//------------------------------// // Episode 1: Who Likes to Duel // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh E-QUEST // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// EPISODE ONE Long, Long ago, when the pyramids were still young, Egyptian kings and sorcerers played a game of great and terrible power-- combining magic with monsters. These games eventually lead to violent conquests for power and world dominance, until the magic was sealed away and peace regained. Now, millennia later a certain card game was built on the legacy of this ancient tale, but what the people don’t realize is that this game still possesses great and unbelievable powers to manipulate fates, and even unleash great forces believed to have existed outside the legacy of which it was born. *** It was almost Summer Vacation, and Canterlot High was getting ready to close for the break. Exams were all done, and the Equestria Girls gang had all passed. Many students were making plans to go away, but others were staying behind. Right now, despite there being no real reason to hang at school with only a day or two left and all the work done, some of the students preferred to hang around, help with the clean ups, and manage summer programs. The Equestria girls however were in the cafeteria, they were playing a card game called Duel Monsters, which was very popular all over the world, and while many people wouldn’t believe it, even the girls were into the game, some had been even playing longer than others. Then again, there were some who just didn’t quite understand the concept of the game. “Rarity, are you going to make a move or what?” asked Sunset. Rarity looked up from the cards she was holding, “I was just going to.” Finally she played a monster-- a rather beautiful looking creature, in defense mode. Some of the other girls whom were spectating did not seem impressed by her move. “That’s all you’re doing?” asked Applejack. Rarity glared sourly at her, “Yes, and I see nothing wrong with it. Just look at that monster. She’s so beautiful and elegant with that outfit, and her defense is fairly high, and quite difficult to defeat.” Sunset nodded, “Yeah, I’ll give you that, but looks and grace won’t save you from this!” She drew her card, “Now, I set the Pendulum Scale with these two monsters!” “What?!” snapped Rarity, and then she watched as Sunset summoned a ton of strong monsters to the field all that same time. With only one monster on the field, Rarity didn’t stand a chance, and Sunset wiped her out, for the umpteenth time. Rarity could only sigh in dismay, “I can’t believe you beat me again.” “Aw, don’t sweat it, Rarity.” said Pinkie Pie “You’ll do better next time.” Twilight shook her head and scribbled in her notepad, “Actually, given the fact she’s lost twelve times in a row… I don’t think that’s likely.” Rarity now felt worse. The main reason she started playing the game was because all the others had been playing a long time, and while Rarity would usually think such games were trivial and vulgar, she saw how much fun everyone had and wanted to fit in with her friends. “Whatever am I doing wrong?” she asked “I can’t seem to make proper moves or hold myself out for very long.” Fluttershy patted her back, “I know how you feel. I felt that way when I first started playing, and it sure felt scary, but Sunset and the others taught me how to get better.” Sunset wasn’t kidding; she was a pro at this game after only dueling for a year or so. “We’ll all help you.” said Sunset “And I think we should start by checking your deck.” Rarity smiled thankfully, and then laid out all her cards on the table for her friends to check. “As you can see I chose only the most beautiful and well-dressed monsters, and for spells and traps I chose elegant weaponry, and mirror cards. Her friends were unsurprisingly unimpressed with the layout. “Rarity, nobody can win with a deck like this.” said Sunset “These cards are all different types and don’t mix well together. No wonder you can’t hold out very long.” Rarity blinked once, “I don’t understand what you mean. I chose all these cards because they best suit me and my style of fashion and grace.” Applejack shook her head, “And that’s exactly what I’ve been warning you about for a month now-- that ain’t how the game goes.” The other girls all shook their heads, and Twilight then opened her laptop to show a demonstration program she downloaded. “You see, when you stack your deck, you should focus on a certain theme. That means your monsters and your non-monster cards all need to work together to help one another. This allows you to make more moves and open up new possibilities, but because your deck is cluttered with so many mismatches that don’t play well together, your only hope of winning is if your opponent had seriously bad luck with their draws.” Rarity looked shocked and worried. “Wow, Twilight,” said Pinkie “You sure know a lot about the game for someone who doesn’t even play it.” Twilight tipped her glassed, “Well, you don’t watch