The light of the moon bathes Canterlot, giving its ivory towers and buildings a certain ethereal quality that makes the city look like a mirage conjured by mischievous forest spirits. At the Royal Palace, Princess Celestia stands alone in the observatory; looking attentively at the night sky through the dome window above her. She sighs heavily. A sudden knock at the door catches her attention. “Come in,” she replies without looking.
A young man with soft brown eyes and clad in golden armor enters the observatory. He bows deeply and removes his helmet, revealing his short, jet-black hair. “Your Highness,” he states respectfully while standing firmly.
Celestia turns around and smiles, acknowledging him by calling his name, “Bold Step.”
It takes a great deal of Bold Step’s willpower to suppress a smile. It is a well-known fact that Princess Celestia remembers the name of every servant and guard working at the Royal Palace, but he would be lying if he said having the Princess herself refer to him by his name did not feel good. “Your carriage will be ready shortly, Princess,” he reports dutifully.
Celestia thanks him, but still requests, “Can you please apologize to the coachman on my behalf and tell him I will be heading towards Ponyville by myself?”
“Yes, Your High--” Bold Step catches himself, shaking his head rapidly. “E-Excuse me, Princess?” He asks in disbelief. “Did you say you wanted to go alone?”
Celestia nods. “The night is especially beautiful today and I would like to enjoy it a bit more.” Bold Step opens his mouth to object, but before he can say a word, Celestia puts her hands in a gesture of pleading, winks and asks, “Please?”
Bold Step straightens himself, a prominent blush across his cheeks. “Y-Yes, Your Highness! I shall inform the coachman immediately!” Celestia smiles and thanks him. He puts his helmet on and, with one last bow, exits the observatory.
As soon as Bold Step leaves, Celestia’s smile disappears. She closes her eyes, feeling a chill going down her spine like the cold tip of a blade. It makes her whole body shiver. A black mist begins pouring into the room, encircling her like a predator about to strike. She exhales deeply and mutters to herself, “At last, you have returned.”
All the lights inside the Town Hall have been turned off, leaving only the light of the moon and the stars to illuminate the place. Still, it’s more than enough. Twilight and Spike wait patiently among the crowd for Princess Celestia to make her appearance. Next to them, Pinkie is brimming with energy. “Isn’t this exciting?” She asks enthusiastically. “Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited-- well, except for the time that we dueled and you were all Pendulum Summon, then Synchro Summon, Xyz Summon, Fusion Summon and Ritual Summon but I mean really, who can top that?” Twilight and Spike exchange awkward glances.
Two pairs of Royal Guards, each with a Duel Disk around their left arm and carrying a trumpet in hand, position themselves at the sides of the stage located right below the main balcony. They lift the horns to their lips and blow a regal fanfare; the chatter of the crowd immediately dies down.
At that moment, a dignified-looking, bespectacled lady steps on the stage. She has darker blue eyes and short, light grey, wavy hair. Her outfit consists of a pale amber skirt suit, a white collar shirt all buttoned up and darker green high heels. Despite her formal attire and hair color, she is an attractive woman, with her slender, shapely legs being her most noticeable feature. Twilight momentarily wonders how old she could be. The woman clears her throat and begins addressing the crowd. “Ladies and Gentlemen, as Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!”
There’s wild applause, and once it dies down the Mayor continues, “In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!
There’s more applause, and the Mayor concludes, “And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very woman who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria...Princess Celestia!”
The Royal Guards blow another fanfare, and the curtains in the doorway of the main balcony are pulled back. However, there is no one there. After a long moment of silence, the anxious murmurs of the crowd begin filling the air.
Twilight frowns in suspicion, her eyes locked on the empty balcony. “What’s going on here…?” She mutters to herself.
As the crowd begins to grow more and more restless, the Mayor steps forward, raising her hands and urging them to remain calm. “There must be a reasonable explanation!” She offers.
Pinkie jumps up and down in excitement. “Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games! Is she hiding? I bet she--” She suddenly gasps and, pointing upwards, shouts, “What’s that!?” All of the presents immediately look up to see a swirling cloud of black mist gathering above them, crackling with lightning like a thundercloud.
The black mist focuses on a single point, descending over the main balcony railway like a funnel cloud. It vanishes, revealing the shape of a tall, imposing woman. She is incredibly beautiful, with her intense blue eyes, contrasting noticeably with her flawless dark skin. Despite the lack of a breeze, her long, dark blue hair flows elegantly behind her, shining like a starry sky. She looks mobilized for battle; wearing a crown-helmet and with nearly every inch of her body clad in an ornate, obsidian armor; a dark blue skirt going down her ankles on the back and down to her knees on the front.
