It's Time To Duel!

by DagaYemar

Turn 16 End: Dark Magic React vs. Royal Magical Library

“Ladies first,” Yugi said graciously, gesturing her forward with a wave of his hand.

Twilight smiled as she drew. “I hope you don’t come to regret that. I’ll start by summoning my favorite monster, the Royal Magical Library!”

Wooden shelves burst up from the stone pier, once again encasing Twilight in its comfortable confines. The visitor’s side of the spectators, led by a Pinkie Pie who had acquired pompoms from someplace when no one was looking, gave a cheer at the play. The library was wide enough to stretch from one end of the pier to the other, but also transparent so that the others could still watch everything.

“Now what’s a library without any books?” Twilight asked, selecting a fresh card from her hand. “This card is called the Spellbook Library of the Crescent, and it will pull three other books straight out from my deck!”

Three cards popped out from her disk and a trio of blank card holograms grew out from them as they started revolving around the girl. She smiled as she watched their hidden sides and flicked her eyes at her opponent. “Unfortunately I’m only allowed to keep one of these, but which one is up to you.”

“Oh? I get to choose?” Yugi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Indeed,” Twilight said, flicking her wrist and causing the cards to snap to a standstill in a row before her, “Pick any one you like.”

“That’s my girl. Show him everything I taught you!” Pinkie said proudly, clearly comparing this card to the ones in her deck. Her friends all rolled their eyes.

Yugi grinned and pointed dead center. “I choose the one in the middle.”

“Nice choice,” Twilight complemented as she pick up the card, placing the other two in her deck. The automatic shuffler kicked in as the holograms faded. “You’ve given me the field spell Grand Spellbook Tower! And don’t forget that for each spell card I activate, my Library gains one spell counter!”

A circle of light expanded from around her feet, changing not much aside from causing an emerald-twilight glow to emanate from below. The wave continued out to sea where a tall tower of swirling metal and light appeared. Meanwhile, a pair of green orbs began to float lazily around the library at Twilight’s back.

“And I’ll end my turn with a face down,” Twilight continued, doing just that, “How’s that?”

“Impressive,” Yugi replied with a smile, “I’m afraid my turn won’t be nearly so grand. I place two cards face down and summon Queen’s Knight in defense mode.”

A female knight wearing red armor appeared on his field, locking its sword and shield in a ready position as it knelt down. Behind it a face down card phased into play, and Yugi crossed his arms as he ended his turn.

Twilight frowned and drew her card with a sharp snap of her wrist. “I saw what you could do with those playing card warriors in you last duel. Don’t think that I’ll just let you speed summon your monsters that easily. Do remember that I have more than just defense monsters, such as the Spirit of the Shelves!”

A flicker of white caught Yugi’s eye from behind the bookshelves, but it was gone by the time he’d focused on the spot. It happened a second time, and a third, and each time there was no trace when he’d swiveled to the spot. Then all of a sudden there was a waft of cold air on the back of his neck and he shivered despite himself. He spun around and saw a transparent woman floating barely a foot behind him, clutching a book in its limp hands.

“And my spirit gains two thousand attack points when a library monster is on the field,” Twilight went on, “Which means she’s more than strong enough to stop your combo before it can start! But first I’ll activate the Spellbook of Secrets to add any spellbook card from my deck straight to my hand.”

A card popped free of her deck, and Twilight slid it free with a grin. “This will come in handy later. For now, I’ll have my Spirit attack!”

The spirit suddenly grew animate, swooping forward silently upon Yugi’s monster. The knight quickly raised its shield, but the spirit passed right through it as smoke. It lifted a finger to its ghostly lips in the universal sigh for shush and reached out with its other arm. It did… something, and the knight exploded into shards with a silent scream.

“That ghost makes me uncomfortable…” Joey said in a low voice, rubbing the goosebumps off his forearms.

Yugi was already swinging his arm at his face down before the duel shards had finished settling. “A fine strike, but you activated my Soul Rope! This allows me to summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior straight from my deck!”

His trap card flared into light, a new figure growing into place from its center. This creature had a body of slate grey metal decorated with large magnets, one of which served as its head. It also wielded a sword and shield, which it levied before it in almost the same fashion as the knight before.

“Traded one knight for another then,” Twilight said thoughtfully, “Well that’s not all my spirit’s got. I now receive an extra one hundred life points for each spell counter on the field!”

“Atta girl!” Applejack cheered, “Way to take the early lead!”

“I’ll activate my Royal Library’s special ability,” Twilight said, putting a hand to her deck, “And draw another card at the cost of all three counters, clearing it so that I can keep generating more. Then I’ll set one card face down and end my turn.”

“Well played,” Yugi said magnanimously as he drew, “You’ve set your field up very nicely. But are you prepared for my counter attack?”

Twilight leaned forward expectantly and held up her duel disk. “Bring it on!”

“With pleasure!” Yugi returned, “I’ll start by summoning Gamma the Magnet Warrior to the field in attack mode. And next I’ll send one card from my hand to the graveyard to special summon The Tricky as well!”

To the right of his Alpha appeared a creature very similar to it, though so round that it was more a pink parody of a human shape. Its arms and legs were stubbly and it didn’t have its partner’s armaments, but it sported a pair of enormous metal wings. A much larger creature appeared on their opposite side in a rush of air. This newcomer was dressed up in a black and white jester’s outfit, and wore a bright blue cape over that. Its face was completely covered by a red question mark.

The Pharaoh gestured to his remaining face down card. “Unfortunately, the Tricky will not be staying long. I’ll use Soul Barter to exchange the Tricky for the monster I sent to the graveyard when I summoned it, Beta the Magnet Warrior!”

