The first round of the Double X was drawing to a close.
In the Meadow Field, Flash was staring up his next opponent. Marble began to head down the hill, an unusual confidence appearing in her walk. As she got closer, Flash's Raduel beeped. He looked down at the screen as it showed an announcement.
That announcement was also being made by the Celestic Sisters.
Celestia: Amazing! Team Rock Party has entered the battle, one which will decide their fate. If Marble Pie is victorious against Flash Sentry, then her team will have enough points to go through to the next round."
Luna: Hold on sister. Not so fast.
The screen in the stadium all switched to show the Canyon Field, where Sunburst and Bright faced off.
"ATTACK!" Sunburst Archmage unleashed a burst of fire, that destroyed Bright Idea Dragon.
Bright: 0
Sunburst: 1800 (Winner)
Sunburst leapt into the air, "YES!"
New words flashed across Flash's Raduel. 'Fateful match.'
Celestia: Oh, looks like this is going to be a decisive battle for team V-Fighters too.
Luna: With the points Sunburst just obtained, his team is now within the required number to go through.
"Huh," Flash said as he lowered his Raduel and turned back to Marble. So he still had a chance to get to the next round, but even so it'd be difficult. His last Duel against Marble hadn't really gone his way.
Celestia: This is going to be a fateful match. One of these teams will find themselves in the second round. But the question is, which one. This match will decide who takes the final slot.
Up in the VIP box, team Wonderbolts had just arrived in time to hear the announcement.
"So it's either gonna be Pinkie and Flash's team going through," Rainbow said.
Twilight hummed at this. "Considering Spike's loss and the points that were taken from them, the fact this is now a fateful match suggests that Marble must have accumulated a significant number of points herself."
This statement put everyone one edge. Was she really that good?
"You'd better win this one bro," Scootaloo said while Tidal laughed.
"That's just like me amigo. Leaving it to the last moment."
Team Dazzlings was in the stands. Aria looking bored, Sonata looking excited and Adagio looking interested.
They simply stood and watched to see how the match would turn out.
In their own box, team Dominator watched the match intensely. Tempest especially was interested to see how it would turn out, as Luna continued their announcement.
Luna: Now, from this point forwards...no new Duels will be allowed to commence!
All over the field, everyone's Raduels switched off.
Luna: The Duel between Flash Sentry and Marble Pie will be...the climax, of the first round!
Celestia: All other Duellists please report off the field. Any Duellists in the Graveyard are now free to leave.
It took roughly five minutes, but eventually everyone except Flash and Marble were off the field and now in the stands. Sunburst had spotted Spike coming out of a hallway, rushing over to him. "Spike!" The teen turned to him.
"Sunburst," they met up. "Sorry about before."
"It's alright," Sunburst replied before they turned to the field. "Flash!"
"Don't let us down!"
On the other side of the stadium, Pinkie and Maud stared down at their little sister. "Marble!" Pinkie screamed, "you can do it!"
"We believe in you," Maud agreed. "All our dreams are in your hands, Marble."
Flash and Marble both heard their teammates, but gave very different responses.
Flash looked up at his team and smiled, giving a thumbs up. "Don't worry," he assured them. "I got this." But strangely enough, Marble didn't even respond to her sisters and instead simply switched on her Duel Disk. Flash turned back to her and did the same, "let's give everyone the match of our lives. I know how much you wanna win, for your sisters. But I'm not gonna go easy on you." But as he looked at her, he saw a strange coldness in her eyes. "Marble?"
Celestia: Double X Tournament.
Luna: First round.
Both: THE CLIMAX BATTLE!
The crowd roared with excitement, as the Duellists drew theirs cards and spoke the magic word.
"DUEL!"
Flash: 4000
Marble: 4000
Marble said nothing as she drew her first card, "I summon Gaia-Knight Beryllium." A knight in silvery-white armour appeared. (A1600/D1100/L4) "Place one card face down, then end my turn."
