Twilight’s heart pounds heavily inside her chest, her throat feels like it's burning and her feet hurt. She thinks she’s definitely not used to running. Several steps ahead of her, Rainbow Dash moves with a swiftness Twilight had only seen among those who possessed Earth Magic.
After what feels like an eternity, both girls emerge from the forest to see a large castle in ruins. A thick wall of fog surrounds it. The huge full moon shines above them, brighter than before. It seems so close that they could reach out and clasp it in their hands.
“There it is, the Castle of the Two Sisters!” Twilight exclaims excitedly. “We made it, Rainbow!”
Rainbow Dash grins. “Yeah!”
There is a long moment of silence where the two of them look intently towards the castle. Twilight asks, “Do you see anything?”
Rainbow Dash shakes her head. “Nope.” She folds her arms. “Then again, these guys like to come out of nowhere.”
Twilight’s expression turns somber. She asks, “How would you like to proceed?” Rainbow Dash blinks twice in confusion. Twilight adds, “Nightmare Moon is probably waiting inside the castle.”
Rainbow Dash snaps her fingers. “Oh right!” She scratches her chin with a thoughtful expression, then takes a single card from the Extra Deck slot of her Duel Disk and hands it to Twilight. “Here, take this one with you.”
Twilight looks at the card and her eyes widen in surprise. “Clear Wing Synchro Dragon?” She asks in disbelief. “But this is your best monster!”
Rainbow Dash raises her hands. “Whoa there, I’m not giving it to you, okay?” she warns with a slight frown. “As soon as you beat Nightmare Moon, I’m taking it back.”
Twilight is not convinced. “Are you sure? Wouldn’t your deck be severely weakened without this monster?”
Rainbow Dash waves her hand dismissively. “Nah, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon only makes about twenty percent of my deck’s power.”
Twilight protests, “But that’s an inordinate amount for a single card!” She frowns in suspicion. “Do you have any idea what you’re talking about or did you just throw out that number to look cool?”
Rainbow Dash blushes. “S-Shut up and take it, okay?” She folds her arms and looks away. “Spike said you can handle all the summoning methods, didn't he? You should have no problems then.”
Twilight sighs, but her lips curve into a smile. She slides the card inside her Extra Deck slot. “Thank you, Rainbow,” she says with all sincerity. “I’ll make good use of your monster.”
Rainbow Dash grins. “That’s what I’m talking about!” She punches her palm. “I’ll take care of the last of those hooded losers; you just keep going and get into the castle.”
Twilight nods and both girls begin marching towards the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Rarity watches with defiant eyes as Stygere spreads her arms wide and throws her head back dramatically. A wall of black mist erupts around them. It swirls like a maelstrom, crackling and sizzling threateningly with lightning. Both duelists draw their initial hands of five cards.
Picking a card from her hand, Stygere smirks and declares, “Ladies first.” Rarity doesn’t say a word, instead folding her arms daintily. Stygere begins playing Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two. She follows with the Continuous Spell, Call of the Mummy, to special summon a Zombie-Type monster from her hand. A flaming skull materializes on her side of the field, its empty eye sockets glowing with eerie light. The skull lets out a bloodcurling shriek and quickly encircles Rarity. Stygere’s demeanor changes on the fly; she becomes extremely aggressive. “When Burning Skull Head is special summoned it inflicts 1000 points of damage!”
Rarity gasps in shock. The Burning Skull Head increases its speed and she screams in pain as she’s consumed in a whirlwind of fire.
Stygere’s smirk widens. “Oh my!” She puts her index and middle fingers over her lips to mask a giggle. “I hope my choice of a hiding spot back there didn’t give you the wrong idea.” Stygere whispers sadistically, “I have a fondness for burning effects, you see.” She discards Skull Conductor and special summons two more copies of Burning Skull Head from her hand. Both monsters strike Rarity with a loud shriek, lowering her life points further, to a mere 1000.
The shock causes Rarity to drop her cards and fall on her knees and hands, coughing and hacking.
