Rainbow Dash flies above the group, twirling and spinning gracefully as she narrates with great enthusiasm, “And once Pinkie and Rarity were saved, whoosh... Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around and WHAM!” She casually lands next to Twilight, walking ahead of the group, and finishes her tale, “Caught you right in the nick of time.”
Twilight closes her eyes and massages the bridge of her nose. “Two things, Rainbow.” She turns to Rainbow Dash and raises her index finger. “One, thank you, but I was there, remember?” She raises her middle finger and adds, “Two, aren’t you the least worried about Applejack?”
Rainbow Dash stretches her arms upwards, puts both hands behind the back of her neck and grins confidently. “Nope! Applejack is a hardy girl and a good duelist.” She nods solemnly and adds, “In fact, she once managed to get my life points down below half before losing.” Twilight quirks an eyebrow, unamused. Rainbow Dash continues, “Sure, it was 1900 points, but that’s something only very few duelists in Ponyville can boast about.” Rainbow Dash’s grin turns smug as she looks at Twilight in the eyes and says, “Sorry to say you’re not on the list.”
Just as Twilight is opening her mouth to deliver a sarcastic comment, a loud roar echoes into the night sky, making the girls jump on their toes and several birds fly away from the nearby trees. A huge lion jumps in front of the group, baring its teeth with frenzied eyes. Its fiery red mane seems to shine under the light of the stars. It has a pair of small, black leathery wings on its back and its tail is like that of a scorpion, rolled up behind it.
Fluttershy gasps. “I-It’s a Manticore!”
Twilight frowns and declares, “We gotta get past it!”
Pinkie jumps forward shouting, “Leave it to me!” She strikes a pose, ignites her Duel Disk and draws the top card of her deck with great fanfare, immediately playing it without looking. “Come out, my friend! Performapal King Be--” A cute, pink hippo wearing a jacket and a top hat appears, much to Pinkie’s confusion. “Uh? Hip Hippo?” The Manticore roars, making Performapal Hip Hippo let out a terrified squeak and take cover behind Pinkie. She protests, “H-Hey! You’re supposed to defend us!”
The Manticore pounces on Pinkie, but it’s intercepted in mid-air by a pure white cloth that wraps itself around the beast’s maw and front legs, partially immobilizing it. Rarity stands next to Pinkie, her Duel Disk ignited and with the spell Forbidden Dress placed in the appropriate slot. She looks at her and asks, “Are you alright, Pinkie?” Pinkie nervously points at the Manticore; the mighty beast rips the cloth to shreds with ease. “I think you just made it angrier,” she notes. Rarity cringes. “Oh dear…”
Twilight extends her left arm, igniting her Duel Disk. “Rainbow Dash,” she calls. “Please help me out!” Rainbow Dash nods and ignites her own Duel Disk. The two of them advance forward in unison, draw a single card and summon a monster each.
“Speedroid Pachingo-Kart!”
“Dragonpulse Magician!”
The Manticore lowers its head and snarls, taking a step back, but before Twilight or Rainbow Dash could order an attack, a dozen of swords made of light rain from above, forming a perfect wall between the girls and the Manticore. “What the--” Rainbow Dash exclaims surprised.
Twilight’s eyes widen in shock as she sees Fluttershy standing on the other side of the barrier of swords with her Duel Disk ignited. “Fluttershy!” she shouts. “What are you doing there!?”
Fluttershy does not answer. Instead, she walks towards the Manticore, slowly and calmly, whispering soothing words, “Shh…there, there…it’s alright…” The Manticore closes its eyes, trembling, but allows Fluttershy to embrace its head. “See? Nobody is going to hurt you…” She gently scratches its foreheadhead and chin simultaneously. The Manticore relaxes and even begins purring.
The girls share a collective look of bewilderment. Turning off their Duel Disks, they approach warily. Fluttershy looks at them and smiles. “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.” She looks back at the Manticore. “You poor, poor little baby…”
Rainbow Dash shakes her head. “Baby? Little?” she asks in disbelief. “Seriously?”
Fluttershy nods. She tilts her head and explains, “Look at his wings, they’re too small to allow him to fly. And his tail is rolled up; I bet it doesn’t even have poison. He’s just a scared little cub.”
Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes and whispers to Twilight, “A cub big enough to bite our heads off.”
Pinkie giggles and asks if she can pet the Manticore, but before Fluttershy can answer, the beast stands up, sniffs the air and lets out a low growl. It runs away and disappears behind the nearby trees.
