Duelists of the Autumn Crown
Familiar Faces
On the coffee table in Fluttershy’s living room lay Twilight’s deck, its cards spread out in front of her. Twilight sat hunched over on the sofa, looking between them. She’d spent much of last night reading every card’s effect. An unmistakable pattern had emerged. Her eyes fell on the six monster cards in the center.
There’s no doubt about it. She reached out and picked up ‘Harmony Spirit – Magia’. Its artwork showed an angelic fairy with a horn and pale lavender skin. These cards are based on me and my friends. But how? Twilight had searched a database on cards on the internet for hers and found no record of them. The only conclusion was that the mirror portal’s magic had manifested these cards for her when she crossed over. I guess it makes sense. Fluttershy said that dueling is a way to reveal your true self. The bond my friends and I share is the most important thing I have. So, using cards based on them and their powers… Her brow furrowed as she looked over the card in her hand.
“Magia…” Twilight recognized the names of the cards as Ancient Equestrian, a near-dead language only used in books so old they tended to need special permission to examine. Why her cards would manifest using those words, she wasn’t sure, but she had to admit that Ancient Equestrian had a certain elegance. And the card shows me as a unicorn, not an alicorn. That makes sense. I may be an alicorn, but I’m still a unicorn at heart. I don’t know what my purpose as a Princess is, but I’m still me, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight set the card back on the table.
“Twilight?” Spike jumped up on the sofa beside her. “What’s up?”
“Just thinking.” Twilight spread her hand over the cards laid out. “Fluttershy said a duelist’s deck symbolizes their true self. And my deck symbolizes me and my friends.”
Spike leaned over to look at the cards. “Seems so.”
“But, look at this card.” Twilight tapped her finger on Magia. “That’s obviously meant to be me. It’s a unicorn, not an alicorn.”
Spike nodded. “Makes sense. I mean, you were born a unicorn, right?”
“True.” Twilight furrowed her brow. “But if a deck symbolizes a duelist’s true self, do you think that means that deep down I’m still a unicorn, even with my wings?”
“I’d say so.” Spike looked up at her. “You said you never much felt like being a Princess and you were worrying about Celestia giving you all sorts of new duties and responsibilities.”
“Right.” Twilight bit her lip. Maybe Spike is right and this is for the best. I really don’t feel like a Princess much. I just feel like me with some awkward wings attached.
Spike was on the table now, carefully stepping around the cards as he looked them over. “Yup, there’s Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash… everypony is here.” He turned to Twilight. “Hey, if your deck that the portal made for you is based on you and your friends, what kind of deck would the portal have given Sunset Shimmer?”
Twilight jerked from her thoughts at the question and sat back on the sofa as she considered it. “I’m not sure.” She thought of what she knew about the other girl. She was Celestia’s student and her pride was self-evident through what Twilight had seen of her. But she had nothing else to go on. I really have no idea what she has in store for me. I wish I had asked Celestia more about her.
She shook her head. Can’t focus on that now. Have to keep the goal in mind. “We’ll deal with her deck when and if we have to duel her. For now we have to at least make sure we get into the top sixteen. Sunset Shimmer definitely will and we have to make sure we do, too. From there, I guess it depends on how they match us up.” Fluttershy had made it into the tournament and Twilight intended to try and form an alliance with her friends, or potentially any other student that made the bracketed matches. Every friend we can make is another duelist we can rely on to hand over the crown if I can’t win. No matter what Fluttershy said about their attitudes towards the tournament, if they know what’s at stake they should listen to reason.
“I have to believe in them.” Twilight stood up. “They may not actually be my friends, but from what I’ve seen they’re similar enough in personality. I have to hope that means I can convince them to help me.”
“Twilight?” She looked up to see Fluttershy poking her head through the doorway. “Breakfast is ready, if you’d like.”
“Sure.” Twilight began to gather up her cards and set them back into her deck box.
“Mom said she has errands to run anyway, so she’s going to drive us to the school.”
Twilight paled.
“Drive?”
Fluttershy nodded. “We’re leaving early since Mom drives a little slow.”
“Where’d you learn to drive, moron!?”
Twilight narrowed her eyes ever so slightly as the comment, so familiar to the dozens of others she had heard over the past twenty minutes, came through her open window.
Mrs. Shy huffed. “Well, that was rather rude.”
“Mom, you were slowing down in the middle of the road.”