The jester vanished in a blink of light and Yugi’s trap went florescent, a yellow figure shooting out of its fading surface. This one had a body about halfway between its fellows, much slimmer than Gamma but still kinda cartoony in appearance.

“Cool! But… none of them are stronger than the Library, so what gives?” Pinkie Pie asked, tilting her head and putting a finger to her chin.

“Look at the names, Pinkie,” Twilight said, a note of worry edging into her voice. “They’ve all got the same title. I bet something happens when they get summoned together.”

Yugi smiled. “And you’d be right. Now watch as I combine my warrior together to create Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!”

All three of his warriors burst apart into pieces which revolved around each other in a mini tornado. They started snapping together like a scene straight out of an episode of Voltron, and true to form there was soon a giant combination robot on the field. It stood taller than the shelves of Twilight’s library, causing everyone to crane back their necks as it floated on two wide wings. Bits of Beta and Gamma had augmented Alpha’s sword as well, and Valkyrion wielded the blade as if it weighed no more than a feather.

“Thirty-five hundred attack points!” Luna breathed, impressed, “And on the second turn, no less! I’ve not seen a feat like that pulled off every day!”

“And now I’ll put them to use! Go, Valkyrion, cut down that Spirit of the Shelves with Magnet Saber!”

An eye of plasma burst dramatically into existence in Valkyrion’s previously empty visor and the robot leapt forward, raising its sword high. The ghost only gave its approaching doom moderate interest until it looked around at the shelves it floated amongst. Apparently realizing that the books might get damaged if it remained where it was, it floated boldly forward to meet the attack. The robot sliced the ghost diagonally from shoulder to hip, the blade cackling with electricity as it rent it in two.

“Yes!” Joey shouted, pumping his fist in triumph, “The first blow goes to Yug!”

“Hey!” Rainbow cut in, turning and getting right up in his face. “Twilight attacked first! Yugi took a thousand damage!”

Joey waved his hand dismissively. “Naw, that was something Yugi did ta himself. This was tha first real damage of tha duel!”

The two of them continued to lock glares, but Twilight ignored them both as she calmly appraised this new threat. “It’s another combination monster like those tanks I faced when I fought Seto Kaiba. These are quite interesting tactics; I don’t believe we’ve got anything like them back home.”

“Do you have a way to counter it?” Yugi asked casually.

Twilight smiled and drew. “You know, I think I do. First I need to sacrifice my Library for a grander one. Let me introduce you to the Imperial Spellbinding Library!”

Her shelves creaked and groaned as the swelled in size. Now twice as tall and more uniform in shape, they glittered with high class filigree and metallic bindings. The books shone like new, almost dazzling to look at.

“So you have more libraries than just the Royal Magical Library,” Yugi said, enjoying the sight, “But I’m afraid it doesn’t have enough points to stop Valkyrion.”

“By now you should know that it’s not how strong my monsters are,” Twilight said, picking a card from her hand, “It’s how much better they become with a little magic! First, I’ll play this card face down, and then I’ll activate my Pitch-Black Power Stone! This trap instantly generates three spell counters, one of which I’ll add directly to the Imperial Library!”

A trio of glowing orbs bled out of the center of her trap, revolving around it like planets around a dark sun. One of the green balls separated from the others and drifted up to the books where it hovered, waiting.

“So your new library has an ability similar to your old one,” Yugi hummed as he drew, “But there’s nothing to fear if it doesn’t have a chance to use it. Valkyrion, cut it down!”

His monster leapt to obey, but Twilight was waiting for it. “It’s not going to be that easy! I defend with The Reliable Guardian!”

A green glow surrounded her library as it gained an extra seven hundred defense points. Valkyrion brought its sword down in an overhead chop and sank it into the aura with the sound of a thunderclap. For a moment it strained against the magic, but it eventually succumbed and retreated with a defeated whir. There was a large chip in the sword from where it broke in the clash.

“Not bad,” Yugi said, crossing his arms, “Not only did you stop my attack, but you’ve powered up your monster at the same time.”

“With two spell counters, instead of just one,” Twilight said, but with a frown on her features. “Um, I’m not sure how to ask this, but are you going easy on me? You’ve only used monster and trap cards this whole duel so far.”

Yugi arched an eyebrow as he set a card on his field. “Oh? Should I have been? Every spell I cast would create spell counters for you to use, so it’s natural that I’d want to restrict how many you get.”

An honest frown crossed Twilight’s face as she drew her card. “I don’t think I like how you’re looking down on me like that. It’s time I demonstrated just what happens when you underestimate me!

“I activate Spell Power Grasp! In addition to my Imperial Library creating two new spell counters, this spell adds a third one of its own and then adds another copy of itself to my hand from my deck! This gives my Library six counters, which means I can use its ability twice and summon two other libraries from my graveyard!”

The six green orbs floating around her monster shot down into the ground and for a moment all was still. Then the pier burst open as the well-worn shelves of the Royal Magical Library rose up, looking lonely next to the impressive Imperial ones. Between them floated a familiar spectral form, silently trailing a finger across the spines of some interesting books.

Twilight caught her opponent’s question before he could ask it. “My Spirit of the Shelves is part of the Library family of cards, fortunately for me. But what’s important here is that I’ve got three monsters for a sacrifice. And now I will sacrifice them all to summon Yunae, the Crescent!”

Her three monsters turned into forms of light, stretching up into the sky where they collected together in a shining orb. The sphere unfolded and rained rays of light all around the awed spectators as the goddess of the night descended slowly to the field. The Spellbook Tower and the Power Stone slowly set as Yunae floated to a stop, turning back into face down cards.

