiding the best she could, continued to listen in on the conversation.
"One thing is for sure, though..." the first voice continued, "she may have gotten away this time, but until we get what she took from us, that little brat is not going to get a single day of peace... I'll see to that." And after that terrifying declaration, the three figures walked away, indicated by the sounds of footsteps, which slowly got softer as they went further away.
Confident that they had abandoned their pursuit of her, the young girl quickly, but quietly made her way to a first-floor window. With a bit of effort, she managed to open it, allowing her to escape the dilapidated building. Hopping out the window and closing it behind her, she then asked herself, "Aw man... Babs, what've ya gotten yourself into now...?"
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Canterlot City, Present Day:
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In a large tree located within the Apple Family Orchard, there was a small, yellow tree house. The tree house belonged to a young girl named Apple Bloom, who was the younger sister of Applejack and Big Macintosh. It was here, in this little clubhouse, that she and her best friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gathered for their weekend club meetings. What kind of club was it? As it turned ot, it was a club centered around improving at Duel Monsters. Since the three of them were still relatively new to the game, they decided to form the club to help each other out, as well as anyone else that wanted to get into the game.
Tapping a hammer onto a wooden podium, Apple Bloom - wearing her favorite pink bow in her red hair - cleared her throat and announced, "Attention! Attention! This meetin' of the Duel Monsters Crusaders, a.k.a. the DMC, is called to order!" Putting the hammer down for the moment, she then said to everyone, "Now, let's begin with Roll Call! When Ah point t' ya, say your name n' what kinda Deck you use! Ah'll start first." Clearing her throat again, she then said, "Ah'm Apple Bloom! Head of the DMC and Ah use a Wind-Up Deck!"
Apple Bloom then pointed to one of her friends; a young girl with white skin and hair colored pink and lilac. "I'm Sweetie Belle!" the girl stated. "Official Treasurer of the DMC and a Crystal Beast user!"
The bow-wearing girl then pointed to another young girl her age. She had orange skin and fuchsia-colored hair. "What's up? The name's Scootaloo!" she announced. "I'm a Blackwing user AND the strongest Duelist in the club!"
"What do you mean YOU'RE the strongest member?" asked Sweetie Belle, huffing a little. "You lose Duels against the others like me and Apple Bloom have!"
Sweating a bit, Scootaloo, trying to save face, uttered, "Yeah? Well... uh... I lose the least amount of times, so that's proof that I'm the strongest of us!" The white-skinned girl simply face-palmed in response to that comment.
Sighing, Apple Bloom then asked her friends, "C'mon, girls... let's not have this argument again. Can we just move this along so that we can get down to business?" She then pointed to another individual in the clubhouse.
As it turned out, the individual was Sunset Shimmer. A few months ago, she had promised to help Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo improve their skills at Duel Monsters. She did this either by improving their Decks with new and better cards, as well as teach them some more advanced tricks. Though they still had trouble with most of the other Duelists at school. "Um, hey!" the red and yellow teenager began to introduce herself. "My name's Sunset Shimmer. I'm the top-ranked Duelist at CHS, and I run a Chronomaly-Incan Deck."
"Alrighty then! Now that that's settled," Apple Bloom began to say, "we can start working on becoming the strongest Duelists we can!" Placing a stack of papers on the podium, she then added, "Of course, we wouldn't be doing NEARLY as well at that if it weren't fer Sunset here!"
"Yeah, we sure are lucky, aren't we?" asked Sweetie Belle. "You know, to have a real Duel Monsters pro helping us learn to play better!"
"Uh, a pro?" asked Sunset, chuckling a little. "I don't know about that... If anyone around here is a pro, it's Celestia and Luna."
"Hey, you're just as good as they are!" Scootaloo complimented. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have even bothered askin' ya to help us!"
"I guess that makes sense." the inter-dimensional girl replied. "In any case, I'm glad to lend you all a hand. After all, part of being a True Duelist is helping out others who are just getting into the game. At least, that's what I believe." Looking back over to Apple Bloom, she then asked her, "Okay, so what's on the agenda for the three of you this time?"
"Well, first things first," the young redhead began, "Ah have an important announcement t' make. We'll all be meetin' here tomorrow for a super-special occasion."
"What kinda special occasion?" asked Scootaloo.
"Well, as it turns out, mah cousin Babs Seed is movin' to Canterlot and will be stayin' over nearby!" Apple Bloom told them. "When Ah heard about it, ah emailed her, askin if she'd like to join our club, and she said yes!"
"That's great!!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "A new member!"
"Awesome! I can't wait t' see her!" Scootaloo chimed in.
Sunset then said to Apple Bloom, "Well, you're certainly lucky to have your cousin joining your club too. What's she like? How good is she at Duel Monsters?"
"Oh she's pretty strong, Sunset." the bow-wearing girl answered her. "She's beaten a lotta strong Duelists and ranked high in lots of local tournaments. With you and Babs helpin' us out, we'll be winnin' Duels faster than y'all can say 'Exodia, Obliterate'!"
"That would probably be true." agreed the other-worldly girl, "But don't forget: Dueling is just as much about enjoying yourself as it is about winning, if not more. That's another thing a True Duelists needs to know."
"We got it." Scootaloo said to her, acknowledging what Sunset had told them all. "Of course, we'd like to have fun AND win at the same time, too."
Sweetie Belle then asked her friend, "Apple Bloom? Did your cousin tell you why she's moving here to Canterlot?"
"Actually... she didn't." the bow-wearing girl responded. "She didn't tell me why she n' her folks are movin' here. Of course, it ain't unusual for Babs to leave out minor details like that, but..." The young girl paused for a moment, shook her head and added, "Never mind, Ah'm sure it's nothin' we need t' worry ourselves about! Let's just be happy that Babs is comin' over and not question it!"
"Yeah, you're right!" Scootaloo agreed. "All I'm gonna worry about is if you cousin's as cool as I am!"
"I don't think we need to worry about that..." Sweetie Belle told her, a smug look on her face.
"And what's THAT supposed to mean?!" the orange girl snapped back.
"Now, now girls..." Sunset told them calmly. "Let's not get all worked up so quickly. Let's just move onto the next part of the agenda. And that will be practicing some new strategies with your Decks." Getting out her Duel Pad, she then told them, "Let's head outside and do some field tests!"
"Yeah! Go, Duel Monsters Crusaders!!" cheered the three younger girls as they hurriedly got out their Decks and gear before following Sunset Shimmer outside. Apple Bloom followed a little slower, still thinking about her cousin's arrival tomorrow.
Elsewhere, on the outskirts of the city and just outside of the suburbs, two individuals were minding their own business; however, based on their facial expressions, they didn't look like they wanted to be there. One of them was a boy in his late teens, sighing to himself as he sat down on a bus stop bench. He had slightly-darkened peach-colored skin, amber-brown hair, bright, green eyes, and reddish freckles. He wore a tan-colored hat on his head with a four-leaf clover sticking out of it. He wore a tan sweater vest over top a white undershirt, along with a long, olive-green tie. A pair of dark-brown jeans and black sneakers completed the outfit, with a picture of a four-leaf clover imprinted on both sides of the pants' hip area.
The other person, standing behind the bench, was an adult-aged woman. She had light-blue skin, long red hair with tan stripes done up into a ponytail with a pink bow, and purple eyes. Over her eyes were a pair of glass, connected by a small chain. She wore a dress that was white and sky-blue in color, with a small picture of a fiery cloud imprinted upon the left side of the chest area. Around her neck was a pearl necklace, and she wore a pair of silver shoes with high heels on her feet. Strapped to her left arm was a purple-colored Duel Pad.
Yawning, the teenage boy asked, in a tired and unenthusiastic tone, "Remind me again why on Earth we're even here?"
Sighing, the woman answered him, saying, "I told you before, Lucky: We're here to look for that kid that broke into the academy months ago. She sneaked her way into the building that night and took an extremely powerful Deck before she escaped."
"Pfft... I already know that...!" the boy responded, annoyed a little. "What I'm asking is why WE'RE here tryin' to find the brat!"
"Because YOU were supposed to make sure that no one stole that Deck in the first place." the woman replied, scowling a little. "The moment you turned your back, she had already left with it!"
"Well, excuse ME, Ms. Skyeblaze!!" Lucky shouted back. "I can't control when I need to use the bathroom!!"
"Enough of your excuses." the woman scolded him. "All you've done is complain ever since we got here, and I'm getting sick of it! After all, it's your fault we lost that Deck, and it's ALSO your fault that I had to come along with you. After all, you're not a Duelist, so if that kid were to use the Deck she stole against us, you wouldn't be able to fight her."
"Pfft... whatever." Lucky responded, not really caring in the slightest. "Anyway, according to the others, that kid's supposed to show up here pretty soon, so we'll have t' wait for them to show up before we can get this stupid job overwith. If you ask me, this whole stupid mission is a complete waste of my time..."
"Well, nobody asked you, so just suck it up and stop whining about it." Skyeblaze told him. "The sooner we take down that kid, the sooner we can get out of this place and back to the Academy." The teenage boy simply huffed, not saying another word in response.
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Later in the day, in Sunset's apartment, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset's friend from her home universe, was busy watching over the place with her dragon-turned-puppy companion, Spike. The Princess of Friendship was busy looking over some of the Duel Monsters cards that she had, both the ones in her Deck, as well as the ones that she had picked up recently with the help of her friends in this world. "Wow..." said Spike, looking at each of the young girl's cards, "there's so many different kinds of cards you can get... I'd bet it'd be next to impossible to collect every single one!"
"Perhaps," Twilight replied, "but getting all of these cards isn't something I'm worried about. All I have to concern myself with is using the cards that I do have in the best way possible. It's the only way that Sunset and I will ever find and obtain all of those Number cards." Smiling to herself a little, she then added, "Luckily, there haven't been reports of any new Numbers lately, so I've had plenty of time to work out some new strategies."
At that moment, Utopia then spoke in the young Princess's mind. "I would advise for you not to get too comfortable, Twilight." he told her. "Things may be peaceful now, but I can already sense that we will find ourselves in another battle very soon."
"I'm sure we will." Twilight responded. "But until that happens, we should not try to stress ourselves with what might happen, or it will only be that much harder when we duel again. We have to remain relaxed, no matter what."
"Indeed." Utopia replied, agreeing with his master.
Just then, the apartment door opened, and in walked Sunset Shimmer. She put her bags down and hung up her black jacket on the coat rack. "Welcome back, Sunset!" Twilight greeted.
"Hey, Twilight." the red and yellow girl replied. "I trust that things went well for you while you were watching the apartment?"
"Yep. Everything's still as you left it." the purple teen answered. "Since I figured everything would stay calm in the room, I decided to look over my Deck a few times to see if I could improve it any more."
"Sounds like a good plan to me, Twilight." Sunset told her. "As for me, things went well with Apple Bloom and her friends. They still need some more practice, but they've improved a lot since I started helping them out. I think they'll be great Duelists someday!"
"Well, they seem pretty dedicated to improving themselves, based on what you've told me about them so far." the young Princess said to her friend. "They're just like their counterparts back in Equestria: Always seeking to become better at what they do, and not to be afraid of failure."
"Had they gotten their cutie marks yet since the last time you came to visit?" asked Sunset.
"As a matter of fact, I heard that they did." Twilight answered. "My friends told me about it, and I couldn't be any prouder of them. Especially since I had a hoof in helping them discover their purposes; a little bit at least." Thinking about something, she then asked her friend, "Say, um... Sunset? Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Well, first off... are you meeting with the girls again tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I am." Sunset answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Do you think I could come with you when you do?" the Princess of Friendship requested. "I'm curious to see what kinds of Duelists they are."
Smiling, the red and yellow girl nodded and said, "Sure, that's a great idea! I was actually thinking about suggesting that you do that. After all, you can always use some more Dueling practice, and you'd be helping Apple Bloom and her friends out too!"
"Yeah, that's just what I was thinking!" Twilight replied. "So it's okay with you?"
"You bet it is." Sunset confirmed. "Just remember: When you Duel them, don't use your Number cards against them, since they don't have any."
"Don't worry. I'll play fair." the purple teen promised, nodding her head. Turning over to Spike, she then said to him, "Spike, you're coming along, too."
"I... I am?" asked the puppy, confused.
"You bet you are." Twilight told him. "You've started to become quite a couch potato lately, and according to Sunset's computer, puppies need to have some daily exercise."
"But I'm not really a puppy, remember?" Spike reminded her.
"Maybe not in Equestria, but you are one here." the young Princess informed him. "No more arguments. I'm sure you can miss some TV-watching for one day. And if you DO go, I'll make sure Applejack has a steaming-hot apple pie for you when you arrive."
