Duelists of the Friendship Cup

by DrakeyC

Mythical Bestiary – Rarity vs Sunny Flare (Part 2)

“This isn’t possible.” Twilight stepped back, shaking her head. “You’re lying.”

“Afraid not.” Trixie picked up her phone and rubbed the screen on her sleeve. “If this is broken, you’re paying for it.”

“I’ve never met you before. I’ve never been to this school.” Twilight shook her head again. “That wasn’t me.”

“Then it was someone who looks exactly like you, save for the glasses and the uniform.”

“A lookalike…yes.” Twilight nodded quickly. “Yes, it has to be. Someone was impersonating me.”

“You sure decided on that explanation pretty quick.”

“It’s the only explanation that makes sense.” Twilight took a deep breath. “This explains a lot. I should have hypothesized this sooner.”

“Uh, hang on.” Trixie held up a hand. “I don’t think you get what I’m saying. It wasn’t someone who just looked like you. They looked exactly like you, right down to the same hair colors with the same stripe. They sounded just like you, too.” Trixie sniffed. “Though she was a lot nicer than you. So Trixie has heard, anyway. Personally I think you’re about the same level of annoyance.”

“Hair dye or a wig could copy hair well enough. Voice imitation and personality can be chalked up to faulty memory.”

Trixie peered at her closely. “You’re really clinging to this theory, huh?”

“What else could it be?” Twilight asked. “I certainly wasn’t me competing in that tournament, so it had to be someone else.”

“Someone who looks like you, talks like you, and has the same name as you.”

“How do you explain it, then?”

Trixie shrugged. “You’re lying. You’ve got amnesia. You have a twin sister you don’t know about. I’d suggest she came from an alternate universe, but she didn’t have a beard.”

“No, dubious, unlikely, and impossible.” Twilight shook her head. “Occam’s Razor states that the simplest answer is most probable to be the correct one.”

“Someone impersonated you exactly to enter our school’s tournament, win it, and then vanished and had all records of her entry erased. That sounds simple to you?”

“No, but nothing about this is simple no matter how I try to justify it…” Twilight rubbed her forehead. “I need to find that girl, whoever she is.”

“Good luck with that,” Trixie replied. “She kept to herself while she was here, more or less.”

“Surely she spoke to someone?”

“As far as I heard, the only person she ever spoke to much was Sunset Shimmer and her friends.”

Twilight paused. “Them?” Her expression darkened. “Of course they’d know…” She clenched her eyes shut. “This simultaneously makes more and less sense the more I learn.” She looked back at Trixie and nodded. “Thank you.”

Trixie gave her a sidelong glance. “So, what happens now?”

Twilight inhaled. “There’s someone I need to speak to again.”

“My turn.” Sunny smiled as she drew. “Now the second effect of my Slip of Fortune returns Hazy Flame Basiltrice to my field.” The Hazy Pillar behind her flared up and the Basiltrice flew out of it, embers swirling in the air in its wake.

“Yes, and it has no Xyz Materials with which to use its effects now,” Rarity said.

“Not a concern.” Sunny tossed her hair and gestured to Hazy Flame Sphynx. “I shall now use the effect of Hazy Flame Sphynx. I guess the type of card on top of my deck and then send it to the Graveyard, and if I guessed right, I can revive a Fire monster in the Graveyard.” Sunny place her hand on her deck. “I’m going to guess it’s a Monster card.” She turned the card over and barked out a chuckle. “Lucky me, it’s another copy of Hazy Flame Sphynx. It goes to the Graveyard, and I’ll revive my Hazy Flame Hydra.”

A jet of flame erupted from the ground in front of Sunny, and the multi-headed serpent slithered out of it and rose up.

“Next, I’ll summon ‘Hazy Flame Hyppogrif’.” A fireball floated from the Hazy Pillar and expanded into the shape of a new monster. The flames receded to reveal an avian with fiery wings and four talons crouching on the ground, a crest of red fire on its head (2100/200).