the game played so many times without learning a few things.” Spike looked up at her, “But Twilight, you used to--” but he was interrupted when Twilight picked him up laughing “Well, um… I’m sure it’s time for your walk, Spike. You need to use the little doggie’s room.” “But I--” They were gone before he could say anything else. The others all blinked in confusion, but then focussed back on Rarity. “What should I do?” she asked. “You just need to restack your deck, and make better choices.” said Fluttershy “We’ll help you.” “I’m going card shopping after school,” said Sunset “We could all go and hang out later.” The others agreed, but Pinkie pointed out “You still haven’t found it yet?” Sunset shook her head, and she held up her deck and looked down at her. Her deck consisted of mostly magician cards, but some dragons as well. “I may be good, but I really want to see just how good I can possibly be. So I’m trying to master the four summoning arts-- Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum.” “That’s a mighty fine goal there,” said Applejack “but I prefer just one or two, that’s why I’ll stick to my Bujing cards. They represent the critters and varmints and other kinds of things you’d see on a farm, and just like on a farm, they all work well together.” “I don’t know,” said Pinkie as she held up her deck, “I like the Performapals. They always make me smile, and I hope to make other people smile and have fun too. Fluttershy timidly held up her deck, “My monsters all may be small and weak, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be just as good.” This only made Rarity ponder harder at what sort of ways to modify her deck too, “What sort of theme should I use?” As they all left school that day, they found a duel was going on in the school yard, but unlike the normal tabletop game, it was played with those special duel disks that rendered the cards in holographic 3D. One of the players was Rainbow Dash. She and her deck of Raid Raptors, just mopped the floor with Flash Sentry. “No way!” cried Flash. “Yes way!” gloated Rainbow “I am the queen of games!” The crowds cheered for Rainbow, even Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were watching the duel, and they even made a bet on who would win. Celestia gave her sister a hundred-dollar bill. “I’ll get even with you.” Celestia grumbled. “Not if you continue losing, you won’t have anything left.” teased Luna. The two ladies didn’t mind there being duels on the school ground-- after school hours of course. The crowds broke up and many of the students headed on their way, including Flash, “I need to practice some more for the tournament.” “Tournament?” asked Sunset “What tournament?” Rainbow almost looked shocked and pulled out a pamphlet from her pocket, “I thought you of all duelists would know of the upcoming Duel Monsters Friendship Cup Tournament.” The girls all took a look at it. “Ooh, it says it’s being held at Magic Land-- the new theme park that just opened.” chirped Pinkie. Sunset went on, “And the winner of the tournament gets a cash prize of-- “She paused and gasped “One-Million Dollars?!” Everyone around went silent. “Oh, my…! That’s a lot of money!” said Fluttershy. Rainbow nodded, “And… anyone who participates in the tournament gets one of these rad new, top-of-the-line duel disks.” Obviously Rainbow had signed up hoping to win that money, but also to show off her mad dueling and gaming skills. “Sounds like a lot for a Duel Monsters tournament.” said Applajack. “You guys should enter too.” suggested Rainbow “That way we’ll all have a better chance of winning the money. Imagine what we could do with it.” Naturally, she was only thinking about throwing a sick party on a yacht or something like that. Rarity thought it would be neat to buy herself some expensive clothes and live like a Grand Lady like she always wanted. “I’d rather use that money to help others.” said Fluttershy “And she imagined herself using the money to donate to poor houses, to animal shelters, and even hospitals. Sunset then passed the pamphlet back to Rainbow. “Wait, you’re not going to compete?” Rainbow asked. “Nah, I think we’ve all got a great thing going just as it is. Why change a good thing?” Applejack and Pinkie agreed. Rarity would have wanted to enter the tournament, but forgetting she was horribly under-matched and still needed to fix her deck. “Darling, while I admit the money would be nice,” she said while trying to contain herself “Do you really expect us to compete with the many other duelists who have entered this tournament?” “Um… yeah…” replied Rainbow. “Sorry, Rainbow, I’ll pass.” said Sunset. The other three agreed, and then they went off down the street. “Hey, wait up.” Rainbow called. Just because the girls didn’t want to enter the tournament, didn’t mean she didn’t feel like hanging out. The girls first went to a game-shop where they helped Rarity build a new deck. Now she now had a Melodius Deck. They were all just as beautiful and fashionable to suit Rarity’s sense, but