Spike's ears perked up at that moment. "Did you say apple pie??" he asked, making sure he heard his friend correctly. Humming to himself a little, he then said, "Y'know... I guess I COULD get a little bit of exercise today... Don't wanna become a couch potato, y'know."
"Glad to see you're doing it for the right reasons." Sunset told him, chuckling a little. "I'll guess I'll go ahead and let AJ know in advance." She then pulled out her cell phone so that she could make a call to her farm girl friend.
After a few rings, the red and yellow girl heard Applejack's voice on the other end. "Howdy, Sunset! What's up?"
"Just calling to confirm that I'll be by to visit your little sister and her friends again for their Duel Monsters meeting tomorrow." Sunset told her. "Not only that, but Twilight and Spike will be coming with me too." Pausing for a moment, she then asked her friend, "You think you can have an apple pie ready for Spike when we get there? It was the only way we could convince him into getting out of the apartment..."
"Not at a problem at all, Sugarcube." the farm girl replied. "As luck would have it, me 'n Granny Smith are whippin' up a few right now for when y'all come by. They'll be ready by tomorrow fer sure."
"Thanks, AJ." Sunset responded politely. "I'll see you and the girls tomorrow. Good night."
"You have a good night too, Sunset. See ya later." AJ replied, hanging up the phone. After she did, she walked back over to Granny Smith, who was just putting the finishing touches on the four apple pies that she was making. The elderly woman had light-green skin, silver-white hair done up into a bun, and bright-orange eyes. She was a bit on the plump side in terms of body shape, she wore a dress that was pale yellow on the top and red on the skirt area, a white apron with a pinkish-purple smudge on it, and a pair of yellow boots with a strap on the top of them. She also wore apple-shaped earrings on her ears, an orange ascot with an apple pattern on them around her neck, and a pair of yellow rubber gloves.
Wiping some sweat from her forehead, Granny Smith smiled and said, "Yessiree! These pies are all ready t' be put in the oven!"
"Good t' hear, Granny." Applejack said to her. "We're gonna need plenty of stuff fer my li'l sis n' her friends to eat tomorrow. Especially since Sunset and Twi are stoppin' by too."
"I had a feelin' they'd be comin'." the elderly woman replied with a wink. "That's why I always make a li'l extra - just in case."
Changing the subject, the orange teen then asked her grandmother, "By the way, what time are Babs n' her folks supposed t' show up?"
"They said they'd be by at 10 o'clock." Granny Smith answered her granddaughter. "Luckily, they didn't hit much traffic, so they're a bit ahead of schedule."
"That's good t' hear," Applejack replied, "but Ah wonder why they all suddenly decided t' move outta Manehatten just like that..." She then asked, "Did Babs' parents mention anythin' t' you about why they're movin' here? Not that I ain't happy t' see them, it's just that Ah would've thought they'd say somethin'."
Granny Smith hummed a bit as she put the four pies in the oven and shut the door to let them cook. "Sorry, AJ, but they didn't tell me nuttin'." she responded. "Ah asked them about it, but they just kept sayin' that they didn't wanna talk about it. So Ah'm just as clueless as you are about it."
"Ah see... That kinda worries me a li'l bit," Applejack replied, "but they don't wanna talk about it, then Ah guess Ah won't ask 'em. Ah just hope that everything's alright with them..."
"Ah hear ya, AJ." Granny Smith replied. "Ah hope so too."
Later that night, when most of the city and the surrounding suburbs had fallen asleep, two individuals were still awake, apparently looking for something. It was Lucky and Ms. Skyeblaze, who were still in the city waiting for someone to show up the next day. Until then, the two were stuck in Canterlot and not too thrilled about it, especially since they now had to find a place to stay for the night, and their budget wasn't exactly anything to write home about.
Looking at a obviously sub-par motel on the outskirts of town, the woman then asked Lucky, "Please tell me we're NOT staying here until tomorrow..."
"Well, if you were hopin' for a five-star hotel, then keep dreaming." the boy told rudely. "In case you forgot, we're kind of on a low budget, so it's either this, or we're stuck sleepin' in a bus stop kiosk."
The woman grumbled, but knew that they didn't much choice in the matter. Opening the door and turning on the light, the two of them got a look at the room that they were checked into. Even for a roadside motel, it wasn't that great. "I don't believe this... this room looks like it hasn't been looked at by the cleaning lady in months! Assuming there IS a cleaning lady, anyway." Ms. Skyeblazed complained. "And I don't want to know what that smell in the room is, either..."
"Then try to hold your breath and get used to it." Lucky told her as her walked over to one of the beds and hopped onto it, back-first. "Unless you WANT to return empty-handed, that is. I mean, it's not that much worse than the crumbling school building we hide out in."
The older woman grumbled to herself, but decided that this wasn't the time to argue about it. They had to stay here for the night, so Skyeblaze decided to suck it up for now. (Once we find that little brat who stole that Deck, I'll PERSONALLY make sure she regrets it!) she thought as she walked over to the other bed and laid down on it.
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The next morning, the Apple Family Farm's residents were gathered together to welcome the arrival of Babs Seed and her parents. Although the new arrivals had already purchased a home for themselves (not far away from the farm, of course), they had decided to stay overnight at the farm until everything at their new house was all ready for them.
With Applejack and her family were Sunset, Twilight, and Spike, who had decided to show up early so that they could be there for when Babs and her parents would arrive. Also with them were Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who were holding up a white banner that read, "WELCOME BABS SEED!"
"How much longer is she gonna take...?" asked Scootaloo.
"Yeah, my arms are starting to get tired..." Sweetie Belle complained a little.
"Not much longer. Just be patient, girls." Applejack told them.
A few minutes afterwards, the group could hear the sound of a car coming down the road. "Hm? Ah think that's them right now!" Granny Smith said. Turning over to Big Macintosh, she asked him, "Is that their car coming this way?"
Using a pair of binoculars, the large, peach-skinned boy in a red jacket looked at the road ahead. He then immediately spotted a chocolate-brown vehicle driving up the road to the farm. "Eeeyup!" he said, answering Granny Smith's question.
"Alright, get ready, everyone!" Applejack told everyone. "Let's give Babs and her folks a real Apple Family Hello!"
"Yeah!" the other responded in unison.
Once the car pulled up in front of the farmhouse, the occupants opened the doors and walked out. Among them was a brown-skinned girl with short, red hair. "HELLO N' HOWDY, BABS SEED!!!" shouted Applejack's friends and family.
The young girl was astonished to see such a warm welcome waiting for them all. Before anyone could say another word, Apple Bloom excitedly ran over to see her cousin. "Cousin Babs!!" she cheered, giving the red-haired girl a hug. "It's so good t' see you again!"
"Heh, hey there, Apple Bloom." Babs replied with a smile, talking with a bit of a Brooklyn accent. "It's good t' see ya as well."
"Ah know! It's been so long since we've seen each other!" the bow-wearing girl said to her, excited to hang out with her favorite cousin. "C'mon! We've got so many things t' see n' do before tomorrow!"
"Uh, what kindsa things are ya talkin' about, cuz?" asked the Manehatten girl.
"Ah explain that a bit later." Apple Bloom promised her. "But first, there's some people Ah want ya t' meet!" As Granny Smith and Big Mac talked with Babs' mother and father, the bow-wearing girl walked her cousin over to her friends and asked her, "Y'all remember mah friends Scootaloo n' Sweetie Belle, right?"
"Heya, Babs!" greeted Scootaloo.
"Hi!" Sweetie Belle simply said with a friendly wave.
"Heya, girls. How's things been with ya since I was here last?" Babs asked them.
"It's been great!" Scootaloo told her. "We just started a club for ourselves to learn how to play Duel Monsters."
"Yeah, Bloom's told me 'bout dat." the Manehatten girl replied. "How's it workin' out?"
"Well... to tell you the truth..." Sweetie Belle began to say, "We still haven't won a Duel since we organized it."
"A-a-at least not yet, we haven't!" Scootaloo quickly informed her friend's cousin. "But we're working on it! In fact, we've got one of the best Duelists at school teachin' us!"
"Is dat so?" asked Babs Seed, intrigued.
"You bet, cousin!" Apple Bloom answered. She then walked with her cousin over to the other two girls that were there so as to introduce them to her. "This here's Sunset Shimmer, Babs." the bow-wearing girl told Babs. "She's the best Duelist in Canterlot High."
"So you're dat chick I heard about..." the brown-skinned red-head said, walking towards Sunset. "My cuz's told me all about'cha, not t' mention that was watchin' the livestream of you winnin' the Regionals a coupla months ago. You was pretty awesome out there when ya won the whole thing."
"Well, thank you very much, Babs Seed." Sunset replied. "I'm glad to see that you liked my dueling so much." Turning over towards her inter-dimensional friend, she then said, "This here is my friend from... far away: Twilight Sparkle. And that's her dog, Spike."
"Glad to finally meet you, Babs." the Princess of Friendship greeted politely.
"Yeah, same here!" Spike chiumed in, waving a paw.
Babs stepped back a bit after hearing that, asking, "Uh... Cuz, did that dog just say somethin' t' me?"
"Yeah, he did." Apple Bloom answered her. "Just keep that between us, though. Most people don't know 'bout that yet."
Chuckling a little Babs said to her cousin, "You're always full'a surprises every time we meet, cuz."
"Aheheh... yeah, Ah guess you could say that." Apple Bloom replied, giggling a little. "Anyway, lemme show ya the new clubhouse that AJ built for me 'n mah friends! Ah just know you'll like it!"
"Sounds good t' me, cuz!" Babs replied, eager to see what her cousin had been up to the past few months. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle dropped the banner that they were holding so that they could follow them. Sunset and Twilight smiled at each other as they walked over in the same direction.
Not far away from the Apple Family Farm, Lucky and Ms. Skyeblaze were walking down the dirt road before them, back on track with their mission. Yawning and rubbing her back, the older woman groaned and said, "That was the worst sleep I've ever had in my life... The bed was lumpy, the room smelled, and that irritating person next door to us decided that 3 in the morning was a good time to blast his stereo!" Groaning, the woman then asked, "Why is it that NOTHING ever goes smoothly for me??"
"Calm down, lady... You're not the only one that doesn't wanna be here, so don't act like it." Lucky informed her. "Besides, we're almost done here anyway. We just have t' find that kid and we'll be out of here in no time."
"You'd better be right." Ms. Skyeblaze told him, no longer in the mood for any foolishness.
"As long as the data I've got here is right, of course." the boy told her. Looking at a paper that he was holding, he then said, "Now according t' this thing, the brat's supposed t' be around here, at this house." But when they stopped to look at the house before them, the only vehicles parked there were large moving trucks.
"I don't see anyone..." Skyeblaze informed her partner. "You had better not have led me all the way here on a wild goose chase...!"
"Just chill for a second, lady." Lucky told her. "Obviously, they haven't shown up here yet. We just need to get some info as to WHEN they'll be here..." Looking around the general area, the teenage boy then added, "And I think that place over there is where we'll get it..." He then pointed ahead at a large farm off in the distance...
Apple Bloom opened the door to the treehouse that belonged to her and her friends, holding it open to allow everyone she invited inside. Once everyone was accounted for, the young bow-wearing girl walked up to the front of the room and stood behind the makeshift podium. Clearing her throat, she then announced, "Attention, everyone! This meetin' of the Duel Monsters Crusaders will now come t' order! All official members, state your names for the roll call!"
In turn, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Sunset all recited their names and the Decks they used, as per every meeting. Once that was taken care of, Bloom then shuffled some papers sitting on the podium and said, "Now that that's taken care of, let's move on t' the main order of business! Today, we have TWO new members to the DMC: Twilight Sparkle and of course, mah cousin from Manehatten, Babs Seed!" The two newcomers to the club waved their hand and smiled as best they could.
"So, Twilight, ya gotta tell us:" Scootaloo began to ask the young Princess. "How good are you at Duel Monsters? Do they have it over in that strange world you come from?"
"Actually, I'm still just learning the game, like all of you are." Twilight admitted. "Unfortunately, we don't have this game in Equestria."
"You don't? That's kinda lame..." Scootaloo responded. "I mean, not that your world is lame, of course! Just that you don't have Duel Monsters there, that is! No offense!"
"I know what you meant. Don't worry about it." the purple-skinned girl told her with a smile. "But now that I've gotten to try it, I'm really enjoying it so far! Sunset's been excellent at teaching it to me."
"Aheh... well, I don't know about 'excellent'." the black jacket-clad teenager responded, blushing a little. "I'm just doing the best I can."
Turning over to the other newcomer to the treehouse, Sweetie Belle asked her, "So Babs, is what Apple Bloom said about you true? Are you really such a great Duelist?"