“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Stygere asks waving her right hand around. “In a Duel of Darkness, the attack and effects of my monsters will induce allucinations to your tiny brain. So, even if your body does not suffer any damage, the pain will feel very real. And once your life points hit zero…” She shakes her head. “We shouldn’t ruin the surprise.”
Rarity thinks the pain is like that of a heavy fever, extending all over her body. A chill goes down her spine as she remembers what happened to Spike, and thinks about Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
Stygere waves her hand dismissively. “Go ahead and take your turn. I suggest you use it to look back at everything you left behind, to curse your past decisions and beg for your pathetic life.” The light from the flames of her monsters bathes her whole body in an orange glow, but the upper half of her face remains shrouded in darkness, leaving only her sinister smile visible.
It takes Rarity more than a minute to recover. She stands up and straightens herself. Despite the fact her long hair is sprawled and concealing the left side of her face, she still maintains an air of sophistication and grace. She waves her hand, glowing with ethereal light, and levitates the dropped cards back to her hand. “My turn,” she declares firmly. “Draw!”
After briefly examining her hand, Rarity activates Polymerization to fuse Lunalight Black Sheep and Lunalight Purple Butterfly from her hand. “Fusion Summon!” Lunalight Cat Dancer takes to the field. The light of the full moon permeating through the barrier of black mist heightens the monster’s beauty.
Using Lunalight Black Sheep’s effect, Rarity retrieves Lunalight Purple Butterfly and immediately normal summons her. The monster appears fluttering gracefully. Rarity offers Lunalight Purple Butterfly as a tribute to activate Lunalight Cat Dancer’s effect and attack all opposing monsters. “Full Moon Mayhem! Endless Waltz!” Lunalight Cat Dancer moves with terrifying speed, her daggers gleaming as she makes short work of the three Burning Skull Heads in defense position.
Stygere watches unfazed as her life points go down to 3700, thanks to Lunalight Cat Dancer’s effect. She comments sarcastically, “Oh my, 300 points of damage!”
Rarity sets three cards, effectively emptying her hand. She takes a moment to fix her hair before calmly declaring the end of her turn.
Stygere draws. She looks at her newest card and grins triumphantly. “Foolish girl, you just finished digging your own grave.” Stygere banishes the discarded Skull Flame from her graveyard. The ground cracks and pulsates with red hot energy. She chants loudly, “Come forth, demon racing through the depths of the abyss! Turn all who oppose our Lady Nightmare into ashes!” Flames erupt from the ground. “Supersonic Skull Flame!” A demonic-looking, skeletal centaur emerges from the flames. It rears up on its hind legs and lets out a howl that shakes the very air around.
Rarity swiftly unveils the first of her set cards, a Quick-Play Spell. “Forbidden Chalice!” The attack points of Supersonic Skull Flame go up to 3000. She explains, “The monster targeted by Forbidden Chalice will gain 400 attack points in exchange of negating its effects.”
Stygere scowls deeply. She thinks she could have finished Rarity with Supersonic Skull Flame’s burn effect. “Fine,” she hisses. “I’ll destroy you with brute force!” She orders the attack of Supersonic Skull Flame.
Rarity answers with De-Fusion to send Lunalight Cat Dancer back to the Extra Deck, bringing Lunalight Black Sheep and Lunalight Purple Butterfly back in defense position.
Stygere grits her teeth and furiously shouts Supersonic Skull Flame to aim for the strongest monster. The demonic centaur savagely tramples Lunalight Purple Butterfly, allowing Rarity to flip her last set card. “Lunalight Reincarnation Dance!” She takes Lunalight White Rabbit and Lunalight Blue Cat from her deck and adds them to her hand.
Stygere composes herself. Idiot brat, she thinks disdainfully. Try and destroy my Supersonic Skull Flame, if you can. As soon as you do, I’ll use its effect to bring back the second Skull Flame in my graveyard, and with it, I’ll retrieve Burning Skull Head to deliver the finishing blow. She threatens loudly that Rarity’s next turn will be her last before declaring the end of her’s.