“The light was turning red, I had to slow down to brake in time.”
“We were thirty feet away and it was still green.”
“It was going to turn yellow any moment, I didn’t want to risk it.”
Twilight leaned forward. “Fluttershy, will you be driving us back home tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
The grounds of Canterlot High were filled with students as Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk. A couple close to them turned to look at the newcomers and then turned back to their previous tasks. Twilight looked around and saw no sign of any of her friends, or Sunset Shimmer. She has to compete in the tournament like normal, right? So she’ll have to be here.
Twilight wondered if Sunset would challenge her, but brushed the idea aside. She didn’t recognize me yesterday, I doubt she will now. And me challenging her won’t do much. She can still make the top sixteen if I beat her. Though, so would I if she won. Was challenging Sunset at this early stage worth it to get a peek of her rival’s deck? Twilight thought it over for a moment and shook her head. She’d see mine, too, and with my inexperience I need every advantage I can take.
“The registration desk is in the front lobby.” Fluttershy’s voice prompted Twilight to look towards her as the other girl led the way. Twilight followed, weaving through the crowd. She kept looking for her friends among the sea of faces but saw no sign of them. They’ll be here. Well, maybe not Pinkie, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash for sure. Twilight looked to the right and thought she saw a familiar head of rainbow-colored hair, but before she could get a better look she walked into something and stumbled back. She heard someone else grunt and fall in front of her.
“Sorry!” Twilight rubbed her back and got to her feet. “Sorry, didn’t see—” She looked up at who she had walked into.
“We gotta stop meeting like this.” Flash Sentry stood up in front of her. “Hey, Twilight.”
“Hi.” Twilight lifted her hand and waved. “Here to register?”
“Yup.” Flash held up his arm with his duel disk. His expression softened. “No offense, but I’m a bit surprised to see you registering. You seemed a bit unprepared to duel yesterday.”
Twilight held up her hands and chuckled nervously. “Well, first day, you know how it is, I’m a bit forgetful. But I’m here now.” She forced a grin.
“Well, good luck. If you can do well in this tournament it’ll go a long way to making a good first impression on everyone else.” Flash smiled and held up a fist, the thumb extended. Twilight pondered what the unfamiliar gesture meant but didn’t have much time to dwell on it.
“Next, please.” The line moved forward and Twilight saw Flash reach the table in front of them. Twilight leaned around Flash and saw the woman typing on a computer, with long dark blue hair and pale blue skin.
Princess Luna? Twilight’s eyebrows lifted. Makes sense, Celestia is in this world, after all.
Luna looked up at Flash. “Name?”
“Flash Sentry. Here’s my deck, with the extra deck and side deck included.” Flash held out his deck. Luna set the deck in some sort of machine that rapidly flipped through the cards. When it was done Luna’s computer beeped and she went back to typing.
“Deck registration complete. From this moment forward any usage of cards not in the database will be grounds for immediate disqualification. Understood?”Flash nodded. Luna picked up the deck and held it out. “Here you are. Good luck.” Flash stepped out of the way and looked down to sort through his cards.
Twilight took a breath and stepped up to the table. “Twilight Sparkle.”
“Deck, please.” Twilight handed over her deck and Luna ran it through the scanning machine. “Hm, precisely forty cards. You’re certain you do not wish to use an extra deck or side deck? This is your last chance to add them.”
Twilight shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”
“As you wish. Your deck is registered.” Luna folded up the cards and gave them back to Twilight. Twilight saw Fluttershy in line directly behind her and moved next to Flash. She looked down at his duel disk.
“So, what kind of deck do you run?” Flash asked.
“Harmony Spirits,” Twilight replied. “You?”
“Gem Knights.” Flash pursed a lip. “Harmony Spirits, huh? That’s not one I’m familiar with. Did it just come out?”
Oh, right. Twilight had forgotten her deck’s spontaneous creation from the portal’s magic. “It’s a very rare series, they never really released them outside of where I lived before moving here.” She held up her hands and silently hoped that excuse would work.
“Cool.” Flash smiled. “It’ll help. A lot of the students here are kinda netdeckers, just recycling the same strategies as everyone else. Makes them predictable and easy to counter. Having a unique deck and playstyle will make it harder for them to do the same to you.”
Good. Twilight looked out over the crowd. Does that mean Sunset Shimmer is predictable for the rest of them, too? She’s champion, surely everyone has seen her duel. She wondered if anyone would be feeling courageous enough to challenge Sunset. Would give me the chance to see her deck in action.