“So this is another one of your so-called Goddess cards,” the Pharaoh said, holding an arm to his forehead to shield his eyes from the still falling starlight. “It appears to have the same two thousand attack points as Solis Tia.”

“But only for now!” Twilight said, pulling more cards from her hand. “Yunae gains one hundred attack points for every face down card on the field. And by setting these two cards here, I will have five face down cards. Plus the one on your field, and this gives her a power of twenty-six hundred!”

Yugi hummed and leaned back a little. “Still plenty short of what you need to defeat Valkyrion.”

Twilight smiled and held up the last card in her hand. “Ah, but this is what I’ve been building towards all duel. Do you remember what Spellbook of Secrets brought to my hand in my first duel?”

Yugi’s eyes widened. “The Spellbook of Power!”

“Precisely!” Twilight exclaimed, slipping the card into her last remaining slot. The book appeared in midair above her goddess and swung open, its pages rifling through as if the tome were endless. Bright shining power flowed like mist from the book and fell across Yunae’s shoulders like a mantel. The goddess stretched itself in pleasure as magical power surged through it.

Luna clapped at the move. “Masterfully done! As good a use as I ever put the card to!”

Twilight pointed dramatically at her opponent. “That’s just enough power for Yunae to win! Shatter Valkyrion with Moon Pulse!”

Yunae held its hands up into the air and a pale orb seemed to come into view far above. This moon started to shine, directing a shaft of moonlight over the whole field. The spotlight shrank, growing in intensity as it focused specifically on his monster and became too bright to look at directly. For a time Valkyrion was just a black shape inside the bright whiteness, but then the robot dissolved away into stark nothingness.

“And I’ll end my turn by using the last ability of the Spellbook of Power,” Twilight continued, “And add a fresh spellbook from my deck to my hand, which I’ll immediately set.”

Yugi laughed as he drew his card. “Amazing! But I must admit that I’m surprised you would risk such a close battle. What if my face down card had been a trap?”

It was Twilight’s turn to smile as she put her hands on her hips jovially. “That’s the true power of Yunae, for after she’s summoned she prevents my opponent from activating any face down cards for two whole turns!”

“What?” Mai gasped, “But that didn’t come up when she used that card against Bakura!”

Pegasus shook his head and smiled, remembering something fondly. “She turned it into that Nightmare card so quickly, it never came up. Yunae may not be the strongest monster my dear Celestia created, but that power it wields is absolutely crippling. Especially back in the day…”

Surprisingly, Celestia blushed and coughed into her fist. “Let’s get back to the duel, alright?”

Yugi smiled as he considered the foe before him. “So I have no choice but to fight openly, huh? Very well, I suppose I should meet your best with my own. I start by activating the spell Monster Reborn to bring Valkyrion back to life!”

A magic circle appeared on his field and his giant robot rose up out of its center. It raised its sword and emitted a metallic cry, clearly ready to enact its revenge.

“An impressive draw,” Twilight said, crouching down in preparation of its attack. The Spellbook of Power only gives a temporary boost in power, so my monster is currently weaker. Fortunately, among all my face downs is a card just perfect for taking it down a second time…

But Yugi was already shaking his head. “I promised you my best this turn and powerful as Valkyrion is, it isn’t my best. I’ll instead use its special ability and return it to its separate parts!”

Valkyrion shuddered and every joint in it body popped apart like a poorly constructed erector set. The pieces tumbled to the ground into a large pile, but quickly started pulling themselves back together with magnetism. Soon the three weaker monsters were fully assembled and ready for action once again. Everyone watching had almost the same confused look on their faces at the strange move.

Everyone save for Twilight, whose bewildered look suddenly gave way to horror. “You wouldn’t!”

Yugi smiled and held up the last card in his hand. “Let us see how your Goddess stands up to a God! I sacrifice Alpha, Beta, and Gamma to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!”

The few clouds in the sky erupted with flashes of lightning and a strong wind picked up out of nowhere, sending spray onto the pier to soak their audience. One particularly large streak of lightning crashed onto the stone behind Yugi, and when they could see again a large figure stood ominously behind him, a leg sunk deep in the water on either side of the pier. Each flash of lightning revealed more of its towering features, from its craggy blue skin to skull-like face.

An awed silence passed over the girls at the sight, and Applejack slowly put a hand to her hat as if to reassure herself. “Wow… an Egyptian God card… in the flesh…”

Fluttershy actually slumped to the ground as her legs gave way under her. “And Twilight has to fight it!” she squeaked.

Yugi held his hand up and shouted dramatically. “Only the best duelists can take a blow from a God and remain on their feet. Show me the depths of your resolve! Obelisk, strike down Yunae with Fist of Fate!”

Obelisk held up one of its massive fists and a bolt of lightning struck it, encasing it in a wreath of cackling energy. The god reared back, preparing to deliver a haymaker guaranteed to shake the earth. Yunae held up its hand palm out and a shimmering wall of light formed before it in a desperate attempt at defense. But then the god attacked, and it was all over in an instant. Obelisk’s fist punched through the barrier as if it were made of mist and slammed through Yunae in much the same way, generating a shock wave that sent everyone standing behind it stumbling to stay upright.

Twilight fared the worst, as she was standing directly beneath her monster when it died. The force of it blew over her like wind from a hurricane, whipping her hair and clothes wildly about her. She crossed her arms in front of her face and strained against it, determined not to fall.

