//------------------------------// // Duel Five - vs Fluttershy - Nature of Mechanics! // Story: Elements of the Duel // by Dashguy //------------------------------// Slowly but surely, the buildings diminish in number and the carefully manicured lawns give away to wildly grown grass. Twilight thinks they’re approaching the edge of Ponyville. They can even see the entrance to the Everfree Forest far in the distance. Like the name implies, it’s a forest free from the influence of Equestrians, she thinks, remembering a line from one of her high school textbooks. A place where the weather changes accordingly to its own fickle mood, instead of the carefully prepared schedules of the Weather Patrols, and the flora and fauna develop themselves without aid from farmers or breeders. Moreover, the large amount of magic in the atmosphere facilitates the proliferation of strange and dangerous creatures not found anywhere else. Twilight wonders why anybody would choose to live so close to such a place. She turns to Spike, who had been quietly sorting through his deck ever since they left the Town Hall and Rarity’s company. He has a deep frown of concentration on his face. She smiles and asks him if he’s making adjustments to his deck. “Yep.” Spike replies drily. “Are you planning to have a rematch with the girls?” Twilight asks eagerly. Spike shakes his head. “Nope.” Twilight’s smile is replaced by a look of confusion. “Then what?” She asks tentatively. Spike looks at her in the eyes and answers firmly, “I’m going to destroy Blueblood.” Twilight blinks twice. Her lips quiver as she tries to hold back a giggle. Baby’s first bout of jealousy, she thinks in amusement. She shakes her head softly and composes herself. “Look, you’re a great duelist, Spike,” she says with all sincerity. “I’d say better than most boys of your age.” He puffs his chest out. “But there’s a reason Blueblood and his brother, Shining Armor, are known as the Twin Stars.” He frowns, but she continues. “They are two of the best Pro Duelists to ever graduate from the Eos Dueling School and their winning records are nothing to sneeze at.” She thinks that their jobs as Equestrian Ambassador and Captain of the Royal Guard respectively have been keeping them too busy to participate in the Pro Leagues lately. Spike scoffs. “Big deal.” He points at Twilight with his index finger and then to himself with his thumb. “I bet you and I could take them on a tag-duel.” He declares with a confident grin. She giggles, slightly flustered. “Really now, Spike…” He shrugs. “Why not? I bet you could take them both at the same time.” Twilight laughs. “Spike!” He chuckles. “It’s true! You’ve been Princess Celestia’s student for only two years, but she says you’re already on the level of a fourth-year, doesn’t she?” Twilight’s blush intensifies. She thinks that, as the personal student of Princess Celestia, her education is different from that of the rest of the students. All of her classes are in private and, with the exception of Spike, all of her duels are either against the Princess or the school’s Duel Computer, both using different kinds of decks suited for the lesson. Very rarely she interacts with other students. Not that I mind, she thinks. I get more time to study that way. Something catches their attention; a faint, melodious voice singing in the distance. Twilight and Spike share a brief look and keep pressing forward. A couple of minutes later, they arrive at a small clearing where a young girl sits alone on the grass, surrounded by what looks like an army of critters. From mice and rabbits to birds and bugs, every single one of them seems enthralled by her voice. The girl’s beauty is breathtaking. She has soft facial features, perfect, pale skin and sweet, cyan eyes. Her long, light rose hair falls down over her shoulders and back like a cascade. She is tall, slender and surprisingly voluptuous; a fact which contrasts with her modest attire, consisting of white sandals, a long pink skirt that reaches down her ankles and a natural green, short-sleeved shirt with leaf patterns. She carries a brown, worn-out satchel with her. Both Twilight and Spike do not move an inch, choosing to keep their distance and enjoy the girl’s lovely song instead. “She’s good.” Spike whispers admiringly. Twilight nods. It is not until the girl is finished that she approaches her. “Hello there!” Twilight greets cheerfully. Much to her surprise, however, the girl jumps on her toes, letting out a terrified shriek that sends all the animals scattering away. Twilight puts a hand over her mouth, gasping softly before apologizing. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” The girl says nothing, looking down at the ground and tapping her index fingers together. “Are you by any chance Fluttershy?” Twilight asks tentatively. The girl turns her gaze away, causing her long hair to cover half of her face and giving her an adorable look. “Yes,” she whispers in a barely audible voice. Twilight tilts her head sideways. “I’m sorry?” Fluttershy does not reply. Instead, she chooses to nod slowly. Twilight bites her lower lip and motions Spike to come next to her. “Right.” She clears her throat. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, I’m the personal student of Princess Celestia and this is my personal assistant, Spike.” He grins and salutes with his index and middle fingers. “We’re from the Eos Dueling School…” Fluttershy’s eyes widen in shock. She gasps loudly, putting both hands over her mouth. “Oh my!” She quickly waves her hands in front of her. “I-I’m sorry—Pinkie told me about you, but I didn’t know when you would be arriving—so I went to pick up some herbs and meet with my animal friends and and--” She bows. “I’m sorry!” Twilight and Spike look at each other, sharing an awkward grin. “It’s okay; we were on the path to your house anyway.” She assures gently. Fluttershy nods, letting out a small sigh of relief. There is a brief moment of silence before Twilight attempts to start a conversation. “So…Fluttershy, why did you decide to work on Ponyville’s Duel Monsters School?” Fluttershy fidgets. “Pinkie, um, asked me and Rainbow Dash said it would be a great idea, so I accepted…” Twilight nods. Silence again. She tilts her head and asks if she has any formal education in Duel Monsters. Fluttershy shakes her head. “Oh no, I just—like to play, that’s all.” That’s three to one, Twilight thinks with dismay. Still, it wouldn’t be a good idea to underestimate her; not after seeing what Applejack and Rainbow Dash were capable of. She shakes her head and raises her left arm to show her Duel Disk. “Shall we begin then?” She asks with an expectant smile. Fluttershy gulps softly. “Can we—if it isn’t much trouble—duel without our Duel Disks?” Twilight quirks an eyebrow. “You mean here, on the grass?” She asks puzzled. Fluttershy nods slowly. Twilight and Spike share another look. He shrugs. She scratches the back of her neck. “Well, I don’t see why not…” Twilight goes ahead and takes her deck out of her Duel Disk. Fluttershy thanks her and retrieves a deck from inside her satchel. Both girls sit daintily on the grass. Spike sits cross-legged next to them, offering to monitor their life points with the calculator function of his Duel Disk. They shuffle their decks, cutting each other’s before drawing their initial hands of five cards each. “Would you like to go first?” Twilight offers with a smile. Fluttershy nods. She plays a monster face-down and declares the end of her turn. “My turn.” Twilight examines her hand, a smile forming across her lips. I can’t even remember the last time I played without a Duel Disk, she thinks in amusement. She uses Timebreaker Magician and Timegazer Magician to set the Pendulum Scale. “With this, I can special summon monsters from level three to seven.” She picks a card from her hand and gently places it on the grass. “I Pendulum Summon Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.” Fluttershy’s eyes widen in surprise. “That card,” she mutters in awe. Twilight picks up Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon between her index and middle fingers, holding it up for Fluttershy to see. She explains it’s a one-of-a-kind card and a gift from Princess Celestia herself on the day she became her personal student. Fluttershy gapes in silence. Suddenly, she picks her set card and, after placing it together with the rest of her deck, stands up. “I changed my mind,” she declares firmly. “I would like to duel you using our Duel Disks.” Seeing the looks of bewilderment in the face of both Twilight and Spike she adds meekly. “If that’s okay with you…” Twilight is surprised by Fluttershy’s sudden change of demeanor, but accepts her request. She picks up her cards and puts them back with the rest of her deck on her Duel Disk, followed by pressing a button to have it automatically shuffled. Fluttershy pulls a white Duel Disk from