“I’m ready.” Fluttershy approached the two. “Though I’m not sure how good I’ll do.” She bit her lip and shuffled her feet. “I really don’t know about this, Twilight.”
“You are ready, Fluttershy.” Twilight put a hand on her shoulder. “Think of it this way. Even if you don’t win, you’re here to help a friend and stand up for what you believe in, right?”
Fluttershy slowly smiled. “…Right. Thank you, Twilight,”
“Attention, students!” The assembled teenagers stopped talking at the sound of the loudspeaker. Twilight recognized Celestia’s voice. “Registration will end in five minutes. Any unregistered changes to your decks will be grounds for disqualification. If you have made any changes to your deck since registering, see Vice-Principal Luna to re-register. Students in line for registration after noon will still be allowed to complete their registration.”
A new flurry of murmurs came from the crowd and Twilight saw several students approach the table. Flash carefully reached out and put a hand on Twilight’s arm. “We should get out of the way.”
“Right.” Twilight and Fluttershy followed him through the doors to the outside of the school. Along the way Twilight saw several students looking at her and whispering. She frowned. I have my deck loaded. I’m not drawing attention again, am I? She leaned closer. “Flash, why is everyone staring at us?”
Fluttershy softly gasped, drawing Twilight’s attention. Flash looked away from them and chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, folks sort of pay attention to me here…”
“Why?” Twilight looked up at him.
Flash looked at her and Twilight thought he seemed embarrassed. “You’ve probably heard by now how Sunset joined the school and she’s been the champion ever since?”
Twilight nodded.
“Well, who do you think was the champion five tournaments running before she got here?”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh...”
“It’s no big deal.” Flash held up his hands. “I really only played for fun. It’s just that in a game like this, playing for fun and winning can go hand-in-hand.” He looked around the crowd. “A lot of them are saying this is my chance to stop her, before her win overtakes mine.”
He’s a five-time champion. Twilight rapidly considered her options. Flash is another ally I can count on. He’s strong, he seems to be interested in being my friend. The other side of her mind argued back that he had failed to beat Sunset in the past several tournaments before. Still, he’s a former champion. That has to mean something to his skill, right?
“Flash?” Twilight began the conversation cautiously.
“Yeah?”
“There’s something I want to ask—”
A tone came over the school grounds, signaling the loudspeakers were on again. The students looked towards the school at the sound. Celestia’s voice rang through the air.
“Students, it is my honor to welcome you all to the ninth annual Autumn Crown Tournament!” Cheers and yells came up from the crowd. Twilight stayed silent. “This year has seen the registration of more students than ever before. However, in spite of these numbers, the rules of the tournament will remain the same.
“Over the next four hours, all students will be allowed to engage in free duels across the campus. At the end of those four hours, all duels held within that time will be tallied. The sixteen students with the best win-loss ratios will advance to the bracketed rounds. The first eight duels will be held this evening, with the top eight dueling to crown a winner tomorrow.
“Free duels can be help anywhere on school grounds and a duel must be agreed upon by both parties. All win-loss records from the normal semester are irrelevant. Further inquiries can be directed to the registration desk. For now, students, prepare your decks and duel disks. It’s time to duel!”
A fanfare sounded in the air, and the students cheered again.
Twilight took a breath. Here we go…
“Harmony Spirit Honestas, attack Spirit of the Harp!” The pale orange being let out a cry and ran across the field, slamming its fist into a spirit wearing a yellow robe sitting in front of a large harp. The spirit was flung back and shattered into particles as it hit the ground. Twilight looked at her duel disk display. The portrait for her opponent, a green-skinned girl with darker green hair, had its Life Point counter drop to zero and then flashed red. Twilight’s portrait grew to fill her display and her Life Point display changed to show her win-loss record as it updated – 3-0.
“Three wins.” Twilight gathered her cards from her duel disk and set them on her deck to trigger the auto-shuffler. Three wins is good, but I don’t know if it’s enough to win this. Twilight had attempted to find out how other duelists in the tournament were ranking, but had been told she couldn’t. She just had to keep dueling and winning, and hope she made it into the next round. Can’t waste time mulling it over. I have to find another opponent.
She looked around and saw a small crowd of students watching a duel. There has to be someone there who’ll duel me. She jogged over when a voice came from the duel going on.