"Well, not t' toot my own horn, Sweetie," the Manehatten girl began to answer her, "but I have done pretty well so far. F' years, I've been participatin' in a whole lotta OTS Tournaments in almost every card store in Manehatten. I usually end up winnin' the whole thing, or at least finish in the top four."
"Wow..." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said, impressed with the girl's track record.
"That's pretty impressive for someone as young as you are, Babs." Sunset told her. "If it's not imposing, would you mind telling us what kind of Deck you use?"
"Heh, sorry Ms. Shimmer. Can't tell ya." the brown-skinned girl told her. "You'll just hafta wait 'til I bust it out in a Duel."
"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "We could go outside right now and test our Decks! Then we can see what you use, Babs!"
"Uh, yeah! Sounds good t' me, too!" Babs agreed.
"Then let's get our Duel Pads and Decks out, and we can get started right away!" Sunset Shimmer suggested.
"Yeah! Let's go!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle chimed in.
Just as everyone was in high spirits, Twilight then heard something outside that immediately got her attention. "Wait! Hold on, everypo- er, everybody!" she said to them all.
"Somethin' the matter, Twilight?" asked Apple Bloom.
"I think I just heard Applejack outside..." the Princess of Friendship told her. "And it sounded like she was yelling at someone."
"Yelling?" asked Sunset. "To who?"
"I don't know, but I don't have a good feeling about it." Twilight replied. "We should go and see what it is before we do anything else. She might need our help." The others agreed and headed out of the clubhouse to see what was going on, with Spike hopping into Twilight's backpack to ride around in.
"...Care t' run that by me again, stranger?" Applejack asked in a not-so-pleased tone. Right next to her was Big Mac, who also didn't seem too happy about what was going on.
"You heard what I said, young lady." the strange person spoke to her. As it turned out, Applejack was talking to Ms. Skyeblaze, who had just arrived at the front of the farm house with her companion Lucky. The boy still seemed uninterested in everything that was going on. "We're looking for someone named Babs Seed." the older woman told her. "I heard that she was in the area, and I intend to find her so that I can... discuss some things with her..."
"...And what, exactly, do y'all plan t' discuss with mah little cousin about...?" the farm girl asked, getting suspicious.
"That's none of your business." Skyeblaze told her. "Just tell us if she's here or not."
"Ah don't think so." Applejack refused. "When a complete stranger comes over t' me and starts askin' about somethin' involvin' mah cousin or any member of mah family, it becomes mah business. So you ain't getting any info outta me until you tell me why y'all wanna talk with her!"
The older woman huffed and replied, saying, "Such unpleasant behavior... Hasn't anyone ever told you that you should show respect for your superiors?"
"Ah'll keep that in mind when Ah actually meet someone Ah think is superior to me, then..." the farm girl stated.
Skyeblaze grumbled at that comment, which got a snicker out of Lucky. "What are YOU laughing at?!" the woman shouted at the boy.
"Ya gotta admit: she got ya good there, lady." Lucky replied with a smirk.
"Applejack...!!" shouted Twilight's voice off in the distance. Everyone glanced over and saw the purple-skinned girl running towards them, along with Sunset, Spike, Babs, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.
Once they got over to the scene, Sunset asked her hat-wearing friend, "What's going on? Is everything okay?"
At that moment, Skyeblaze glanced over to the side and spotted Babs Seed. "You!!" she shouted, pointing straight at her.
The Manehatten girl gasped and said, "Oh no! Not you two again!"
"Wait, what??" Applejack spoke up. Turning over to her little cousin, she asked her, "Babs, don't tell me y'all know these two weirdos?"
At that moment, Skyeblaze began to chuckle softly before saying, "Oh she knows us alright, young lady. And would you like to know why?" Scowling a little, she then shouted, "The reason is because she stole something from us!!"
"WHAT?!?" exclaimed the others in shock.
"That's right... Your little cousin over there stole a Deck from us a few months ago." the older woman explained to them. "And that's the reason we're here! We've come to take that Deck back from her! Once we've got it, we'll be on our way."
"That... that can't be true..." Apple Bloom spoke, not believing what she just heard. Turning over to her cousin, she then asked her, 'Babs... is what she's sayin' true?"
"Of course not, cuz!" Babs told her. "I'd nevah steal anythin'!! She's lyin'!!"
"Oh am I?" asked Skyeblaze. "We saw you take that Deck from our school months ago. A Deck that rightfully belongs to me! So why don't you try being a good girl and hand it back over?" Babs just growled a little response, not in any mood to comply.
Spike, watching the whole scene, suddenly noticed that Twilight had her eyes closed and arms folded in front of her, meaning that she was in deep thought. "What's up with you, Twilight?" he asked her. "What are you thinking about?"
Humming a little to herself, the young Princess told him, "Something doesn't seem right about this... I think there's more to this whole thing than what we're being told."
"Good, so it's not just me, then." Sunset chimed in. "I got that same feeling myself."
"Same here, girls." Applejack said, adding to their thoughts.
Noticing them at that moment, Skyeblaze then shouted to them, "Hey! What are you three mumbling about?! If you have something to say to us, then say it to us!"
Applejack, now angry at the strange people, said to them, "Fine then, Ah will. We we're just sayin' that we don't exactly buy into your whole story."
"What?!" exclaimed the older woman.
"Ah think that someone IS lyin' here, but Ah'm pretty sure that it ain't Babs." the farm girl told the two of them. "Babs may be a bit rough around the edges, but she knows better than to just steal somethin'!" The young Manehatten girl looked up at her older cousin, moved by the fact that she seemed to believe her.
"You take her word over mine?" asked Skyeblaze, now starting to sound frustrated. "Just listen to yourself: Why would an adult like myself have any reason to be dishonest with you over such a matter?"
"Because just about anyone is capable of lyin' if they think that it'll benefit them." Applejack answered. "After all, Ah know a pair of shop owner brothers that do nothin' BUT be dishonest to every customer they get! Just 'cause you're older than us doesn't mean we should just blindly take your word as truth. So if mah cousin says she didn't steal anythin' from her, then Ah'll believe her! Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
"...Eeeyup." the older brother replied in a stern tone, agreeing with his sister.
"...Cousin Applejack..." Babs replied, deeply touched.
"That goes for me, too!" Apple Bloom chimed in. "The Babs that I know would never steal! And besides that, you don't have any real proof that she did it!!"
Lucky and Skyeblaze weren't expecting something like this to happen. "W-well... well, YOU don't have any real proof that she DIDN'T do it! So you can't prove anything, either!" the older woman snapped back. "Not that it matters anyway. If I told anyone else, it would be your word against mine, and they'll certainly not believe a bunch of children like you."
"Then I guess there's only one sure-fire way to solve this problem." Sunset spoke up. Smiling a little, as if she had come up with a clever plan, she then asked, "How about you and Babs settle this dispute with a Duel?"
"A Duel?? asked everyone else.
Nodding yes and pointing to Skyeblaze's arm, the jacket-wearing girl said to her, "That Duel Pad on your arm: Obviously you brought it with you because you planned on dueling for that Deck in the end anyway. So I think a Duel would be the best way to solve this dispute, that is, if you ARE a real Duelist, that is."
"O-o-of course I am!" the older woman shouted. "Are you suggesting that I can't duel?! I can most certainly duel!! After all, that Deck your little friend took belongs to me!"
"In that case," Sunset continued, "it should be easy for you to win it back. After all, if it DOES belong to you, you should know everything about it. And you would have brought a Deck that could counter it perfectly, right?"
"Ohhhh... now I get what she's doing." Twilight said.
"What? What is she doing?" Spike asked.
"It's simple: Like Sunset said, if that Deck really was stolen from that woman, then she should know exactly how to fight it." the Princess of Friendship answered. "So Sunset suggested that they duel each other, and if that woman beats that Deck easily, then she's telling the truth. Otherwise, if she loses against it, or refuses to Duel, then that means she's lying, because it suggests that she doesn't know what it is, despite claiming that it belonged to her."
"That's brilliant!" commented Applejack. "And t' think, she came up with that idea in only a minute or so... You two really are a pair of smart cookies."
"Aheh... I guess you could say that..." the purple girl replied, rubbing the back of her head.
"Speaking of food," Spike began to say, "didn't Sunset say something about a pie yesterday?"
"Maybe later, Spike." Twilight told him.
Staring down Skyeblaze and Lucky, Sunset smirked and asked her, "So what's it gonna be? If you can beat that Deck easily, then we'll believe you. But if you back out or lose, then we'll know you're lying."
The older woman grumbled, but knew that she didn't have any choice. "Fine then, I'll agree to your ridiculous idea, if only to prove that I'm right!" she shouted.
"Then it's a deal. You and Babs duel, and the winner gets the Deck." Sunset confirmed, making sure that everyone was clear on the terms of the Duel. Turning over to Babs Seed, she told her, "Sorry to wrap you up in this whole thing, but it was the only thing I could think of."
"Heh, I ain't mad, Shimmer." Babs replied in a casual tone. "I likes the way you think. You n' me might just get along like a house on fire... That is, as long as I win this and the plan doesn't backfire."
"I don't think we'll need to worry about that happening." Sunset told her. "Just get out there and show her how a True Duelist battles!"
"It'd be my pleasure!" Babs then activated her Duel Pad and Gazer, and then Ms. Skyeblaze did the same. Once they were ready, the two of them drew their opening hands, ready to start their battle.
"LET'S DUEL!!!" the two combatants shouted in unison (Ms. Skyeblaze: LP 4,000) (Babs Seed: LP 4,000).
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Once everyone else had pulled out their Duel Gazers and activated them, Babs and Skyeblaze were ready to duel. "Now then, I believe that the old adage 'age before beauty' seems appropriate right now." the older woman told her opponent. "So I'll begin this Duel!"
"Go right ahead, then." Babs told her. "And you're right 'bout the age before beauty thing. 'Cause ya certainly ain't pretty-lookin' when you get mad!"
"Hmph... very funny." Skyeblaze replied, not at all amused by that comment. Taking out a card from her hand, she said, "I'll begin with one card face-down..." Taking a Monster Card out of her hand next, she then finished, saying, "And for my last move this turn, I'll Summon Fluffal Bear in Attack Mode!" Skyeblaze's first monster was a cute, pink teddy bear wearing a scarf and possessing a pair of white wings (Fluffal Bear: Level 3 / ATK 1200 / DEF 800).
"Awwwwww!!! That little teddy's so CUTE!!!" squealed Sweetie Belle. "I just wanna go over there and hug it!!"
"What kinda Deck is that lady usin'?" asked Applejack. "That bear doesn't seem too powerful t' me..."
Sunset said nothing and thought about the woman's opening move. (Hmmm... an unusual first play... I wonder what she's up to...?) she thought.
"Heh, if dat's the best you've got, then yous really have no idea what you're up against!" Babs told her opponent. "Now I draw!" After pulling her first card and looking at it, she placed it into her hand and starting formulating a strategy in her mind. (Okay, dat's what I'll do first.) she said to herself. Playing one of her cards, she then shouted, "I Summon my Baobaboon in Attack Mode!" Babs Seed's first monster appeared to be a black-furred baboon stuck inside of a tree that appeared to walk on its roots (Baobaboon: Level 3 / ATK 1200 / DEF 1000).
"Uhhh... what the heck is that thing??" asked Scootaloo. "It looks... weird." Sunset, however, seemed to think that it was a good opening move for Babs.
The Manehatten girl then spoke up, telling her opponent, "Now that I've Summoned Baobaboon, I can use his effect! Now I can draw one card, but then I must take a card in my hand and place it on the top or bottom of my Deck." After drawing the next card off the top of her Deck, she then placed one of her other cards at the bottom of her Deck.
"What's she doing now?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Well, my guess is that she's trying to draw a particular card from her Deck." Sunset answered her. "At least, that's what I'm guessing."
"But what is she tryin' to draw?" asked Apple Bloom.
"I guess we'll find out if it happens." Twilight replied, eager to see what would happen next.
Babs then casually said to Skyeblaze, "Since our monsters attacks are equal, I won't attack yous this turn. I'll just set a card and end it there."
"Hmph... I'm not impressed by that move at all, you little thief." Skyeblaze huffed. "But it won't matter soon anyway. You'll pay for taking that Deck, and I intend to make sure that you do!" The woman then drew her next card and said, "I now send the Fluffal Bear that I just drew from my Deck to the Graveyard to activate its effect! This allows me to set a copy of Toy Vendor from my Deck straight to the field!"
"Setting a card directly from your Deck??" asked Applejack. "Ah've never heard about somethin' like that!"
