Despite the setting sun, the streets of Ponyville remain as lively as they were when Twilight and Spike first arrived. Must be due to the Summer Sun Celebration, she thinks. Not that I blame them; it must be a great honor for the inhabitants of such a small town to be chosen as the hosts for this event.
Next to her, Spike holds five cards in his hand, examining them with a thoughtful frown. “I think Dragunity Knight – Vajrayana would suit me,” he comments tentatively. “But Dragunity Knight – Gae Bulg and Dragunity Knight – Trident are cool too.” He ponders for a moment before his eyes widen in realization and he turns to Twilight. “Do you know if you can have more than one Duel Spirit in your deck?” He asks hopefully.
Twilight sighs tiredly. “Are you still thinking about that, Spike?”
“Come on, Twilight.” Spike protests, waving his cards around. “Are you not even a little curious about the whole thing?”
Twilight shakes her head. “No, I’m not,” she answers firmly. “You know why? Because every single aspect of a card’s holographic projection, be it the number of decibels in the roar of a Luster Dragon—seventy, by the way—or the number of meteorites that fall from the sky when Constellar Tempest is activated—about sixteen—is painstakingly calculated before introducing the card into the database.” She rests her left hand on her hip and raises her right hand’s index finger in a way reminiscent of a teacher giving a lecture. “Magic only happens when you decide to do it, and it’s meant to make something specific that you choose to happen, happen.” She crosses both arms over her chest. “People who believe in Duel Spirits have tried to prove the veracity of their claims by citing cases in which a monster behaved in an unusual way as evidence. However, in all those cases, the actual cause turned out to be a mere Duel Disk malfunction. The monsters simply exhibited a pre-programmed behavior under circumstances that would normally not trigger said behavior.” She tilts her head. “If anything, you should be more impressed by the amount of work that went on creating the cutting-edge fusion of magic and technology that is the Solid Vision System.”
Spike scratches the back of his head. “But what if it’s something that’s got nothing to do with that?” Twilight quirks an eyebrow. He clicks his tongue and points with his index finger dramatically. “What if some of those monsters actually existed and Princess Celestia had to turn them into cards so they didn’t go around destroying everything?” He suggests enthusiastically.
Twilight smiles in amusement. She decides to indulge him. “And then she took measures to ensure these one-of-a-kind cards would end up in the hands of skilled duelists all over Equestria, such as giving them away as prizes in high profile tournaments?”
Spike nods excitedly. “Yeah!” He puts his cards back into the Extra Deck slot of his Duel Disk. “Just like with your Odd-Eyes monsters!” He adds with a grin.
Twilight giggles. “Oh, Spike.” She waves her hand dismissively. “The Princess gave me those cards to better teach me the different summoning methods; nothing more, nothing less.” She slides her fingers over her deck, a soft blush appearing across her cheeks.
The two of them suddenly stop. At the end of the road lies an enormous oak tree, filled with vivid green leaves. It has several windows and two balconies, one on the right side of the tree and the other on top. The painting of a lit candle decorates the main door while a wooden sign confirms that this is indeed the Golden Oak Library.
Twilight and Spike share a look of bewilderment.
There are streamers hanging down from nearly every branch, balloons tied to the balconies and confetti sprinkled all over the crown of the tree, giving it a look reminiscent of a giant party cupcake. Carefully positioned next to the entrance are four, large dinner tables filled to the brim with beverages and snacks, the later mostly of the sweet kind.
A large crowd of people gathered around the base of the tree begins clapping and cheering enthusiastically as soon as Twilight and Spike approach. Before she can make a comment, he points upwards and exclaims, “Look!”
There is a young girl standing on the rails of the uppermost balcony. She strikes a fancy pose, holding a victory sign with her index and middle fingers at the height of her eyes, and announces with great fanfare, as well as a surprisingly loud voice, “Ladies and Gentlemen!” The crowd cheers and whistles loudly. “The fun is about to start!”