“I set one card face-down and end my turn.”
Twilight’s ears perked up. That voice sounds familiar! She pushed her way to the front of the crowd, muttering excuses as a couple people protested. She reached the edge and paused.
On Twilight’s right, the one student dueling was a girl with pale grey skin, blonde hair, and slightly crossed eyes. Her field was empty. To the left was a girl with dark purple hair and pale alabaster skin. Three large gemstones stood in a row in front of her, colored orange, yellow, and violet, shadowed forms inside of them. Twilight took a closer look at the girl and gasped as she realized the source of the voice.
“Rarity!”
The girl turned to her and gave her a surprised look. Before Twilight could continue, the other girl put a hand on her deck.
“I draw!” The girl held up her hand and lifted a card. “I normal summon ‘Junk Synchron’!” A squat humanoid monster in clunky orange armor jumped onto the field, holding a hand out. “When Junk Synchron is normal summoned, I can activate his effect, and summon a Level 2 or lower monster in the Graveyard. I summon ‘Tuningware’!” Another monster, a tiny yellow machine with a curved disk on its head, materialized on the field. “Next I activate the effect of ‘Quillbolt Hedgehog’ in the Graveyard. Since I control a Tuner monster like Junk Synchron, I can revive Quillbolt. Then I activate the effect of ‘Doppelwarrior’ in my hand to special summon it since I just revived a monster.” Two more monsters appeared, a large hedgehog with industrial bolts for quills and a cloaked warrior holding a rifle.
Twilight gaped. “She just summoned four monsters in one turn! That’s amazing!”
“No it ain’t.”
Twilight jumped at the voice and turned her head. A girl with blonde hair and a Stetson hat stood next to her, arms crossed. Twilight looked her over and saw three apples sewn on her skirt. There was no mistaking that symbol. “Applejack?”
“Rares’ has got this in the bag,” Applejack continued.
“And now for my final move!” Rarity’s opponent held her hand into the air. “I tune the Level 3 Junk Synchron with the Level 1 Tuningware, Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog, and Level 2 Doppelwarrior, to Synchro Summon the Level 8 ‘Junk Destroyer’!”
A red light and a siren blared from the girl’s duel disk. She paused and looked down. “Huh? ‘Illegal move’?”
“No Synchro monsters in the tournament, ya ditz!” Someone in the crowd called. The crowd groaned and Twilight saw several slap their heads or giggle.
The girl laughed nervously. “My bad. Um…” She looked back at her hand. “I…” She scratched her head and frowned.
“What happened?” Twilight asked.
“Ya can’t use any of the extra deck monsters except for Fusions. Synchro Summonin’ isn’t allowed.” Applejack sighed. “Shame too, that move would have clinched the win.”
“I… end my turn?” The girl held up her hands and grinned sheepishly.
Rarity snorted. “Very well. My draw!” She drew her card and smiled. “From my hand, I summon ‘Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus’!” A portal opened behind Rarity and a winged white horse flew out of it, whinnying. Its horn glowed bright blue and gemstones embedded on its wings did the same. “When Sapphire Pegasus is summoned, I can select any Crystal Beast monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard, and play it as a Spell card. I choose from my deck ‘Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle’.” A pale lavender being that reminded Twilight of a cat appeared on Rarity’s field and was immediately frozen in place as a red crystal materialized around it.
“Next, I reveal my face-down, the Spell card ‘Crystal Promise’. This lets me summon my Ruby Carbuncle as a monster proper.” The ruby cracked and shattered, Ruby Carbuncle leaping forward to stand beside the pegasus. “Now that Ruby Carbuncle has been special summoned, its ability activates! Go, Ruby Light!” Rarity held her hand up over her head and Ruby Carbuncle held up its tail, a red gem on the end glowing bright. In front of Rarity, the orange, yellow, and violet gemstones lit up and began to crack apart. “When special summoned, Ruby Carbuncle lets me release all of my crystallized Crystal Beasts from their gemstone prisons and summon them to the field!”
Rarity’s opponent gasped. “Oh no!”
Rarity snapped her hand down to hold it over her duel disk. “I summon ‘Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger’, ‘Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth’, and ‘Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat’!” The yellow gemstone shattered and a tiger with topazes embedded on its neck leapt out of the rubble, roaring. The orange gemstone broke next, a large mammoth with a round piece of amber in its forehead stomping forward. Finally the violet gem broke, releasing a pale pink cat with a large winged collar set with an amethyst gem.