The wind stirs up and a shadowy figure descends from the sky on black, bat-like wings, in front of the girls. A tall and lean man; his long limbs and hunched posture give him an almost animalistic appearance. The upper half of his face is concealed under a hood, leaving only his pointy chin and wicked grin visible.
Twilight immediately recognizes the man. She takes a step forward and shouts angrily, “You! You’re one of Nightmare Moon’s companions!”
The man puts his right hand over his chest and introduces himself, “I am Nosos. Humble servant of Lady Nightmare Moon.” The girls keep watching him warily. Nosos raises his index finger, long and bony, and explains, “Our Lady Nightmare saw it fit to send us to welcome you.” He pauses and looks among the group. “And I see you already had an encounter with one of us,” he comments, tapping his chin with a grin of amusement. The girls quickly realize the meaning of his words.
Rarity covers her mouth in horror and mutters, “Applejack…”
Rainbow Dash grits her teeth and readies her Duel Disk. “What are we waiting for?” She asks to the group. “Let’s kick his ass together!”
Nosos laughs thunderously and whips his cape, revealing the silver blade of his Duel Disk. “Come then!”
Fluttershy suddenly shouts, “Wait!” She steps in front of the girls, Duel Disk at the ready, and declares firmly, “I will face him.” Rainbow Dash protests, “Are you kidding me? You’re going to duel that guy alone?” Rarity agrees, “We should seek strength in numbers.” Fluttershy shakes her head. “We need to help Spike and find Princess Celestia as soon as possible, and for that only one of us needs to stay here.” She turns to Twilight, tilts her head and asks, “Right?”
Twilight bites her lower lip. She replies hesitantly, “That…would be the most effective course of action…”
Rainbow Dash grumbles, “Fine.” She tilts her head towards Nosos and asks, “But what about him? I don’t think he’s going to let us pass just by asking.”
Pinkie waves at Nosos. “Hey Mister Lankey Lackey!” she calls him cheerfully. “Fluttershy here says she’s going to duel you! Can the rest of us keep going?” Nosos wordlessly takes a step aside. Pinkie thanks him and turns to Rainbow Dash with a triumphant smile. “Done!”
Rainbow Dash slaps her forehead and grunts, “Fine.” She turns to Fluttershy and says, “You better kick his ass so hard your boot gets stuck there, you hear me?”
Fluttershy nods. With that, Rainbow Dash marches forward. Rarity is next; she puts a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder with a worried smile and tells her to be careful. Fluttershy replies she will and Rarity follows Rainbow Dash’s trail.
Pinkie hops forward, holds Fluttershy by the cheeks and plants a big kiss on her forehead. “The smooch of surefire victory!” she says cheerfully. Fluttershy turns beet red and mutters a soft “thank you”. Pinkie hops after Rainbow Dash and Rarity.
Twilight is the last one. There’s a brief moment of silence as they share a look, and then Twilight smiles warmly. “Thank you, Fluttershy…” Fluttershy smiles back and nods. Twilight hurriedly takes her leave.
The girls keep eyeing Nosos warily as they walk past him. He grins and mutters sinisterly, “I’ll be right behind you, ladies.” Nosos watches them as they disappear behind the nearby trees, until Fluttershy descends in front of him. She folds her wings and raises her Duel Disk. “I told you I would be your opponent.” Black mist swirls around them, forming a perfect dome with walls that crackles with lightning.
Fluttershy draws her initial hand of five cards. Her posture is firm, her expression unwavering, but the way her hands tremble betray her feelings. Picking up the cue, Nosos chuckles sinisterly. “Are you upset because I scared that animal?” Fluttershy frowns. Nosos continues, “It came to me, you know. I just decided to show it its place in the food chain.” He too draws five cards from the top of his deck. “If it makes you feel better, I will make sure to feed it your body after ripping your soul out from inside!”
Countless branches intertwine like fingers above the girls and the light of the full moon seems to fade with each step they take forward, ultimately covering them in a veil of absolute darkness.
Rarity bites her lower lip and comments, “When I said my eyes needed a rest from all this icky muck I didn’t mean it this literally…”
Twilight grits her teeth in frustration. “I swear that ancient castle could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn’t even know it…”
The wind howls threateningly and the light of the moon suddenly illuminates the area, revealing a massive black tree standing before them. The tree is horribly malformed, with a large hole on the middle of the trunk filled with thorns, giving it the appearance of a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, and branches twisted like clawed hands. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Rarity let out a collective scream. They soon realize they are surrounded by trees from every side. Some have their trunks filled with holes like eyes and roots emerging from the earth like tentacles. Others are cracked in half and leaning like snakes about to bite.
