The bell rang, signalling the end of the school day and the start of the weekend.
Many students had been excited about this particular weekend, as tomorrow the first of the Double X qualifiers were taking place. Everyone was going to be at this one, as it was the best chance of getting a spot.
"Remember," Flash told Sunburst as the teen closed his locker, "ten o'clock tomorrow at Freeze Stadium."
"I know," Sunburst replied before walking off.
"If we win this, we'll be on our way to the Double X!" Flash cried with a smile, but Sunburst remained quite as he continued making his way out of the school without a word. Once he was gone, Flash sighed. "I hope he's okay."
The next day.
The stadium was packed with people, both participants and spectators, who where here for the Double X Qualifier. Inside the stadium, Flash and Spike stood together as Flash handed Spike their team's entry form.
"Wow," Spike said as he looked it over, "what a great name. It sounds so cool"
"I know right," Flash said smugly with crossed arms, "it was worth staying up half the night coming up with it."
"Does it really matter what name we use?" Sunburst asked as he stepped up next to them, his teammates smiling now that he was finally here.
"Of course it matters," Spike said. "The first thing everyone's gonna learn about us is what we're called. If our name isn't something awesome, then no one's gonna respect us."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Sunburst asked. "If they think we're weak, they might not put their all into the Duel and we'll have an advantage."
"Maybe," Flash agreed, "but what would be the point of this if we weren't beating our opponents at their best." Spike agreed with this while Sunburst just shrugged, the three heading over to the reception deck and handing in their form. Once they were registered, they headed over to the main stage so as to hear how the qualifiers would work.
"Flash!" They turned to see Twilight and her team stepping up to them. Behind them, Applejack, Rarity and Big Mac were following, along with Scootaloo and her team.
"Hey guys," Flash cheered back. He turned to Big Mac, "long time no see."
"Eyup!" Mac replied, making Flash smile.
"Same as ever."
Scootaloo took this moment too look up at the megascreen, which had just come on to show the teams competing. When she spotted her brothers name, she frowned at the name he'd given his team. "Seriously, that's what you're going with."
"You know it," Flash said positively. "We're the V-Fighter's."
Everyone just raised an eyebrow at this. "What's the V stand for?" Scootaloo asked her brother.
"Vegetable Fighters?" Applebloom guessed.
"Valentines Fighters?" Sweetie wondered.
Flash sighed. "Isn't it obvious. It stands of Victory." He gave a heroic pose. "We are the fighters who always claim victory against our opponents."
Spike smirked, "pretty awesome right?"
Twilight just gave her boyfriend and brother a 'seriously' look. "It sounds kinda...generic if you ask me."
Flash swept dropped before glaring at his girlfriend, "there's nothing wrong with it."
"Yeah," Spike agreed. "Besides, what's your name?" This made Twilight's face turn red before slowly pointing to where her team's name was. Everyone looked up at the screen and spotted their names, only to almost burst out laughing. "Tidal Maidens."
"How...interesting," Rarity said.
Sunset sighed while Fluttershy tried to hide behind her hair. Twilight just turned redder, "I didn't come up with it. Tidal registered the team without telling us."
"How embarrassing," Sunset sighed again.
"Come now Sunny!" Tidal cried as he suddenly appeared between her and Fluttershy, "you know it's super cute." He placed his arms around the two and pulled them in close, "maidens in both my arms." Everyone just sighed at this, until Tidal suddenly remembered something. "Oh. Sorry, gotta go." With that, he rushed off while leaving a group of very confused teens.
Once he'd recovered, Flash turned back to Applejack. "What about you guys?"
Applejack just sighed before pointing at a smiling Rarity, "we're team Applejewels. I think it's a truly exquisite name."
Flash just raised his eyebrow at this before turning to her teammates, "you didn't agree to this did you?"
"Nope," the siblings replied.
"Hey there!" Everyone turned to see the Wonderbolts walking up to them. Rainbow saw Twilight and smirked, having not been able to see her since she came home. Once they said their hellos, Rainbow looked around. "Hey, where's Pinkie?"
"I got a message from her earlier," Rarity said. "Apparently, she and her sisters are competing in a another qualifier across town. Said she didn't want to compete against us yet." The others all agreed with this, knowing that was something Pinkie would usually do.
Before anyone could say anything else, the screen changed as a pair of women showed up on it. It was the Celestic Sister, Celestia and Luna.