Rarity takes a breath and draws. She smiles, pleased with the results. She normal summons Lunalight White Rabbit and uses her effect to special summon Lunalight Purple Butterfly back to the field. Rarity slids Fusion Gate into the Field Spell slot and the space above them warps. She banishes Lunalight Black Sheep and Lunalight White Rabbit to summon Lunalight Cat Dancer once again, then tributes Lunalight Purple Butterfly to activate Lunalight Cat Dancer’s effect.
Stygere scoffs, “That pitiful trick again?”
Rarity wordlessly banishes Lunalight Purple Butterfly from her graveyard to special summon Lunalight Blue Cat from her hand. The attack points of Lunalight Cat Dancer double up to 4800, much to Stygere’s shock. Rarity flicks a stray lock of her hair and, smiling confidently, says, “Next time, save your words for when you have the cards to back them up, darling.”
At the command of her master, Lunalight Cat Dancer zigzagges forward, creating the illusion that there's more than one of her. The maiden stops right in front of Supersonic Skull Flame and slashes its front legs, making it fall forward, before burying both daggers under the demonic centaur’s chin. Supersonic Skull Flame crumbles under the astonished gaze of Stygere. “N-No,” she mutters in disbelief as her life points go down to zero. Her body vanishes in a puff of smoke, much to Rarity’s surprise, and the remaining cards soon follow, along with the dome of black mist.
Rarity turns off her Duel Disk and lets out a breath of exhaustion. She shakes her head and looks at the river in front of her, which has calmed down considerably. After a moment of deliberation, she bites her lower lip and asks herself, “How am I supposed to cross to the other side now?”
As Twilight and Rainbow Dash approach the Castle of the Two Sisters, the wall of fog parts to reveal a massive gorge, and a worn-out, old rope bridge connecting both sides. On the other extreme of the bridge, a lone, shadowy figure awaits.
Twilight frowns. “I guess we won’t have to be on the lookout for this one.”
Rainbow Dash grins and clenches her right fist. “Great! I don’t like wasting my time with dumb games!”
“I am Anaplekte!” the figure shouts in a thunderous, masculine voice that can be heard clearly even from the other side of the gorge. “Loyal servant of Lady Nightmare Moon!” Much like the others, he’s fully clad in black, but unlike them, his whole body is hidden by his clothes, with the exception of his arms. His face is covered by a plain mask with a line-shaped visor. “I commend your efforts, but this is the end of the road for you!” Anaplekte ignites his Duel Disk. The silver blade of magical energy can almost be mistaken for a sword in the distance.
Rainbow Dash chuckles. “He’s full of energy, isn’t he? Will you be able to get past him, Twilight?”
Twilight nods solemnly. “I can handle it.” She asks concerned, “What about you, Rainbow? Will you be okay?”
Rainbow Dash grins confidently. “I’ll be done in a jiffy.” She tilts her head and adds, “Now quit worrying and get going!”
Twilight smiles one last time at Rainbow Dash, before turning in the direction of Anaplekte. She begins crossing the bridge steadily. Anaplekte readies himself. “So you will be first? Fine by me!” Twilight smiles. Her magical aura flares and her body suddenly disappears in a flash of blinding light.
Anaplekte shouts, “What!?” He quickly turns around to see Twilight running into the castle, but before he can take a single step forward, Rainbow Dash descends in front of him. She smirks and says, “Hold your horses, chump! You’re dealing with me!” Anaplekte wordlessly spreads his cape in the shape of bat-like wings and shoots upwards at great speed, with Rainbow Dash quickly going after him.
The chase is intense, both of them appearing as mere blurs to the untrained eye, moving in unpredictable patterns among the ruined spires of the old castle. Rainbow Dash is surprised somebody can match her speed with such strange wings.
Anaplekte comes to a halt and lands on top of a spire. Rainbow Dash remains airborne, watching him warily. Her breath is controlled, but her heart pounds inside her chest. The fact she cannot see Anaplekte’s face or body greatly irks her. He chuckles softly and says, “To be able to follow my movements like that, your speed is admirable.”