"Well after this move, you'll not soon forget it!" Skyeblaze said to them as she took her card out of the Deck and placed it face-down onto the field. "And now I'll go right ahead and play Toy Vendor!" she then said, flipping it face-up.
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Toy Vendor:
(Continuous Spell Card)
Once per turn: You can discard 1 card; draw 1 card and reveal it, then if it is a "Fluffal" monster, you can Special Summon 1 monster from your hand. Otherwise, discard the card you drew. If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Edge Imp Sabres" or 1 "Fluffal" monster from your Deck to your hand.
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"And now for my Spell Card's effect:" Skyeblaze said to her foe. "I discard a card, then draw a new one. If it's a Fluffal, I can Special Summon any monster from my hand. If not, I discard the card I drew." After paying the card's cost, she then drew the next card off the top of her Deck and showed it: Edge Imp Sabres.
"Heh, too bad, lady." Babs told her. "Looks like ya struck out there."
Discarding the card she drew, Skyeblaze chuckled to herself and told her foe, "Actually, I was hoping that card would show up. After all, in order to make my biggest move, I need that card in my Graveyard."
"What for?" asked the Manehatten girl.
"You'll see soon enough..." the older woman told her. "But first, I'll activate the effect of Fluffal Wings, the card I discarded to use Toy Vendor's effect. By banishing it, along with the Fluffal Bear in my Graveyard, I can draw one more card." After doing that, she then added, "In addition, Fluffal Wings also allows me to send Toy Vendor to the Graveyard to draw a second card from my Deck!"
As Skyeblaze drew her next card, Applejack then said to her friends, "That move of hers helped to reinforce her hand... She's clearly lookin' for a specific card, just like Babs is..."
"Yeah, but what?" Sunset asked.
"I've got a feeling we're gonna know pretty soon..." Spike responded, not sure what to expect.
After looking at the new cards that she drew, Skyeblaze then said, "Now I activate the effect of the Edge Imp Sabres in my Graveyard! By returning one card from my hand to the top of my Deck, I can bring it back!" After placing one of her cards back on top of her Deck, a dark-purple portal then appeared in front of the older woman. Out from that portal came a a creature that looked like six pairs of scissors connected together. Within the space where the scissors' handles were, a black cloud with a pair of evil-looking red eyes could be seen (Edge Imp Sabres: Level 3 / ATK 1200 / DEF 800).
"That... sure don't look friendly..." Apple Bloom commented.
"I agree..." Sweetie Belle replied.
Chuckling some more and putting on a sinister-looking face, Skyeblaze then told them, "If you think that is scary, then you'll faint once I show just vicious my creatures can truly be!" Taking a card out of her hand, she then shouted, "I play the Spell Card, Polymerization!! And I use it to fuse together my Edge Imp Sabres and Fluffal Bear on the field, along with the Fluffal Penguin that is in my hand!!"
"A Fusion Summon?!" exclaimed Applejack, who was as surprised as the others were.
As her three monsters were sucked into a red and blue-colored portal above them, Skyeblaze began to chant, saying, "Claws of the demon! Fury of the bear! The avian torpedo! Become one with one another and prey upon my enemies! Fusion Summon! Show yourself! Predator beast of darkness! Frightfur Wolf!"
After playing her Fusion Monster onto the field, the portal in the sky then turned dark as a shadowy figure appeared before Babs and the others. When the dark clouds dispersed, the figure that stood before them all was a heavily-shredded stuffed toy wolf with stitches and stuffing coming out of several places on its body. Sharp scissors were stuck all around inside of it, and inside the toy's mouth were another pair of sinister eyes (Frightfur Wolf: Level 6 / ATK 2000 / DEF 1500).
"AHHHHH!!! What is that thing?!" screamed Sweetie Belle.
"I'll tell ya one thing..." Scootaloo responded, "that ain't your everyday stuffed animal..."
"That thing looks like it's demon-possessed!" Apple Bloom commented.
"Probably because it is." Applejack informed her younger sister.
"Quite right, little girl..." Skyeblaze told her in a low voice. "When my Edge Imp demons combine with my Fluffals they create more powerful, more sinister monsters the likes of which you've never seen! Sure, their souls become more corrupted as a result of the Fusion, but if it grants me a victory, who cares if I have to toss out a few weaker cards?"
Sunset didn't particularly care for that comment, and neither did anyone else. It seemed pretty clear that the woman before them cared more about winning a Duel than about her own cards.
"And speaking of which, I now activate the effect of Fluffal Penguin in the Graveyard." Skyeblaze told them. "Since it was used to Fusion Summon a Frightfur Fusion Monster, I can then draw two cards from my Deck, but then I must discard one." After drawing her cards and sending one to the Graveyard, she then added, "So I guess that means some of these weaker cards have a use after all."
Growling a bit, Applejack told her friends, "Boy, Ah wish that lady would just stop talkin' altogether if she's gonna make comments like that...!"
"I know... No True Duelist would ever say things like that about their own cards." Sunset said, agreeing with her. "I'm starting to become more convinced that she's the problem here and not Babs..." Twilight and the others nodded in agreement.
"And now for my Battle Phase, and it shall be the ONLY Battle Phase in this whole Duel!!" said Skyeblaze.
"And why's that, huh?" asked Babs Seed, bracing herself.
"Because of Frightfur Wolf's ability, that's why." the woman told her. "For every monster I sent to the Graveyard to Summon it, it can attack that many times each turn!"
Gasping, Twilight exclaimed, "That's not good! That woman used three monsters to Summon that wolf!"
"Which means that she can end the Duel right here if she destroys Babs' monster, and then attacks her directly twice!" Apple Bloom added.
"...I wouldn't be too sure about that, girls." Sunset told them.
"Whad'ya mean?" asked Scootaloo. But the jacket-wearing teen just pointed to the Duel in progress to tell them that they should see for themselves what she meant. They also noticed that Applejack didn't seem too worried for her cousin either, even smiling a little.
"Now Frightfur Wolf, attack her wimpy little ape!!" shouted Skyeblaze. "Cleaver Claws!!" The blue wolf then pounced onto Babs Seed's only monster, tearing it to shreds and destroying it (Babs Seed: LP 4,000 - 800 = 3,200). "And now my monster will attack you dire-"
"Not so fast, lady!" Babs interrupted her. "Yous might wanna check the field first before you make that next move..."
"What are you-?" But when Skyeblaze looked at the field, she gasped. Now there appeared to be TWO more monsters on Babs' side of the field, and they looked just like the previous one. "WHAT?! Where did those monsters come from?!? How did that happen?!?" she shouted in protest.
"Why should I ask ya, lady?" the Manehatten girl inquired her. "After all, yous DID say that I stole this Deck from ya. So yous should know exactly happened."
"Uh..." the woman could only say, not sure how to answer that question.
"Can't answer?" Babs asked her. "Then I'll tells ya: When Baobaboon's destroyed, his ability lets me Summon the other two copies I have of him from my Deck! That means the rest'o my Life Points are safe from that ugly monstrosity of yours!"
"That's not fair!!" Skyeblaze complained, whining a little.
"Oh it's quite fair." Babs told her. "And best of all, since they were Summoned to the field, I can use their effects right now! So twice now, I'll draw one card and return one more to the top or bottom of my Deck!" And she did just that, drawing a total of two cards and sending two more to the bottom of her Deck.
"That was amazing!" complimented Apple Bloom. "She just stopped that lady from beating her!"
"And not only that," added Scootaloo, "she even drew more cards from her Deck!"
"That was a pretty expert play on Babs' part." Applejack chimed in. "She was definitely thinking pretty far ahead t' pull of a great move like that."
"Indeed." Sunset agreed. She then glanced over at Skyeblaze and thought, (Which makes it pretty odd that the woman who says she had that Deck stolen from her didn't know about that...)
Scowling, the older woman then shouted, "Frightfur Wolf!! Take down those two monsters!!" With that order, her Fusion Monster destroyed the two newly-Summoned monsters on Babs' field.
"No problem for me, Lady." the Manehatten girl casually told her opponent. "I Summoned them both in Defense Mode, so my Life Points don't go down."
"Grrrr... I end my turn." Skyeblaze responded, frustrated that her plan had failed.
Drawing a card, Babs smirked once she saw what it was, she thought to herself, (There it is... that's card I was hoping t' pull.) Staring down at her opponent, she said to her, "If yous think dat your monsters r' scary and vicious, then you ain't seen nothin' yet!" Playing a monster from her hand, she shouted, "I Summon Predaplant Flytrap in Attack Mode!!" After playing her card, a green plant then began to grow from out of the ground in front of her. Once fully-grown, the monster had the appearance of a large-sized Venus Flytrap (Predaplant Flytrap: Level 2 / ATK 400 / DEF 800).
"Woah... I guess Babs is goin' for creepy and scary just like that weird old lady is." Scootaloo commented.
(Hmmm... a Predaplant Deck, huh?) Sunset pondered. (Interesting choice...)
Chuckling a little, Skyeblaze then asked her foe, "Do you really think that ugly little weed is any threat to me?"
"Actually, I think it will be." Babs told her. "Now I use Predaplant Flytrap's effect, which lets me stick a Predator Counter on one'a your monsters! And I choose your Frightfur Wolf!" And with that, her monster then spit out a green ball that formed itself into a mean-looking head with razor-sharp fangs. The creepy head then chomped down onto Skyeblaze's Fusion Monster.
"What is the meaning of this?!" asked the woman.
"Ya mean you don't know? Any monster that's been stuck with a Predator Counter automatically becomes a Level 1 monster!" Babs informed her (Frightfur Wolf: Level 6 > Level 1 / Predator Counters: 1).
"So what?" asked Skyeblaze. "That doesn't affect my monster's attack power! So what good will it do you??"
"Pretty weird that you should have t' ask that, seein' as how this is supposedly YOUR Deck." Babs pointed out. "But if you really don't know, then I won't waste any more time tryin' to explain it." Taking out the card that she had just drawn this turn, she shouted, "Now I activate a Spell Card. I'll play my OWN Polymerization!!"
Everyone gasped when they heard her say that. "She's gonna Fusion Summon too?!" asked Apple Bloom.
"I'm willing to bet that Babs Seed was trying to draw that card this whole time..." Twilight stated. Sunset and Applejack agreed with her, nodding yes.
"I'll use my fusion card to fuse Predaplant Flytrap on the field with Predaplant Squid Drosera in my hand!" Babs declared as another red and blue vortex appeared in the sky and drew in her two monsters. "Two beautiful flowers with voracious appetites! Combine together and unleash a new, more vicious horror from deep in the abyss!" she then chanted. "Fusion Summon! Grow now! Predaplant Chimerafflesia!"
After that, the vortex sent a violet-colored lightning bolt straight down to the ground below, causing the earth to shake. Then from out of the dirt, a large plant began to grow from out of it. Once it was fully-grown, the resulting Fusion Monster was a gigantic Rafflesia flower (known for smelling horrible) with a pair of fanged vines growing out from its sides.
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Predaplant Chimerafflesia:
(Fusion-Effect Monster/Plant-Type/DARK/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 2000)
1 "Predaplant" monster + 1 DARK monster
Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field with a Level less than or equal to this card's; banish it. When an attack is declared involving this card and an opponent's face-up monster: You can activate this effect; until the end of this turn, that opponent's monster loses 1000 ATK, and if it does, this card gains 1000 ATK. Once per turn, during the next Standby Phase after this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Polymerization" Spell Card or "Fusion" Spell Card from your Deck to your hand.
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"Woah... that thing's every scarier than that mean-looking wolf..." commented Sweetie Belle, shaking a little.
"Yeah, I agree with ya there, Sweetie Belle..." Scootaloo added. "But at least that thing's on our side... I think."
Of course, the one who was trembling the most was Ms. Skyeblaze. She wasn't expecting to have to fight a Deck that also used Fusion Monsters. She tried to say something, but remained speechless.
"Heh, for once, you're totally silent." Babs told the woman. "I should enjoy this moment while it lasts."
Grumbling a little Skyeblaze then broke her silence and shouted to her enemy, "Just get on with your move already!"
"Alright then, but I should warn yous 'bout somethin'." the Manehatten girl told her.
"And what's that?"
"Well, lady," she explained, "my Chimerafflesia has the power to take any of your monsters and banish it from the game, as long as its Level is equal to or lower than its own."
Skyeblaze gasped, realizing something. She then started to ask, "No way...! You mean that-?"
"Yous got it." Babs answered her. "Not that I needed to, but with my Predator Counters, I can make your monsters more susceptible to effects like my Chimerafflesia." Chuckling a little, she then added, "But even so, I don't think I'll need to activate that effect this turn."
"What do you mean??" asked the woman, getting a little worried.