The girl is about the same height as Twilight, and a dazzling cutie. She has light-skin, big, round blue eyes and long, curly bright pink hair sprawled wildly over her back and shoulders. Despite her youthful facial features, she has a noticeably developed figure; long, shapely legs, a firm, round butt and generous breasts. She wears a pair of worn-out, white sneakers, bright pink, form-fitting shorts under a loose, denim skirt and a white shirt, stamped with a big pink heart on the middle. As a last touch, she wears a denim jacket like a cape over her back.
The girl adjusts her red, fingerless gloves and ignites the bright pink Duel Disk strapped around her left arm, unfolding a darker energy blade. She draws the first card of her deck and slaps it on her Duel Disk. “Come out, Performapal Trampolynx!”
A purple, cartoonish lynx, its body shaped like a trampoline, materializes and lands safely at the base of the tree on its four legs. With a loud “hiyaa”, the girl jumps from the balcony, twirls a couple of times and lands on the back of her monster, bouncing into the air once again and landing gracefully right in front of an astonished Twilight and Spike. She strikes another pose and cheerfully introduces herself, “Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie and I threw this welcome party just for you!”
There is a moment of silence before Twilight smiles awkwardly. “Uhh…thanks?”
Pinkie grins widely. “You’re welcome!”
Twilight clears her throat, introducing herself, and Spike, in the same manner as before.
“This is awesome!” Pinkie cannot contain her excitement. “I was so happy when we got Princess Celestia’s letter that I started preparing this party as soon as I finished reading it!” She shouts. Then she begins laughing while mussing with her hair.
Twilight glances at Spike and he gives her a sheepish grin, followed by a shrug. She turns to Pinkie and smiles politely “That’s very nice of you, Pinkie, but you didn’t have to bother; this is just an inspection, after all.”
Pinkie shakes her head rapidly. “Nuh-huh!” She puts both hands on her waist and leans forward with a frown that makes her look cuter instead of stern. “I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everybody, and I mean everybody in Ponyville!”
Twilight nods very slowly. “That’s…impressive.”
Pinkie straightens up, a bright smile crossing her face once more. “And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely—unless you’re one of those Dueling Robots, but those don’t have legs—that made me really sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I decided to throw a super-duper-special awesome welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville so you can make lots and lots of friends and show everybody how awesome your dueling is!” She takes a deep breath and then smiles expectantly.
Twilight holds back a heavy sigh. And here I was hoping I left the whole “friendship” issue back at Canterlot, she thinks dismayed. She shakes her head, deciding to change the topic. “So, Pinkie, I take you’re the one in charge of the Entertainment Duel classes at Ponyville’s Duel Monsters School?”
“Bingo!” Pinkie spins on her feet, striking a pose with her right fist next to her face. “I’m the funtastic Dueltainer Pinkie Pie!” She points with her index finger. “And I’m gonna make you smile!”
Twilight chuckles softly. Figures, she thinks. Most duelists out there don’t interact with their monsters beyond giving commands, but Dueltainers are the exception. They often use them to move or fly around the field as part of their act. She keeps thinking that the power of the Solid Vision System is such that monsters can be summoned outside of a duel, even to attack, but offensive uses, beyond self-defense, are strictly reserved for the Royal Guard.
Twilight goes ahead and asks Pinkie if she ever attended a Duel School. Pinkie’s cheeks redden and, with an embarrassed giggle, she admits she did not. Twilight nods sympathetically. Final score: four to one, she thinks, slightly disappointed. “Anyway, why don’t we get started? Spike here will--” She turns and looks around, but cannot find him. “Where did he go?” Pinkie giggles, pointing with her thumb behind her, towards the tables, and Twilight sees he is wolfing down on the snacks. She smiles and shakes her head. “Guess I’ll be your opponent then.”
Pinkie takes the Performapal Trampolynx card, sliding it back into her deck. The monster vanishes and her deck is automatically shuffled. She cartwheels backwards, strikes a pose with her left hand upwards and declares loudly, “It’s showtime!” Once again the people in the crowd cheer loudly, spreading around to better watch the duel.
Twilight ignites her Duel Disk and both players’ life points appear briefly above them, showing 4000 points for each. They both draw their initial hands of five cards.