Rainbow Dash chuckles. “Yeah, you’re not half bad yourself.” She tilts her head and adds, “Keeping up with me with those weird wings of yours.”
Anaplekte spreads his “wings” once again and says, “This is a gift of our Lady Nightmare Moon.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widen in shock. “Wait—what!? You’re using artificial wings?” She shakes her head rapidly. “No way! There’s no way you can fly that fast with those!”
Anaplekte laughs. “Nothing is impossible for our Lady Nightmare Moon.” He pauses and then adds, “And she can be very generous with her followers.”
Rainbow Dash gulps. Her lips tremble when she asks, “So she can give others wings? Even if they don't have Sky Magic?"
Anaplekte extends his left hand invitingly. “She can give you anything you wish for.” He raises his index finger and adds, “The only thing she requires is your loyalty.”
Rainbow Dash bites her lower lip. “Y-Yeah…” She shakes her head chuckles weakly. “Thanks, but no thanks.” With a mighty flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash lands on top of a nearby spire, the opposite of Anaplekte. She ignites her Duel Disk and declares fiercely, “I’m not going to leave my friends hangin’!”
Anaplekte folds his “wings”. He waves his left hand and a cloud of black mist begins encircling them, creating a perfect sphere that crackles and sizzles with lightning. “You will regret your decision,” he whispers with disdain.
Both duelists draw their initial hands of five cards. Anaplekte plays a monster face-down, sets three cards and ends his turn.
“My turn!” Rainbow Dash draws. In her hand there’s Speedroid Horse Stilts, Dragon’s Bind and Speedroid Skull Marbles; Speedroid Razorang, Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice and Speedroid Rubberband Plane. “I summon Speedroid Horse Stilts!” Using her monster’s effect, she special summons Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice from her hand. “Level two!” Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice spins and lands on the side matching the declared level. Rainbow Dash throws her hand up and shouts, “I tune my level four Horse Stilts with my level two Red-Eyed Dice! Synchro Summon!” The two monsters fuse in a cluster of stars and Hi-Speedroid Kendama appears. "And when I special summon a monster to the field, I can bring this one! Speedroid Rubberband Plane!" She continues banishing Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice from her graveyard. Hi-Speedroid Kendama fires a beam of light that strikes Anaplekte on the chest, lowering his life points to 3500. He doesn’t seem bothered at all. Rainbow Dash grunts and then orders the attack of her monster, “Spiral Sword!”
Anaplekte’s monster is revealed as a fierce-looking soldier clad in black armor. The soldier tries to block the charge of Hi-Speedroid Kendama with his sword, but he’s torn to shreds. A fragment of the sword rockets towards Rainbow Dash, hitting her on the shoulder. She grits her teeth in pain, but before she can even process what happened, Anaplekte reveals his first set card. “Chthonian Blast!”
Speedroid Rubberband Plane explodes, showering both players with debris. The pain makes Rainbow Dash’s legs wobble and she has to flap her wings once to keep her balance. Damn it, she thinks, holding her chest. This is nothing to sneeze at! Rainbow Dash shakes her head. Her life points stand at 2300 against her opponent’s 1800. She banishes Speedroid Horse Stilts from her graveyard to send Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice from her deck to her graveyard. “My turn is done!"
Anaplekte draws. The visor of his mask is firmly locked on Rainbow Dash’s direction. “It's not too late. You don’t have to share the same fate as the others,” he says with a surprisingly soft voice. “Kneel before our Lady Nightmare, swear your loyalty to her and you shall be rewarded with a greater future.”
Rainbow Dash quirks an eyebrow and drily asks, “Do you really want me to tell you what you can do with your little offer?” She tilts her head and adds threateningly, “Because there are no kids around here.”