A sinister laugh echoes all around them and a figure emerges from the darkness beyond the trees, fully clad in black. Unlike Nosos, however, his face is completely covered by a bird-like mask with a long, curved beak and round glass eyes. “This forest has taken countless lives, every single one of them in cruel, merciless ways…” the figure explains with a deep, masculine voice. “Their souls cannot find rest and so they take possession of these trees, twisting them with the fear they felt at the moment of their death.” He extends his right arm and points to the terrified girls with his index finger. “Now you will be sharing the same fate!” He clenches his fist and declares loudly, “I am Akhlys! Dutiful servant of Lady Nightmare Moon! And I welcome you to your final resting place!”
“Pfft…”
The tension is suddenly broken by a giggle. Both, the three girls and Akhlys turn their heads to see Pinkie looking at one of the trees with barely restrained laughter. “P-Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight asks bewildered. Pinkie points at the three. “Did you see this one?” she asks between giggles. “It has a branch that makes it look like it has this really big nose!” She extends her arms as if to emphasize her point. “And that one!” She runs next to a different tree. “Its roots look like tiny legs!” She hops to a third tree. “And this one has leaves under its branches like armpit hair!” Pinkie holds her stomach back in laughter.
Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Rarity share a brief look. Rarity raises her index finger and comments tentatively, “Pinkie, darling, I don’t think now it’s appropriate time for this…”
Pinkie grins. “Oh girls, don’t you see?” She hums a little tune and begins, “When I was a little filly and the sun was going dooown…”
Twilight quirks an eyebrow. “Tell me she’s not…”
“The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frooown…”
Rarity nods. “She is…”
Rainbow Dash groaned, “Pinkie, you’re not gonna start singing, are you?”
Pinkie stops. “Of course not, you silly!” She huffs, “That wouldn’t look good on a written medium!”
Rainbow Dash shakes her head baffled and mutters, “I’m not even going to ask…”
Pinkie explains cheerfully, “I just want to tell you the way my Granny Pie told me I have to deal with my fears!” Rainbow Dash shrugs asks what is it. Pinkie strikes a pose with her index finger extended upwards. “She said, “Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall! Learn to face your fears!” She switches her pose to a different one. “You'll see that they can't hurt you! Just laugh to make them disappear!"
Akhlys watches in silence, fists clenched and cape flaring up, as Pinkie begins hopping, dancing and skipping between trees, stopping between each one to say a line in a singsong voice. “So, giggle at the ghostly!”
“Guffaw at the grossly!
“Crack up at the creepy!”
“Whoop it up with the weepy!”
“Chortle at the kooky!
“Snortle at the spooky!”
Pinkie stops, standing tall with both hands on her hips. “And tell that big dumb scary--”
“Enough!”
Akhlys’ sudden shout makes Pinkie squeak and jump on her toes, but she swiftly recovers from the shock and giggles. “Whoa! Grumpy alert!” She leans forward and says chidingly, “Don’t you know you’re gonna get wrinkles like that?” Before Akhlys can even reply, she continues, “Ohh! Maybe that's why you wear that mask!” Pinkie shrugs and scratches her head. “What’s with it anyway? Do you have a straw hidden there to sip your milkshake without holding the glass?” she snaps her fingers and smiles admiringly. “Hey! That’s pretty cool actually!”
“Be silent!” Akhlys shouts once more. “I will not be insulted by a simple-minded fool like you!”
Pinkie frowns and points at herself with her thumb. “Hey now, I have a name! I’m Pinkie Pie the funtastic duelist!” She grins and strikes a fancy pose. “And I’m gonna make you smile!”
Akhlys wordlessly ignites his Duel Disk. The silver blade of magical energy gleams like a sword under the light of the full moon. He growls, “I will smile once you’re buried up to your neck…” A wall of black mist erupts, separating both, Pinkie and him from Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. But Pinkie doesn’t seem concerned; she looks at the girls, smiles triumphantly and does a victory sign with her middle and index fingers.
Twilight’s eyes widen in realization. “She did it on purpose,” she mutters.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asks confused.
“Look!” Rarity interjects. The trees around them change shape, turning into normal, plain looking trees of a pleasant, dark green tone. “It was an illusion spell…”
Twilight elaborates, “Illusion spells require a certain level of concentration to be maintained.” She smiles in amazement and thinks not only Pinkie dispelled their fear and got the enemy’s attention away from them, but also made him upset enough to break his concentration.