The screen on each Duel Disk cycles for a moment, until it stops on Pinkie Pie. “Alright, my turn!” She normal summons Performapal Drummerilla. The monster announces its appearance by beating the drums on its chest rhythmically and its level goes down to four. Pinkie congratulates herself for summoning a monster. She sets a single card and declares the end of her turn.
“Gog fogg it, Twiwiggt!” Spike shouts encouragingly with his mouth half-full.
Twilight draws. A Performapal deck, she thinks. They have a wide array of effects, but lack sheer power outside the Battle Phase. Let’s start with something simple and see what she can do with them. She immediately uses Dragonpulse Magician and Dragonpit Magician to set the Pendulum Scale. “Now I can special summon monsters from level two to seven!” The crowd of onlookers watches with interest as the space above them disorts into a portal of light. “Swing, arcane pendulum! Trace an arc of light across the aether!” A single beam of light falls from inside the portal on Twilight’s side of the field. “Pendulum Summon! Timebreaker Magician!” The attack points of Timebreaker Magician increase up to 2800 and Twilight swiftly orders the attack on Performapal Drummerilla. “Time Blade!”
“Not so fast!” Pinkie shouts. She snaps her fingers and Performapal Drummerilla starts beating its chest faster, increasing its attack points by 600, up to 2200. The attack of Timebreaker Magician continues and Performapal Drummerilla is destroyed, lowering Pinkie’s life points to 3400. She grins and unveils her facedown card. “Numinous Healer!” The trap card releases a shower of light that increases Pinkie’s life points by 1000, up to 4400.
Twilight nods. Not bad, she thinks. Good Pendulum users should have ways to capitalize on the destruction of their monsters. She sets a single card. “Turn end!”
“My turn!” Pinkie draws dynamically. “Draw!” She looks at the cards in her hand and begins addressing the crowd, “Ladies and Gentlemen! I’m about to begin my strategy!” Much to Twilight and Spike’s shock, Pinkie displays the cards in her hand for everybody to see: Performapal Lizardraw, Performapal Guitartle, Performapal Trampolynx and Performapal Hip Hippo.
“Is this part of her show too?” Spike mutters in disbelief.
Pinkie grins mischievously and winks. “Be sure to watch closely!” She immediately sets Performapal Guitartle in the Pendulum Zone, followed by Performapal Lizardraw. The two monsters ascend in pillars of light at her sides. Using the effect of Performapal Guitartle, she draws a card and then destroys Performapal Lizardraw to draw another one. “I normal summon Performapal Trampolynx!” With the effect of her newest monster, Pinkie returns Performapal Guitartle to her hand. “And now a Spell Card! Performapal Recasting!” She reveals Performapal Guitartle and Performapal Hip Hippo, shuffles the cards back into her deck and draws three, bringing her hand count to four.
Twilight mutters, “She refreshed her hand.”
Pinkie takes two cards from her hand and slaps them on the opposite extremes of her Duel Disk; the word PENDULUM flashes across the blade in all the colors of the rainbow. “With Performapal Swincobra and Archfiend Eccentrick I set the Pendulum Scale!” She spreads her arms, as if she was trying to hug the whole world, and chants loudly, “Swing! Swing! And trace an arc in the sky like a smile!” Multiple beams of light fall from above. “From my Extra Deck, Performapal Drumerilla and Performapal Lizardraw! And from my hand Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer!”
The crowd cheers and whistles, but Pinkie is not done yet. With Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer’s effect, she destroys Performapal Lizardraw and Performapal Trampolynx to add Performapal Seal Eel and Performapal Springoose to her hand from her deck. She follows with Archfiend Eccentrick’s effect, destroying it and Twilight’s face-down trap Rebound, then placing Performapal Seal Eel on the free Pendulum Zone.
“When my Rebound is destroyed while set, I can draw one card!” Twilight does so. The number of cards in her hand goes up to three.
Pinkie grins and tilts her head towards Performapal Seal Eel. “With this little guy I can pick and shut down one of your monster's effects!” She points at Timebreaker Magician. The cartoonish eel stretches all the way from its Pendulum Zone, slaps the young boy magician on the face with its frontal fins, lowering his attack points back to 1400, and then goes back to its original size.
