Diamond Dragon fired a shimmering blast at Scootaloo. The orange pegasus shut her eyes in fear. Her dueling career was over.
“I activate a trap card!” The sound drew gasps from the crowd of onlookers and from Diamond Tiara. Scootaloo opened her eyes to see Sweetie Belle staring bravely as the blast previously aimed at Scootalou now careened toward her.
The resulting explosion enveloped the field in a dust storm. Scootaloo and Applebloom both covered their faces with their hooves. Each tried desperately to make out their friend in the haze. What did Sweetie Belle just do?
As the smoke cleared the white filly came into view. She stood with a serious look on her face. Sweetie Belle let out a few heavy breaths as the dropping numbers appeared over her head. Sweetie Belle’s Lifepoints: 4000>1500
Diamond Tiara pouted. “How did you redirect my attack?” She shouted with contempt. “My Diamond Dragon is immune to trap cards!”
Sweetie Belle grinned as her trap card began to dissipate. “My Astral Absorption trap card makes so any damage from a direct attack this turn is inflicted to my lifepoints. Also I get to draw one card each time I take damage.” Sweetie Belle slowly drew a card from her deck. The duel may be a battle of illusions, but the white filly was still growing weaker and weaker with every move.
“What a pitiful excuse for a card,” Diamond Tiara retorted. “I mean do you honestly believe you can defeat us with your garbage cards?!”
“Hay Sweetie Belle,” Silver Spoon shouted. Sweetie looked over to her bespectacled adversary. “One unicorn to another, this duel is a waste of time.” Sweetie shot Silver Spoon a death glare, but the look was clearly not very effective as the gray filly continued her tirade. “You fools have used nothing, but crummy common cards. I’ve been checking the value of each of your cards while it wasn’t my turn in this issue of duelists monthly and frankly I’m repulsed. All of your decks are nothing more than compilations of junk cards you probably just pulled from a pack yesterday!” The Crusaders each blushed. Maybe Silver Spoon’s cutie mark somehow meant she could read minds. “DT and my cards are all secret editions or ghost rares. We got our daddies to spare no expense to provide us each the most expensive decks in all of Equestria! There’s no way you three can win. Just give up now and maybe we’ll let you leave quietly.”
Silver Spoon’s cruel words hit Scootaloo and Applebloom hard. It was true. They had made their decks purely from cards they received just yesterday. Only 3 of their cards were shiny and none of them could be used in the trio’s decks. Each filly had assembled the cards they liked into a somewhat coherent deck and then went to work. The only real reason that they were able to defeat their other classmates was that everypony else had done the same thing.
Snips had a scissors deck, Snails a snail deck and so on and so on. The Crusaders were now faced with two seeming perfect decks ran by their two worst enemies. Scootaloo and Applebloom both began to shudder. They were about to be embarrassed in a duel in front of their whole class. And worst of all their dueling cutie marks were virtually a pipe dream.
“No!” Sweetie Belle yelled at the top of her lungs. The passion in her voice made her teammates look up and caused her opponents to cringe. “Were Cutie Mark Crusaders! And when were Crusading for our Cutie Marks, WE NEVER GIVE IN!”
Scootaloo and Applebloom both started smiling. She was right. It didn’t matter if their cards were rarer. They had the drive to win this battle. Besides there was no way they’d concede to the likes of Tiara and Spoon, the two ponies responsible for the vast amount of their suffering. If there was ever a time to not give up, this was it.
“It’s my turn!” Sweetie Belle ripped a card from her duel disk. She looked over at her hoof impatiently. Now was the time to strike back. “I summon my Pony Samurai!” A tan pony with a black mane appeared in front of Sweetie Belle. The pony was biting on the hilt of a long katana. ATK:1600 DEF:1000
“Here I go," Sweetie Belle shouted. "I attack Silver Spoon directly with my Samurai!” The sword wielding pony took off in Silver Spoon’s direction. The gray filly glanced over to Diamond Tiara who smirked with glee.