Sunny smirked. “And now, I overlay my Hazy Flame Sphynx, Hazy Flame Hydra, and Hazy Flame Hyppgrif! Using my three Level 6 monsters, I construct the Overlay network!”

The three monsters turned into orbs of flame and floated towards the Hazy Pillar, circling it in streaks of light. Sunny held her hand up. “By uniting the serpent of fire, the avian of fire, and the lion of fire, I spark the kindling that will light the inferno of malice!” She swept her arms through the air, bringing her hand down to her duel disk. “Xyz Summon!” She whipped the card out and slid it into place on her duel disk, the card tray lighting up. “Take flight, Rank 6, Hazy Flame Basiltrice!”

A shockwave of orange and red energy burst out of the Hazy Pillar, signaling the Basiltrice’s arrival as it flew out. It circled around Sunny and landed on her right, three orbs of orange light circling it.

Rarity sniffed. “And this one has three materials to use its effects with.”

“Ah, ah, not quite.” Sunny wagged her finger. “One thing at a time, dearie. When Hazy Flame Hydra is used as an Xyz Material, another Hazy Flame monster in my Graveyard can be attached as an additional Xyz Material. I choose my Hazy Flame Mantikor.” Another ball of light emerged from the ground and floated into orbital formation with the other three.

“Now that that is taken care of, I think you should be aware of my Basiltrice’s other abilities.” Sunny chuckled softly. “With three or more Xyz Materials, my Basiltrice gains two hundred attack points for each of them. And with four or more Xyz Materials, you cannot target my Basiltrice with card effects.”

Rarity grimaced. “A hefty investment for such benefits.”

“Trust me, it’s worth it!” Sunny pointed across the field. “Hazy Flame Basiltrice, attack and destroy Sapphire Pegasus!” Basiltrice (2500 → 3300) opened its mouth and fired a stream of flame. Sapphire Pegasus (2600) whinnied and reared up as the fire consumed it, its form washed away.

“The effect of Crystal Release activates.” Rarity tapped her duel disk screen and a card ejected from her deck. “I can now place ‘Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat’ in my Spell and Trap zone.” A pale amethyst crystal materialized to Rarity’s right, the shadowed form of a monster inside it.

“Go ahead, it won’t save your other monster! My second Hazy Flame Basiltrice attacks!” The Basiltrice launched its attack. Rarity’s hologram flipped over, revealing a tortoise with green gemstones in its shell (300/2000). It groaned as it dissolved in the flames.

Sunny smirked. “Now that my original Basiltrice has served its purpose, I’ll use the second effect of Hazy Pillar: once per turn I attach a Hazy Flame monster in my hand or on the field to a Hazy Flame Xyz monster. I’ll attach my first Basiltrice to my second.” The Basiltrice lit up orange and condensed into a ball of light that hovered towards the second. “With a fifth material, Hazy Flame Basiltrice gains a thousand extra attack points, and cannot be destroyed by card effects.” Sunny held up a card in her hand. “I set one card and end my turn.”

“Very well.” Rarity drew with a flourish and smiled. “I’m almost grateful you were able to power up your monster to such extremes. It will make my move all the sweeter when it wipes that smirk off your face!”

“Oh my!” Sunny gasped and pressed a hand to her cheek. “I shudder in anticipation!”

“You’ll eat those words!” Rarity hissed. “I summon ‘Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle’.” A bird with a jeweled collar set with blue crystals and the same crystals embedded in its wings swooped down to perch in front of Rarity (1400/800).

Rarity held up her duel disk. “Sapphire Pegasus and Emerald Tortoise are in the Graveyard, Cobalt Eagle is in my Monster zone, and Amethyst Cat, Topaz Tiger, Amber Mammoth, and Ruby Carbuncle are in my Spell and Trap zones. With the seven Crystal Beasts now in play, I activate my Trap card ‘Rainbow Gravity’!”