they also worked much better with spells and traps, and even did great with Fusion and Xyz summoning. “Want to test it out?” asked Sunset. “Oh, please, yes.” agreed Rarity. They would have sat down at a table to play the game normally, but the shopkeeper called to them, “I’ve got a better idea.” And he held up two new duel-disks, exactly like Rainbow’s duel disk “We’re testing out these disks for the Friendship Cup Tournament, why don’t you go outside and try these for us.” Rainbow urged the girls to try it, and Sunset practically leapt the idea, while Rarity wasn’t exactly enthusiastic because of the way the disk would look on her arm “Could it simply not be in a more suitable color, and does it have to look rather… dangerous?” The girls all sighed at her vanity. Still, eventually, Sunset and Rarity went outside and into the back alley behind the store with the shopkeeper viewing. Sunset had already locked her disk on her arm and drawn her first five cards, while Rainbow showed Rarity how to get it on, how to insert her cards, and all that. “This is going to go weird,” Applejack muttered to the others. Pinkie and Fluttershy agreed. Still, Rarity was ready, “Let us begin. Sunset nodded, “Ready!” …And they both shouted, “…DUEL!” A soft glow emitted from their duel disks, frightening Rarity. “It’s okay,” Rainbow called “It’s just the virtual reality field. It won’t hurt you, but it might ruffle you up a bit.” This was further confirmed when there, in midair were two score counters showing the players’ life points. Sunset LP: 8000 Rarity LP: 8000 “Cool.” said Sunset Rarity didn’t like the sound of being ruffled up, never the less, she decided to go first. “Are you ready?” “Bring it!” called Sunset. Rarity nodded. Since she was going first, her Draw Phase was skipped. “I summon forth SOLO THE MELODIUS SONGTRESS!” The second she placed her card down on the disk, bright lights flashed before her and the actual monster materialized, and a score showing her attack power… (Atk: 1600) The players, as well the other spectators were most amazed by what they had just seen. “It’s like magic!” cried Fluttershy. Rainbow only smiled and nodded proudly. Rarity gawked at her monster and how it seemed more beautiful than she ever could have imagined. “Um, Rarity…” Sunset called to her “You want to continue?” Rarity snapped herself back to her sense, “Yes… Since I have a Melodius creature in play, I can special summon another one from my hand! I choose CANON THE MELODIUS DIVA!” (Atk: 1400) Rarity nearly lost herself again at the sight of her monster, but she stayed strong, “And now I shall attack you--” she paused “Oh, right… I can’t attack on the first turn.” She felt rather embarrassed and blushed. Sunset rolled her eyes. Rarity cleared her throat. “I place one card face down, and end my turn.” “My turn then.” said Sunset “I draw…!” She looked down at her six cards, and thought to herself, “Pendulum Monsters: The cards that can be played as either a monster or a special kind of spell card, and allow you to perform a Pendulum Summoning. That’s why I chose cards like these; they remind me of all the magic I share with my friends.” She then peeked up over her cards at Rarity. “I’m going to set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 STARGAZER MAGICIAN, and Scale 8 TIMEGAZER MAGICIAN!” The two mysterious magicians appeared in large tubes of light, with their numbers glowing before them, and a long jewel on a chain swinging back and forth between them. “Would you look at that!” cried Applejack. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and even Rarity gawked at the setup with such awe. “It gets cooler now.” said Rainbow “Now Sunset has the power to summon as many monsters from levels 2 through 7 as she wants. A strange urge came over Sunset as she looked up at the swinging pendulum, like she had to call out to it. “As the pendulum swings from forth to back My monsters come forth… to launch an attack! …Behold my monsters!” From out of the pendulum shot three rays of light that crashed onto the ground, and there appeared Sunset’s monsters… “DRAGONPULSE MAGICIAN…” (Atk: 1800) “OAFDRAGON MAGICIAN…” (Atk: 2100) “…ODD-EYES PENDULUM DRAGON!” (Atk: 2500) All those monsters, especially the Odd-Eyes when it roared, made Rarity gawk in shock, and Fluttershy hid behind Applejack. “I can’t believe she summoned all that in one shot.” said Applejack. Sunset smirked and said, “Oh it gets far worse than that.” She motioned up at her two magicians up in the pendulum scales “Those guys up there had some sweet special powers they can give me. When a Pendulum monster attacks, Rarity can’t use any spells or traps until the end of the damage step!” Rarity gasped and looked down at her facedown card, which would now be useless to her. Sunset then entered her Battle Phase, “Oafdragon Magician, attack Solo!” (Atk: 2100) VS (Atk: 1600) The might magician rushed forth, and struck Rarity’s monster hard, blowing it into bits of sparkles and pixels that blew past Rarity, making her