Both: Greetings Canterlot!
Celestia: Welcome the first qualifying round of the Double X tournament.
Luna: Many Duel Teams want to compete, but we only have a limited number of spaces. That's why we're holding these micro-tournaments to thin the heard.
Celestia: That's right sister, and here at the Freeze Stadium we have a total of three spots open.
"Only three?" Soarin asked, as he looked around at all the competing teams.
"Wonder how they're gonna narrow it down?" Gilda asked.
Luna: For today's contest, your teams will compete in five rounds of one on one matches.
Celestia: Who you face will be a random selection, so this event will be all about your ability to adapt to whatever threat you might face.
Luna: Now for the points system. Winning a Duel will earn you three points, drawing will earn you one point and losing will earn you zero points.
Celestia: At the end of the five rounds, your points will be added to your teammates to make a single score that your team will be judged on. At the end of the tournament, the three teams with the highest scores will be given a spot in the Double X.
"Easy enough to understand," Twilight said.
Luna: What's more. Due to the number of teams, we don't have enough for even distribution. As such, a team of rogues have been added to even things up. If you manage to win against them, you'll earn five points instead of three.
As soon as she said that, the screen changed to show the image of three people. Shining Armor, Cadance and Tidal. The many teams looked away from the screens and saw the three standing together, ready to take on any challengers.
"This is gonna be fun," Twilight said.
"All we need to do is focus on winning!" Rainbow cried.
Spike nodded as he turned to Flash. "We can do this. Are you ready?"
"Oh yeah," Flash replied before turning to Sunburst. "Let's get out there and win."
"Yeah, alright," Sunburst said in a less then enthusiastic tone. Flash and Spike both frowned at this, as the teams began to line up to get their opponent's table.
There were three lines, A, B and C, which each had a box with a slip of paper on them. When the V-Fighters arrived, at the front, they reached into the boxes and pulled out slips of paper.
Flash got A7, Spike got B3 and Sunburst got C12. Once they had their slip, the three headed for the table with the same designations on them. The rest of the teams did the same.
"Alright," Scootaloo said as the Crusaders arrived at the front of the line, "time to see who my first victim is." She reached in and pulled out a slip of paper, which read 'C1'. "Sweet." She rushed over to the table with that mark, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw who she'd be facing.
"Hey Scootaloo," Shining said as he shuffled his deck. "Are you my opponent?"
"Sh...sh...Shining Armor?" Scootaloo said in horror.
Once everyone was at their table, an overhead announcer spoke. "First round Duel...begin."
All across the stadium, a single word was uttered by everyone competing. "DUEL!" And just like that, the qualifiers began. Some Duel lasted only a few turns, showing the difference is skill levels between the Duellists, while others lasted longer.
At one of the Duel Tables, Rainbow was facing off against Tidal.
"I PENDULUM SUMMON!" Rainbow placed her card on the field, as the same monster appeared on the field. "Rainbow Battle Wing Gold and Rainbow Wing Pegasus. Now, since she was special summoned, Pegasus lets me search my deck for a Level four or below Winged-Beast monster and add it to my hand." She did so, shuffling afterwards. "Now I'll summon it, Rainbow Wing Blue Falcon." The bird of prey appeared on the field. "I'll activate my Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your face down."
Tidal smirked as he removed his Raging Whirlpool from the field.
"Now, Battle Wing will attack your Admiral Soveruin. And with three Winged-Beasts on the field, his power goes up by nine hundred." (A3400/D1500/R4/L7) The bird armoured Xyz monster drew his sword and slashed at the monster, destroying it.
Tidal: 1700
Rainbow: 900
"Now, Pegasus will destroy your Splash Sargent!" The winged horse flapped its wings and created a gust that blew Tidal's last monster away, leaving his field bare.
Tidal: 1600
Rainbow: 900
"Falcon, end it!" The bird of prey flew up before shooting at Tidal and hitting him in the chest.
Tidal: 0
Rainbow: 900 (Winner)
"Bravo amigo," Tidal said as they gathered their cards. "You really know your stuff."
Rainbow just smiled, giving him a thumbs up. "Thanks. Well, better go get my next opponent."
"Same here," Tidal agreed. as they walked off.