"My turn," Flash drew his card. "I summon Magna Defender Arma, in ATK mode!" The shield carrying woman appeared before him. 'Like it or not, this is the one. Our future will be decided here and now.' "Arma, attack Beryllium!" The steampunk rushed forwards, making Marble smile.
"You activated my Trap!" She cried as her card flipped face up, "Stone Blockade! This card creates a trio of Blockade Tokens on your field." The card unleashed a trio of lights which flew over and hit Flash's side of the field, then died down to reveal three stone knights carrying giant stone shields. (A0/D1500/L3)X3
"No way," Flash said as he looked them over. Marble smiled, despite Arma slamming Beryllium and destroying it.
Flash: 4000
Marble: 3800
"Here's the thing. Those Blockade Tokens can't be tributed, nor can they be used as material for Fusion, Ritual, Synchro or Xyz Summons."
"So they're basically here to take up space," Flash realised.
"Yes. But when they're destroyed, you'll take three hundred points of damage."
"Dang it," Flash growled. "I place two cards face down and end my turn."
Celestia: Marble's playing a very smart game. She must know of Flash's well known Pendulum swarm strategy, so is limiting the number of monsters Flash can summon.
Luna: I wonder how Flash will counter, with only two monster spots open for him.
Marble drew her card before activating another, "I play Foolish Burial. So now I'll send Stone Statue of the Aztecs to the graveyard," her deck slotted out a card for her to place in her grave. Flash and the many Duellists who knew Marble's play style all knew what this meant. "Now I'll banish Beryllium and my Stone Statue, in order to summon Gaia-Knight Emerald!"
Beryllium reappeared on the field before being trapped inside a miniature moon, which quickly broke apart to reveal a knight in green stone armour carrying a large shield. The knight then took a defensive stance hiding behind its shield. (A1600/D3600/L8) "And with two Rock type monsters removed from play, Emerald gains two hundred DEF points. (A1600/D3800/L8) "Now I'll activate the Continuous Spell card known as Rock Wrecker."
Flash watched as a strange looking cannon appeared on the field. "That can't be good."
"You're right," Marble said. "The Rock Wrecker lets me select a Rock monster on my field and lower its ATK by five hundred, then slam you with the same amount as damage." A piece of Emerald broke off before flying into the cannon. (A1100/D3800/L8) The cannon then fired the piece at Flash, hitting him in the stomach.
"Gah!" He cried while falling back.
Flash: 3500
Marble: 3800
"I end my turn."
As Flash picked himself up, he couldn't help but feel that something was off about Marble. "She didn't Duel like this last time," he said while drawing his card. "Something's...different about her."
Flash wasn't the only one who'd noticed the shift in Marble's personality.
"This Duel is the big climax," Twilight said. "But she doesn't seem to care about it at all. What's wrong?"
"I couldn't say for sure," Tidal replied. "Maybe she's just testing out Flash's play style."
"Come on Flash!" Spike cried. "Get the lead out!"
"You have to get rid of those monsters," Sunburst yelled. "Or else she'll just keep pounding you with that Rock Wrecker!"
Flash heard this and nodded. "Alright," he held out two cards, "I'll set the Pendulum Scale with scale two Bright Bounce Magna Bunny and scale eight Magna Caster Solaris!" The pillars of light appeared on either side of him, as the two monsters flew up into them. "Cut through space time and carve the arc of victory!" The portal began to form above his head. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened before a light shot out and hit the ground, taking shape before fading to reveal Flash's ace. "Shine your light of victory, Flash Heart Dragon...X!" (A2500/D2000/L7/P4) "Flash Heart's skill," a portal opened up behind Emerald. "Banish Gaia-Knight Emerald!"
"I don't think so," Marble took a card from out of her pocket and placed it on the bottom of her deck. "By returning a banished rock monster to the bottom of my deck, Emerald's ability cancels out your monster's ability and destroys that monster. Emerald's DEF points went down, (A1600/D3700/L8) But doing so allowed it to slam its shield into the ground before firing a beam out of it. That beam hit Flash Heart and destroyed it.