hair flutter, and Rarity lost the 500 life points in difference. Rarity LP: 8000 ----> 7500 Rarity didn’t know if she felt more angry or sad that her monster was beaten. “How could you destroy such a beautiful creature, and wreck her lively clothes?!” Sunset ignored her whining. “Just watch, I’ll do it again; this time with my Odd-Eyes!” Her dragon roared proudly and Sunset looked right up at him with pride. “I choose him as well because… well, there’s something about him that makes me feel strong, and mighty from how far I’ve come.” She quickly got a hold of herself. “Odd-Eyes, attack Rarity’s Canon!” (Atk: 2500) VS (Atk: 1400) The dragon drew in a huge breath and breathed a huge blast of flames straight at the monster, while Rarity braced for the attack while screaming as the shockwaves zoomed past her. “And that’s not all!” called Sunset “Odd-Eyes has his special ability! When he attacks a monster, then the battle damage you take is doubled!” “Ah!” cried Rarity. This meant that she lost 2200 points instead of 1100 Rarity LP: 7500 ----> 5300 “And I still have one monster left!” said Sunset “Go Dragonpulse, attack Rarity directly!” Rarity screamed as the big monster headed straight for her and zapped her hard with it’s powers and dealt her a full 1800 points! Rarity LP: 5300 ----> 3500 “My skirt…!” Rarity cried “My hair…! Oh, my nails…!” Sunset and the spectators all groaned at her whining, but suddenly, Rarity looked ferociously angry. “Sunset Shimmer, much as we are friends, I cannot abide that someone would do that to me, even if it is just part of the game.” She was starting to show more determination than when they first started, which surprised all the girls. “I’ll end my turn with one card facedown.” said Sunset “Now it’s your move.” Rarity nodded “Very well, I draw…!” “Firstly, I activate the spell card, POLYMERIZATION! Now I shall combine MOTZARTA THE MELODIUS MAESTRA, and SERENDE THE MELODIUS DIVA!” The two monsters leapt out from Rarity’s cards, and jumped into the air, merging in a swirling light. “Ooh, pretty colors.” said Pinkie. Rarity smoked, “Just as I combine many wonderful fabrics and items to make beautiful ensembles, I am combining these two creatures to make something extraordinary! I Fusion Summon… SCHUBERTA THE MELODIUS MAESTRA!” (Atk: 2400) Everyone gazed up at Rarity’s newest monster—how it shined in the light, and its long hair flowed. “Nice monster,” said Sunset “Got anything else?” “As a matter of fact, I have.” answered Rarity “I activate her special ability, which allows me to banish three cards in the discard graveyard, and my Maestra shall receive 200 additional attack points for each one.” (Atk: 2400) -----> (Atk: 3000) “Three-thousand points?!” cried Sunset. Rarity snickered, “And that is not all, now I shall play my trap card, MELODIUS ILLUSION! The power of this trap not only shall protect my monster from any of your spells and trap cards, but it also permits her to attack you twice in the same turn.” Sunset winced! “But then again, I’d rather not attack your monsters the way you ruthlessly attacked mine. Instead I shall use this spell care, RAIGEKI!” Sunset gasped, as did all the others. “That card destroys all of Sunset’s monsters!” cried Fluttershy. Many holographic lightning bolts struck all over Sunset’s side of the field, and all three of her monsters were vaporized just like that. “No! My monsters!” cried Sunset. Rarity felt very pleased with herself. She was really starting to act not like her usual self. “Now that I’ve settled that…! Schuberta, I order you to attack Sunset directly!” Sunset braced herself as the monster unleashed its magic at her—in the form of melodious soundwaves that dealt her a full 3000 points. Sunset LP: 8000 ----> 5000 “And now, thanks to my Melodious Illusion card, she may attack again!” Sunset got blasted hard by another song-wave that cut her down another 3000 points. Sunset LP: 5000 ----> 2000 The spectators, even Rainbow, were almost speechless. “I don’t believe it.” said Rainbow “Rarity’s dueling great. She could actually win this.” “Well, don’t count Sunset out yet.” said Applejack “We’ve all faced her before, and she’s got loads of ways of makin’ a comeback.” Rarity had no cards left, so she ended her turn. “I can’t believe it.” she said in her mind “I’m actually leading in this duel, and I have the best monster in play. There really is something to all this matching and properness.” She was really starting to believe that she might actually beat Sunset for the first time. “It’s my move now,” said Sunset, and she drew her card, and the she smiled. “You dueled pretty well, Rarity; I’ll give you that, but it looks like I’m going to beat you once again.” Rarity blinked once. “You see,” Sunset went on “Pendulum monsters don’t get sent to the graveyard. When they’re destroyed, they get sent to my Extra Deck.” “I’m quite aware of this!” snapped Rarity “And then, with your Pendulum Scale set, you can bring them all back out again.” Sunset nodded, “Glad you remember that. Now, I