Rarity’s card flipped up and lit up in white light. Streams of light in the colors of the rainbow rose into the air. It reached the clouds and let out a wave of multicolored light across them. Rarity smiled and closed her eyes. “By the powers of this Trap card, from my deck, I Special Summon ‘Rainbow Dragon’!”

The light in the air above them shone brighter, the silhouette of a long, serpentine dragon appearing within it. With the sound of a mighty roar the light cracked and broke apart. From the shards came a giant white and gold dragon in a rainbow aura, massive white wings spreading into the air, gemstones in seven colors embedded in its scales. It descended behind Rarity and coiled in the air above her, glaring at Sunny Flare with golden eyes beneath a crested helmet of white and gold (4000/0).

Sunny’s eyebrows lifted and she gasped. “Such a beautiful beast! The size, the colors! I almost feel jealous.”

“Thank you.” Rarity gave a small bow. “I’ll let you see its power for yourself now! Rainbow Dragon, attack and destroy Hazy Flame Basiltrice!”

The gemstones on Rainbow Dragon’s scales lit up and sent seven streams of colored light up to the horns on its helmet. With crackles of energy, it opened its mouth and fired a beam of light at Sunny’s field.

Sunny scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Such beauty and yet such a brute when it comes to strategy. How uncouth.” She reached to her duel disk and touched a screen prompt. “I activate my Trap card ‘Safe Zone’.” A wall of pale blue crystal rose up in front of Hazy Flame Basiltrice. “With this now active, my Hazy Flame Basiltrice cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects, or targeted by card effects.”

Rarity let out a small huff. “That is simply absurd! At what penalty can that card work?”

“Oh, a severe penalty, actually. My monster is unable to attack you directly now, and if my Safe Zone card is removed from the field, my monster is destroyed.” Sunny held up her hands. “Though, as long as Hazy Flame Basiltrice has five monsters attached to it, it can’t be destroyed by card effects, not even my own.”

Rarity pouted. “Clever.”

“I know.” Sunny winked at her. “I do still take damage from the attack, but it’s a minor inconvenience.”

Rainbow Dragon’s light beam faded away, and the blue crystal wall in front of Basiltrice receded.

Rarity sighed and looked at the last card left in her hand. “I end my turn.”

“Wonderful, my move again!” Sunny smiled sweetly as she drew. She looked at her card and reached to her touchscreen. “First things first. As incredible as that dragon is, I’m afraid it’s between me and your Life Points, so it has to go. I detach Hazy Flame Hydra from my Hazy Flame Basiltrice to use its effect and banish Rainbow Dragon!”

Basiltrice crowed and flapped its wings to rise into the air, embers in its wake. One of the orange orbs circling it flew into its mouth and grew into a massive ball of fire. Basiltrice drew its head back and snapped it forward, the fireball spreading into multiple streams of fire that spread out and weaved through the air. The assault struck Rainbow Dragon’s body, pelting its wings and scales in small explosions. Its body lit up in orange light and it dissolved away into embers.

Rarity gaped, her eyes wide. “My Rainbow Dragon…”

“Is gone,” Sunny finished. She flipped over the card she had drawn. “And unfortunately for you, I’m still here. I summon Hazy Flame Mantikor.” A blast of fire next to her heralded the arrival of her lion-like monster, red skin glowing and fiery mane shimmering (2200/300).

Sunny pointed across the field again. “Hazy Flame Basiltrice, attack Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle!” Basiltrice (3500) opened its beak and shot another blast of fire at Rarity’s monster. Cobalt Eagle was incinerated, burnt feathers flying into the air.

“And next my Hazy Flame Mantikor attacks directly!” Mantikor roared and spat a fireball at Rarity. The attack struck the air before her and washed over her.