“It’s battle time!” Pinkie declares, pumping her right fist forwards. She leans forward, and then jumps on the back of Performapal Drummerilla. “Let’s go! Drumming Beats!” The monster beats its chest, increasing its attack power up to 2200, and releases a shock wave that destroys Timebreaker Magician. “Your turn, Pendulum Sorcerer! Homing Pendulum!”
Twilight raises her Duel Disk to shield herself from the pendulum strike of the monster; her life points go down sharply, to 1700. Pinkie reminds her that, due to the effect of Performapal Swincobra, she has to send a card from the top of her deck to the graveyard since she took battle damage to her life points. Twilight wordlessly complies.
Pinkie strikes a pose, pointing with at Twilight with her index finger. “Your turn!”
Twilight draws. “Draw!” She smiles upon seeing her newest card is none other than her Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Pinkie is as good as the other girls, she thinks with a nod. I’m going all out from now on. “Pendulum Summon!” Twilight summons Doomstar Magician and Stargazer Magician from her hand, in attack and defense positions respectively, as well as Timebreaker Magician in attack position back from her Extra Deck. She picks the Odd-Eyes card between her index and middle fingers, flicking it before slapping it on her Duel Disk with a swift motion. “And the fierce dragon of dual colored eyes, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!” The monster appears drawing the awe of the crowd.
Pinkie’s eyes widen. “Woowzies!” She exclaims with childish glee.
Twilight activates the effect of Nobledragon Magician in her graveyard, reducing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon’s level by three to special summon it. Spike snaps his fingers in realization, thinking she must have sent it to the graveyard with Performapal Swincobra’s effect. “I tune my level three Nobledragon Magician with my now level four Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Synchro Summon! Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!” She explains that when Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon is special summoned, she can also special summon a monster from her Pendulum Zone at the cost of Meteorburst not being able to attack on this turn. She chooses Dragonpit Magician and immediately overlays the two level seven monsters. “XYZ Summon! Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon!”
The crowd cheers and whistles at the summoning of different kinds of monsters, making Twilight look down flustered. She thinks she’s not used to duel in front of a crowd. Shaking her head, she declares the beginning of the Battle Phase. “Timebreaker Magician attacks Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer!” Pinkie is confused by the play, but before she can make a move, Timebreaker Magician is encased in ice. Twilight explains, “Once per turn, I can detach a Xyz material from Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon to negate an attack and special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from my hand or graveyard!” She brings back Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, which she detached to activate the effect, to the field.
“Absolute Zero Breath!” Twilight orders. Pinkie attempts to use the effect of Performapal Drumerilla, but Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon’s effect negates it. Performapal Drumerilla is vaporized and Pinkie falls on her butt with a squeak. Twilight follows with the attack of Doomstar Magician on Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, destroying it. Pinkie’s life points go down to 2900.
Twilight sets the last card in her hand and crosses her arms daintily. “Turn end,” she declares calmly.
Pinkie hops back on her feet. She looks positively giddy. “Ladies and Gentleman!” She addresses the crowd again. “It looks like I’m in a pickle!” She shows the two cards in her hand, Performapal Springoose and a second copy of Performapal Recasting.
Twilight cannot help but smile. Between Pinkie’s cheery, bright demeanor and the plays she made, the gesture doesn’t strike her as arrogant or insulting at all. In fact, she’s eager to see what Pinkie will come up with.
“I’m betting it all on this draw!” Pinkie announces cheerfully. She grabs the top card of her deck and pulls with all of her strenght. “Shining Sugary Draw!” She looks at her newest card and smiles. “Lucky! It’s the Spell card Back to Square One!”
Twilight cringes and inwardly laments the destruction of her Rebound.
Pinkie discards Performapal Springoose to activate Back to Square One and send Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon back to the Extra Deck. Twilight places Dragonpit Magician on her graveyard. Pinkie continues by banishing Performapal Springoose from the graveyard to place Performapal Seal Eel and Performapal Swincobra back on her hand, followed by activating a second copy of Performapal Recasting to shuffle the two monsters in her hand back to her deck and draw three cards. “Now, with Performapal Parrotrio and Performapal Momoncarpet I set the Pendulum Scale!”