Pendulum Summon! “Odd-Eyes…” (Atk: 2500) “Oafdragon Magician…” (Atk: 2100) “Dragonpulse Magician…” (Atk: 1800) All three of her monsters had returned to the field, but none of them were nearly as strong as Rarity’s Schuberta. “I know what you’re thinking…” said Sunset “Why call out all these guys if they aren’t strong enough? Well here’s your answer… “I play the spell POLYMERIZATION!” “Ah!” cried Rarity. “That’s right! Remember, I can fusion summon as well, and I’m fusing Odd-Eyes with Dragonpulse Magician! Now make way for a real dragon that had a real bite!” In swirling flows of light and lightning bolts, Sunset’s monster appeared. “And there he is-- RUNE-EYES PENDULUM DRAGON!” (Atk: 3000) The mighty dragon let out a mighty roar, and Rarity looked up in horror at the creature, biting her lower lip. “But wait,” cried Fluttershy “…That dragon’s attack points is the same as Rarity’s. If they fight, they’ll just destroy each other.” Pinkie then noticed something. “What about the facedown card?” Sunset snickered “That’s the final part of my plan. I play the quick-play spell, HALF SHUT” “What?!” Rarity cried! “Oh, yes,” said Sunset “This card takes your monster and halves its attack points. So your Schuberta just got cut down to size!” Rarity watched as her monster was enveloped in the light waves and instantly went from 3000 to 1500! “Well, don’t forget your card’s secondary effect!” Rarity sneered “My monster might be weaker now, but I also cannot be destroyed in battle this turn.” Sunset chuckled, “I know, and it doesn’t have to be. See, my Rune-Eyes has a special power, depending on the level Spellcaster monster I fused him with. Since Dragonpulse Magician was Level 4, Rune Eyes is allowed to make two attacks on a monster this turn!” Rarity winced “Ta-- Ta-- Two attacks?!” Sunset nodded and then called up to her dragon, “Let her have it. Rune-Eyes! Attack her monster!” Rune-Eyes roared, and unleashed its fiery fury, striking Rarity’s monster. (Atk: 3000) VS (Atk: 1500) The monster stood strong, but the flames still sped right past her. “Your monster wasn’t beat, but your life points still take a beating!” said Sunset. Rarity LP: 3500 ----> 2000 “No!” cried Rarity. Sunset snapped her fingers at Rune-Eyes, “Now, attack again!” Rune-Eyes attacked, and Rarity lost another 1500 points! Rarity LP: 2000 ----> 500 “And now,” Sunset called “Oafdragon Magician, attack and end this duel!” (Atk: 2100) VS (Atk: 1500) Rarity watched as he beautiful monster got struck once more, and the resulting shockwaves sped past her, and wiped out the last of her points. Rarity LP: 500 ----> 0 There was even a large screen of Sunset’s picture with the word “WINNER” in bright big letters beneath it. After that, the duel disk automatically shut down and the holograms still on the field faded away. Sunset was panting softly, while Rarity just stood where she was, completely overwhelmed, and the spectators all fell silent for a moment. “It’s over?” asked Pinkie. Rainbow could only go “That was SO AWESOME!! Not as good I could’ve done it, but awesome.” Sunset approached Rarity, who just stood where she was, looking as if she had seen a ghost. “Are you okay?” Sunset asked. “I can’t believe I lost again.” Rarity said ever so softly. Sunset felt sorry for her, but much to her surprise Rarity smiled, “And I can’t believe I came that close to actually winning.” Her friends were all amazed by her sudden change of attitude yet again, but at least she was okay. The girls then went back inside and returned the duel disks to the store-keeper. “That was awesome dueling out there.” he said, especially to Sunset, “You should join the Friendship Cup.” Sunset shook her head, “Thanks, but I’d really rather not.” Rainbow rolled her eyes at Sunset’s response. “Ah, come on. You should.” said the store-keeper. Sunset could hardly take any more of this annoyance of people pressuring her into the tournament, and she and the girls left the store to go and get a bite to eat. The store-keeper let it go and got back to work, but what neither he nor the girls knew was the store security cameras were hacked and bugged, and everything that transpired, even the cameras in the back alley were viewed by two cold strangers in a big dark room. The two men stood side-by-side. One was a fully grown young adult male, his brother was a teenager. “There’s no doubt,” the tall brother said “These girls just may be what we’re looking for.” His younger brother agreed, “Especially that girl in the black jacket. We’ve been scouting her for a while, and all the tests are positive. She’s originally from Equestria.” The older brother fell silent and gazed at the image of Sunset, as well as the other girls. “They must participate in our tournament. Only then will we finally be able to get the power we need to restore what was once taken from us.” “Yes,” agreed his brother “But many of them do not wish to enter. All but one of them has.” “Well then,” hissed the older brother “We’ll simply have to make an offer that they can’t refuse.”