The mysterious woman looks at the crowd below, her pupils slit like those of a dragon, and smiles sinisterly, revealing her sharp, pointed teeth. “Oh, my beloved subjects.” Her voice rings through the whole building. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious, little sun-loving faces.” It feels as if the temperature drops with each word that comes out of her lips.
Twilight feels the blood drain from her face. “I-It cannot be…” Spike quickly hides behind her, peeking fearfully at the mysterious woman.
Rainbow Dash shouts, “Who are you and what did you do with our Princess?” She attempts to charge at the mysterious woman, but is quickly held in place by Applejack. “Whoa, Nelly!” She cries as she holds Rainbow Dash from behind in a bear hug. “The hay do you think you’re doin’?”
The mysterious woman narrows her eyes. “Don’t you know who I am?” She asks; an indignant expression on her face. “Have the last thousand years clouded your memories?”
Pinkie waves with her right arm held high. “Ooh, more guessing games! Pick me! Pick--” Before she can say another word, Rarity puts her hand over Pinkie’s mouth and drags her away to a safer distance.
From among the crowd, Fluttershy watches the mysterious woman in silence, standing still like a tiny mouse attempting to avoid being seen by a snake. The woman continues to ask, “Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”
Twilight takes a step forward. “I did!” She declares boldly, glaring at the mysterious woman. “And I know who you are! You’re the Maiden in the Moon—Nightmare Moon!”
The crowd gasps loudly and Nightmare Moon smirks satisfied. “Well well, somebody who remembers me. Then you also know why I’m here, don’t you?” She asks with amusement.
All the courage Twilight mustered vanishes, and she finds herself trembling like a dried leaf. She opens her mouth, but it’s as if the words refuse to come out.
Nightmare Moon chuckles and declares, “Remember this day, children, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!” Her thunderous laugh makes the whole building shake and the crowd shiver.
The Mayor desperately orders the Royal Guards to seize Nightmare Moon. “Only she knows where the Princess is!”
The four Royal Guards shoot upwards on their translucent, pure white ethereal wings, swiftly flanking Nightmare Moon in a squared formation. They activate their Duel Disks simultaneously and wordlessly play a single card each. In the blink of an eye, Nightmare Moon is surrounded by four crimson warriors, their swords aimed at her neck.
Twilight recognizes the monsters as four copies of Evocator Chevalier.
Nightmare Moon sneers, “Fools.”
With astonishing speed, five shadows descend on the Royal Guards from above, like hawks on their unsuspecting preys, striking them down. The four copies of Evocator Chevalier disappear as soon as the bodies of their masters crash against the floor. Five hooded figures, clad fully in black, float around Nightmare Moon, their capes spreading in the shape of bat-like wings behind them.
There is a loud scream and the crowd stampedes out of the building, scattering in panic and leaving the Town Hall in a graveyard-like silence.
Nightmare Moon spreads her pitch-black, ethereal wings, so large they cover the entire length of the balcony, and takes a step forward, gliding down elegantly from the railway and landing gracefully on the tip of her stiletto boots.
After the brutal display, none of the girls dare to make a move. Even Rainbow Dash, who was ready to kick ass and take names just a moment ago, is now warily eyeing the hooded figures above, unable to read their facial expressions or body language to anticipate their moves.
Nightmare Moon calmly advances forward, stopping right in front of Twilight, and extends her right hand towards the fear stricken girl, the fingers of her armor shaped like claws. Twilight closes her eyes and braces herself, but nothing happens. She slowly opens her eyes to see a half-eaten cupcake at her feet and Nightmare Moon looking to the side, towards Spike. His right hand extended, he looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Twilight blinks and mutters, “Spike…?”
Without taking her eyes away from Spike, Nightmare Moon lightly flicks her index finger and Twilight is sent flying backwards by an invisible force, falling on her back and sliding on the floor.
Fluttershy rushes next to Twilight and puts a hand under her head. “Easy there…” Twilight groans in pain, but the feeling quickly transforms into horror when she sees Nightmare Moon raising her hand upwards. A wall of the same black mist that heralded Nightmare Moon’s arrival erupts from the very ground and surrounds both, Spike and Nightmare Moon. It forms a perfect dome around them, partially obscuring the vision from both sides with a dark haze.