Spike gulps. “Oh boy, here we go…”
“Swing! Swing! And trace an arc in the sky like a smile! Pendulum Summon!” In a flash of colorful light, Performapal Drumerilla, Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, Performapal Lizardraw, Performapal Trampolynx and Archfiend Eccentrick appear lined up on Pinkie’s side of the field. Just like before, she destroys Performapal Lizardraw and Performapal Trampolynx with Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer’s effect to retrieve Performapal Friendonkey and Performapal Whip Snake from her deck. After tributing Archfiend Eccentrick to destroy Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, Pinkie exclaims, “Come out now, Performapal Friendonkey and Performapal Whip Snake!”
A donkey wearing a diminutive top hat, oversized bow tie and sporting the biggest smirk Twilight and Spike had ever seen appears on the field. Immediately a purple cobra wearing its own top hat and bow tie emerges from Friendonkey’s saddlebag, striking a pose.
Impressive, thinks Twilight. A pure Performapal deck is not easy to handle, but she does it almost flawlessly.
Pinkie sets the last card in her hand, and then pumps her fist forward. “Performapal Whip Snake’s effect! I can switch the attack and defense points of a monster!” Performapal Whip Snake slithers in front of Stargazer Magician. On the tip of its tail is a heart-shaped pendulum, which begins swaying rhytmically. In just an instant, Stargazer Magician becomes dizzy and his defense points change to 1200. Pinkie points her finger. “Battle! Tail Slap!” Stargazer Magician is destroyed. She doesn’t stop. “Go, Friendonkey!” Timebreaker Magician is sent flying away with a well placed kick rear kick. “Performapal Drumerilla!” With its attack raised to 2200, Drumerilla destroys Doomstar Magician, further lowering Twilight’s life points to 1100. Pinkie smiles triumphantly and orders the final attack of her Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer. “Show’s over!”
Twilight smirks. “You think so?” She snaps her fingers, revealing her set card. “Trap card open! Dimension Wall!” The space distorts, bouncing Pinkie’s attack back to her. She squeaks as her life points go down to 1400.
The crowd cheers and Spike wipes his forehead, exhaling in relief. “I’m not even playing and I feel exhausted,” he notes.
Pinkie snaps her fingers. “Shoot! I almost had you there!” She exclaims with a grin. “Turn over!”
“My turn.” Twilight draws. “Draw!” She wastes no time in activating her newest card. “Pot of Desires.” She explains she needs to banish the top ten cards of her deck face-down in order to draw two cards. She takes the pile of cards and pockets it without looking at them.
Pinkie whistles.
Twilight declares confidently, “I’m betting all on this draw too!” She draws two cards and smiles satisfied. “I set Xiangsheng Magician on the Pendulum Scale!” The female magician ascends in a pillar of light, completing the scale with Dragonpulse Magician. “Swing, arcane pendulum! Trace an arc of light across the aether! Pendulum Summon!”
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Timebreaker Magician and Stargazer Magician, take on the field once again, with the latter in defense position. Twilight reveals the remaining card in her hand, Polymerization. “I fuse Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with Timebreaker Magician!” She holds her hands together as the monsters fuse in a torrent of light. “Brave magician of time, become the light in the eyes of the dragon! Fusion summon!” The light intensifies before exploding. “Come forth! Arcane dragon wielder of ancient magic! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!”
Pinkie is amazed at the newest dragon, and so is the crowd, but Spike frowns. Why didn’t she use Stargazer Magician?he wonders puzzled. She would have gotten three attacks per Battle Phase instead of two.
“Performapal Whip Snake!” Pinkie attempts to switch the attack and defense points of Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, but Twilight explains it’s useless. “By using a Pendulum Summoned monster on the field as a fusion material I’ve made my dragon immune to your card effects this turn!” Pinkie is shocked.
Twilight orders the attack of Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon on Performapal Whip Snake, “Shiny Burst!” Pinkie’s life points go down to 750. Twilight then points at Performapal Friendonkey. “Repeating Shiny Burst!”