"Just watch! Chimerafflesia, attack Frightfur Wolf!!" Babs ordered. "Draining Vine!!" At that moment, the plant creature then fired out several of its vines, striking Skyeblaze's Fusion Monster. Once that happened, Frightfur Wolf's body color began to get paler and paler with each passing second.
"What are you doing to my monster?!" shouted the blue-skinned woman.
"That's Chimerafflesia's other effect." Babs answered. "When it attacks one of your monsters, or when it's BEING attacked, my monster can shred off 1,000 of your monster's attack points and add them to its own for one turn!" (Frigthfur Wolf: ATK 2000 - 1000 = 1000) (Predaplant Chimerafflesia: ATK 2500 + 1000 = 3500)
"No!!" screamed Skyeblaze as her monster was sucked dry, turning into a brittle shell of dust and crumbling to the ground (Ms. Skyeblaze: LP 4,000 - 2,500 = 1,500).
"And now that your monster's gone, I think now's a good time to play my Trap Card." Babs then told her. "I activate Predaplanet!! This card gets its effect every time a monster with a Predator Counter is taken off the field! Now I can add any card from my Deck to my hand that has 'Predap' somewhere in its name! And I'll choose one of my favorites: Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio!"
"That was awesome!" Spike cheered. "She took out that creepy toy for good!"
"And not only that, she even got another card out of her Deck at the same time." Sunset added. "That's the reason she stuck that Predator Counter on her wolf in the first place."
"Now Babs just has to hit her for 1,500 more damage, and she'll beat that old lady!" Apple Bloom chimed in.
"Grrrr... stop calling me old, you little brats!" shouted Skyeblaze, getting angrier by the second.
"Why not?" Babs asked. "After all ya seem t' forget things pretty easily; like how ya seemed t' forget what cards were in this Deck." She then told her, "Unless of course, you just simply admit that you was lyin' about me stealin' this Deck from you."
"That'll never happen!!" shouted Skyeblaze, getting angrier at her foe. "I'll PROVE that you stole from me, one way or another!!"
Standing off to the side, Lucky was observing the Duel, as well as the state of the two competitors. (Don't you realize what that little kid's doin', lady?) he thought to himself. (If you continue t' lose focus that easily, we'll lose that Deck for sure!)
"Get ready, you little thief... This is where I make you pay!" The older woman then drew her next card and placed into her hand. "I now activate my Trap Card! Fusion Reserve!! Now by revealing one of the Fusion Monsters in my Extra Deck, I can add one of its Fusion Materials to my hand from my Deck!" Taking out her Extra Deck and pulling out one of the cards in it, she showed it to Babs and told her, "I choose to reveal my Frightfur Leo, and then add my Edge Imp Saw to my hand!"
"Lemme guess:" the Manehatten girl began to say. "You're bringin' that monster out, aren't ya?"
"For once, you're quite right." Skyeblaze said smugly as she put the monster she took from her Deck into her hand. "And as an added bonus, Fusion Reserve also lets me retrieve a Polymerization from my Graveyard as well!"
"Oh no... that means she has a chance at Summonin' that monster she revealed right now!" Applejack noted.
"There's a good chance." Sunset told her farm girl friend. "We just have to hope that Babs can deal with it when it comes."
"Then let's start hoping..." Spike chimed in.
"Next I activate the Spell Card known as Suture Rebirth." said Ms. Skyeblaze. "This lets me revive Fluffal Penguin from my Graveyard in Defense Mode with its effects negated." After playing her Spell Card, a dark-purple portal appeared, and a small stuffed toy penguin with a pair of earmuffs emerged onto her side of the field (Fluffal Penguin: Level 4 / ATK 1600 / DEF 1000).
"Awww... that little penguin is so cute!" Sweetie Belle noted. She then put on a sad face and added, "But I'm going to guess it won't stay that way, huh?"
"Probably not." Apple Bloom answered her.
Taking out another card from her hand, Ms. Skyeblaze then shouted, "And now, once more, I activate Polymerization!! I use it to fuse the Edge Imp Saw in my hand with Fluffal Penguin in my hand!!" Once more, the swirly vortex appeared in the sky, sucking up both of the woman's monsters to prepare for the Summon. "Steel blades possessed by demons, become one with the avian torpedo, and show us a new form and power!" she then chanted. "Fusion Summon! Show yourself! King of the hundred beasts that tears everything to pieces! Frightfur Leo!!"
After the Summoning Chant was complete, another frightening figure emerged from out of the vortex. It was another horribly-mutilated stuffed animal - a lion - with creepy red eyes, blood-red claws on each of its paws, sharp, red teeth glimmering from out of its maw, and several silver circular saw blades sticking out of its body (Frightfur Leo: Level 7 / ATK 2400 / DEF 2000).
The others stepped back a bit, grimacing at the sinister-looking creature that had just emerged. "Okay, I've seen some really creepy things before, but that thing certainly takes the cake!" Twilight pointed out.
"And probably ate it, too!" Spike added.
"...Not really that funny, Spike." Sunset criticized slightly.
"Yeah, you're right. My bad." the puppy apologized.
Babs, however, wasn't really creeped out by the monster's appearance (since she also used some pretty grotesque monsters herself). "So, tell me," she began to ask her opponent, "what's that overgrown stuffed kitten s'posed t' do? Y'know, BESIDES bein' ugly."
"I'm glad you asked, you little brat..." Skyeblaze told her. "Once per turn, Frightfur Leo allows me to destroy any monster you have on the field, then you take damage equal to that destroyed monster's attack points!"
The Manehatten girl gasped a bit. "Yous can't be serious!" she protested.
"Does THIS look un-serious to you?!" the blue-skinned woman shouted, a bit manically. "Go, Leo!! Uproot her Chimerafflesia!! Demon Saw Shredding!!" The patchwork beast then let out a vicious-sounding growl as it launched the saw blades attached to its head right at Babs' Plant-Type monster, slicing it into cutlings. The blades didn't stop there though: They continued their path of destruction and struck Babs directly, causing her a great amount of damage (Babs Seed: LP 3,200 - 2,500 = 700).
"Aw, shoot!!" Applejack said in despair. "Her monster got taken out so easily! Now she's totally wide open!"
"Don't worry about Babs just yet, AJ." Sunset told her. "Frightfur Leo isn't allowed to attack directly on the same turn it uses its effect."
Sighing out of relief, Sweetie Belle then said, "That's good... That means Babs can still try and make a comeback..."
"Perhaps, but I wouldn't get your hopes up." Ms. Skyeblaze told her. "Sure, I may not be able to get an attack this turn due to my monster's effect, but I'll make certain that your little thieving friend doesn't get out of my trap!" Pulling out another card from her hand, she then added, "So I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy that Trap Card of yours!" Babs grumbled a bit as her Predaplanet card was instantly destroyed. "And lastly," the woman told her foe, "I'll set a card face-down. Your move..."
"Hmph, is that all?" asked Babs, smirking a little. Apparently, she wasn't scared one bit, remaining confident even after losing her powerful Fusion Monster. "I was expectin' a lot worse than that, old lady."
"Why you little-... STOP CALLING ME THAT!!!" yelled Skyeblaze. "What do you think you're smiling about?! I'm about to beat you and don't seem to care one bit!"
"I don't, and that's because ya WON'T beat me!" Babs told her. "And I'm about t' show you why!" She then drew her next card, smiled and told her opponent, "Durin' my Standby Phase, I use the last effect of Predaplant Chimerafflesia. Since ya sent it to the Graveyard last turn, I get t' take any Spell Card from my Deck that has either 'Polymerization' or 'Fusion' in its name! Naturally, I'll choose the old classic, Polymerization!" And with that, she added the powerful Spell Card to her hand.
"So that's why she seemed so confident..." Scootaloo hypothesized. "Now she's set up for another Fusion Monster!"
"It seems that way." Sunset responded, though she began to think that there might have been some other reason for Babs Seed's self confidence.
Still smiling, Babs then said to Ms. Skyeblaze, "And while we're on the subject of old favorites, here's another one from the good old days!" Playing the card she just drew, the young girl declared, "I Summon Sangan in Attack Mode!" Her next monster was a small, furry little creature with long clawed arms, clawed feet, three yellow eyes, and a toothy grin on its face (Sangan: Level 3 / ATK 1000 / DEF 600).
(Hmmm... Sangan... Another interesting choice for her Deck...) Sunset Shimmer pondered to herself.
"Now I activate Polymerization!! Babs then shouted. "I'll fuse Predaplant Sarraceniant in my hand with Sangan on my field and Fusion Summon ANOTHER Predaplant Chimerafflesia in Attack Mode!!" In an instant, the two chosen monsters were sucked into the red and blue vortex, allowing Babs to Summon another copy of the giant plant monster to the field.
"Alright! She got anothah one'a those Fusion Monsters out!" Apple Bloom cheered.
"Perhaps she did..." started Ms. Skyblaze, "but I'm afraid it won't be staying out for very long!! Activate Bottomless Trap Hole!!"
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Bottomless Trap Hole:
(Normal Trap Card)
When your opponent Summons a monster(s) with 1500 or more ATK: Destroy that monster(s) with 1500 or more ATK, and if you do, banish it.
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Just as quickly as it appeared, Babs' Fusion Monster fell into a hole that appeared beneath where it grew, vanishing from the battle for good. "Aw crud!!" the Manehatten girl responded, a bit frustrated.
"Seems your little flower's days were short-lived, little girl..." chuckled Skyeblaze.
Babs growled a bit, but remained clam as she told her opponent, "Maybe so, but since Sangan got sent to the Graveyard, I get t' add a monster with 1500 or less attack points from Deck to my hand!" She then took out her chosen card (Predaplant Sarraceniant) and put it away with the rest of the cards that she was holding.
"True, but since you already conducted your Normal Summon this turn, you can't play it just yet!" Ms. Skyeblaze reminded her foe. "And that's a shame, because my Frightfur Leo is ready to attack you next turn!"
"If you think you're so sure of that, then bring it on, ya old bat!" Babs taunted her.
"Grrrr... very well, then!!" yelled the woman as she drew her next card. "Frightfur Leo, attack that brat directly and end this Duel!!" The vicious toy then jumped into the air, preparing to strike the young girl.
Lucky, watching from the side lines, yelled over to Ms. Skyeblaze, "Are you REALLY that stupid, lady?!?"
"What are you talking about?!" the older woman shouted at him. "I'm about to win this Duel!! Who are YOU to call ME stupid?!?"
"Actually, we both are." Babs suddenly spoke. Taking a card from her hand and playing into the Monster Zone, she then declared, "I Special Summon my Predaplant Sarraceniant in Defense Mode!!" Her newly-Summoned monster appeared to be a bright green ant with several similarly-colored leaves growing out of its back (Predaplant Sarraceniant: Level 1 / ATK 100 / DEF 600).
"What the-?!" said a shocked Ms. Skyeblaze.
"Yous obviously weren't payin' attention t' my last move, old lady." Babs told her. "Y'see the whole reason I Summoned Sangan last turn was t' pull this card outta my Deck, just in case you had a Trap Card ready to take out one'a my Fusion Monsters. Luckily for me, you made it pretty easy f' me to predict your move when you told me that you'd do anything t' keep me from winnin'." Looking at her card on her Duel Pad, the Manehatten girl then explained, "Y'see if I've got Predaplant Sarraceniant in my hand, I can Summon it whenevah ya declare a direct attack t' protect me."
"So I'll just destroy that monster instead, then!" the woman told her.
"Yous COULD go and do that, but I wouldn't if I was you." Babs warned her. "If yous battle Sarraceniant, its effect lets me destroy the monster it battled, even IF your monster won the fight!"
"WHAT?!? That's not fair!!" complained Ms. Skyeblaze. Grumbling, she had no choice but to call off her monster's attack and end the Battle Phase. "In that case," she then said, still angry. "I'll use Leo's effect and destroy your monster WITHOUT battling it!! So THERE!!"
Skyeblaze's giant toy monster then snarled as it used its saws to destroy Babs' monster. But the short-haired red head wasn't intimidated, still smirking (Babs Seed: LP 700 - 100 = 600). "All of dat for a wimpy 100 points of damage..." she told her. "Lemme tell ya; it wasn't worth it. When Predaplant Sarraceniant is destroyed for any reason, its effect lets me take any 'Predap' card outta my Deck. And I'll choose my Spell Card, Predapruning!"
Twilight then said to Sunset, "Once again, Babs managed to stop that woman from winning the Duel, and even managing to give herself an advantage at the same time."
"Indeed, Twilight." the black jacket-clad teen replied. "Babs knows just about every possible way to make the most out of her cards so that she can always be prepared no matter what her opponent does... At the same time, that woman is constantly taken by surprise by each of Babs' moves. Someone who claims to have had that Deck stolen from her shouldn't be caught off guard by the cards that are in it..."