Back at the reception deck, we find Scootaloo was once again in line to get her next opponent. The last Duel had ended fairly quickly, but that didn't mean her team couldn't still win. "C4," she said as she read the slip before rushing over to her table.
She was the first one there, so had to wait for her opponent to show. But not a minute later, "hello again." Scootaloo looked up and saw that her opponent was Shining Armor.
"Oh come on!" Scootaloo cried.
All across the room, more and more Duels were taking place. "I XYZ Summon!" Sunset cried, as she placed the card on the field. "Radiant Sun Knight Gallantine! I'll now remove one Overlay Unit to destroy your face down." Her opponent growled as he moved the card to the graveyard, Sunset seeing it was Mirror Force. "I attack!"
"Gem-Knight Lady, Brilliant Diamond, attack!" Her knight rushed across the table and stabbed Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.
Rarity: 2100
Spoon: 1900
"Now, Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli, finish him off!" Rarity's other Fusion Monster unleashed a beam of light, which struck her opponent and defeated him.
Rarity: 2100 (Winner)
Spoon: 0
"Twilight Alicorn attack!" Twilight's winged and horned horse took flight before firing a blast of magic at the opponent, destroying it and dealing major damage.
"Seed Shooter, attack!" Applejack's de-evolved Xyz monster aimed its weapon at the opponent's Dark Rogue Dragon. "Now a'll remove an Overlay Unit and banish every level four monster in ya'h graveyard, and up his ATK points by five hundred for each one." The opponent frowned as he removed the four dragon monsters he had in his graveyard, dropping his monster's ATK to o while Seed Shooter's went up to three thousand. The little cowboy fired and destroyed the dragon, reducing the opponent's life points to zero.
"I Pendulum Summon my Sacred Beast, Kindness Dragonoid!" Fluttershy placed her card on the field, the dragon appearing on the table besides Rush Rabbit and Winged Kuriboh.
"I activate my Spellbinding Circe!" The opponent cried. "Now your Kindness Dragonoid can't attack."
"Maybe," Fluttershy replied, "but she can use her ability. Now, by decreasing her ATK points by two hundred, I can increase a Level four or below monster's ATK by the same amount." They watched as Kindness Dragonoid turned to Kuriboh and began breathing a pink mist onto it, increasing its power while lowering the dragons. (A2400/1900/L7/P5), (A500/D200/L1)
"So what?" The opponent asked.
"So," Fluttershy said, "I can keep using that effect again and again."
"What?" He watched as the dragon continued breathing on the fairy, transferring its power until their scores read. (A0/D1900/L7/P5), (A2900/D200/L1) "Oh boy."
"Attack!" Rush Rabbit rushed at the opponent's Axe Raider, destroying it while Winged Kuriboh flew forwards and hit him in the chest to deplete his life points.
"A'h play Polymerisation," Mac cried as he activated the card. "With it, a'h fuse Advanced Mecha Handyman with Advanced Mecha Tool Drill Saw and Nail Hammer!" A vortex appeared above Mac's monster, the three robots leaping into it as they were joined together. "A'H FUSION SUMMON!"
The vortex exploded as Mac's best card flew out, with both Drill Saw and Nail Hammer linked to its back. "Advanced Mecha Worker, Multi-Tool Giant!" (A2500/D3000/L10) "And since a'h used two Advanced Mecha Tools to summon him, he gets an extra thousand points!" (A3500/D3000/L10) "Attack!"
Across the room, Sunburst's second match had just ended. "Well," the opponent said, "guess I lost. Thanks for the good match."
"Yeah," Sunburst replied, "sure." With that, he moved over to the reception desk and grabbed his table number. Once he had it, he looked up at the screen and found his team was actually in the top three. They were only behind the Wonderbolts, who hadn't lost a match yet. As for them, it seemed Sunburst was the only one who'd lost so far.
"One win, one lose." Seems he was dragging the other two down, not that he was surprised.
"Well, hello." Sunburst turned to see his table number and spotted who he was facing off against. "Looks like I'm your third opponent," Shining told him. Off to the side, Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief as she saw she wasn't facing him again.
Sunburst didn't say anything, as he placed his deck on the table. Sunburst knew that he couldn't underestimate this opponent, since he was one of Canterlot's top ranked pros. Did Sunburst even have the skills to take him on?
"Shall we get started?" Shining asked as he drew his cards.
"Sure," Sunburst did the same.
"DUEL!"