“Whoa,” Rainbow Dash mutters. She chuckles. “That Pinkie…”
Rarity gulps. “So, I guess we should get going…”
Twilight nods. Casting one last glance at Pinkie, who has her eyes locked on her opponent while igniting her Duel Disk, the three girls keep heading towards the depths of the Everfree Forest, and the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Nosos scratches his chin. “Hunting is no fun if you don’t give your prey some advantage,” he states sinisterly. He tilts his head towards Fluttershy and says, “Go ahead, decide the order of turns…”
Fluttershy frowns with suspicion, but decides to take the opportunity. “I activate Mount Sylvania from my hand!” Their surroundings change into the peak of a tall, snowy mountain. “Once per turn, I can send a Plant-Type monster from my hand or face-up on my side of the field to the graveyard to pick a Sylvan card from my deck and place it on top of it.” She discards Sylvan Cherubsprout, takes Sylvan Peaskeeper from her deck and places the card on top of it. Sylvan Sagequoia erupts from the ground behind Fluttershy, staring sternly at Nosos.
Fluttershy activates the effect of Sylvan Sagequoia, excavates Sylvan Peaskeeper and sends it to the graveyard. “With Sylvan Peaskeeper’s effect, I special summon Sylvan Cherubsprout from the graveyard!” A cute, little plant fairy appears on the field. It takes a look at the darkness around it and shudders. “When Sylvan Cherubsprout is special summoned, I can excavate up to two cards!” She reveals Sylvan Hermitree and Sylvan Snapdrassinagon. Choosing to apply Sylvan Hermitree’s effect first, she rearranges the top three cards of her deck and then puts them back. Using Sylvan Snapdrassinagon’s effect, she excavates a second copy of Sylvan Cherubsprout and uses its effect to special summon a second copy of Sylvan Snapdrassinagon from her deck to the field.
Nosos watches Fluttershy attentively; his grin seems to widen with every monster she summons.
Fluttershy overlays her two level one monsters to special summon Sylvan Princessprite in attack position. Even in the darkness of the black mist, the beautiful monster girl seems to glow. “I detach an Xyz Material from my Princessprite to excavate again!” She reveals Draining Shield and adds it to her hand, bringing her hand count to three. “Now I use her second effect!” She discards Sylvan Bladefender from her hand. Sylvan Princessprite prays and Sylvan Hermitree emerges from the ground next to Sylvan Sagequoia. The two of them form a gate over Fluttershy. Picking a card from her hand, she normal summons Sylvan Flowerknight. “Excavate!” She reveals Sylvan Mikorange. “When Sylvan Mikorange is excavated all my Plant-Type monsters gain 300 points of attack and defense!” The attack points of Sylvan Flowerknight and Sylvan Princessprite go up to 2100 for both, while the attack of Sylvan Sagequoia and Sylvan Hermitree increase to 2900 and 3000, respectively.
Fluttershy takes a deep breath and declares, “I’m not done yet…” She uses the effect of Sylvan Hermitree to excavate once more, revealing Sylvan Marshalleaf and sending it to the graveyard before drawing a card. She sets her Draining Shield and ends her turn with a single card in her hand.
Nosos laughs loudly. “Four monsters in a single turn! Magnificent!” He exclaims. “You will make a fine dinner for your Manticore friend!” Fluttershy frowns, but says nothing. Nosos draws an extra card and immediately summons a monster. “Snow Dragon!” A dragon with a body of ice appears on the field. Its piercing red eyes contrast disturbingly with its small size and chubby body. Nosos follows by playing the spell Big Wave Small Wave. The Snow Dragon explodes, showering all of Fluttershy’s monsters with ice and is replaced with a second one from Nosos’ hand in attack position. “When Snow Dragon is destroyed, all face-up monsters on the field will get one Ice Counter,” he explains as he picks a card from his hand. “And by removing four Ice Counters from anywhere on the field, I can special summon this! Snowdust Dragon!” A second ice dragon appears, completely dwarfing the first. Its body is covered with protuberances and its roar sends a gust of cold air that makes Fluttershy shiver.
Nosos orders the attack of Snow Dragon on Sylvan Princessprite. The small dragon is quickly taken down by a whirlwind of cherry blossom petals, reducing Nosos’ life points to 3300 and placing an Ice Counter on each of Fluttershy’s monsters. She briefly wonders if he’s trying to summon a second Snowdust Dragon. Nosos follows by activating Mirage of Nightmare, setting a single card and ending his turn with a wave of his hand, seemingly unaffected by the damage he suffered.