inside her satchel, adjusting it around her left arm and placing her deck inside the corresponding slot. She too pushes the button to shuffle it automatically. Both girls take their distance and ignite their Duel Disks. The blade of Fluttershy’s disk glows with a light yellow color. They pick their initial hands of five cards and their life point counters appear briefly over them, displaying 4000 points for each. The screens on each Duel Disk cycles, ultimately granting the first turn to Fluttershy. She takes a deep breath and carefully examines her hand. “I summon Sylvan Flowerknight in attack position,” she declares softly. A young knight appears before her, clad in a golden armor with plates shaped like flower petals, firmly holding a sword and a shield. “When Sylvan Flowerknight is normal summoned, I can excavate the top card of my deck, and if it’s a Plant-Type monster, send it to the graveyard.” She picks the top card of her deck, revealing Sylvan Hermitree. “Um…when Sylvan Hermitree is excavated and sent to the graveyard, I can look at the top three cards of my deck and place them back in any order.” Twilight’s eyes narrow as she recognizes the cards. Sylvans, she thinks. The archetype that pioneered the “excavate” mechanic. Fluttershy returns the three cards back on top of her deck, then picks a card from her hand and places it on her Duel Disk. Immediately the ground shakes and a large sequoia tree emerges from behind Fluttershy. It has a stern-looking, bespectacled face on its trunk, masses of moss around its mouth giving the appearance of a beard and a moustache. “When one of my Sylvans is sent to the graveyard, I can special summon Sylvan Sagequoia from my hand.” She activates the effect of Sylvan Sagequoia, excavating the top card of her deck and revealing Sylvan Snapdrassinagon, which she sends to the graveyard. Once more, she repeats the process with Snapdrassinagon’s effect and sends Sylvan Guardioak to the graveyard. “With Sylvan Guardioak’s effect, I place Sylvan Hermitree back on the top of my deck.” Spike lets out a big yawn, which earns him a glare from Twilight. Fluttershy sets two cards and ends her turn. She apologizes for taking so long. “I like to make the best use of the excavate mechanic as I can,” she explains. Twilight smiles and assures her she has nothing to worry about. “We’re not playing with a time limit here.” Fluttershy smiles and nods. “Alright, it’s my turn.” Twilight draws energetically. “Draw!” She immediately activates the spell Pendulum Call, discarding Nobledragon Magician from her hand, but Fluttershy chains the activation of her continuous trap card, Mistake, in response. She explains they will not be able to add cards to their hands except by drawing them. The sudden lockdown play surprises Spike. He leans forward, watching attentively. Twilight ponders for a moment before setting two cards and playing a monster facedown. “I end my turn.” Before her turn is over, Fluttershy reveals her second set card. “Trap card open, Sylvan Waterslide.” She explains that, instead of conducting her normal draw, she will excavate the top card of her deck and send it to the graveyard if it is a Plant-Type monster. Twilight bites her lower lip. She wasn’t kidding when she said she wanted to make the best use of that mechanic, she thinks. “My turn.” Fluttershy excavates the top card of her deck and reveals Sylvan Hermitree, which allows her to rearrange the top three cards of her deck when sent to the graveyard. “I summon Sylvan Peaskeeper from my hand.” Using her newest monster’s effect, she excavates Sylvan Princessprout. “When Sylvan Princessprout is excavated, I can special summon her in any level from one to eight.” Her demeanor suddenly changes, becoming more assertive. “I choose level one!” She has two level one monsters, Twilight thinks alarmed. Fluttershy spreads her arms and exclaims. “With my level one Sylvan Peaskeeper and my level one Sylvan Princessprout, I build an Overlay Network!” Both monsters transform into streams of light and a black portal opens below them, absorbing them both. “XYZ Summon!” A pillar of light explodes upwards from inside the portal. “Come, serene princess of all things in nature! Rank one! Sylvan Princessprite!” A pale-skinned woman with emerald green eyes appears. Her long, greenish hair is tied into a pair of buns and she wears a long, regal green dress with richly detailed floral patterns. Spike is in awe at the monster’s