Sunburst wasn't the only member of the V-Fighters going up against a rogue Duellist. Not to far away, Flash was facing off against Cadance. She currently had her Crystal Empress and Crystal Knight on the field, while Flash had Twin Laser and Magna Snake on his.
'She's gotten quite a lead over me,' Flash thought to himself as he drew his card. 'But I'll be sure to finish her off on this next turn.' "I summon Bright Bounce Magna Bunny to my field," the rabbit monster appeared besides the other two. "And with him and Magna Snake, I can now Synchro Summon!" The bunny transformed into the rings that Magna Snake flew into before they exploded, revealing Flash's monster. "Flashback Dragon!" (A2300/D2200/L7) "With Flashback's skill, I banish Twin Laser Dragon to summon Gun Runner and Magna Rat!" The dragon curled into a circle, that the robotic dinosaur jumped into before being replaced by said monsters. "Now, I'll use Magna Rat's ability to banish itself and return Twin Laser to the field.
Cadance smirked as she saw this. "Not bad. You managed to get some pretty strong cards without much of a sacrifice."
"Thanks," Flash smirked back, "but I'm not done. I activate my Reverse Polarity, to swap your Empress's ATK with Flashback's." (A2300/D2500/L10), (A3500/D2200/L7) "Attack!" The serpentine dragon brought its glowing claws together and unleashed a beam of light, which it aimed straight at Cadance's ace.
"I activate my Synchro Out Trap!" Cadance cried, as her monster disappeared and was replaced by her Crystal Princess and Crystal Child. "Now your attack has no target."
Flash just chuckled, "I thought you'd do that. Now, I activate my Lightspeed and use it to increase Gun Runner's ATK." (A2600/D1400/L4) "And I'll have him attack your Knight!" Cadance watched as her Pendulum Monster was shot by the blaster, shattering it.
Flash: 300
Cadance: 1900
"And since Gun Runner destroyed a level four, I can banish him to summon a monster of the same level." Gun Runner created a portal, which he jumped through to be replaced by a robotic wolf with armour similar to Flash Heart's. "Say hello, to Lightspeed Dragon." (A1700/D1100/L4) "And with him, I'll now attack you Crystal Child!" The wolf robot's jets erupted into life and sent it flying across the table, where it then slashed Cadance's Synchro Tuner to bits.
"Meanie," Cadance said, "destroying such a sweet and innocent monster."
Flash shrugged. "It may have been mean, but it now gives me a clear aim Twin Laser. Attack one!" The robotic brachiosaurus fired its first laser, destroying Cadance's monster. "Now, attack two!" It fired its second, hitting Cadance in the chest.
Flash: 300 (Winner)
Cadance: 0
Cadance sighed a happy sigh. "Nice one Flash. You earned those five points."
Flash smiled as he gave his thanks, then headed off to get his next opponent. However, as he was heading to the reception, he spotted Sunburst and Shining. "Huh," Flash decided to lend his teammate his support and moved over to watch.
Currently, Shining had his Royal Spear Paladin and Royal Paladin Sword Striker while Sunburst's field was completely empty and his hand was down to only one card.
"This doesn't look good," Flash said. "How's Sunburst gonna handle this?"
"It's my turn," Sunburst reached for his deck. "I draw." He looked at the card he'd gotten and nodded before instantly playing it. "I'll start by playing the Spell card Eruption Reloading. So by banishing my Sunburst Guardian, I can now draw four cards." It seemed Sunburst had taken a few pointers from his Duel with Sunset. "Then I'll set the Pendulum Scale, with Scale one Yellow Sun Magician and Scale Six Green Sun Magician."
"Here it comes," Flash smirked.
"I PENDULUM SUMMON!" Sunburst threw a pair of cards on the field, "Sunburst Apprentice and UFO Turtle! Then I'll activate my Sunburst Altar," the table and candle stands appeared on the Duel Table. "And with it, I'll sacrifice my two monsters in order to ritual summon." His monsters exploded into fireballs, which then lit seven of the candles. "Mystical fire, that burns like the sun, give life to the wizard whose intellect cannot be extinguished!" The fire on the candles shot up before flying into the basin, "I RITUAL SUMMON!"
The basin exploded, the fire shooting up and took form before fading. "Sunburst Magician!" (A2300/D2200/L7) "And since I have a Sunburst monster on the field, I can summon Sunburst Apprentice back from the graveyard." The younger wizard appeared besides his teacher. (A1500/D1300/L4)
"Not bad," Shining told him. "But what else have you got."