Rainbow Dash spreads her wings and attempts to charge, but the barrier sparks as soon as she approaches; twisting and snapping threateningly like an angry guard dog. She curses loudly, “Damn it!” Below her, Applejack looks around until she spots a chair lying on the floor. She holds the chair with both hands and, swinging once, she throws it with all her strength against the barrier, only to see it turn into a small cloud of ashes upon contact with the lightning. “What the hay…?” She mutters astonished.
Rarity and Pinkie look at each other and nod. They ignite their Duel Disks simultaneously and summon a monster each, Lunalight Blue Cat and Performapal Whip Snake, respectively. They command an attack, only to watch in shock as the barrier vaporizes their monsters as well.
Fluttershy gasps horrified. Twilight grits her teeth and, holding onto Fluttershy’s arm, she slowly stands up. Firmly walking towards the circle of flames, Twilight puts her hands together, intertwining her fingers with both indexes extended upwards. Her hands glow intensely with ethereal light. With a battle cry, Twilight points her hands forward and fires a blast of magical energy towards the barrier, but only manages to make the lightning flicker briefly.
Twilight falls on her knees, exhausted. Once again, Fluttershy rushes to her side and holds her in her arms. “It’s useless,” Twilight states grimly. “This magic--it’s just too strong…”
Inside the barrier of black mist, Nightmare Moon chuckles disdainfully. “Are you done with your feeble attempts, children?” She extends her left hand, a glow emanates from her armor and a long, silver blade of pure magical energy unfolds from it, curved downwards in the shape of a half-moon.
Spike takes a step backwards. “W-What do you want?” He asks fearfully. Nightmare Moon tilts her head and asks back, “Are you not a duelist?” Spike’s eyes widen as he realizes the blade around her arm is a Duel Disk. She narrows her eyes and demands coldly, “Duel me.” His lips quiver as he tries to come up with a response.
Pinkie breaks the tense silence by suddenly shouting, “Go for it, Spike!” Rarity looks at her dumbfounded. “Pinkie—what are you saying?” Pinkie looks at her and grins. “Well, if we cannot get him out, then he only needs to duel his way out, right?” She turns back towards the barrier and shouts again. “You can do it!”
Applejack is next. She pumps her fist and shouts, “Take the bull by the horns, buckaroo!”
Rainbow Dash adds loudly, “Kick her back to the hole she crawled from!”
Rarity nods and, cupping her hands around her mouth, shouts, “Show her what you’re capable of, darling!”
Even Fluttershy follows their example, albeit in a far softer voice tone.
Twilight looks at the girls, momentarily baffled as they keep shouting words of encouragement to Spike. She shakes out of her stupor, stands up and shouts, “Remember everything you’ve learned, Spike!” She points at him with her index finger. “Show them why you’re my number one assistant!”
Spike mutters, “Twilight…” He nods firmly. The overwhelming fear slowly dissipates. He puffs out his chest and ignites his Duel Disk by throwing his arm upwards. “I’ll take you on!” He declares boldly. The girls cheer for him some more.
The five hooded figures above them do not move an inch. Unlike before, the screens on the Duel Disks do not flash. Rather, Nightmare Moon pulls one card from the top of her deck without looking at it. “We shall let the cards decide our fate,” she states. “The spell speed will determine initiative.” Spike follows her example, pulling the first card without looking. The girls watch with trepidation as both duelists reveal their cards. Nightmare Moon reveals Hand Destruction, while Spike reveals Dimensional Prison. For the first time, one of the hooded figures speaks. “How fortunate…” The comment is followed by a dry chuckle. Both duelists shuffle their cards back into their decks and draw their initial hands of five cards.
Spike looks at his hand, then at Nightmare Moon and back to his hand. He remembers how Twilight taught him that a single card can sometimes tell a lot about the kind of deck the opponent uses, but he can’t come up with anything for Hand Destruction. He thinks that, fortunately for him, Nightmare Moon too should not be able to discern anything about his deck from a trap as flexible as Dimensional Prison.
Taking a deep breath, Spike begins by playing Cards of Consonance, discarding Dragunity Phalanx to draw two cards. He thinks he’s got enough in his hand to play a solid defense. Spike normal summons Dragunity Dux and equips it with Dragunity Phalanx from the graveyard by its effect. “I banish Dragunity Legionnaire equipped with Dragunity Phalanx to special summon Dragunity Arma Leyvaten from my hand!” A humanoid dragon covered with brilliant orange scales appears on the field with a mighty roar. It has two pairs of wings, one larger and feathery and the other smaller and leathery, and wields a longsword one-handed.