Twilight lowered her arms, grinning at her own stamina, but then her legs failed her. She buckled, listing to the left with almost agonizing slowness. But then life came back into her glazed eyes and she slammed her hand onto her left leg, catching herself. She wobbled unsteadily for a few seconds as she centered her breathing.

But she did not fall.

Her friends shouted out cries of encouragement as she stood up and brushed some semblance of order back into her hair. “That was… wow, that was a lot more than I was expecting!”

Yugi nodded his acknowledgement of her and readied his disk. “You are strong, Twilight Sparkle. Now come! Show me the strength that can overcome a God!”

Twilight nodded and drew. She looked at the card and then around at the six others spread out around her. She tilted her head, clearly running some fast calculations in her head, and then resumed the duel with renewed determination.

First, I need to thin out my deck. “I activate Spell Power Grasp,” she started, revealing one of her many cards, “And while I can’t put a spell counter on anything, I can at least draw the last copy out of my deck. Next I’ll reactivate Pitch-Black Power Stone, and while I’m at it, Endless Shelves. Finally, I’ll summon Apprentice Magician in defense position and end my turn.”

A young man wearing a tight purple leather outfit appeared on her field. It spun a short staff in one hand a few times before tucking it under its arm and crouching down on one knee.

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Is that all? Twilight, half of those moves didn’t do anything!”

“What did you expect of her, when her opponent is a God card?” Applejack said, lightly cuffing her friend in the back of the head.

The athlete glared at her, but then huffed and turned stubbornly back to the duel. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Twilight never does anything without a plan. She’s got this!”

“Hmm…” Yugi said, as he drew. He considered the card and then pointed forward. “Obelisk, smash the Apprentice Magician!”

His god reared back and slammed its fist down on the hapless spellcaster, not even bothering to gather energy this time. The boy was reduced to a pancake, the whole pier trembling with the strike.

Twilight held up her deck as the duel shards of her monster froze in midair and started to reverse. “My Apprentice doesn’t die for nothing! When it’s destroyed in battle it allows me to search my deck for any level two or lower spellcaster and summon it face down.”

Yugi nodded. “Well done, you survived by summoning more guard monsters. And with my spells and traps still locked, my own moves are still limited. I’ll simply end my turn by summoning Kuriboh in defense mode.”

A small puff of smoke heralded a tiny ball of fur appearing on his field. The puffball blinked its wide eyes and bobbed back and forth a few times before floating over to Yugi. It batted him a few times in the head with its stubbly paws and cooed happily.

“Good to see you too,” Yugi laughed, turning back to the game. “Well, this is the last turn for you to capitalize on Yunae’s ability. What will you do?”

Twilight looked down at her deck. I need two cards to turn this around. I can get one of them pretty easily, but the other I’ve got to draw, right now, or it’s all over. She took a deep breath and lay a hand on the top card. Betting everything, she drew. And smiled.

“I activate the hidden ability of Endless Shelves!” she said with renewed vigor, “And send it to the graveyard to summon any Library monster from my deck. So I’ll bring out Secret Alchemical Library!”

The familiar sight of bookshelves bursting from the ground was almost routine by this point. These ones were darker and more closely bound than the last, with dripping candles every here and there providing comfy light.

“Next I’ll use my last Spell Power Grasp to add two spell counters to my Library,” Twilight continued, “And use the power of my Power Stone to transfer one of its counters to it as well. Now that my Library has three spell counters, I’ll spend them to send any card in my deck to the top of my deck.

“We’ll get back to that card in a moment, but first let me introduce you to the monster my Apprentice brought me. I flip up Magical Plant Mandragola!”

Her face down monster burst into light and vines whipped out in all directions, gripping the stone pier like an octopus. Giant purple leaves sprouted and unfurled to reveal several yellow flowers that might have been pretty had they not opened any further. Inside the flowers were horrible misshapen faces made of slime and nightmares. The things opened their maws and shrieked a keening wail that could peel paint.

“That thing is a spellcaster?” Yugi asked, leaning back from the monstrosity.

Twilight nodded as her plant vomited up two glowing green orbs. “It may not be much to look at, but it puts a new spell counter on the Power Stone and my Library. Next I’ll reactivate The Grand Spellbook Tower and use its ability!”

“So I’ll finally see what it does, then,” Yugi said to himself as the field once again took on the vaguely neon look of black light and a shimmering tower appeared far out at sea.

A card popped out of Twilight’s grave slot and she held it aloft for emphasis. “Once per turn, the Tower lets me send any Spellbook to the bottom of my deck to draw a new card. So I’ll exchange the Spellbook of Secrets for the card my Library brought me, Magical Incarnation Process!”

Her new spell appeared on the field and burst into fiery green flames. The various spell counters floating on the field were sucked into the flame, the Power Stone going so far as to explode into shards as it was sucked dry. The card consumed itself and the flames unfolded into a humanoid shape.

“Almost done,” Twilight said, holding out the last card in her hand, “I will admit, you make it look so easy. While it may take me more than one card to summon a God in one turn, like you did, I can pull off the trick! I sacrifice the Secret Alchemical Library, Magical Plant Mandragola, and the spell counter token to summon Solis Tia, the Heliosphere!”

High above the duelists, a second sun shone into existence. A glowing figure grew out of the center of it and descended slowly to the field. The goddess’s rainbow hair rippled gently as it spread its arms and began emitting a warm light all over the field. Every remaining face down card on the field turned transparent in the glow, revealing that Yugi’s was a Card of Sanctity and Twilight’s were Pitch-Black Lode Stone and Spellbook of Mastery.