beauty. Fluttershy activates the effect of Sylvan Princessprite, sending Sylvan Flowerknight to the graveyard to special summon Sylvan Hermitree from the graveyard. A second tree emerges from the ground behind her. Its crown is filled with vivid green and red leaves, and a gentle, motherly face can be seen on its trunk. Fluttershy follows with the effect of Sylvan Sagequoia and excavates Sylvan Mikorange, sending the card to the graveyard. “When Mikorange is excavated, the attack and defense points of my Plant-Type monsters increase by 300 each.” Spike gulps. “That’s 3000 attack for Hermitree, 2900 for Sagequoia and 2100 for Princessprite,” he mutters in worry. Fluttershy bites her lower lip. “Sorry, I was told I shouldn’t hold back on the inspection…” She points forward and orders the attack of Sylvan Hermitree. “Leaf Whirlwind!” Sylvan Hermitree takes a deep breath and blows, scattering the leaves on its crown in the shape of a torrent. Twilight points at her set card. “Trap card open! Extra Buck!” She explains how each time a card is added to her Extra Deck she can place a Spell Counter on her card. The torrent of leaves envelopes the facedown monster and destroys it. Twilight takes the Timebreaker Magician card and places it face-up on her extra deck, a glowing counter appears on Extra Buck. Fluttershy follows with the attack of Sylvan Sagequoia. The monster tree sends its huge roots crashing against Twilight, taking her life points down to 1100. Fluttershy apologizes once more before ordering the third and final attack. “Go, Sylvan Princessprite!” The princess waves her hand daintily and releases a whirlwind of cherry blossom petals. Spike calls Twilight's name loudly. She snaps her fingers, opening her second set card. “Dimension Wall!” The space in front of her distorts, absorbing the attack and redirecting it towards Fluttershy. “Oh my!” Fluttershy exclaims surprised. Her life point’s counter goes down to 1900. “I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy,” she comments, slightly disappointed. She activates the effect of Sylvan Hermitree, excavating Sylvan Bladefender and adding it to her hand thanks to its own effect, plus drawing one more card. Then, she follows by detaching a Xyz material from Sylvan Princessprite to excavate the top card of her deck. She reveals Negate Attack, which she adds to her hand and immediately sets. With no more plays available, Fluttershy ends her turn. Spike lets out a breath of relief. “That was close…” He thinks they’re almost matched in terms of life points. Twilight thinks Fluttershy’s skills have nothing to envy the other girls. “My turn!” She draws and looks at her newest card. But I’m no slouch either, she thinks with a confident smile. “I use my two copies of Wisdom-Eye Magician to set the Pendulum Scale!” She declares, holding the two cards between her index and middle fingers. Fluttershy frowns. “I thought you couldn’t Pendulum Summon with the same scales?” “That’s right,” Spike replies with a grin. “But she’s not aiming for that.” Fluttershy blinks puzzled. Twilight activates the effect of both copies of Wisdom-Eye Magician, destroying them to place Dragonpulse Magician and Dragonpit Magician straight from her deck into her Pendulum Zones. “Since the cards are not added to my hand, Mistake doesn’t affect me,” she explains with a smirk. Fluttershy gasps in surprise. Twilight continues by sending Extra Buck with three Spell Counters to the graveyard to draw two cards. She nods and raises her hand upwards. “Swing, arcane pendulum! Trace an arc of light across the aether! Pendulum Summon!” A single beam of light falls from inside the portal above them. “From my hand, the fierce dragon of dual-colored eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!” The crimson dragon roars and several birds scatter away from the nearby trees. Fluttershy’s pupils widen visibly. I was right, she thinks, her mouth curving into a joyful smile. Twilight activates the effect of Nobledragon Magician in her graveyard, reducing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon’s level by three to special summon it. She raises her arm towards the sky and declares loudly. “I tune my level three Nobledragon Magician with my now level four Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Synchro Summon!” The two monsters fuse into a cluster of stars. “Descend, burning dragon with the power to shake the earth! Level seven!” A fiery version of the Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon appears, its crimson body pulsating with raw energy. Twilight calls the monster’s name. “Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!” Spike pumps his fist. “Oh yeah!” Twilight states fiercely, “I’m not done yet!” Using the effect of Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, she special summons Dragonpit Magician from her Pendulum Zone to her side of the field. “Now, I use my level seven Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon and my level seven Dragonpit Magician to build an Overlay Network! XYZ Summon!” The light of both monsters is absorbed into the darkness, and from it emerges a new dragon with scales like blades of ice. “Appear, freezing dragon with the power to stop time and space!” Twilight shouts its name, “Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon!” “From Pendulum to Synchro and Xyz,” Fluttershy mutters in admiration. Twilight orders the attack of her Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon on Sylvan Princessprite. “Absolute Zero Breath!” Fluttershy answers with her set Negate Attack. The stream of cold air is sucked into a vortex and vanishes. “Um, this card also ends your Battle Phase,” she points out. Twilight is not concerned. She crosses her arms and calmly declares the end of her turn. “It’s my turn.” Fluttershy excavates the top card of her deck, revealing Sylvan Charity and sending it to the graveyard with a look of disappointment. “I summon Sylvan Bladefender.” She tributes her newest monster for Sylvan Princessprite’s effect to special summon Sylvan Guardioak from the graveyard. A huge ogre wielding a large, wooden club appears snarling ferociously. Its attack points flash at 2400. Fluttershy orders the attack of Sylvan Sagequoia. The ground shakes as the mighty tree raises its roots, but it suddenly stops. Much to her surprise and shock, Sylvan Sagequoia is fully encased in ice. “W-What happened!?” Twilight calmly states, “That’s the effect of my Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, Absolute Zero Barrier.” She explains how, once per turn, she can detach a Xyz material, in this case Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, to negate an attack and special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from her hand or graveyard. “Now return, Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!” “What a powerful effect.” Fluttershy mutters astonished. But it’s only once per turn, she thinks. “I attack Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon with Hermitree!” Twilight’s dragon is decimated and her life points lower to 900, but she smiles confidently. Fluttershy frowns. “Um, why are you smiling?” she asks warily. “Because,” Spike replies with a grin. “Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon has an effect that activates when it goes to the graveyard.” Fluttershy lets out a pitiful squeak. Twilight points with her finger upwards. “When Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon goes to the graveyard, I can special summon an Odd-Eyes monster straight from my Extra Deck! Arise, Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!” A new dragon appears on her side, with streamlined, blade-like scales. The wind begins to pick up, forcing Fluttershy to shield her face. “When Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon is special summoned, I can return one of your attack position monsters to the hand!” A whirlwind envelops Sylvan Hermitree, sending it back to Fluttershy’s hand. She looks at the other card in her hand, a second copy of Mistake, and gulps. No, I’m not done yet, she thinks. I need to excavate further. She activates the effect of Sylvan Guardioak. “Once per turn, I can declare a number from one to three and excavate that same amount of cards!” Twilight wordlessly takes Nobledragon Magician from her Extra Deck and shuffles it into her Deck. The Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon rears its head back, and then breathes a stream of green energy that vaporizes Sylvan Guardioak. “Once per turn, when a Spell, Trap or other monster’s effect is activated, I can return a face-up Pendulum monster in my Extra Deck back to my Deck to negate the card’s effect and destroy it.” Spike smiles sympathetically at Fluttershy’s shocked expression. She shakes her head rapidly. “I activate the effect of Sylvan Sagequoia!” She excavates Sylvan Komushroomo and uses its effect to destroy