"No!" Flash cried, but wouldn't let that stop him. "I tribute Arma in order to summon Charge Horn Magna Bull!" Arma disappeared in a flash of light, being replaced by the robotic man bull. (A2100/D2200/L6/P4) "Then I'll activate my Spell cards," his two face downs flipped up. "Lightspeed and Multiversal Spirit!" First, Lightspeed will increase the ATK of a Light monster on my field by one thousand. (A3100/D2200/L6/P4) "Then my Multiversal Spirit will let me send a monster from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard and increase Magna Bulls ATK by one hundred times its Level." He moved Flash Dragon Accel, the monster's spirit appearing in front of Manga Bull before transforming into light that surrounded the robot. (A3900/D2200/L6/P4)
Celestia: Impressive. Flash Sentry managed to increase his monster's power enough to destroy Emerald.
Marble smirked, then started running across the field. Flash followed behind her. "Magna Bull, attack!" The robot's pipes expelled the steam and sent it rocketing across the field after Marble and Emerald.
Marble spotted an Action Card in a nearby bush and grabbed it, only to flinch when something pricked her fingers. Doing so made her drop the card, which revealed an Action Trap called Every Rose has its Thorn.
Flash: 3500
Marble: 3300
Magna Bull then reached Emerald and smashed its fist into its shield, shattering it and destroying the monster.
Up in the stands, Pinkie and Maud watched as their sister Duelled. However, something didn't feel right.
Pinkie turned to Maud, "what's wrong with her. Marble's not acting like she usually acts when she Duels. It's like...there's no love between her and her cards, like there normally is."
Maud hummed. "She may be nervous. This match is very important, and she never was any good under pressure."
Pinkie nodded, thinking that must be it before turning to the field. "Stay cool Marble! Just Duel the way you normally do."
"I end my turn," Flash announced. Magna Bull's ATK returned to normal. (A2100/D2200/L6/P4)
Marble drew her card and smiled when she saw what it was, then activated another card. "I play the Spell card Painful Choice." Five cards slotted out of her deck, which she took and placed on her Duel Disk. "Now take a look at these cards." Flash did so, seeing they were all monsters cards. "Now pick one and I'll add it to my hand, while the rest go to the graveyard."
So that was it. Flash took a closer look and saw that three of them were Pendulum Monsters, while another was Gaia-Knight Ruby and the last was Gaia-Knight Corundum. "No choice," he pointed at one of the cards. "Gaia-Knight Corundum, I'll let you keep that one."
Marble smiled, "good choice." She took that card and sent the rest to the graveyard. She then pulled out another card, "now. All the conditions have been met to play this card!" The ground beneath them began to shake before rocks broke off the ground and formed another moon. "Witness the birth of the earth's queen." Parts of the moon broke off it, creating an opening, that then transformed into a staircase like construct.
Flash looked up at the opening of the moon and saw something step out of it before stepping down the stairs. It was a woman who looked like Marble, only her hair was wrapped up into a pony tailed behind her head. She was also dressed in a regal looking dress that cut off just below the knees that had many jewels sown into it. Finally, she was carrying a staff made out of white marble. "Gaia-Maiden, Lady Marble!" (A3000/D2500/L8)
Pinkie and Maud both stared at the new monster in confusion. Since when did their sister have that card in her deck?
Flash meanwhile, was looking at it in a different type of confusion. "How did you summon something that strong, without sacrificing anything?"
Marble smiled. "Lady Marble cannot be normal summoned or set, nor can she be special summoned except by her own ability."
"Which is?"
"She can be special summon, whilst I have three of more Earth monsters in my graveyard."
"So that's why you used Painful Choice."
"Exactly," she replied before placing Corundum on the field in DEF mode. (A1500/D1200/L4) "Now," she shot Flash a look, "I wanna see you overcome this with all your might." Something in the way she said that, sent a shiver down Flash's spine. "Activating the skill of Lady Marble," she pulled Gaia-Knight Ruby out of her graveyard. "By banishing an Earth monster from my graveyard, I can lower the ATK of a face-up monster on the field by one hundred times its Level."