“I will be your doom.” Anaplekte hisses darkly. He activates Pot of Greed to increase his hand count to three. “Trap card open! Call of the Haunted!” Chthonian Soldier returns to the field with a raging battle cry. Anaplekte follows with Inferno Reckless Summon from his hand and two more soldiers appear at the sides of the first one. He activates another spell, Double Summon, before tributing two of his monsters. “Heed my call, absolute ruler of the abyss! Destroy those who oppose our Lady Nightmare with your ruthless might!” A huge, serpent-like dragon with a jet-black body and golden, plate-like scales materializes, coiled around the spire Anaplekte is standing on. It spreads its two pairs of leathery wings and leans forward, baring its fangs like a wolf about to pounce on its prey. “Chthonian Emperor Dragon!”
Anaplekte reveals his last set card, “Nightmare Archfiends!” The last of the Chthonian Soldiers begins screaming in pain. His body suddenly bursts into a pyre and from the fire emerge three jet-black demons with rail thin bodies, glowing red eyes and big, deformed mouths.
Rainbow Dash looks around in shock as the demons all float to her side, encircling her while laughing a shrill demonic cackle.
Anaplekte demands, “Activate your skill!” Chthonian Emperor Dragon roars and the spires shake, releasing clouds of dust. He points at one of the demons on Rainbow Dash’s side. “Black Fire Breath!” The demon stops cackling and lets out a terrified shriek as the Chthonian Emperor Dragon rears its head back before breathing a stream of flames. The demon is vaporized.
Rainbow Dash falls on her right knee, grasping her chest tightly. Anaplekte watches satisfied as her life points go down to 1100. He explains, “Every time one of your Archfiend Tokens is destroyed you will take 800 points of damage! And my Chthonian Emperor Dragon can attack twice during the same Battle Phase!”
The devilish dragon launches a second attack on an Archfiend Token, but Rainbow Dash is ready. Her lips curve into a smile and a triangular dice jumps from her graveyard to block the attack from Chthonian Emperor Dragon. Rainbow Dash stands up, cracks her neck and grins triumphantly. She picks and reveals Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice to her opponent. “I can banish this one to negate one of your attacks.”
Anaplekte growls, “You sent that one to the graveyard on purpose!”
“Congratulations,” Rainbow Dash says sarcastically. “Sorry I don’t have a cookie to give you.”
Anaplekte scoffs, “It was all for nothing!” He points at her and shouts, “You won’t be able to surpass my monster!”
Rainbow Dash throws her hand up and declares, “Final turn!” She draws Synchro Strike and adds it to her hand, before picking a different card. “It’s been a while since I did this,” she admits with a grin. “I tribute the two Archfiend Tokens to summon Speedroid Skull Marbles!” The demons vanish to reveal a toy locomotive. It’s colorful body contrasts with the fierce-looking skull on its front. The monster’s stats appear as 0/3000.
Anaplekte asks, “Do you think that thing can protect you?”
Rainbow Dash snorts, “I think you need a mask with a bigger hole, dude.” She tilts her head. “My monster is in attack position!” Anaplekte is baffled. He asks Rainbow Dash if she’s trying to end it on her own terms. Rainbow Dash replies the word “losing” is not in her dictionary. She points forward and shouts the attack of Speedroid Skull Marbles, “Speed Skull Smash!”
Chthonian Emperor Dragon counterattacks, but not even its flames can stop the charge of Speedroid Skull Marbles. Rainbow Dash explains her monster cannot be destroyed in battle with a monster that was Normal Summoned or Set. “And you take any Battle Damage I would have taken from it!”
"Impossible!" Anaplekte protests. He has no more cards to protect himself. Speedroid Skull Marbles crashes into Chthonian Emperor Dragon and his life points go down to zero. His body unceremoniously vanishes in a puff of smoke, followed by Chthonian Emperor Dragon, Speedroid Skull Marbles and Hi-Speedroid Kendama. The barrier of black mist goes last, gently dispersing until nothing remains.
Rainbow Dash sits down on the edge of the spire, exhausted. She looks content with her victory, but she does not smile. She mutters to no one, "Wings..."