Pinkie quickly answers with Performapal Drumerilla’s effect to raise Friendonkey’s attack points to 2200. Her life points decrease even further, to a mere 350, but this allows her to activate her set second copy of Numinous Healer to recover 1000 life points, plus an extra 500 for the first copy of the trap in her graveyard. The light of the Shiny Burst fades and Pinkie’s life points show at 1850. A small, flying squirrel with a body shaped as an ornate carpet flies around her before returning to the Pendulum Zone.
Twilight narrows her eyes. I knew it. Performapal Momoncarpet cuts all the battle damage in half, so even if I had an extra attack I wouldn’t have been able to finish her, she thinks. Twilight compliments Pinkie on her defense before ending her turn.
Pinkie draws. She glances at her newest card, Wonder Balloons and sets it aside. “Pendulum Summon!” She shouts to the sky and Performapal Lizardraw, Performapal Trampolynx and Archfiend Eccentrick appear once again, in defense position.
Spike thinks this duel has turned into a pendulum battle.
Pinkie tributes Archfiend Eccentrick to destroy Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon before switching Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer and Performapal Drumerilla to defense position. She declares the end of her turn, striking a cute pose with both hands at the sides of her head like ears.
Spike snaps his fingers in realization. Of course, he thinks. If Twilight does not destroy Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer then Pinkie cannot bring it back for its effect! That’s why she fused Odd-Eyes with Timebreaker Magician, because she needed Stargazer Magician to protect her life points!
Twilight draws. Her eyes widen briefly and she sets her newest card. “Pendulum Summon!” Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Nobledragon Magician and Timebreaker Magician return to the field. She switches Stargazer Magician to attack position. “Battle Phase!” Taking care of targeting Performapal Lizardraw first so as not to give Pinkie more cards, Twilight destroys it with Stargazer Magician, followed by Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer with Timebreaker Magician, Performapal Trampolynx with Nobledragon Magician and Performapal Drumerilla with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Satisfied, she finishes her turn.
Pinkie draws. She laughs as she examines her newly drawn card. “This is a great duel,” she comments excitedly. Once again, she declares a Pendulum Summon, just as Twilight expected.
“Trap card open!” Twilight shouts. “Pendulum Hole!”
Pinkie gasps as her Performapal Lizardraw, Performapal Trampolynx, Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, Performapal Drumerilla and Archfiend Eccentrick are sucked back into the above portal. “Awww,” she whines. She shuffles the monster cards back into her Deck. “But I’m not done yet, ‘kay?” she warns with a wink before setting a single card and finishes her turn.
Twilight draws. She ponders for a moment, and then switches Nobledragon Magician to defense position. “Battle!” She orders Stargazer Magician and Timebreaker Magician to attack directly. Pinkie’s life points go down to 550 thanks to Performapal Momoncarpet’s effect. Twilight follows with the direct attack of her Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, “Spiral Strike Burst!”
Pinkie throws her hand in the air. “Performapal Call!” The stream of energy is blocked by an invisible barrier and she retrieves Performapal Longphone Bull and Performapal Teeter Totter Hopper from her deck.
Twilight thinks she expected something like that. She activates the effect of Timebreaker Magician. The young magician slashes the space in front of him, opening a rift and jumping inside, with Stargazer Magician following after him. Twilight explains, “Once per turn, I can banish Timebreaker Magician and one other monster on the field until my next Standby Phase.” With no more plays, she ends her turn.
“My turn! Draw!” Pinkie's smile widens upon seeing her newest card. She doesn’t waste any time Pendulum Summoning Performapal Longphone Bull from her hand. Using Longphone Bull’s effect, she adds Performapal Thunderhino from her Deck to her hand. Pinkie spreads her arms as she addresses the crowd with great fanfare. “Ladies and Gentlemen! I tribute Performapal Longphone Bull to special summon the star of the show!” A masked jester descends, clad in a brilliant gold and red coat, his whole face is concealed by a mask. The lower half of his body is shaped like a crystal pendulum. “Let’s give a warm welcome to Performapal Sleight Hand Magician!” The magician bows and, twirling the scepter on his left hand, begins swaying at great speed, lower and lower until Pinkie can jump right into his arms.