"Ah noticed that, too." Applejack chimed in. "Ah was sure of it from the start, but now Ah'm even MORE sure that everythin' that weird lady's been sayin' was total baloney!"
"Same here!" Apple Bloom agreed, her friends also nodding to say that they felt the same.
"Eeeyup!" Big Mac agreed as well.
Apple Bloom then shouted over to her cousin, "You can do it, Babs!! Go n' beat the skirt off that old lady!!"
Babs turned around to look at Apple Bloom and the others, who were all smiling and sending her good vibes. After hearing that they all truly believed in her, the Manehatten girl smiled and told her cousin, "You bet I will, cuz! There's no way I'm gonna let her steal my Deck again!"
(Again?) asked Sunset, thinking about that last word she said.
Now Ms. Skyeblaze was more frustrated than ever. No matter what she tried, nothing she did seemed to work against Babs Seed. Taking the card she had just drawn, she then thought, (My Magic Jammer Trap Card... If that brat plays her Spell Card to help her next turn, I'll stop it before it can happen!!) Placing it into her Duel Pad, she then yelled, "I'll set this card, just to make SURE that you can't defeat me!" after doing that, she ended her turn.
Once again, Lucky grumbled a bit, saying in his mind, (Stop doing that, lady... Stop broadcasting your whole strategy...!)
Babs, now more confident than ever, told her opponent, "Too bad, lady... Dat was your last turn. Now get ready... 'cause with my next move, I'm gonna unleash... my Manehatten Rage!!"
"Yeah!! You tell 'em Cousin!!" cheered Apple Bloom.
Twilight, Sunset, and Applejack were a bit dumbstruck by Babs' last comment. "...Manehatten Rage?" asked the farm girl. "What in the hay is that even supposed t' mean?"
"Well, at least we know that she hasn't lost confidence in herself." Twilight noted, still finding the comment a little silly.
Sunset said nothing, but instead continued to support Babs Seed in her mind. (Go for it, Babs...) she thought. (Show that woman what being a True Duelist means!)
"It's my turn! I draw!!" shouted the Manehatten girl as she drew the next card off the top of her Deck. "Now I'll Normal Summon my Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio in Attack Mode!!" After playing her card, another mostly-plant creature dug itself out of the ground. It appeared to look like a very dark green scorpion with brighter-green vines growing on it, thorned pincers, and potent-looking stinger (Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio: Level 3 / ATK 1200 / DEF 800). "And because I Normall Summoned it, I get t' use its effect!" Babs continued. "All I gots t' do is send my Mystic Tomato from my hand t' the Graveyard, and I can bring out a different Predaplant from my Deck to join it! And I'll choose... Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra!"
The short-haired red-head's next monster was a vine/snake-like creature with two violet-colored heads. The two head hissed angrily at Skyeblaze, as if it wished to lunge at her (Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra: Level 3 / ATK 1000 / DEF 1500).
"And because my Darlingtonia Cobra was Summoned to the field through the effect of one'a my Pdreaplants," Babs then explained, "its effect lets me add any 'Polymerization' or 'Fusion' Spell Card from my Deck to my hand. And I think I'll add Fusion Substitute."
"Hmmmm... I thought so." Ms. Skyeblaze told her, trying to look confident. "You were planning another Fusion Summoning, I see. But it won't work, I promise you..."
But Babs smirked and told her, "Don't be too sure of dat, lady. Ya really think I wasn't aware of your plan t' use dat Trap Card of yours to negate my Spell as soon as I play it?"
The woman, shocked at what she said, asked her opponent, "No! How did you know I was going to do that?!"
The Manehatten Girl snickered a little and answered, saying, "...'Cause you just TOLD me."
"Urk!!" grunted Ms. Skyeblaze, startled and embarrassed that her foe had actually tricked her into revealing her trick.
"Ms. Skyeblaze!! You idiot!!" Lucky yelled at her. "Why'd you go and do that?! Now she's onto your strategy!! You call yourself a Duelist?!?"
"Sh-SHUT UP!!!" shouted the blue-skinned woman. "I don't see YOU here fighting her!! So get off my back, you little delinquent!!!"
"Wha'd you just call me, you old bat?!?" Lucky yelled back.
"Are yous quite finished?" asked Babs, sounding bored. "In case ya forgot, there's still a Duel goin' on." The woman and boy stopped their heated shouting match with each other after hearing that. "Now then, as I was sayin'..." the young girl continued, "you won't be able t' stop me from Fusion Summonign this turn... because I'm NOT gonna use the card I just got to do it!"
"What are you talking about??" asked Skyeblaze, confused now more than ever.
"You sure have a lot of questions 'bout my Deck, considering that ya went n' claimed dat it's yours." Babs stated. "You've done nothin' BUT question me 'bout my cards and moves since dis Duel started. If you really DID own dis Deck, yous oughtta know what I'm doin'... and yous probably would've held off on usin' dat MST card of yours t' destroy my Trap Card earlier."
The woman could say nothing in response; only stare back, completely clueless.
"But since ya asked, I'd be happy t' fill yous in on the details." the short-haired red-head continued. "Y'see, when you sent my Predaplanet card to the Graveyard, you set it up for me t' use its second effect: By banishin' it from the Graveyard, I can fuse my Predaplants and Fusion Summon a compatible Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck! And that's what I'm gonna do!!"
(No... my Magic Jammer can only stop Spell Card effects!!) thought Ms. Skyeblaze, sweating and getting worried.
After taking the Trap Card out of her Graveyard pile, Babs then shouted, "Now I fuse Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio and Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra on my field!!" And with that, the two monsters were sucked into yet another red-and-blue portal in the sky. Afterwards the sky began to turn dark.
"Woah...! Wh-what's goin' on??" asked Scootaloo.
"Yeah, what's she Summoning?" Sweetie Belle inquired.
"Whatever it is, it must be powerful..." Apple Bloom figured.
"Let's hope so..." Twilight chimed in.
But the look on Applejack's face seemed to suggest that she might have already knew what was coming. (Is Babs gonna Summon what Ah THINK she's Summonin'?) she asked in her mind.
"Two beautiful flowers with an insect-alluring fragrance!" Babs began to say, reciting the Summoning Chant. "Now become one, and from the horror beneath your petals, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon!"
After that part of the chant was done, a shadowy fog began to appear, whipping itself up into a tornado. The cyclone spun wildly, kicking up dirt and stones as it made its presence known. Skyeblaze and Lucky could only watch in horror as the fog began to take on a new form. The purple clouds had now been transformed into a vicious and mighty-looking dragon. It was mostly black in color, and what appeared to be purple bits of armor plating was actually part of its body. Several red and yellow orbs began growing all over it, glowing eerily as each one formed itself, its incredibly long tail formed a needle-like spike at the end of it, and on the top of its head was a mark that looked like a massive, third eye. The dragon let out a powerful roar, showing that is wasn't here to mess around.
"Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs!" Babs shouted, finishing her chant. "Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"
*******************************
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon:
(Fusion-Effect Monster/Dragon-Type/DARK/Level 8/ATK 2800/DEF 2000)
2 DARK monsters on the field, except Tokens
If this card is Fusion Summoned: You can make this card gain ATK equal to 1 Special Summoned monster your opponent controls, until the end of this turn. Once per turn: You can target 1 Level 5 or higher monster your opponent controls; until the end of this turn, this card's name becomes that monster's original name, and replace this effect with that monster's original effects. If this Fusion Summoned card is destroyed: You can destroy all Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls.
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Everyone involved in the Duel stared in disbelief after Babs Seed Summoned her powerful Dragon monster. Some of them, such as Apple Bloom and her friends, weren't sure what kind of creature it was. "What is THAT thing??" asked Scootaloo. "Did Babs always have a card like that??"
"Ah... Ah didn't know." admitted the young member of the Apple Family. Turning over to Sunset Shimmer, she asked her, "Sunset, do y'all know about that card Babs just played?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." the jacket-clad teen answered. "It's called Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. It's an incredibly powerful monster... not to mention incredibly rare, too. In fact, there are only two cards I know of that are just as strong and as rare as that one: Fluttershy's Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, and Gilda's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon."
"You're kidding!!" exclaimed Scootaloo in shock. "That thing's as powerful as those dragons we saw at the Inter-school Duel?" Sunset Shimmer nodded.
"But how'd Babs get it?" asked Apple Bloom.
"She pulled it from a pack, of course." Applejack suddenly told her younger sister. "A pack Ah got for her when she went with me n' Big Mac to the flea market a while back. Y'all shoulda seen the joy in her face when she managed t' get it. She was happier than a pig in a mud wallowin' contest! Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
The older brother simply nodded his head and said, "Eeeyup!"
"Wow... I wish I had that kind of luck when I buy booster packs..." Scootaloo told the others. "I'd love t' just be able to pull a kick-butt card like that after getting just one pack!"
"It's kinda scary..." Sweetie Belle told her friends. "But I guess if it that big dragon will help Babs win, then I guess it can't be all bad."
Ms. Skyeblaze wasn't too thrilled to see the dragon, of course. The older woman simply stood there, shaking in her high-heeled shoes. "No... of all of the monsters that I've have to fight, why did it have to be this one??" she asked, quickly losing whatever confidence she still had.
Grumbling, Lucky thought to himself, (So that little brat has a card that rare and powerful, huh...? Hmph, no wonder she sent us to steal that Deck back...)
Babs, smirking a little, told her opponent, "Ya certainly wasn't expecting this guy t' show up, huh old lady?" She then said to her, "In any case, you ain't gonna squirm your way outta this! Once Starving Venom has been Fusion Summoned, he absorbs the attack points of any Special Summoned monster ya got! So I'll be happy t' help myself to your Frightfur Leo's 2,400 attack points!"
"NO!!!" screamed Skyeblaze, but there was nothing that she could do. A shadowy fog surrounded her Frightfur Leo as a similar one appeared around Babs' dragon. Pulling strength from its enemy, the mighty beast roared the loudest roar it could manage (Starving Venom Fusion Dragon: ATK 2800 + 2400 = 5200).
"Consider this payback!" Babs shouted to his opponent. "Payback for tryin' t' turn my friends n' family against me - which never would've worked, by the way - as well as takin' my Deck in the first place!!" Pointing forward, the Manehatten girl then shouted, "Starving Venom!! Attack her monster!! CORROSION STINGER!!!"
The dragon then flew forward, speeding towards Skyeblaze's monster and jabbed it with its tail stinger. Frightfur Leo roared weakly as it took the hit, and then dissolved into nothing. The blue-skinned woman fell to her knees in defeat, saying nothing from the shock of her loss (Ms. Skyeblaze: LP 1,500 - 2,800 = 0) (WINNER: Babs Seed).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"She DID IT!!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle. "She WON!!!"
"Yeah, that was awesome!!" cheered Scootaloo. She, along with Sweetie and Apple Bloom, rushed over to congratulate their friend for a Duel well-fought.
"Well, it seems like Babs managed to pull it off and win." Twilight stated. "That means that she gets to keep the Deck, right Sunset? That was what they agreed to?"
"Yep, but that's not all that was accomplished with this Duel." the red and yellow teen told the young Princess.
"What d'ya mean?" asked Spike.
Looking ahead at Babs and her friends as she shared her victory with her best friends, laughing and smiling as they did so, Sunset answered the puppy, telling him, "I think I learned all I needed to figure out what's REALLY going on here, right AJ?"
"My thoughts exactly, Sunset." the orange girl responded. "And it's about time that our unwanted guests here started explainin' some things." She and Sunset started walking over towards Babs and the others, with Twilight and Big Mac soon following them.
Ms. Skyeblaze, still not believing that she had actually lost, punched the dirt in frustration. "How could I lose...?!" she cursed herself. "There was no way that little brat could've defeated me!!" Lucky said nothing in response, preferring not to get any more involved with the situation right now.
"Alright, whoever you are..." Apple Bloom then told the older woman. "Babs won the Duel, so the Deck stays with her!"
"Grrrrr... but she was one one who stole that Deck!!" the woman snarled. "She took it from us!! I saw her do it with my own two eyes!!"
"I don't think you're being entirely truthful..." said Sunset's voice as she and the others finally got to the scene. "Perhaps Babs DID take that Deck from wherever you two came from... but I think the only reason she did was because YOU were the ones that took it from her in the first place!" Glancing at the Manehatten girl, she asked her, "I'm right, aren't I?"
Babs Seed nodded, saying, "Yeah, you're absolutely right." Turning over towards Skyeblaze and Lucky, she then told them, "It wasn't these two mooks, but after my Deck got taken a coupla months ago, I heard about where the jerks who took it came from. So I sneaked into the place and managed t' get it back... But after I did, they started spreadin' lies about me stealin' it from them, and that caused everybody at my old school and everywhere else t' start pickin' on me. Even my best friends didn't believe me when I tried to tell them the truth..."