“At this point, the second effect of Mount Sylvania activates!” Fluttershy excavates the top card of her deck, revealing the Sylvan Charity spell, and opts to place it at the bottom of her deck. “My turn,” she declares. She draws, bringing her hand count to two. At that point, Nosos activates the effect of Mirage of Nightmare to draw four cards, chaining the activation of his set Double Cyclone. The card releases a gust of wind that destroys Mirage of Nightmare and Fluttershy’s Mount Sylvania.
Fluttershy briefly laments the loss of her Field Spell, but steels herself forward. His side of the field is empty save for Snowdust Dragon, she thinks. I could finish this now. She points forward and orders the attack of Sylvan Sagequoia on Snowdust Dragon. “Roots of Wisdom!” Much to her surprise, however, the mighty tree doesn’t move an inch. “W-What?” Fluttershy mutters baffled.
Nosos waggles his finger and explains, “As long as Snowdust Dragon is on the field, other monsters with Ice Counters cannot attack or change Battle Positions…”
Fluttershy is shocked. She gulps and tries to assess her situation. In her hand there’s a Flowerbot which she drew with Sylvan Hermitree’s effect, and would’ve much preferred to excavate, and the Mistake trap, which she drew this turn. She detaches the last Xyz Material from her Sylvan Princessprite and excavates the top card of her deck, revealing Sylvan Komushroomo, which she discards with dismay. “S-Sylvan Sagequoia!” Once again, she reveals a spell, Shared Ride, placing it on the bottom of her deck with a soft, annoyed grunt.
“What’s the matter?” Nosos asks mockingly. “Can’t get a good draw?”
Fluttershy bites her lower lip. She’s well aware of the disadvantages of Excavate, but without Mount Sylvania, she has little control over the outcome of her draws. This wouldn't bother her under normal circumstances, but this was a duel with her life on the line. Fearing the loss of another valuable card, she decides to end her turn with no further plays.
“My turn.” Nosos draws. His life points stand at 3300 against Fluttershy’s 4000. He activates the spell Surface to bring back Snow Dragon from the graveyard in defense position and normal summons Snowman Creator. A silly looking, snowman shaped robot appears on the field, its appearance contrasting comically with the fierceness of the Snowdust Dragon. It begins throwing snow around, covering Sylvan Princessprite, Sylvan Hermitree and Sylvan Sagequoia with even more ice. “When Snowman Creator is summoned, I can place a number of Ice Counters on your monsters equal to the number of WATER monsters I control!” He points at one of Fluttershy’s set cards. “And if I place three or more, I can destroy one of your cards!” Fluttershy watches horrified as her set Draining Shield freezes and shatters.
Nosos overlays his level four Snow Dragon with his level four Snowman Creator. “Xyz summon!” The wind picks up, creating a twister that engulfs the two monsters. Fluttershy shields her face while Nosos spreads his arms and shouts, “Cast those who would oppose our Lady Nightmare into the freezing depths of the abyss! Xyz summon!” The ground shakes and a massive, blue-skinned ogre appears, carrying a gigantic mace made of ice. Its powerfully muscled body is covered in protuberances and patches of solid ice like armor. “Snowdust Giant!” The monster locks its red eyes on Fluttershy and lets out a deafening roar.
Fluttershy takes a step back fearfully, but is surprised when the Snowdust Giant’s attack points appear at only 2200.
Nosos smiles, a fearsome grin that threatens to split his cheeks. He activates Moray of Greed, shuffles Blizzard Dragon and Fenrir back into his deck and draws three cards. Nosos wordlessly detaches an Xyz material from his Snowdust Giant and reveals two of the three cards in his hand: both copies of Snowman Creator. Before Fluttershy can even ask, the Snowdust Giant inhales deeply and then breathes a stream of ice all over her monsters. The poor girl shivers, her side of the field practically covered in snow and ice. Nosos delights in explaining, “By revealing any number of WATER monsters in my hand, Snowdust Giant can place that same number of Ice Counters on your monsters! And they all lose 200 attack points for each one!”
Fluttershy’s face turns pale. She checks the screen of her Duel Disk which displays the exact numbers. Three Ice Counters on Sylvan Flowerknight, lowering his attack points to 1500. Four Ice Counters on Sylvan Princessprite, Sylvan Hermitree and Sylvan Sagequoia, lowering their attack points to 1300, 2200 and 2100, respectively.