Twilight and Spike watch with amazement as Pinkie holds on Performapal Sleight Hand Magician while he sways in circles around the crown of the Golden Oak Library, leaving a trail of stars behind him. Several people in the crowd begin chanting Pinkie’s name on top of the cheering and clapping.
Pinkie activates Wonder Balloons from her hand, discarding Performapal Teeter Totter Hopper. A small box appears on the field. It begins inflating, more and more until it explodes open, releasing countless balloons of all colors and shapes. The attack points of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon go down to 2200 and Pinkie orders Performapal Sleight Hand Magician to destroy it. The magician snaps his fingers, materializing a giant top hat that fully covers the dragon. It begins shrinking until it disappears without a trace and Twilight’s life points go down by 300, to 800. “And for our next trick,” Pinkie announces, discarding Performapal Thunderhino from her hand. “This is Performapal Sleight Hand Magician’s effect!” The magician flicks his hand, revealing a card which he throws like a dagger at Dragonpulse Magician on Twilight’s Pendulum Zone, destroying it. “And when a Performapal is sent from my hand to the Graveyard, I can bring back Performapal Teeter Totter Hopper!” The silly-looking, grasshopper monster appears on the field in defense position. “That’s all for my turn!” Pinkie states cheerfully, still holding on her monster floating in the air.
Twilight bites her lower lip. Destroying my Pendulum Scale was a smart move, she thinks. Now I won’t be able to bring back Odd-Eyes. She keeps thinking she could use Timebreaker Magician’s effect to banish Performapal Sleight Hand Magician, but none of her monsters could pierce through Performapal Teeter Totter Hopper’s defense, thanks to Wonder Balloons. This girl acts quirky, but she has excellent defenses, she thinks admiringly. Now everything depends on this draw. Twilight takes a deep breath and pulls the top card of her deck with all of her strenght. “DRAW!” Her lips curve into a smile of satisfaction. A dimensional rift appears and Timebreaker Magician returns to the field with Stargazer Magician.
Twilight reveals the two cards in her hand and slids the newest one into her Duel Disk with a swift and elegant move. “I activate the Spell card, Odd-Eyes Advent!” A circle filled with arcane runes appears on the middle of the field, glowing with a pale blue light. “I tribute Nobledragon Magician and Stargazer Magician with a combined level of eight!” The monsters turn into particles of light and are quickly absorbed by the magical circle. Twilight chants loudly, “Emerge, mighty dragon with an inescapable grip! Ritual Summon!” The air trembles and from the light of the circle appears an imposing dragon with rock-like scales and golden plates along its chest, tail and back of the head. Despite its massive size, it floats like it weights nothing. Twilight shouts the monster’s name, “Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!”
The crowd is captivated by Twilight’s newest monster. Pinkie squeals in excitement.
Spike pumps his fist. “Yes!”
Twilight points with her finger forwards. “When Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon is summoned I can return all of your Spell and Traps to the hand!” The dragon roars, blowing away all the balloons around them and both of Pinkie’s monsters in her Pendulum Zones. Twilight orders the attack of Timebreaker Magician to destroy Performapal Teeter Totter Hopper, only to find the latter cannot be destroyed by battle the first time each turn when special summoned. Undeterred, she follows with Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon’s attack on Performapal Sleight Hand Magician. “Full Force Breath!” The dragon rears its head back and breathes a stream of white fire.
Performapal Sleight Hand Magician drops Pinkie down on the ground before preparing himself to receive the attack. She quickly banishes Performapal Thunderhino from her graveyard to protect her monster from destruction. Much to her shock, however, the attack burns her life points down to zero. Pinkie mutters baffled, “Wha-who-why?” She does a quick count with her fingers and asks, “What happened!?”
Twilight explains, “It’s the effect of my Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon; you must pay 500 life points to activate card effects.” Twilight further explains that, had Pinkie not activated the effect of Performapal Thunderhino to protect her Performapal Sleight Hand Magician, she would have survived the attack with 250 life points.