“I know all about your God Cards,” Twilight shouted. “Most spell, trap, or monster effects don’t work at all against them, and even the most powerful ones can only work for one turn. Therefore, the only way to safely combat a God is to rely on sheer power! Solis Tia has power in spades, gaining an extra three thousand attack points from the three spells we have. And that one trap card will drop Obelisk’s by an extra thousand points as well!”

Celestia led the rest of the watchers in a resounding applause. “Excellent work! That’s just the way to use the Goddesses. Yunae clears the way so that the opponent can’t react, while Solis Tia lands an overwhelming blow!”

Twilight held up her hands and practically beamed with joy. “It’s time to surpass the Gods! Daylight Radiance!”

The spell and trap cards shot beams of light up at the goddess, who collected them into the palms of its hands. The light grew brighter by the second, overflowing in front of it in a wave of blinding light. Obelisk roared its defiance, but even the will of gods bowed to certain rules. Its body began to crumble and break away, as of its whole body were a sand sculpture finally giving in to wind and rain. With terrible slowness the god collapsed in on itself, vanishing into the waters.

“Amazing!” Yugi said, staring behind him as the last of his god card faded away, “You actually were able to overcome the power of Obelisk!”

“You don’t seem too upset about it,” Twilight said, trying to sound disappointed but unable to suppress her elation.

Yugi shrugged. “Honestly, I’m having too much fun! It’s rare for me to cut loose like this without any heavy stakes weighing in the balance. And I trust my cards not to let the duel end like this.”

Twilight nodded and dropped into a ready position. “Then let’s continue!”

“Gladly! I begin with Pot of Greed!” Yugi said, playing his card the moment he drew it. He placed his hand on top of his deck and sent a small prayer to the heart of the cards, then drew. “And next I’ll activate Multiply! This allows me to create as many copies of Kuriboh as I want, but this time I think I only need to create two.”

His fur ball cooed and held up its paws as the spell card took effect. For a few seconds it seemed to blur, and then two more Kuribohs phased apart from it on either side. The three fur balls bounced a little dance in midair before settling down and facing forward.

“No way…” Rarity said in a low, awed voice.

“He isn’t…” Applejack breathed.

“He is!” Pinkie practically bubbled, ecstatic.

Yugi held up his remaining card. “I sacrifice my three Kuriboh to summon Slifer the Sky Dragon!”

As his three monsters vanished the sea to the side of the duel surged upward as something massive rose out of its depths. The water’s surface broke over the head of a colossal red dragon that tore its way into the sky. Its body just keep on going as the dragon rose higher and higher into the air, circling in on itself high above the duel. After what seemed like a mile of dragon its tail finally came free of the water and it coiled in on itself, seeming to straddle the whole horizon.

“Th-that’s impossible!” Twilight stuttered, and then caught herself and pointed desperately. “But Slifer only has attack points if you have cards in your hand, and yours is completely empty!”

Yugi waggled a finger. “Ah, have you already forgotten what your Goddess revealed I had?”

Twilight’s face paled. “Card of Sanctity!”

“Exactly!” the Pharaoh declared, activating it, “This card lets us both draw until out hands are full, bringing Slifer’s attack points to six thousand! Now go, Slifer! Destroy Solis Tia with Thunder Blast!”

His god dragon roared and the lower of its two mouths opened wider that should be possible. Lightning collected in the maw in a tight ball, compressing it tighter and tighter as it packed as much power into the attack as it could.

“Gnnh!” Twilight grunted, “I have no choice! I activate the Spellbook of Mastery! This copies the abilities of any spellbook in my graveyard, such as the Spellbook of Power! This will bring Solis Tia’s attack power to six thousand as well!”

Her card flared into light and a book shot out of it to float just behind her goddess. It flipped open to the middle and virtually exploded into magical power, pouring it into Solis Tia’s waiting arms. It collected the new power and added it to its own aura, causing the mass of energy to erupt with vibrant colors.

It thrust its arms out, releasing the energy in a stream of power at the same time as Slifer shot its collected lightning all at once. The two beams slammed into each other midway and fused, creating a glowing ball of destruction that grew and grew as neither monster let up in their attacks. Soon the ball filled the sky, no longer restrained by either god. In fact, both gods were soon engulfed completely by the expanding sphere, disappearing into the light. It was so bright that everyone had to shield their eyes and look away lest they go blind.

Then it was over. Blinking, everyone stared up into the sky to see who the victor was, but the sky was empty. Both Slifer and Solis Tia were gone, destroyed by each other’s combined strength. All was stunned silence for a few seconds before the inevitable broke the peace.

“That. Was. AMAZING!!!!” Pinkie screamed, jumping up and down and waving her arms like a madwoman.

“I can’t believe it!” Joey exclaimed, “Two of Yug’s God cards blown ta bits, just like that!”

Pegasus was grinning from ear to ear as he applauded. “This is far more than I could have hoped for! It is easily the most exciting duel I’ve witnessed in a long time!”

The Pharaoh smiled. “We’re pretty evenly matched right now. I believe you still have a third god card left in your deck we haven’t seen?”

Surprisingly Twilight shook her head, but she was smiling as she did. “I do… but it’s not in my deck. I haven’t figured out how to unlock it yet. Celestia told me that it would only be ready when I am, but for now it’s still blank.”

Yugi nodded and put a fist to his duel disk. “I see. Then how about I refrain from using my last God card as well. Let the rest of this duel play out fairly.”

Twilight grinned. “Sounds like a plan!”

He matched her grin and looked down at his refreshed hand. “Well, let’s continue! I clearly can’t leave myself this wide open, so I’ll end my turn by activating the Swords of Revealing Light! This card will prevent you from attacking me for three turns!”