Using Dragunity Arma Leyvaten’s effect, Spike equips it with Dragunity Phalanx, followed by special summoning Phalanx with its own effect. He declares loudly, “I send Dragunity Phalanx to the graveyard to special summon Dragunity Arma Mystletainn!” A second humanoid dragon appears; a perfect mirror of the first with golden scales and two pairs of wings, a larger leathery pair and a smaller feathery pair. It too wields a longsword with just one hand.
Just as before, Spike equips Dragunity Phalanx to Dragunity Arma Mystletainn with the latter’s effect, before special summoning the former to the field by its own effect in defense position. “I end my turn!”
Twilight nods approvingly. Good job, Spike, she thinks. She won’t be able to break through your defenses easily.
Nightmare Moon chuckles softly as she draws a card. She picks two cards between her index and middle fingers, slapping them on her Duel Disk with a swift and elegant motion. “Come, my servants!” Two spectral figures materialize at her sides. One clad in tattered clothes and rusted shackles; the other missing the lower half of its body and wearing a pair of oversized metal gauntlets. “I use my level three The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves and my level three The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots to build an Overlay Network!”
The two specters fly in circles around her, leaving a trail of ghostly fire behind. They merge above into a ball of fire that descends into the middle of the field. Nightmare Moon chants loudly, “Souls of ten thousand warriors fallen in battle! Heed my call! Revive here and now, and become a blade to behead my enemies!” The fire goes down to reveal the jet-black armor of a headless ghost knight, with the lower half of its body fused to a metallic steed and wielding a massive sword that looks more akin to a rusted slab of metal. Bluish flames erupt from the space where its head should be and between the joints of his arms. “Xyz summon! Rank three! The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!”
Rainbow Dash scoffs, “Big deal! Your monster’s only got 2000 attack points!”
As if on cue, The Phantom Knights of Break Sword lets out a chilling howl and its attack points increase to 3000. Nightmare Moon explains, “When The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves is used to Xyz summon a DARK monster, it increases its attack points by 1000.” She smirks, enjoying the shocked expressions of Spike and the girls, before declaring her attack. “Phantom Executioner Sword!”
The Phantom Knights of Break Sword charges towards Dragunity Arma Mystletainn and, with a mighty swing of its blade, slices the humanoid dragon from its right shoulder all the way to its left hip, destroying it and taking 900 points of Spike’s life points.
Spike screams at the top of his lungs. He drops his cards and falls to his knees, tightly holding his torso with both hands. The girls are aghast. Twilight shouts his name worriedly while Nightmare Moon chuckles sadistically at their reactions. She sneers, “Foolish children, this is a Duel of Darkness!”
“The hay does that even mean!?” Applejack shouts outraged.
“It’s simple,” calmly replies Nightmare Moon. “We duel with our lives on the line.”
The girls falter at her answer. Rainbow Dash sputters, “Y-You mean he’s feeling real pain!?” Rarity covers her mouth with both hands, horrified, and Fluttershy turns away trembling. Pinkie shakes her head rapidly. “No, no, no! That’s just wrong!” She looks at the verge of tears. “Duels are supposed to be fun!”
“I won’t allow this!” Declares Twilight. She begins to concentrate her magic again, only for Spike to interrupt her. “I-I’m okay, Twilight!” He assures her. He takes several breaths, stands up and gives her a confident grin. Twilight gulps. “Spike…” He pick up his two cards from the floor and turns to Nightmare Moon. “Are you done there?” He asks boldly.
Nightmare Moon lets out a soft “hmph”. She activates Foolish Burial Goods to send Phantom Knights’ Spear from her deck straight to the graveyard. “I set a card and end my turn.”
Spike grabs the top card of his deck, takes a breath and pulls. “Draw!” He looks at his newest card and smiles, not wasting any time activating it. “Dragunity Divine Lance!” A golden ornate sword materializes in the left hand of Dragunity Arma Mystletainn. Using the effect of Divine Lance, Spike takes Dragunity Aklys from his deck and equips it to Mystletainn. The Duel Disk automatically shuffles his deck. “Dragunity Divine Lance gives my monster 100 attack points for each of its levels!” Nightmare Moon narrows her eyes as Dragunity Arma Mystletainn’s attack points raise up to 3400. Spike shouts, “Go, Mystletainn! Double Dragon Blade!”