“And now just to be safe, I’ll use the effect of Hazy Pillar to attach Mantikor to Basiltrice as a new fifth material. That will end my turn.” As her Mantikor turned into a fireball that began to circle Basiltrice, Sunny fanned herself with her hand. “Is the heat too much for you? Don’t worry, just one more turn and it’ll be over.”

Rarity lowered her head, her hands clenched at her side. “No…”

“Yes.” Sunny rolled her eyes. “Be honest with yourself, dearie. We both know you never stood a chance.”

“I stood more than a chance!” Rarity shot back, raising her head. “Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all gave you great duels, and Sunset was able to beat Twilight! I’ve given you a hard duel and you know it!”

“Not really. I played a bit cautious to feel out if you had any surprises for me.” Sunny shrugged. “Once I realized you didn’t, I could focus my resources into just finishing you off quickly. The only thing you have that could have posed some problems was your Rainbow Dragon, and you see how easily I got rid of it.”

Sunny shook her head. “I’m sorry you have to hear it from me before you lose instead of just realizing it yourself, but one victory doesn’t make Canterlot worthy of facing Crystal Prep. The best of your friends was just barely enough to defeat the weakest of our group, after all.” She tossed her hair and waved to the Crystal Prep crowd, who cheered in response. “Face it, dearie – you just can’t compare to moi.”

“Compare?” Rarity hissed, her hands clenching tighter. “You’re right. There is absolutely no comparing me to you!” Sunny turned back as Rarity shouted at her. “I duel to bring beauty and spectacle to the game, to prove to any who doubt me that victory and power don’t have to come at the expense of grace and elegance. But you? You’re just an egomaniacal braggart who enjoys rubbing their opponent’s nose in the dirt. There’s nothing graceful or elegant about someone like you!”

On the sidelines, Sunset’s heart skipped a beat. She inhaled sharply. This feeling… She clenched at her chest and stared at Rarity. It can’t be. It’s impossible.

Rarity shook her head furiously. “You say I never had a chance? Well, I say I did and still do. A duel isn’t over until the last card is played, and this tournament isn’t over until the fourth of our group loses their duel. And that’s not going to be me. For myself, for my friends, and for my school, I’m going to show you who I am!”

Eyes flaring with violet light, Rarity put a hand on top of her deck. “My turn, draw!” She whipped her card out, sparks of violet light in its wake. She turned the card over, looked at it, and held it out. “I activate the Spell card ‘Crystal Overfusion’!”

Rays of violet light shone from Rarity’s card. Above her in the air, the images of Sapphire Pegasus, Cobalt Eagle, and Emerald Tortoise appeared. In front of her, the crystallized forms of Amethyst Cat, Amber Mammoth, Topaz Tiger, and Ruby Carbuncle began to crack apart, glowing the same light.

Rarity’s voice echoed as she spoke. “By banishing Crystal Beast cards in my Graveyard and on my field, either as Monsters or as Spell cards, I conduct a Fusion Summon!”

The crystallized monsters shattered, and the shards rose into the air, swirling around each other in a sphere. Rarity slid her card into her duel disk and a ray of seven-colored light shot up into the sky, engulfing the gem dust and lifting it into the clouds. The clouds twisted and swirled around each other, white light flashing within.

“Is she doin’ what Ah think she’s doin’?” Applejack asked.

“B-but, Rarity doesn’t have magic!” Fluttershy protested. She turned her head to the side. “Sunset?”

Sunset didn’t reply, continuing to stare, eyes wide, at the duel.

Rarity put a hand over her duel disk. “By combining the lights of the seven gems, I create the bridge to a new future and summon forth a crystal guardian like no other!” A card materialized between her fingers and she slapped it on her duel disk. “Fusion Summon! Descend, Level 12, ‘Rainbow Overdragon’!”

The clouds parted and Rarity’s new monster slowly lowered from above them. A massive white and gold dragon, even larger than Rainbow Dragon, spread its wings across the field and raised its head, eyes glowing white beneath a gold and silver horned crest. Its stomach was shining violet scales, light in seven colors pulsing within them. It hovered above Rarity and roared, the force shaking the field.