A dozen bright swords made of white light fell out of the sky and impaled the ground all around Twilight. They formed an uneven fence blocking the young girl away from her opponent, but it didn’t seem like it was bothering her much. In fact she was quite happy as she started her own turn.

“Wait, you’re just going to move on, just like that?” Rarity exclaimed, putting a hand to her breast lightly. “Aren’t either of you a little tired after that exchange? Wouldn’t you rather take a little break to get your breath back…”

“Since we’re starting again with basically a fresh slate,” Twilight said, so in the zone that she gave no indication she heard her friend, “I’ll go easy this turn. One face down card, and I’ll summon Rune, Research Librarian to the field!”

A woman appeared on her field, seeming very unimpressive after the last few cards to grace the field. Still, it ran a hand through its hair disdainfully and glared at Yugi as if he were making far too much noise.

Yugi drew and considered his options. “I could take some time in the safety of my swords and build back up my defenses, but I don’t think either of us want that. So instead I’ll use Polymerization to fuse Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet together to form Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!”

The spell card appeared on his field, along with the two beasts he mentioned. The two beasts were pulled unceremoniously into the spell, which spun around like a wheel on a game show. The spinning slowed down, revealing the card had become a fearsome furred creature. It lifted both its heads and let out a mighty roar, flapping its great wings a few times before settling on the ground.

“Go Chimera,” Yugi commanded, “Attack Rune!”

His monster leapt at his words, pouncing upon the poor woman in an instant. There was a flash of something crystalline at the woman’s neck for a second, but it disappeared from view as the beast buried its heads in a savage bite. Rune shattered with a scream.

Twilight sighed and wiped a hand across the sweat on her brow. “Just in time. I used Pitch-Black Phylactery to absorb the damage from that attack, and it created four spell counters to boot!”

Yugi nodded. “I knew you’d have some way to survive that. Where did those spell counters go?”

“Right here, on my Pitch-Black Lode Stone!” Twilight explained, gesturing to her other active trap. This one apparently was going to remain on the field, and four green orbs were revolving around it in various orbits.

“Now how shall I strike back?” Twilight mused as she started her turn, “Well first, I need a new monster. Let me introduce you to the Ancient Haunted Library!”

More wooden shelves groaned as they heaved themselves out of the ground, but these were starkly different from the ones before. These creaked with age and neglect, thick with spider webs and dust. Books randomly floated from one shelf to another by their own violation. The shelves themselves were arranged differently than usual as well, turned on their axis so that they appeared as neat rows from Yugi’s perspective.

The King of Games noticed the oddity and frowned. “Odd, did you make a mistake?”

Twilight gave a predatory smile and shook her head. “No mistake, this is just what one of my Library monsters look like in attack mode!”

“What?!” Joey exclaimed, leaping back comically on one leg, “Why would you ever put that card in attack mode?!”

“Sit back and watch!” Twilight exclaimed, pulling out a card from her hand dramatically. “I use the spell card Shield & Sword to swap the attack and defense of our monsters!”

“That makes your monster stronger than mine!” Yugi exclaimed, before catching himself. “An impressive turnaround, but you still can’t attack through my Swords of Revealing Light!”

“You should wait until my turn is over to judge!” Twilight said, “I’ll use this second copy of Spellbook of Secrets to get just the card I need to overcome it, the Spellbook of Wisdom! This card gives my Library immunity to all spell cards for the turn. Now there’s nothing protecting your Chimera!”

Every surface of her library shone a bright green as it gained the power to push back the swords. Dozens of books floated free of the shelves and shot across the field in a great cloud. The chimera tried to flee, but the books caught up to it and pummeled it mercilessly until it detonated in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared there was nothing left save for the books slowly floating back to their homes and a much smaller beast, crouched over to protect itself.

“You can’t get rid of Chimera that easily,” Yugi said calmly, “For when he’s destroyed by battle, I can bring Gazelle back to the field in its place.”

Twilight shrugged. “I recalled that ability from Rainbow Dash’s duel, so I’m not too concerned. I’ll end my turn with a face down card, and Pitch-Black Lode Stone will leech away the three spell counters my Library generated, bringing its total up to seven.”

“That’s it, build up those spell counters, Sugarcube!” Applejack cheered.

The Pharaoh nodded as he drew. “I’m familiar with Shield & Sword, so I know that it only lasts for one turn. While I doubt you left your library defenseless, there’s only one way to find out. But first I’ll sacrifice Gazelle to summon the Dark Magician Girl!”

His beast vanished, leaving a magical circle in its place. The circle flared and a young girl twirled up out of its, pulling a pirouette in midair. It gave a cute wink to the crowd of onlookers as it floated over to Yugi’s side.

Yugi gave the magician a nod and pointed across the field. “Attack her monster with Burning Black Bolt!”

The magician gave a happy cry and spun its wand in one hand like a baton. Dark magic collected on the end of the wand in a compact ball, and it launched the ball with a flick of its wrist. As the crackling energy sped through the air, the shelves suddenly snapped together in a united front. The ball slammed into the shelves and tried to bore through, but some trick caused the magic to bleed harmlessly away along the wood.

“Ah well, you caught me,” Twilight sighed, gesturing to her trap, “Desert Sunlight switches all monsters on my field to defense position. Usually I can catch my opponent unaware with that trick, but the Dark Magician Girl has the same attack points as the Library’s defense points, so you didn’t take any damage.”

“Clever,” Yugi complemented, “Then I’ll place these two cards face down and end my turn.”