Dragonpulse Magician on Twilight’s Pendulum Zone. “Then I detach a Xyz material from Sylvan Princessprite to excavate again.” She reveals Draining Shield and immediately sets it. Letting out a breath of exhaustion, Fluttershy declares the end of her turn. “My turn! Draw!” Twilight glances at her newest card and thinks it’s over. She activates Amazing Pendulum, allowing her to take Dragonpulse Magician and Dragonpit Magician from her Extra Deck and set them into her Pendulum Scale. “Next, Pot of Riches!” She shuffles the two copies of Wisdom-Eye Magician face-up from her Extra Deck and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon in her graveyard back into her Deck to draw two cards. Twilight reveals her two newest cards, Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician, before sliding them into the graveyard. “By discarding these two, I can activate the effects of my Dragonpulse Magician and Dragonpit Magician to destroy one face-up monster and one spell or trap card respectively.” Fluttershy watches helplessly as her Sylvan Sagequoia and her set Draining Shield disappear. Twilight orders the attack of Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon to destroy Sylvan Princessprite. “Blade Vortex Breath!” Fluttershy’s life points go down to 1500 and Twilight follows with a direct attack from Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon. “Burning Meteor Breath!” Fluttershy quickly raises her hand. “W-Wait! I activate the effect of Sylvan Waterslide!” She excavates the top card of her deck to reveal Sylvan Marshalleaf. A tiny, leaf-shaped creature appears standing defensively before her. “When Sylvan Marshalleaf is excavated I can destroy one monster on the field!” Twilight shakes her head and Sylvan Marshalleaf bursts into flames, much to Fluttershy’s shock. “When Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon is on the field your monsters cannot activate their effects during the Battle Phase.” Spike hops up on his feet. “It's over,” he states. Fluttershy’s life points go down to zero and all cards on the field vanish. She drops on her knees. “I lost…” He approaches her and pats her on the back. “Don’t feel bad, you did great.” Twilight walks next to Fluttershy, kneeling so they stay at eye level. “Spike’s right,” she says with a smile. “A Sylvan deck is one of the hardest to play, but you did it masterfully.” Fluttershy blushes and glances downwards. “B-But the inspection…” Twilight shakes her head. “There is more to evaluate a duelist than the result of a duel and, in my opinion, you are qualified.” Fluttershy smiles timidly. “Thank you…” Above them, the sun has already set, bathing the whole area in a beautiful golden hue. Twilight comments they should get going. “We still have one more person to meet.” She turns to Fluttershy and asks her where they can find Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy blinks in surprise. “Oh, you haven’t met her yet?” She mentions it’s strange since Pinkie likes to welcome every new visitor that arrives to Ponyville. Twilight quirks an eyebrow in disbelief. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Pinkie will find you two soon enough.” Fluttershy assures her with a smile. Twilight shares a brief glance with Spike. “R-Right…” She clears her throat. “Just in case, can you point us in the direction of the Golden Oaks Library?” Fluttershy nods. “It’s five houses to the east from the Town Hall.” Twilight thanks her. “Um, before you go, can I ask you a question?” Twilight nods. Fluttershy licks her lips tentatively. “Do you be--” She shakes her head. “Have you heard of Duel Spirits?” “Oh, yes,” Twilight answers casually. “I’ve heard of them.” Spike turns to her and asks what those are. She waves her hand dismissively. “It’s just a superstition; the belief that some cards have a spirit residing inside them.” Spike admits that does sound cool. Twilight scoffs. “I can understand being amazed by the realism of the projections, the pre-programmed actions of every monster cards and the levels of interactivity, but to believe that some of those monsters may be real?” She shakes her head. “That’s just silly.” Spike pouts. “I still think it’s cool…” Twilight turns to Fluttershy. “Did you want to ask something else?” Fluttershy shakes her head. “N-No…thank you, Twilight.” The three of them bid their farewells and, as she watches Twilight and Spike walk away, she lets out a heavy sigh. “It was worth asking, I guess…”