Sunny stared in awe. “Magnificent…”

Wisps of violet energy coming from her hands and eyes, Rarity looked at Sunny sternly. “This is the card that has sealed your fate.”

Sunny looked at her duel disk and burst out laughing. “It has the exact same stats as Rainbow Dragon! It may be even more beautiful, but it isn’t any more powerful. Did you forget my Basiltrice is immune to destruction and targeting by any manner? You can’t get rid of it, and then on my next turn I’ll just banish your new dragon just like the first!”

“Of course you would think that,” Rarity whispered. “Someone like you only sees destruction effects and monsters stats, and thinks she is untouchable as long as she can control that kind of play. Not so.” She raised her head. “I activate Rainbow Overdragon’s special ability! By offering it as Tribute, all other cards on the field are shuffled into the deck!”

Sunny’s jaw dropped. “What?”

Rainbow Overdragon spread its wings. Sunny Flare’s Hazy Flame Basiltrice lit up in seven-colored light and squawked as it was drawn across the field. Sunny turned her head as the Hazy Pillar behind her condensed, fire roiling inside a sphere of the same light, and floated after the Basiltrice. When the two forms were close enough, Rainbow Overdragon swept its wings around them and bowed its head. Sparks crackled over its wings and the dragon dissolved, Sunny’s cards vanished from within its grasp.

Sunny clenched her fist. “You lost just as much as I did with that move, and you have nothing left! On my next turn I can—”

“I was not finished,” Rarity interrupted calmly. She reached to her duel disk as a card ejected from her Graveyard slot, and she held it up. “I activate the effect of Crystal Overfusion in my Graveyard. By banishing it when the monster it summoned leaves the field, I can search my deck, hand, Graveyard, or banished zone, for a Rainbow Dragon card, and summon it.”

With a shimmer of purple light over it, Crystal Overfusion in Rarity’s hand transformed into Rainbow Dragon. “From the banished zone, return to me, Rainbow Dragon!” The vanishing particles of Rainbow Overdragon came together behind her and formed into the visage of Rainbow Dragon, the beast roaring proudly.

“Destruction and creation, rebirth and regrowth. This is what my deck is. What I am.” Rarity’s eyes glowed brighter as she spoke.

Sunny stepped back and scowled. “You think this means anything? Your school still has to win two more rounds to beat us! This duel doesn’t make Canterlot superior to Crystal Prep!”

“No.” Rarity’s hair fluttered softly as she whispered. “Just as your school’s past victories don’t make you superior to us.” She spun in place, hand brought back over her shoulder, and thrust it out, her clothing and hair sweeping in her wake. “Rainbow Dragon, attack Sunny Flare directly!”

Rainbow Dragon opened its jaws as it summoned energy from the seven gemstones in its scales. It thrust its head forward and fired a beam of searing light. Sunny grit her teeth and closed her eyes as the attack struck her.

On the display board, Sunny’s portrait turned grey and Rarity’s grew to fill the screen. “The winner of the fifth duel of the Friendship Cup is Rarity Belle for Canterlot High!” The Canterlot stands erupted into cheers, applauding wildly.

The light faded from Rarity’s eyes and she slumped to the ground, gently sitting down. She swallowed and breathed heavily. “Oh… oh my…”

“Rarity!” She turned her head to see Rainbow Dash running up to her, grinning widely. “That was awesome!” Rainbow laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. Rarity gasped sharply, her legs shaking for a moment.

“How did you do that?” Applejack asked. “You don’t have magic! Ah mean, ya don’t, do ya?”

“I… I don’t know.” Rarity blinked several times and put a hand to her chest. “Sunset, what do you make of this?” When there was no response, Rarity looked between the group clustering around her, and they parted to look with her.

Sunset was nowhere to be seen.