“Trap card open,” calmly states Nightmare Moon. “The Phantom Knights’ Sword.” A short sword appears on the free hand of The Phantom Knights of Break Sword. The blade is twisted and it glows with an ominous light, increasing the monster’s attack points by 800. The Phantom Knights of Break Sword blocks the dual strike with its main blade and swiftly stabs Dragunity Arma Mystletainn in the stomach, destroying it.
Spike coughs and doubles over, holding his stomach in pain as his life points further decrease to 2700. Much to Nightmare Moon’s surprise, however, he grins. “Got you,” he says softly. Taking a breath, he picks a card from his hand and swiftly plays it. “I summon Dragunity Legionnaire!” The mighty beast man appears before him and Spike uses its effect to equip it with Dragunity Aklys from the graveyard. He follows with Legionnaire’s effect and sends Aklys to the graveyard to destroy The Phantom Knights of Break Sword. Dragunity Aklys launches at terrifying speeds, but before it can hit its intended target, a black spear shoots out from the ground, intercepting it.
Nightmare Moon smirks, daintily crossing her arms. “When one of my DARK monsters would be destroyed by battle or effect, I can banish Phantom Knights’ Spear from my graveyard instead.”
Spike grits his teeth, realizing that is the reason she played Foolish Burial Goods. “But when Dragunity Aklys is sent to the graveyard after being equipped to a monster I can destroy a card on the field!” He points at The Phantom Knights of Break Sword. The headless knight raises its short sword and it shatters into a million pieces, but the monster itself remains unscathed. Spike is shocked.
Nightmare Moon’s smirk widens, displaying her prominent fangs. “When the monster equipped with The Phantom Knights’ Sword would be destroyed by battle or effect, I can send the trap to the graveyard instead.” She shakes her head and chastises, “Foolish child, you are like a monkey trying to reach the reflection of the moon over the water.” Outside the barrier, the girls are stunned into silence.
Twilight begrudgingly thinks Nightmare Moon’s balance between offense and defense is nearly flawless.
Spike growls under his breath. “I’m not done yet!” He states harshly and tunes his level two Dragunity Phalanx with the level three Dragunity Legionnaire. “Synchro Summon! Vortex the Whirlwind!” The two monsters fuse into a cluster of stars, changing into a heavily armed, winged beast-man that immediately adopts a defensive stance. Spike looks at the last card in his hand and gulps hard. The fear he managed to overcome is returning, slowly but surely. With a trembling hand, he sets the card and ends his turn.
Nightmare Moon draws and, without even bothering to look at her newest card, orders the attack of The Phantom Knights of Break Sword on Vortex the Whirlwind. The winged beast-man is destroyed, but as its body begins disappearing, it launches a chain at Spike’s Duel Disk and pulls out Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite to the field in defense position. Nightmare Moon chuckles and waves her hand like a disinterested regent dismissing a lowly servant.
Spike clenches his fists. He wants to say something, to curse or shout, but it feels as if his body is becoming heavier with every turn. His breath is starting to become labored and his ears barely register the words of Twilight and the girls on the other side of the barrier. He shakes his head and pulls the top card of his deck with all of his strength. “Draw!” His newest card his good, but not enough. “Trap card open! Reckless Greed!” He draws two more cards at the cost of skipping his next two draw phases.
Nightmare Moon scoffs, “A pitiful final effort.”
Spike snarls, “See if it’s pitiful or not after I’m done with you!” He summons Delta Flyer. The small winged dragon appears with a shrill. “With Delta Flyer’s effect I can increase the level of one of my monsters by one!” Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite level increases from four to five. Spike throws his hand upwards. “I tune my level three Delta Flyer with my level five Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite! Synchro Summon!” The light from the gathering stars illuminates the inside of the barrier. “The strongest spear that can bring down an army!” A lance wielding beast-man appears riding a massive, four-winged, serpent-like dragon with dark green and purple scales. The dragon’s body is so large it encircles the whole inside of the barrier as it roars threateningly at Nightmare Moon from above. Spike shouts the monster’s name, “Dragunity Knight – Barcha!”