The others were shocked and saddened to hear her say that. "That's... that's horrible..." Twilight said to her, feeling sorry for Babs.
"So is that why you n' your folks moved here?" asked Applejack.
"Mhmm..." Babs responded, wiping a small tear from her eye. "We thought we could have a fresh start here, with the rest of the family in Canterlot... But I didn't count on them sending somebody after me..."
"Well everything's okay now, Babs." Sunset told her. "Now that we know who's telling the truth." She then glared at Ms. Skyeblaze and Lucky and told them, "You two make me sick! Trying to steal from a kid and then trying to make us believe that she's the one who did something wrong? How low could you two possibly be?!"
"But... but how did you know we were lying??" asked the woman, wanting some answers herself.
"That was easy." the jacket-wearing girl began to explain. "The real reason I had you two Duel was to study Babs' play style closely. Call it a hunch if you will, but she seemed to play that Deck a little too well to have simply stolen it. Not to mention that she seemed to take you by surprise almost every turn, which, if the Deck was rightfully yours, wouldn't have happened. But it seems you didn't know a thing about her Deck at all!"
Ms. Skyeblaze gulped, knowing that they were onto her now.
"And don't bother lying and saying that you had forgotten all of the cards in that Deck, either." Sunset continued. "A True Duelist can always remember what is in their Deck, and not always just in their mind... A Duelist that forms a bond with their cards can recall every single one, not with their memory, but with their heart."
"Are... are y'all talkin' about that thing that Yugi guy always talked about?" asked Apple Bloom.
"You mean the Heart of the Cards? If so, then yes." Sunset answered. "It's very simple: You could never have heart in cards that you've stolen from someone. That comes from believing in your own Deck, and only that person can bring out that Deck's true power." Looking back over towards the two crooked strangers, she told them, "The Heart of the Cards would never side with someone who intends on using their Decks to steal from somebody. You guys never had a chance from the start."
"Grrrrr... nonsense!!" shouted Ms. Skyeblaze. "Nothing but nonsense!! None of that could possibly be true!!"
"Then you've got a lot to learn before anyone here would consider you as a Duelist." the black jacket- wearing teen told her. "In any case, you've been revealed, and you lost; leave my friend's property NOW."
"...Not before we take that Deck back with us!!" yelled the woman. "We're not going back empty-handed!! Forget the deal!! We're taking it, and there's nothing you little brats can do about it!!!"
"Alright, Ah've had just about enough'a you two losers..." Applejack suddenly said, walking towards them with her Duel Pad activated. "If y'all wanna get near mah cosuin, you'll have t' get through me first!"
At that moment, Apple Bloom stepped forward, wielding her bright-yellow Duel Pad. "That goes for me, too! There's no way Ah'll let ya hurt my favorite cousin!"
"That goes for us too!!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said in unison, activating their magenta and white-colored Duel Pads respectively.
Showing her Duel Pad, Twilight told the woman, "Anypon- er, anyBODY who bullies a little girl like that just for their own greedy reasons is the worst kind of individual I could possibly think of!" As Sunset activated her Duel Pad, the young Princess then added, "Sunset and I will fight you if you even THINK of trying to steal from her again! So leave now before you cause yourself any more trouble!"
"You meddling little...!" growled Ms. Skyeblaze. She knew she didn't have a chance at fighting all of them, but she didn't want to leave without Babs' Deck.
After hearing Twilight's comment, Lucky gasped a little and thought, (Did she say 'Sunset'?? That can't be!) Glancing over at the person in question, the boy then continued to say in his mind, (So what I heard was true... Sunset Shimmer is in Canterlot City...) Chuckling to himself, he then stated, "Well, now that I know that, there's no reason we need to waste our time here..." He then started walking forward, strolling past the angry woman that he was travelling with.
Everyone, including Ms. Skyblaze, was confused. "What's with him?" asked Spike.
Then, in a shocking turn of events, Lucky told everyone, "Fine then... we'll leave quietly." Everyone gasped at what he had said, not expecting to hear that. Skyeblaze herself was the most surprised.
"What do you think you're doing, Lucky?!?" the woman shouted. "We have to get that Deck or she'll be angry with us!!"
"That is no longer necessary." the boy said calmly. "We have no more need for it."
"Wh...what...?" asked Skyeblaze, still not sure what he was talking about.
Turning to face the others Lucky informed them all, "Your little friend can keep her Deck for I care. But I will say this: You had better hope that we never meet again... Because if we do, we won't be nice and civil about it like right now." He then turned towards the exit and said to his partner, "Let's go. We're heading back to Skyes Academy."
"W-wait! I don't understand!!" Ms. Skyeblaze shouted, chasing after him. "What do you think you're doing...?!" she continued to ask him as the pair vanished from sight.
Twilight, Sunset, and the others were a little dumbstruck by this sudden event. "That was... easier than I thought it would be..." the black jacket-wearing teen commented, not sure if what just happened had just happened.
"At least they're gone now." Applejack pointed out. "Maybe now we'll get some peace n' quiet."
"Hey!! Are you young'uns alright over there?!" shouted a familiar voice from behind them.
"That's Granny's voice!" Apple Bloom figured out. Sure enough, when they all turned to look, they saw the elderly woman coming towards them all.
"We're just fine, Granny." Applejack told her. "Were you watchin' everything that was goin' on?"
"With all that commotion y'all were makin' how could Ah not be curious 'bout it?" Granny Smith asked her right back. Looking down at her Manehatten-born granddaughter, she said to her, "Y'all fought real well out there, Babs. Ah jus' knew you'd be able t' use that Deck we made in the best way possible!"
"Wait, 'we'?" asked Twilight. "Are you saying that you helped build Babs' Deck?"
"Sure 'nuff, Twilight dear." the old woman replied with a smile. "Where'd ya think she learned Duelin' from in the first place? Back in mah day, Ah was quite the firecracker! I was even competein' back when Celestia and Luna were jus' gettin' started on their Pro Duelin' careers!"
"Ah never knew any of that!" Applejack exclaimed, surprsied, but impressed to hear about her grandmother's accomplishments.
"Well, jus' know that if those two troublemakers try n' spread lies about Babs here, Ah'll make sure that NO ONE believes 'em." Granny Smith told them all, "In fact, Ah might even be able to convince her old schoolmates that she didn't steal that Deck either!"
"Ya really think yous could do that, Granny?" asked Babs, a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"Ah could have her tell everyone about it on video, and upload it online so that they'll know!" Apple Bloom said, wanting to help her cousin in any way.
"That's good t' hear." commented Scootaloo. "Now no one'll think she's a thief anymore!"
"Yay! That's great!!" cheered Sweetie Belle, jumping up and down.
Twilight, Sunset, and Applejack were happy to hear that Babs' troubles seemed to be over. Sunset then asked, "Um... Mrs. Granny Smith? Do you know anything about those people that showed up here to try and take Babs' Deck away?"
"Hm? That depends... Did they happen t' mention their names 'r anythin'?" asked the elderly woman.
"Hmmmm..." hummed Big Mac. Normally, he preferred not to speak much, but since he was the only one who manged to hear the strangers' names, he answered his grandmother, telling her, "Ah think the boy's name was Lucky... and the other one was... um... Ms. Skyeblaze or somethin'."
Granny Smith gasped a little. "Ah THOUGHT those scoundrels looked familiar..." she stated.
"Wait, you actually DO know them?!" asked Applejack, surprised just like everyone else was.
"Ah'm afraid Ah do." the older woman told them. "Ah'd be happy t' tell y'all about them, but let's get inside the house first... Ah've still got a whole tray full of warm apple pies ready t' eat!"
"Oh boy! About time!" exclaimed Spike, eager to have something to eat after watching such an exciting Duel.
"Apple pie does sound good to me right now..." Sunset responded. "Sure, let's go." The group then followed Granny Smith into the house, where hopefully everything could be explained to them.
About a half-hour later, everyone had their fill of Granny Smith's apple pies and were stuffed. Letting out a slight burp, Scootaloo said, "Oh, man... Apple Bloom, your family makes the best pies ever!"
"Well, we do our best, Scoots." the pink bow-wearing girl replied with a smile.
"I'll say you did." Spike chimed in. "My stomach's cramping, but it tasted so good, I don't even care..."
After she finished wiping her mouth with a napkin, Sunset then asked Granny Smith, "So, now that we have some time, would you mind telling us more about that woman and boy that showed up here earlier?"
"Hmmmm... Ah guess Ah should explain what Ah know 'bout those two sooner than later..." the elderly woman replied. Clearing her throat, she then told the group, "The boy goes by the name of Lucky, though from what Ah've heard, the only luck he's ever had was bad."
"How come?" asked Twilight.
"Ah don't know too much," Granny Smith answered her, "but Ah've heard that he's been in 'n outta trouble pretty much his whole life. Mostly minor stuff - no real serious crimes, mind ya - but he ain't about t' go straight anytime soon. Other than that, I don't know much about 'im."
"And what about the other one?" Applejack asked her grandmother. "Ms. Skyeblaze, right Big Mac?"
"Eeeyup." the older brother responded, now back to simply giving yes-or-no responses, like he usually did.
"Her, Ah know quite a bit about her, and ain't none of it good." Granny Smith stated. "Believe it 'r not, she actually used t' be a teacher at Canterlot High School."
The group gasped. "She's a TEACHER?!?" exclaimed Sweetie Belle in disbelief.
"I can't believe that lady, of all people, is a teacher!" Babs Seed added, shocked.
"Ah know, right?" Apple Bloom responded.
"But how come we've never seen her at school?" asked Scootaloo. "I'm sure we would've seen someone like her around..."
"...Ah said she USED to be a teacher." Granny reiterated. "You young'uns need t' listen t' what yer bein' told."
"So she isn't one anymore?" asked Twilight. "Why is that?"
"I think I might be able to help answer that." Sunset suddenly spoke up. "It took me a few minutes, but now I remember hearing that woman's name before." Taking out her cell phone, the jacket-clad teen pulled up CHS's website and made her way over to the section entitled, "Foal Free Press". After tapping on a tab labeled, "Past Articles", Sunset pulled up what she was looking for. "I knew it; it WAS that same teacher... Take a look at this, everyone."
The others walked over to see what Sunset had displayed on her cell phone: It was an article that had been printed two years ago. Applejack then read article's headline: "CHS Teacher Accused of Embezzlement Scheme: Skyeblaze Forced to Leave by Principals Celestia and Luna."
"Em...bezzle...ment?" asked Sweetie Belle. "What's that mean?"
"It means that she was stealing money from the school's funds." Sunset answered her. "I actually remember reading about it back when it happened."
"You're kidding!!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise. "Is that really true?!"
"Ah'm afraid Ms. Shimmer's right." Granny Smith told her. "Skyeblaze used t' be a respectable teacher at the school, and the students loved her. But one day, the Principals began t' notice that the school's funds were comin' up shorter n' shorter than usual... They went over all their spendin' records, but they still couldn't figure out where the money was goin'. That's when Luna figured that somebody must've been stealin' it."
"So then what happened?" asked Scootaloo.
"Well, after they had an idea of what was goin' on," the elderly woman explained further, "the two of 'em began their own investigation, in co-operation with the superintendent. Luckily, once they began snoopin' for evidence, they discovered that the crook had unintentionally left a paper trail of their crime... and after followin' it, it led 'em straight to Ms. Skyeblaze. She tried t' lie her way out of it, but as y'all saw for yerselves, she ain't a very good liar. They confronted her with the evidence, and she realized that they had her dead-t'-rights."
"So, today ain't the first time she tried t' lie just t' make herself look good." Babs stated. "What a dirty rat..."
"So what did they do with her, Granny?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Well, they could've had her taken t' jail, but they decided t' let 'er off easy if she returned all the money she stole." Granny Smith answered. "But after all that, she was fired and no longer permitted anywhere near the school grounds. And until today, she hadn't been heard from since..."
"But why was she so fixated on stealing Babs Seed's Deck?" Twilight asked, still confused about the whole thing. "It doesn't make any sense..."
"That I'm not sure of, to be honest." Sunset answered her friend.
"Ah can't imagine what Syeblaze would want with Babs' Deck, either..." Granny Smith chimed in. "Seems rather small-time compared t' what she'd done in the past."
"And what's more, why'd they just run away after all that?" Applejack asked. "Sure, we all banded together to protect Babs from them, but Ah expected them to try and fight back even a little bit more..."
"I ain't got a clue either, Cousin AJ," Babs told her, "but I think I'm pretty sure where they're goin' right now."