Sunburst frowned, "how about my Magician's ability. I pay three hundred life points in order to look at the top five cards of my deck and special summon any Fire monsters that are Level four or below."
Shining: 3700
Sunburst: 2900
Sunburst drew his cards and smiled before taking two of them. "I summon Sunburst Familiar and Burn Blader!" Sunburst Magician swung his staff and unleashed a pair of fireballs, which exploded to reveal a red kitsune and a blazing suit of armour. (A1200/D1000/L3), (A1800/D100/L4)
"Nice one Sunburst!" Flash cheered for his teammate, seeing the boy's field being so full. "Take him down."
"I activate Sunburst Apprentice's ability. This ability lets me increase the ATK of a Fire monster on my field by five hundred until the end phase. "So I'll increase Burn Blader's ATK!" (A2300/D100/L4) "Sunburst Magician, attack Sword Striker!" The flaming spellcaster unleashed a fireball, which struck Shining's Pendulum Synchro monster and destroyed it.
Shining: 3600
Sunburst: 2900
"Now my Burn Blader will attack your Spear Paladin!" The flaming suit of armour's sword ignited before it slashed the Royal Paladin, destroying it.
Shining: 3200
Sunburst: 2900
"And when Burn Blader destroys a monster, it deals four hundred points of damage to you."
Shining: 2800
Sunburst: 2900
"Well you activated my Trap," Shining flipped his face down over. "Paladin's Banner. When a Royal Paladin is destroyed, I can summon it back to the field with its ATK and DEF zeroed out." Royal Spear Paladin returned, taking a defensive position. (A0/D0/L4)
"Fine, then Sunburst Familiar will destroy it again!" The fox's tail tips ignited before unleashed nine fireballs, which struck the knight and destroyed it once again. "Now my Apprentice will attack you directly!" The younger wizard unleashed a burst of fire, which struck Shining in the chest and made him stagger backwards.
Shining: 1300
Sunburst: 2900
"I end my turn with a face down," Sunburst said. Happy he managed to get ahead of Shining.
"Then I'll go," Shining drew his card and smiled. "I'll start by playing Pot of Greed, to draw two new cards. Then I'll set the Pendulum Scale with Scale nine Royal Paladin Trumpeter and scale three Royal Paladin Guidance Sage." The pillars of light appeared infront of him before a pair of monsters flew up into them. One was a child like angel wearing armour and the other was a teenager in metal robes. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened before a light shot out and hit the ground, then faded to reveal Shining's Synchro Pendulum. "Sword Striker!" (A2100/D1800/L6/P5) "Next, I'll activate my Royal Paladin Trumpeter's Pendulum Ability. By discarding a Tuner Monster from my hand, I can increase the level of a Synchro Monster on my field by that Tuner's level. So I'll discard my Flag Bearer in order to increase Sword Striker's level by three." (A2100/D1800/L9/P5)
"So what?" Sunburst asked.
Shining smiled back at him. "You'll see after I activate Guidance Sage's Pendulum Ability. By zeroing out its ATK and DEF points, I can summon Trumpeter to the field." They all watched as Guidance Sage turned to Trumpeter and waved its hands around, causing the pillar of light to disappear while Trumpeter flew down next to Sword Striker. (A100/D100/L1/P9) "Now watch, as I tune level one Royal Paladin Trumpeter with Level nine Royal Paladin Sword Striker!" Trumpeter transformed into a light, which carved the a single circle that Sword Striker leapt into. "Enter the fray, kneel before your king." The monsters disappeared in an explosion of light. "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!"
The light faded, revealing a monster they all recognised as Shining ace. It rode onto the battle field, atop its blue steed. "Royal Paladin Grand Emperor!" (A3500/D2500/L10)
Flash paled at the sight of this, "oh boy." He really wasn't holding back.
"Word of warning Sunburst," Shining explained. "On the turn he's Synchro Summoned, Grand Emperor can attack once for every Tuner monster in my graveyard."
Sunburst's eyes went wide as he counted the number of Tuner's in Shining's grave. "There's three, so that means he gets three attacks."
"Exactly," Shining said as his monster began to gallop forwards, raising its sword as it aimed it at Sunburst's Ritual Monster.