Nightmare Moon is not impressed, but Spike is not done. He selects Dragunity Aklys and Dragunity Phalanx from his graveyard, equipping them both to Dragunity Knight – Barcha with its effect and raising its attack to 2600. “I need more power…” Spike breaths. He activates Dragon Mastery, granting his monster another 500 attack points, then his trump card, Mage Power. The stats of Dragunity Knight – Barcha calculate at 5100/3200. Spike orders the finishing blow, “Go! Thunder Lance!” The dragon rears its head back and breathes a stream that falls down on The Phantom Knights of Break Sword like a pillar of light, melting the armor to slag and releasing the ghostly fire inside. Nightmare Moon’s life points decrease drastically, to 1900, but she remains unfazed.
Pinkie jumps, arms outstretched with a huge smile on her face. “He did it!”
Applejack enthusiastically waves her hat. “Yee-haw!”
Rainbow Dash shouts, “Alright!” She makes sure to look at Nightmare Moon and make an obscene gesture.
“He can win!” Rarity exclaims with a hopeful smile. She turns to Twilight, looking for reaffirmation, but her smile falters at seeing Twilight’s grim expression. “T-Twilight…?”
Fluttershy softly touches Twilight’s shoulder, asking tentatively. “Twilight, what’s wrong?”
Twilight gulps and wordlessly points towards the field. The ghostly fire released from The Phantom Knights of Break Sword’s destruction drifts aimlessly in the middle of the field until Nightmare Moon snaps her fingers and it reforms into the shape of The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves and The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots.
Nightmare Moon smugly explains, “When The Phantom Knights of Break Sword is destroyed, I can bring back two Phantom Knights with the same level from my graveyard, their levels increased by one.” Spike curses the monsters under his breath, but has no choice but to end his turn.
Nightmare Moon draws; again she doesn’t bother glancing at her newest card. She praises Spike for lowering her life points below half, but immediately spreads her wings, making him recoil, and declares, “As a reward, I will give you a glimpse of my true power!” Her two monsters merge into a whirlpool of ghostly fire, creating a black hole in the middle of the field. “With my two level four monsters I build an Overlay Network!” A stream of black mist explodes upwards like a geyser, crackling and snapping with lightning like the very barrier around them. Spike squints into the dark mist. A pair of bright yellow eyes shines through the mist and he reels back, nearly falling on his butt.
Nightmare Moon chants, her voice resonating into the whole building. “Formed from pitch-black darkness, to destroy those foolish enough to oppose me with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend!” The black mist is sucked back into the ground, revealing the details of the newest monster. A gigantic, black winged dragon, its slick frame covered by blade-like scales and plates, making it look like a living weapon. Nightmare Moon calls its name with pride, “Rank four! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!”
Spike is awed by the dragon, and so are the girls, as it lets out a deafening roar. None of them had ever seen or heard about this creature. Fluttershy looks especially terrified of it. The dragon’s stats appear at 2500/2000, but quickly recalculate at 3500/2000 thanks to the effect of The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves.
Rainbow Dash gulps, looking almost scared of commenting on the obvious difference of attack power between the two monsters.
Nightmare Moon raises her hand and declares with sadistic glee, “By detaching two overlay units from my monster, I can activate its effect! Treason Discharge!” Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon roars and the baubles located on its chest and arms begin glowing intensely with purple light. Streams of electricity of a similar hue accumulate on its outstretched wings and, with a mighty flap, are shoot at Dragunity Knight – Barcha. Both, rider and mount fall to the ground, their bodies convulsing as electricity courses over them and drains their strength by half. Simultaneously, the attack points of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon rise further to 6050. Nightmare Moon takes a moment, as if she’s letting the mind of the presents process the horror that’s about to come, before declaring the final attack. “Revolt of Lightning Disobey!”
Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon takes flight, charging forwards with lightning charged fangs. The barrier of black mist explodes upwards, twisting like a tornado and engulfing the hooded figures above them while forcing the girls to shield their faces from the strong wind. It subsides as the mist bursts the windows open and escapes outwards. Rainbow Dash is the first to recover, spreading her wings and shooting upwards after the black mist. “Come back here!” She stops when she sees the mist flying away at great speed and spreading over the Everfree Forest. “Nighttime…” She breathes. “Forever.” Her eyes suddenly widen in realization. “Spike!”
Inside the Town Hall, all the cards and monsters on the field vanished with the black mist, leaving Spike standing alone, unmoving. The girls rush towards him, with Twilight reaching him first. “Spike! Are you--” As soon as she puts a hand over his shoulder, he falls to the floor like a puppet whose strings have been cut. “SPIKE!”