Twilight nodded. “Now that I finally have five spellbooks in my graveyard, I’m able to activate my Spellbook Library of the Heliosphere! With this I can look at the top two cards of my deck and add any Spellbooks right to my hand. So let’s see what I get.”

She picked up the top two cards of her deck and looked at them, breaking into a smile as she separated one of them. “Excellent! It’s the Spellbook of Life and Spellbook of Eternity! I’ve no use for the second one right now, but Spellbook of Life can bring any of my fallen spellcasters back from the grave, so long as I leave my other spellbook in my hand this turn. So welcome back the Imperial Spellbinding Library!”

A large book floated into the air behind the young duelist and flipped open to its middle. Bright shining energy poured out of its pages and the ghostly outline of her most powerful library shimmered into existence. The outline filled in and soon the library stood in all its glory, its opulence putting the old shelves of her other library to shame.

“Unfortunately, those two spell prevent me from making any other moves this turn,” Twilight went on, “So I’ll end my turn by playing these two cards face down and letting my Lode Stone absorb these two new spell counters. That also ends the effect of your Swords of Revealing Light, meaning I will be able to attack next turn.

“But fair warning, my Imperial Library has another ability I haven’t showcased yet. I can use it to return not just libraries back from my graveyard, but spell cards as well! And you know what that means, don’t you?”

“You can bring Shield & Sword back as well,” Yugi said with a grunt, “And that would be enough attack power to put an end to this duel once and for all.”

Twilight threw her arm out wide. “Which means you need to overcome my Imperial Library’s three thousand defense points this turn or else it’s all over!”

Joey pumped his fist at the girl. “Of course Yugi can do that! You’ve got a monster that strong left, right Yug?”

“Actually, Joey, I don’t,” Yugi said honestly, but smiled despite the incredulous look on his friends face, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t get rid of that card another way. I use the spell card Spell Shattering Arrow! This card instantly wipes away all active spell cards on the field, and inflicts five hundred points of damage to you for each one!”

His spell card appeared on his field and an arrow shot out of the card’s face with little ceremony. It flew unerringly across the field and lodged itself in Twilight’s chest, where it detonated in a wave of clear light.

The wave of light passed over her great library and the book floating above it, dissolving away the tome like sand in water. Without the spellbook to support it, the Library faded away into nothingness once more. The wave of his spell didn’t stop there, clearing away her long overlooked field spell as well. When the wave finally hit the tower it too crumbled as if hit by a wave of acid.

But something strange happened. Swirling lights appeared from within the collapsing tower, resolving into a great many glowing books which were flying wildly around each other. The collection of magic books shot towards the pier at great speed and came apart in a flurry of glowing pages as they arrived. A figure stepped out from the fluttering pages and glared at Yugi, leveling a long hooked staff in his direction. This monster wore robes of the darkest red and a large golden headpiece that hid its eyes from view, masking its expression.

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash shouted excitedly, “This is it, Twilight’s ace in the hole, Dark Red Enchanter!”

Twilight placed a hand to her chest and laughed with relief. “I hoped you would do something like that! My Spellbook Tower has a hidden ability which I’ve been building towards all game. When it’s destroyed by my opponent, I can summon any monster from my deck, provided its level is less than the number of spellbooks in my graveyard!”

“I was wondering why you weren’t using its ability to draw cards,” Yugi said, regarding this new threat cautiously, “So this is your ace monster? It doesn’t even have enough attack points to stand up to my Dark Magician Girl.”

“Dark Red Enchanter has been winning duels for me long before I acquired the Goddesses,” Twilight said, looking upon the spellcaster fondly. “It’s only fitting my old friend brings me victory here now! You see, he generates spell counters just like my Libraries and he gains three hundred attack points for each one he’s got! And fortunately for me I’ve got a ready supply of spell counters all ready for him! I’ll use my face down Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy my Pitch-Dark Lode Stone!”

One of her face downs flipped up and transformed into a miniature cyclone which immediately homed in on her trap card. The Lode Stone was borne up into the sky where it shattered, scattering its nine glowing spheres every which way. As one the orbs homed in on the red wizard’s staff, joining with the one it had created when she used her spell. The wizard practically floated off the ground as its power rose to incredible levels, its robes flapped about as if caught in a rising air current.

“Forty-seven hundred attack points!” Bakura exclaimed, impressed despite himself, “That is as powerful as any of Yugi’s God cards!”

“There’s no way even Yugi can do anything about that!” Applejack said confidently, crossing her arms and waiting for her friend to land the finishing blow.

“Well?” Twilight asked, leaning in expectantly, “It’s still your turn. What are you going to do?”

Yugi looked down at the card in his hand, the ones on his field, and lastly at his spellcaster. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I will do nothing. I end my turn.”

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “I can’t believe this is happening! Twilight is one attack away from beating the King of Games! This is amazing!”

“No, something is wrong…” Twilight said slowly, drawing her card for the turn and frowning as she puzzled this turn of events. “You didn’t even switch the Dark Magician Girl to defense position. I… can’t attack like this. You must have some kind of trap waiting for me. I activate Reading Glasses!”

Her last trap card flipped up and thrummed with unseen power. The face down cards on Yugi’s field suddenly became transparent, revealing their hidden faces for all to see. Twilight looked at the first one and felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.

“No…” she said in a low voice, “Magic Cylinder…”

Yugi nodded as his magician gave the young girl a cheeky wave. “This card will send any attack upon my Dark Magician Girl right back at your own life points. I’m afraid you won’t be able to win like that.”