The pink filly rose her hoof to point at the palace towering behind her. “You dunce!” Diamond Tiara yelled. “With the effect of my palace I can negate an attack each turn! Your puny samurai is useless!” A beam of light shot from the palace as Diamond Tiara spoke. The light enveloped the pony samurai who in response abandoned her attack. Scootaloo and Applebloom were both saddened, but Sweetie Belle was calm.
“I hoped you’d do that,” Sweetie Belle said.
“What?” Diamond Tiara responded.
Sweetie Belle shoved another card into her duel disk. “I activate my quick play spell card Battle Junky!” Another lightning bolt marked card appeared on the field. This card’s image was two ponies boxing while smiling a little bit too happily. “If a battle is negated, then you take 1000 points of effect damage.”
Silver Spoon began to laugh. “Are you kidding?” She mused. “My Silver Shield blocks an instance of effect damage every turn!” The floating shield flew over toward Sweetie Belle’s spell card. Sweetie grinned triumphantly. Silver Spoon grew confused especially when no blast was fired from the white filly’s spell card.
“Or I can activate the second effect of Battle Junky to let me draw 1 card,” Sweetie Belle said with a smile. Silver Spoon growled. Her shield flew back to its position as Sweetie Belle’s spell card started to glow. The top card of her deck also began to glow. Sweetie looked at the card trying not to tear up. There’s only one card that might make this right she thought. With that Sweetie Belle drew her card.
A half hearted smile appeared on her face as she momentarily stared at her card. It was like a long lost friend had returned to her. It was now or never. The filly knew she had to make amends. “I set two cards,” Sweetie Belle said sliding both the cards in her hoof into her duel disk. “I end my turn.” Sweetie Belle was serious, but underneath her tough expression was a mountain of sorrow.
Diamond Tiara pulled her card. “Well here am I again with the same dilemma,” Diamond Tiara jeered. “I could thrash any of you losers with my Diamond Dragon! Who do you want to beat Silver Spoon?”
The gray pony glared at Sweetie Belle. “Finish off one of those two,” Silver Spoon said while pointing at Scootaloo and Applebloom. “I want to be the one to finish off Sweetie Butt.”
Sweetie Belle smiled again. “Sorry, but I’ll make the choice for you this time Diamond Tiara,” Sweetie Belle jumped in.
“What’s that?” Diamond Tiara said as Sweetie’s facedown card flipped up. The new card was a trap depicting two strange creatures both pointing at themselves while wearing obnoxious smiles.
“My Taunt trap card makes it so I choose the only monster you can attack this turn,” Sweetie Belle said proudly. Everypony looked on with a mix of fear and confusion at what Sweetie Belle did next. She pointed at her own Pony Samurai while maintaining a smile. “Well Diamond Tiara, what’re you waiting for?”
Applebloom and Scootaloo were dumfounded. Why was Sweetie putting herself in harm’s way? She was the driving force behind this whole crusade. Now she was about to lose. Suddenly both fillies then remembered Sweetie Belle’s other set card. I get it they both rationalized. She must have some trap facedown to save herself!
Diamond Tiara clenched her teeth. How dare this upstart attempt to control her? This whole duel was a waste of her time to begin with, but what made her the most peeved was Sweetie Belle’s face. She was still smiling as her defeat was imminent. Unacceptable! Her rage boiled over as Diamond Tiara stomped on the ground.
“Ok then Sweetie Dolt!” Diamond Tiara shouted. “If you want to lose first, then I’ll happily acquiesce!” Diamond Tiara raised her hoof to point at Sweetie Belle. “Hay Diamond Dragon! Obliterate that eyesore and her Pony Samurai right now!” The Diamond Dragon locked eyes with Sweetie Belle as it inhaled. Even while facing the dragon’s glare Sweetie maintained her confident smile. Diamond Tiara saw this confidence and she began to burn with fury. “Get lost already! Go Destructive Diamond Breath!”
The Diamond Dragon let loose another shimmering blast towards Sweetie and her monster. Scootaloo and Applebloom both looked on getting psyched for their friend’s trap card. However as the diamond blast erupted over Sweetie’s field the pair’s excitement quickly gave way to total terror.