"I activate my Trap," Sunburst flipped his face down up. "Fire Guard! Now all the damage I would have taken is negated." Sunburst watched as Grand Emperor cut Sunburst Magician in half, then turned and did the same to both his Apprentice and Familiar. "When Sunburst Familiar is destroyed, I can look at the top five cards of my deck and add any two Level four or below fire monsters to my hand." He drew his five cards and saw two that fit the bill.
Shining smiled as he placed the last card in his hand on the field. "I end my turn."
"Then I'll go," Sunburst drew his card as Fire Guard's effect kicked in.
Shining: 1300
Sunburst: 2500
Sunburst looked at his card and saw it was Sunburst Gate. But even if he used the monsters in his hand or field to summon Sunburst Knight, he wouldn't have enough ATK. Sunburst sighed, thinking he had no way of overcoming this opponent.
"Sunburst," the teen looked to his teammate and saw him smiling at him. "You've got this. Just remember, your deck won't let you down if you put your faith in it."
Sunburst just stared at him for a moment before turning back to the field, trying to go over every effect of the cards he had. And as he did, he suddenly realised there was a way to beat Shining. "Here goes!" Sunburst cried, "I activate my Sunburst Gate Ritual Spell." The gate appeared before him on the table.
"Interesting," Shining said, "but will the monster you summon be strong enough?"
"Oh he will be," Sunburst told him. "I activate my Yellow Sun Magician's Pendulum Ability." Shining and Flash watched as the Pendulum Monster waved its wand, causing the spiritual image of Sunburst Magician to appear infront of the gate. "By removing Fire monsters from my graveyard, I am allowed to fill the Ritual requirements without using cards from my field or my hand."
"Smart," Shining smirked as Sunburst Magician exploded into seven fireballs. Said fireballs flew into of the gate's twelve indents.
"Courageous flames, that burn like the sun, give life to the warrior whose fiery heart cannot be extinguished!" The doors of the gate flew open and unleashed a giant fireball, "I RITUAL SUMMON!"
The fireball exploded to reveal, "Sunburst Knight!" (A2600/D1900/L7)
"Next, I'll burn through space time and blaze the arc of victory." The portal appeared above the table, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened up as a pair of fireballs shot out and struck the ground before exploding. "Sunburst Guardian!" (A1400/D1800/L4) "And Blaze Wizard!" (A1200/D1100/L3)
"With those three on the field," Flash started.
"You're mine!" Sunburst cried as he pointed at Shining. "Sunburst Knight, attack!" The knight raised his sword up, as the other monsters unleashed an aura of fire that surrounded his sword and increased his ATK power. (A4100/D1900/L7) The knight leapt at Grand Emperor, raising his blazing sword high above his head before swinging it down.
But just as it was about to make contact, something appeared in Grand Emperor's hand. It was a shield, which the Synchro Monster raised just in time to block Sunburst Knight's sword.
Shining: 700
Sunburst: 2500
"What?" Sunburst asked as he looked over at Shining, wondering what the heck was going on. But then he saw it, Shining had flipped over his face down.
"Paladin's Shield. This Trap equips itself to a Royal Paladin and makes it so that monster can't be destroyed by battle."
"No way," Sunburst said. Even after all that, Sunburst couldn't beat him.
"Sunburst," Flash saw the hope leave his teammate's eyes. "Don't worry. His Grand Emperor can only attack once this turn, so you'll survive as long as he doesn't draw a monster or a card that can increase Grand Emperor's ATK."
"Well let's find out," Shining said as he reached for his deck and drew. "First, I discard my Royal Paladin Tactician so I can activate her effect. That allows me to activate the effect of a Spell in my graveyard, so I'll use Pot of Greed's effect to draw two cards." He drew his cards and smiled at what he got. "I activate the Spell card, Assault Mode Activate!"
"NOT THAT CARD!" Both Flash and Sunburst yelled, as they watched Grand Emperor turn into a stream of lights that shot into the air.