Twilight heaved a deep sigh and grimaced as she plucked a card from her hand. “I didn’t want to use this card against you, but it looks like I have no other way to win. At the cost of every spell counter on my Dark Red Enchanter, I’ll use the Mega Ton Magical Cannon to eradicate every card on your field!”

Her wizard’s staff glowed bright emerald as her spell card appeared on her field, and the magic was pulled from the staff in a steady stream. The card absorbed the flow hungrily, finally turning into a rectangle of light as the last of it was taken. It unleashed the magic all at once in a giant beam of light that completely engulfed Yugi’s entire field. When it passed there was nothing left but a hunched over Yugi and some still smoking patches.

Heaving a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding, Twilight straightened and looked her opponent right in the eye. “Dark Red Enchanter retains one spell counter from that move, bringing his attack points to two thousand. Less than I was hoping for our final exchange, but there’s nothing left to stop this attack. I’ll attack you directly with Crimson Blast, for the win!”

Alternating cheers and groans filled the air as her wizard raised its staff and prepared to fire upon its helpless enemy. But then, for seemingly no reason, a holographic card floated out of Yugi’s graveyard and imposed itself between Yugi and the growing attack.

“What’s that?!” Twilight shouted, eyes wide. “You shouldn’t have had any cards left?!”

Yugi smirked and held up the last card in his hand. “You were so focused on my Magic Cylinder that you failed to notice the other card I had in play. Cross Counter Trap activates when my opponent sends it to the graveyard, much likes your Spellbook Tower, and lets me use any trap card in my hand as if it were on the field. So now I’ll trap your monster in the Spellbinding Circle!”

The card in his hand flared as he spun in around and thrust it towards her wizard. A glowing magic circle surrounded the wizard and it found itself pinned, its arms locked in place. The attack it had been preparing died away to nothing.

“Impossible… I had this duel in the bag…” Twilight said, disbelief etching across her face. “I didn’t think anyone could have stopped that combo. So this is the power of the King of Games.”

“Indeed,” Yugi said as he drew to start his turn. “Few duelists have ever pushed me this far before, but this is the end. I pay half my life points to activate Dark Magic Curtain!”

A floating skeleton appeared high on his side of the field, wearing a long cloak over its lower body that stretched all the way to the ground. It flipped the cloak open and revealed that there was nothing but a swirling chaotic mass of color underneath it. From out of that stepped a figure wearing a purple full-body suit, clutching a long green staff in one hand. The cloaked skeleton vanished, having accomplished its goal.

Yugi thrust his hand out decisively. “The only way to properly end this duel is with my ace monster against yours. Dark Magician, attack!”

His favorite monster nodded its understanding and thrust its palm out at Twilight’s bound wizard. Even with the three spell counters it had generated since the blast that had decimated Yugi’s field, the Dark Red Enchanter only had nineteen hundred attack points. The colors of everything on the field inverted as the Dark Magician let loose with its unique brand of magic, and the Dark Red Enchanter trembled and exploded.

Twilight fell to her knees as the adrenaline left her system, leaving her weak. She looked up at the clear blue sky above her and realized that she didn’t feel bad at all. Instead she was happy, realizing that she may have just played the most fun duel she’d ever had.

Rainbow also dropped to her knees and punched the ground. “Oh, that was so close! But it was awesome! Good going!”

“That was the best darn duel ah’ve ever witnessed!” Applejack shouted, hurting her hands, she was clapping so hard.

“Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked, concerned with her well being.

“Simply astounding!” Rarity put in.

“I’M SO PUMPED!!!!” Pinkie shrieked, practically vibrating with energy.

They all moved forward to embrace her, but Yugi reached her first, offering his hand to help her up. The others hung back as she took it, giving the two duelists a respectful moment. They shook hands firmly, both wearing identical smiles.

“That was a fine duel,” Yugi said, “Perhaps someday we can have another?”

“Anytime,” Twilight said, before letting out a soft laugh, “But maybe not for a little while. After that, I think I could use a little break before I have to duel again.”

Meanwhile, in a faraway city…

“Please stop!” Rare Find shouted, holding up his hands in supplication, “I’m sorry! Can’t we stop this?”

The hooded figure standing at the other end of the dark alley gave no answer, instead holding out his hand meaningfully. Chiron the Mage twirled its staff and sent out a beam of red light that completely obliterated the Wall of Revealing Light, leaving the nervous man defenseless.

“Please!” Rare cried, trying to back away. “I didn’t mean to bump into you, you just came out of nowhere! Can’t we be friends?”

“Friend?” the cloaked figure whispered menacingly, and pointed sharply again. Minoan Centaur leaped forward and cleaved Naturia Fruitfly in half, restoring his monsters attack points. Meanwhile, Exarion Universe speared through Naturia Pineapple, its piercing ability letting its attack carry though to hit the player directly. Rare took the spear in the chest as was thrown clear across the alley, to land in a stunned heap atop a spilled box of oranges. His deck slipped loose from his disk and scattered about the cobbled street all around him.

“I can assure you, I am no friend,” the cloaked figure said hoarsely, looming over the fallen duelist, “I am Lord Tirek! And I will take what should have been mine long ago!”

From beneath his cloak the figure pulled a pendant hanging on a frayed rope. The golden trinket was triangle shaped, sort of like a folded bird, but with an Egyptian eye set in its middle. The eye burst into light with a high pitched whine and bathed the duelist in its glow.

Rare’s cards, scattered all around him, started to lose their color, soon becoming nothing but blank pieces of paper. The cloaked figure returned the pendant to its resting place and shuddered with pleasure. Then he leaned back and an eerie laugh echoed along the lonely alley, promising more trouble to come.

“Heh he heh heh he heh…”