“Have you finally realized my true strategy?” Nosos asks. He sets a single card and aims a clawed hand at Sylvan Princessprite. “Crush her, Snowdust Giant!” Sylvan Princessprite watches helplessly, her body immobilized by ice, as the ogre raises its giant club with a single hand, holding it over its head for a second, before delivering a devastating strike. Fluttershy coughs and holds her chest in pain as her life points go down to 3100. Nosos follows with the attack of Snowdust Dragon on Sylvan Hermitree. “Frostbite Breath!” Sylvan Hermitree freezes up to the last leaf and explodes into a cloud of powder. Fluttershy’s life points go down further, to 2500.
Nosos watches delighted as Fluttershy falls down on her knees, shivering and hugging her body tightly. Everything will be over in the next turn, he thinks. Snowman Creator will destroy any defenses she tries to set up and my set Prideful Roar will ensure none of her monsters can match mine. Nosos ends his turn. “Don’t feel bad,” he says gleefully. “Your body will help sustain another life and your soul will spend an eternity in darkness with the knowledge your friends will be there too…”
“I can’t lose…” Fluttershy breaths through her teeth. “My friends…I have to help my friends…” She slowly stands up. “My animals…are waiting for me…” Her legs wobble and she almost stumbles backwards. “And I still…” She holds the top card of her deck tightly, takes several breaths and shouts, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for!” Fluttershy pulls the card with all of her strength. “Draw!” The cards in her hand are: Flowerbot, Mistake and Negate Attack. None of these cards can help me, she thinks grimly. Looking at her opponent, Fluttershy realizes he could have inflicted more damage, but instead chose his targets specifically to limit her ways to use Excavate.
“Still nothing, eh?” Nosos grins and tilts his head sideways, nearly touching his shoulder. The light of the full moon makes his teeth glow faintly. “Don’t worry, I’m not without mercy; surrender and your trip to oblivion will at least be painless.”
Fluttershy ignores his words and turns to her Sylvan Sagequoia. The monster is almost completely covered in ice and with its eyes closed, as if trying to endure the cold. She whispers, “I know you can’t hear me, but I’m going to trust everything on you.” Fluttershy sharply turns to Nosos and loudly declares, “I activate the effect of Sylvan Sagequoia!” She successfully excavates Sylvan Princessprout. “When Sylvan Princessprout is excavated and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon her in any level from one to eight, and I choose seven!” A cute, little girl appears on the field, wearing a long dress with vibrant colored, floral patterns. “With my level seven Sylvan Sagequoia and my level seven Sylvan Princessprout, I build an Overlay Network!” Both monsters transform into streams of light and a black portal opens below them, absorbing them both. “XYZ Summon!” A pillar of light explodes upwards from inside the portal. “Come, serene ruler of all things in nature! Rank seven! Orea, the Sylvan High Arbiter!” A beautiful giant bird emerges from the light, irradiating the whole field. Its pure white body is covered with wild flowers of all kinds and its wings shimmer with orange and red tones.
Nosos screams and shields his face from the light while Fluttershy spreads her arms and basks in the warmth it brings. She activates the effect of Orea, the Sylvan High Arbiter. The giant bird lets out a melodious cry that shatters the ice around Sylvan Flowerknight. The young knight banishes in a cloud of sparkles, a serene expression on his face. Fluttershy takes the four cards from the top of her deck, rearranges them and places them back. She continues by detaching an Xyz material from her monster to excavate up to three cards from the top of her deck. She reveals Sylvan Guardioak, Sylvan Lotuswain and Sylvan Waterslide, sending the first two to the graveyard and placing the trap on the bottom of her deck. Raising her hand upwards, she calls the name of her monster’s effect, “Divine Wind of Tranquility!” Orea, the Sylvan High Arbiter flaps its wings and creates a gale that sends Nosos’ monsters and set card back to his hand. He snarls and growls in frustration like a wild animal.
Undeterred, Fluttershy normal summons Flowerbot and orders a direct attack from both of her monsters. The diminutive, mechanical flower aims his toy gun and fires a shot at Nosos, lowering his life points to 1800 and sending him stumbling backwards. Orea, the Sylvan High Arbiter follows, flapping its wings once again to create a gale. Nosos howls, his life points going down to zero, and his body vanishes in a puff of smoke, along with Fluttershy’s monsters and the black mist around them.
Silence. Fluttershy lets out a breath of exhaustion. She looks at her deck, smiles warmly and mutters a soft “thank you”.