"Where's that?" asked Scootaloo.
"The same place I snuck into t' get my Deck back:" the Manehatten girl answered her. "Skyes Academy."
"Skyes Academy?" asked the others.
"Never heard of it..." Apple Bloom then stated.
"Me neither." Sweetie Belle chimed in.
"Wait, I think I've heard of that place..." Twilight spoke up. She then turned over to Sunset Shimmer and asked her, "When we watched that Turbo Duel that Soarin participated in, didn't the announcer mention a place called Skyes Academy?"
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I do remember hearing that." the black-jacket-wearing teen replied. "And Soarin's opponent was some guy named Chet... Do you think there could be some connection, Twilight?"
"Maybe, maybe not..." the Princess of Friendship stated. "But I think you and I should investigate the matter. Who knows? Perhaps what happened here might have something to do with the Numbers..."
"Hmmm... I guess it couldn't hurt to look into it, then, especially if Number cards might be involved." Sunset agreed. "In any case, we should try and learn more about what's going on before something like this happens again." Turning over to Babs Seed, she then told her, "We'll make sure that those people who bullied you get what's coming to them! That's a promise."
"Thanks, Sunset. That's real cool of ya." the Manehatten girl told her with a smile. "And t' everyone here, thanks for believin' in me, even when that Skyeblaze chick tried to lie to ya."
"No problem, Cousin." Applejack said to her. "In all of the years that the Apple Family's been around, there ain't been one member dishonest enough t' ever resort t' stealing from someone! So there's no way that lady would have ever convinced me into thinkin' that you're some low-down dirty thief like her!"
"That goes double for me!" Apple Bloom chimed in. "You're mah favorite cousin, Babs, and Ah know you'd never steal from someone, ever!"
Sniffling a little and wiping a happy tear from her eye, Babs told his two cousins, "Thanks, both of ya... It really means a whole lot t' hear ya say dat." Every smiled, happy to know that Babs Seed was free from her troubles for good.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Later, that very night, Lucky and Skyeblaze had finally returned from Canterlot to Skyes Academy. However, the school building appeared to have been abandoned for quite a long time, and it had since fallen into a dilapidated state. Most of the windows were broken, several doors had fallen off their hinges, and there was debris from the crumbling walls and ceilings all over the place. Despite this, the pair walked inside, having some sort of business to take care of.
With no electricity in the entire building, Lucky pulled out a flashlight to help him and Ms. Skyeblaze move through the halls safely. Eventually, they came to a dimly-lit classroom; apparently someone was already inside the run-down school building. The two slowly walked inside, seemingly to meet this individual, whoever they were.
The two came to a figure partially concealed by the darkness in the room that wasn't lit up by the many candles scattered around. Sensing the pair's presence, the figure spoke to them. "So... what happened...?" it asked, speaking in a low, but feminine voice. "Based on the scared look that you seem to have, Skyeblaze... I'm guessing you didn't manage to get that stolen Deck back..."
"Please... forgive me..." the woman told her. "I tried my best to retrieve it." Scowling a little and turning over to her travelling partner, she then added, "Of course, if Lucky here had not decided to just get and run away, I probably would have gotten it!" The boy simply huffed in response, not afraid at all of her or the strange figure.
"I'm not in the mood to hear your excuses, Skyeblaze..." the figure spoke to her again. "I want to hear how a little brat like that girl somehow managed to prevent you from stealing the Deck with the rare Starving Venom Fusion Dragon card! Do you happen to know how valuable that card and the rest of the Deck are?! That's why I sent you two to retrieve it! That and also because you two were also in charge of making sure that no one took it from us in the first place!"
"I-I-I know how rare and valuable that Deck was! Believe me!!" Skyeblaze stuttered, trembling a bit.
"Quiet. I'll deal with you some other time, when I feel like wasting my personal time." the figure threatened. "And as for you, Lucky, I suppose YOU'LL also try and make some sort of excuse as to how you failed me?"
"Hmph... not one bit." the boy simply said, not really caring in the slightest. "I'll admit, the lady and I didn't get the Deck; there's nothing more to say about it." Smirking, he then added, "But I managed to get something far more valuable than that..."
"...Is that so?" asked the figure. "And what's that?"
"...We found that girl you were looking for." Lucky told her. "Sunset Shimmer."
"Wh-what?!" yelped Ms. Skyeblaze, not aware of that.
The figure said nothing at first, thinking about that comment of his. She finally spoke, saying, "I see... well I suppose that changes things." She then asked him, "Where did you see her?"
"She was at the farm that Skyeblaze and I found the other kid stayin' at." Lucky replied. "And I can only assume that she is from around Canterlot City. I found out when one of them mentioned her name, sometime after the little brat completely whupped Skyeblaze in a Duel."
Ms. Skyeblaze grumbled at that comment. "You didn't need to tell her THAT. And what's more, you could have told ME that you found Sunset!"
"If I did that, they might've overheard us, lady." Lucky explained calmly to the woman. "We don't need them knowin' that we were lookin' for Sunset, or they might've gotten even more suspicious of us." He then asked the figure, "So now that you know all of that, I don't suppose you could let us off the hook for not getting that kid's Deck? After all, you said that it'd be a waste of your time..."
"...Very well." the figure responded, complying with the request. "I'll overlook this matter for now, since you managed to find Sunset Shimmer. But don't expect me to be so nice next time. Now leave, both of you."
"Of course." Lucky replied. "Have a good night, then." And with that, he and Ms. Skyeblaze left the room and the building.
Once alone, the figure got up from the teacher's desk that she was sitting on and walked over to a cracked mirror leaning up against a wall. Lit up by a candle, her face was revealed: She was a woman, somewhere in her late 20's, she had pitch-black skin, messy turquoise hair, a pair of green eyes with blue eye-shadow, and had a fanged smile. The most prominent feature on her face was the long, yellow line mark that ran down the left side, stopping at the chin.
"Hmmhmmhmm... soon I'll get what I want." the figure spoke while looking at the mirror. "Once I get what I need from Sunset Shimmer..." She then put her left hand to her face and rubbed the area where the yellow mark was before finishing her statement, saying, "...I'll make this world pay for what it did to me...! No one disgraces Queen Chrysalis and gets away with it!!" After she made that comment, a red mark resembling the number 70 appeared on the back of her left hand...
-- To Be Continued...
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8450006
That's just how I interpreted it. It was also slightly inspired by its use in the manga by Mr. Heartland.
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon....I had a feeling that Babs was having that powerful card in her deck...!
8450074
Babs is probably Yuri's descendent if she has his dragon.
8450095
Only one Dragon left
Is this the human Chrysalis? Because what she said makes me doubt it!
Really big fan of this story so far. Last wasn't aware that last chapter was based of Yu-Gi-Oh episode (It has been YEARS when I last saw any of the shows) and this chapter was VERY well done!
So this Skyeblaze and Lucky are gonna be recurring villains? And I get the feeling Lucky's gonna be some secretly overpowered duelist. And Queen Chrysails... Wasn't expecting her. And I wonder what her beef with Sunset is.
let's see here:
character: Deck: Believability: explanation
Applebloom: Wind-Up: 6.5/10: outside of "Show Stoppers", we've not seen any evidence that she's mechanically inclined, at least to MY knowledge, but seeing as how she doesn't seem to be as attached to the farm life as some her family members and/or this IS an alternate version of her, I'm willing to be more forgiving of this sort of thing; besides, it's kind of funny and ironic that the Crusader most obsessed with growing up has a deck full of toys
Sweetie Belle: Crystal Beast: 7/10: simply on account of her emulating her sister: the reason it doesn't score higher is that, much like with Rarity in regards to Gem-Knights, this feels like a cliché cop-out to a certain extent: it still works, but I have some trouble investing in something that I've seen done before
Scootaloo: Blackwing: 8.5/10: given her pony-counterpart's desire to fly, I DO feel that this is a good fit for her, but I don't know: it feels wrong somehow to give her a deck that Crow would use...
and not JUST because of the potential "chicken" jokes that would crop up as a result thereof; that said, I DO think it's a decent fit, so I won't complain too muchBabs Seed: Predaplant: 9/10: admittedly, not what I was expecting, but as it seems to be something she could potentially use before AND after that bully phase her pony counterpart had, I think it works; good job, Monty Eggman: you get a cookie:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Pepperidge-Farm-Nantucket-Cookie.jpg
also:
alternate Cutie Mark Crusaders? I can dig it...
oooh: THIS can only end so many ways...
8450103
yeah, about that: I don't think it'll be showing up...and I'll leave the link so that you can deduce the reason for yourself; http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Odd-Eyes_Pendulum_Dragon
Babs seed is Joey wheeler. Enough said.
Ah, Starving Venom, if only I had one. I have a deck that would be perfect for it, one that's primarily centered around my Rainbow Dark Dragons.
8450063
Consider I also have a number82, I find it offensive.
Whoa! This chapter was great! New villains, more decks, an amazing duel, and now we have Chrysalis showing up! Does she have one of those criminal marks from 5D's? It would make sense if she did. Anyway, looks like we have another Number Hunt for the heroes to go on next time!
Anyone else get the feeling that Lucky is going to come into possession of lucky Number 07?
8450931
I get it.
8451060
Great. Number 70.
Queen Chrysalis and number 70, that is not a pleasant combination. Great to see Starving Venom Fusion Dragon though. Maybe we'll get to see Odd Eyes Dragon (the regular version, not the Pendulum version) to complete the set.
Number 70 is a spider so it's the perfect number for the Queen.
This looks good!
I have a feeling that Chrysalis has more than just Number 70. I wouldn't put it past her to also have acquired Number 35, Number 84, and Number 77 by the time we reach the end of this arc. Those four Numbers seem like they would work well together, and they even share a design theme.(I know 77 is a Fiend-type, but it looks like an Insect-type from the images I've seen)
8450198
I would have thought the same thing, but after ready Dueling for Dessert and Duel: Twilight vs Twilight the author makes a point in saying that the one we know from the Equestria verse are different from the Equestria Girls verse. This is very true when Princess Twilight duels her human counterpart and we get to see the differences before as well as during the duel. So we don't know what Apple Bloom is like in Equestria Girls. She might have a collection of old wind up toys or something like that. The only thing I have to add is that, after reading those stories, I think a Gusto deck is best suited for Scootaloo.
Anyways, here's hoping the CMC will get a few duels of their own
8505715
eh, fair enough; also:
😄 agreed
8505715
After reading the reactions to the CMC's (or in this case, the DMC) Decks, I happy to see that most of them are positive. I will explain why I chose these specific Decks for these characters, and most of it was actually pretty simple.
Wind-Up does seem like an odd choice for Apple Bloom, but the reason that I chose it is actually a reference to the MLP-styled hack of the game Earthbound, known as Equestriabound. In the game, Apple Bloom is at some sort of tech school with Twist-a-loo, learning about building machines and all that, which led me to select this Deck for her. That and there aren't a lot of other Plant monster-based archetypes to choose from.
For Scootaloo, I chose Blackwings for her not just because of the whole flying thing, but also because Blackwings were quite a powerful Deck back in the day. So naturally, someone, like Scoots, who wants to get into Dueling and win a lot of games would gravitate towards a powerful archetype, thinking that using that Deck alone would be enough to win lots of games with little to no effort (which as we should all know, isn't quite true... usually).
For Sweetie Belle, Crystal Beasts were simply chosen to emulate Rarity using her Gem-Knights, and because of all the cute-looking monsters in the archetype. Nothing really that deep, but I'm glad I chose it, considering that we're supposed to get some new support for them soon, and therefore, I can feature more new cards in the series.
Finally, Babs Seed. I originally was going to have HER use the Frightfur Deck, but after seeing Starving Venom's evolved form's Fusion Material Requirements, I was kinda forced to give her Predaplants. In the end, though, it's much more fitting, with the Plant-type relating to her extended family, and their dark nature reflects Babs's "bad girl" personality. That's why I had her fight a Frightfur Deck, because it was originally going to be her Deck before I had to switch it. Besides, Frightfurs fit better for a villian than a hero anyway, so there's that.
I wonder if the queen is being employed by the enemy or has become one?
8507784
eh, fair enough on all counts
Crystal Beast works for Sweetie Belle, I suppose. Personally, I would have gone with Melodious, though.
Chrysalis, queen of the changelings? Talk about a plot twist. And, a red mark resembling the number 70. I'll bet she has Number 70: Malevolent Sin.
8450931
Lucky Straight? Maybe
I see she learned her intimidation and confidence tactics from Joey Wheeler.
Brooklyn Rage!! - YouTube
OMG! ITS THE CHRYSALIS FROM EQUESTRIA!