"See the king as he once was. Knights unified by the light!" The light shot down and struck the table, taking form and fading to reveal Shining's best card. "Royal Paladin Grand Emperor, ASSAULT MODE!" (A4000/D3000/L12)
Sunburst just stared at the card, knowing full well what it could do. "Don't sweat it," he turned back to Flash. "You've still got your Fire Guard Trap. You can survive this no problem."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Shining said as he showed them the last card in his hand. That card was a Spell called Paladin's Sage. "This card means my opponent must select a Trap on their field and destroy it." Sunburst and Flash both went wide eyed at this, as Sunburst removed his only Trap off the field. "Plus, I get to add a Trap of my own from my Deck to my hand." He picked up his deck and shuffled through it until he found the card he wanted.
"Okay," Flash said, "things still look bad but you can pull it back." Sunburst didn't believe him.
"I activate my Assault Mode's ability. By banishing a Tuner monster from my graveyard, I can revive one level four or below Royal Paladin." He took out his Flag Bearer as Royal Spear Paladin suddenly appeared next to Grand Emperor. "Attack."
For Sunburst, time seemed to slow down as he watched Grand Emperor rush at Sunburst Guardian. Even if he managed to put a stop to this and the next attack, that Trap Shining got would likely stop any counter attack Sunburst tried to make. Was this really all he could do?
Memories of long ago once again flashed infront of his mind.
"Sunburst, you think we'll even become duelling masters?"
Sunburst smiled. "Oh course. With my brains and your skill, we'll be two of the best that ever existed."
His friend laughed. "Alright, then let's make a promise. Not matter what, the two of us are gonna meet on the big stages of the Duelling world. And we won't give up until we get there." Sunburst's friend held up a pinkie finger, which Sunburst gripped with his own.
"Promise."
"I'm sorry," he whispered as he raised his hand towards his deck. "I couldn't keep our promise." Grand Emperor was inches from Sunburst Guardian, raising his sword as he prepared to end the battle. But then- "Enough."
Flash and Shining watched as the holograms disappeared, then turned to see Sunburst with his hand on his deck. He'd forfeited. "What are you doing?" Flash asked in shock, as he watched Sunburst collect his deck.
"There's no point in me going on," Sunburst replied.
"Are you sure?" Shining asked. "That Duel could have still gone either way."
"No," Sunburst shook his head, "the outcome was determined the minute you became my opponent." He turned to walk away from the table, "I can't beat you." He began to walk away, Flash and Shining sharing a concerned look before Flash followed after Sunburst.
"Hey," he caught up with him, "what are you doing? You didn't know you couldn't have beat him."
"Yes I did," Sunburst replied. "Just forget it. This was a mistake."
"What was a mistake?" Flash asked, as he suddenly realised which way Sunburst was going. "Hey, the reception desk's the other way."
"I'm not going to the reception desk." Sunburst made his way towards the door, as Flash stopped walking.
"Sunburst?"
"Forget it Flash. I shouldn't be on your team. I'm just...holding you back." And with that, Sunburst stepped out of the stadium.
"Sunburst!" Flash called out after him, but received no reply. "SUNBURST!"
Later.
"And with that, the Freeze Stadium qualifiers have come to an end." Shining looked out at the many teams that hadn't made it through, then turned to three that had. The Wonderbolts had come in first, having not lost a single game, followed closely by team Applejewel and another team he didn't personally know.
At the back of the crowd, the Tidal Maidens, Crusaders and what remained of team V-Fighters watched and applauded the teams who made it through. But even so, they were still bumped they hadn't won.
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy turned to her team. "If I'd just won that last Duel."
"It's okay," Sunset assured her.
"We're not out of this yet," Twilight agreed.
Shining then turned back to the crowd, "now don't be disheartened. You still have another chance. There are still two weeks of qualifiers left to win the chance of getting in."
"You heard him!" Applebloom cried, "we're still in this."
Sweetie agreed. "We just have to train super hard and win a shop tournament."
"Then let's get started right now!" Scootaloo cheered before the three rushed out the door. The rest of the crowd soon followed suit, with Flash and Spike at the very back.
"I can't believe that guy," Spike almost yelled once Flash explained what had happened. "How could he just ditch us like that? And for what, because he was gonna lose"
"There's something more to this then we're seeing," Flash told him. "Sunburst sees himself as a bad Duellist and left because he thinks he'll slow us down. We need to find a way to help him overcome that idea."
"But how?"
Flash just sighed. "I'm not sure. But if we're to stand any hope of entering the Double X, we've gotta figure it out soon." The two continued down the road, trying to think up ways to help Sunburst overcome his doubts. They only had two weeks to do this, or lose their chance of entering the Double X.