Pinkie mutters in awe, “Wow.” She exchanges a brief glance with her Performapal Sleight Hand Magician. The Magician does a reverence and vanishes from the field together with all other remaining cards. Pinkie suddenly rushes and grabs Twilight’s hand, holding it high while the crowd loudly claps for them.
Twilight waves awkwardly with her free hand. I didn’t think she would accept her defeat so graciously, she thinks surprised.
“That was AMAZING!” Pinkie exclaims, letting go of Twilight’s hand. “First you were all “Pendulum Summon”!” She waves her hands around, striking different poses as she enumerates. “Then it was “Synchro Summon” and “Xyz Summon”! And “Fusion Summon”! And just when I thought I had you, you went all “Ritual Summon!”
Twilight smiles flustered. “Thank you, Pinkie. I have to say your skills are remarkable too; to force me to play all my dragons like that.”
Pinkie flicks a lock of her hair, striking a pose with her fingers on her forehead and a comically exaggerated, smug smile. “What did you expect? I am the founder of Ponyville’s Duel Monster School!”
Twilight’s eyes widen in surprise. “Y-You are?”
Pinkie giggles and shrugs. “I came up with the idea,” she admits. “Does it count?”
Twilight chuckles. “I guess it--” A beeping sound from her Duel Disk catches her attention. She looks at the screen and gasps softly. “Excuse me, but I have to take this call.” She quickly excuses herself again and rushes towards the Golden Oak library, leaving a somewhat puzzled Pinkie behind her.
The inside of the library is rather small and circular, with shelves hollowed out from the tree's wood, stacked nearly to bursting with books and scrolls of all kinds. Twilight sees a few chairs and desks placed around the room, with a small writing-desk and a stool standing to her right as she enters. In the back, there is a set of stairs leading to a pair of wooden doors as well as a set of glass doors that opened onto the balcony. Twilight glances briefly at the books before taking a seat in front of the writing-desk. She presses a button on the screen of her Duel Disk and a miniature, holographic projection of Princess Celestia herself appears before her. “Hello, my dearest student. How are you doing?” Celestia greets with a warm smile. “I hope you don’t mind me calling; I was a bit curious about how your little assignment was going.”
Twilight smiles, shaking her head rapidly. “Not at all, Princess!” She eagerly tells of all the events that transpired since both, Spike and her, arrived to Ponyville. Celestia listens attentively, nodding occasionally. Once Twilight has finished, she comments with a satisfied smile, “Looks like you’ve met some interesting duelists.”
Twilight nods. “I admit I didn’t expect this level of play from such a small town.”
Celestia chuckles softly. “Equestria is a big place, my dearest student. You’ll find the Eos Dueling School covers only a fraction of all the dueling talents in the world.” She pauses for a second. “So,” she tilts her head. “Would you mind giving your teacher a small preview of your report?” She asks with a wink.
Twilight blushes softly and quickly straightens herself. She clears her throat, adopting her best “professional” tone of voice. “The listed representatives have the skills to qualify for teaching positions. The school itself it’s a—um, bit rough on the edges, but I believe with the proper counseling, it can become a fine teaching institution.”
Celestia’s expression turns nostalgic. “I see.” She smiles fondly. “Thank you, Twilight. I’m very proud of you.” Twilight's blush intensifies, but before she can say a word, Celestia excuses herself, “I’m afraid I must go now. We shall continue this conversation later, yes?” Her image flickers and the communication ends.
Twilight sighs. She stands up, stretches herself and begins walking around the library, looking at the books filling the shelves. She thinks the selection is far below that of the Eos Dueling School’s library, but it would keep her occupied for a couple of weeks. She stops and looks upwards, through a small, circular window on the second floor. It’s already nighttime, she thinks, gazing at the tapestry of stars that covers the sky. She keeps thinking the full moon is shining especially brightly tonight. It’s almost hypnotic.
The sound of the door opening and music blaring loudly breaks Twilight off her trance. She turns to see Spike, wearing a conical party hat that nearly covers his entire head. “Hey Twilight! Pinkie brought more snacks!” He exclaims excitedly. “Wanna come? Everybody is going marching to the Town Hall together after this!” Twilight smiles, “Sure.” After taking one last glance at the moon, she follows Spike outside.