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “Whoa…”
Applejack smirked. “See, that’s how ya do it.”
Rarity pointed at her opponent’s monsters one by one. “All of my Crystal Beasts attack!” Rarity’s monsters variously roared or growled and dashed across the field. Her opponent looked away, Twilight following suit. The now-familiar sound of holograms variously shattering and exploding filled her ears.
Twilight looked back to see Rarity’s opponent collapse to her knees. “I just don’t know what went wrong,” she moaned.
Rarity carefully picked her cards off her disk. “What did you wrong, darling, was underestimate my talents. Don’t feel too bad, it’s a mistake four others so far have made.” She set her cards back on her deck and turned to the crowd. “So, who’s next?”
The crowd dispersed, a couple of them mumbling excuses. Twilight ignored them and ran forward. “Rarity!”
Rarity focused her eyes on her. “Hm? Have we met?”
Twilight flinched. “Um, that is, no. But I know you by reputation! I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
“Wonderful!” Rarity smiled and tossed her hair. “It’s good to know someone appreciates an entrepreneur.”
Twilight tilted her head. “Huh?”
Rarity spun in the air and put her hand on her deck, drawing a stack of cards and fanning them out. “I happen to be the founder of Rarity’s Dueling School of Elegance! Our motto is that the only thing better than a victory is a victory while looking fabulous!”
“I agree…” Twilight heard Spike whisper at her feet and looked down to shush him.
Applejack stepped up beside Twilight. “What she means is that she likes showin’ off all fancy in her duels and thinks we all should too, and she’s trying to raise money to open some sort of fancy dueling studio.”
Rarity crossed her arms and tilted her nose up. “Well, not everyone appreciates the value that good aesthetics brings to a duel. Fortunately, my skills are heard where my words fall on deaf ears.”
“What’s your record?” Twilight asked.
“Five and one, dear.” Rarity sniffed. “I confess I underestimated a certain ruffian who insists on dueling like a brute, but that shall be rectified when I face Rainbow Dash in the finals!”
“Uh, hey now.” Applejack stepped closer and jabbed a finger at Rarity’s chest. “RD is mine. If y’all want a shot at her, Ah’m gonna have somethin’ to say about that.”
Rarity scowled and pushed Applejack’s hand away. “You can say all you like, if you’re up to talking with action.” She stepped back and held up her duel disk.
Applejack smiled and raised her own duel disk. “You are in for a heck of a bruisin’, hun.”
“Stop it!” Twilight ran between them and pushed their arms down. She swung her head between them and glared. “Aren’t you all supposed to be friends?”
“Friends? With that uncultured yokel?” Rarity scoffed. “Don’t demean me!”
“Same here, Ah’d never be friends with someone who thinks havin’ their hair look nice is more important to dueling than being good.”
“You know perfectly well that is not what I meant!”
“Enough!” Twilight shouted over them before Applejack could respond. She sighed. “I’ve met Fluttershy, I know about you guys, okay? That’s why I’m here.” She looked between them as the two began to pay attention. “I need your help to win this tournament.”
“Get in line, dear, there’s a few hundred of us aspiring to that.”
“I don’t have to win for myself. I just need the crown.” Twilight scrunched her nose. “It’s a long story you probably wouldn’t believe anyway. But I need the crown. Don’t care about winning, much, this is just a silly game, after all. But I need the physical item.” She looked between them. “I’m hoping you girls might listen to reason and agree to give it to me if you win the tournament.”
Applejack gave her a suspicious look. “Ah thought it was some dollar-store toy they bought for the tournament. What’s so fancy about some cheap crown that you want it that bad?”
Twilight laughed nervously. “Like I said, long story.”
“I find such an offer not disagreeable.” Rarity shrugged. “I already have a couple tiaras more expensive and better-looking at home, so that silly trinket means nothing to me.”
Twilight pumped her fist. “Great.”
“However!” Rarity continued, “I also see no reason as to agree to it, since such a desire is rather curious.”
Twilight deflated. “What’ll it take to convince you?”
Rarity smiled. “I think you know that very well, darling.” She raised her duel disk.
“Really?” Twilight looked at her own disk. It can’t really hurt. We can still both make it if we keep winning.
“Indeed. Prove yourself worthy of such an alliance and I’ll consider it,”
Twilight nodded and held up her duel disk. “You’re on, Rarity!”