Flash gasped as he turned to watch Ruby appear in front of Lady Marble before breaking into eight pieces, the woman using her staff to send those pieces flying at Magna Bull. And with each hit, his ATK points went down. (A1300/D2200/L6/P4)
Marble smiled. "I've been looking forward to having a match like this, for a long time."
"What?" Flash asked.
"Lady Marble, attack!" The monster tapped her staff onto the ground and caused a large chunk of earth to break off, then be sent flying towards Magna Bull.
Flash began to run off towards a nearby bush, where an Action Card was waiting. But as he turned it over, he saw it was the Trap Card Blast.
Celestia: Oh, too bad. Say goodbye to the top three cards of your deck Flash.
Flash groaned as he was forced to send his cards to the graveyard, while the block of earth struck Magna Bull and destroyed it. "Augh!"
Flash: 1800
Marble: 3300
"I'll then activate the effect of Rock Wrecker!" A piece of Corundum broke off before being loaded into the cannon. (A1000/D1200/L4) The cannon then fired, hitting Flash in the stomach and sending him flying back.
Flash: 1300
Marble: 3300
"I place one card face down end my turn!"
As Flash picked himself up, he stared at Marble. "What's going on?" He asked, "this feeling. It feels...familiar." It was then that he remembered, his Duel against Tempest. That was when he'd felt this before.
"Come now Flash," Marble said. "Show me why my friends have such an interest in you."
Flash frowned, but drew his card. "I activate the Spell card Starburst Reload. Now I'll banish the Star Fang Magna Tiger in my graveyard and draw seven new cards." He did so, as the portal formed above his head. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened before a pair of lights shot out. hitting the ground and taking shake before fading.
"Stampede, Charge Horn Magna Bull (A2100/D2200/L6/P4)
"Shine your light of victory, Flash Heart Dragon X!" (A2500/D2000/L7/P4) "Flash Heart's skill is now activated!" A portal opened, which Corundum was sucked into. Flash smirked as he leapt onto Flash Heart's back. "Now I activate the Spell card, Reverse Polarity! With it, I'll swap Magna Bull and Lady Marble's ATK points." The two monsters glowed. (A3000/D2200/L6/P4) (A2100/D2500/L8) "Flash Heart, attack!" The dragon's boosters fired, propelling it forwards.
"I activate my Trap!" Marble cried, only for her Duel Disk to give a warning to say the action was prohibited. "What?"
"Sorry," Flash said, "but not happening. When a Pendulum Monster attacks, Solaris's Pendulum Ability prevents any Traps from being used." Marble growled at this, as Flash Heart punched her monster.
Flash: 1300
Marble: 2900
But strangely, Lady Marble remained where she was. "I activate Lady Marble's final ability. If she were to be destroyed, I can banish one Earth monster in my graveyard to prevent her destruction."
"Fine," Flash said, "then I'll have Magna Bull attack." The robot minotaur shot forwards, propelled by its steam shooting pipes, and slammed Lady Marble with its own fist.
Flash: 1300
Marble: 2000
"I place two cards face down and end my turn." Magna Bull and Lady Marble's ATK points returned to normal. (A2100/D2200/L6/P4) (A3000/D2500/L8)
"Awe man," Scootaloo moaned. "No fair. If those stupid tokens weren't blocking his field, he would have gotten to summon a whole bunch of monsters and steamroll her."
Twilight nodded. "She's blocking Flash's board to prevent him from making any big plays. Those two remaining monster zones give him options to Fusion, Synchro or Xyz summon, but those monsters on their own won't be enough to beat Marble."
"So he needs to get rid of those Blockade Tokens," Soarin realised.
"But how?" Sweetie asked.
"I'm not sure," Rarity told her sister. "He can't tribute them, nor can he use them as materials for any special summon. Since he probably doesn't have any cards that'll destroy monsters on his field, he's stuck waiting for Marble to destroy them for him."
"And a'h doubt she'll do that until Flash is low on life points," Applejack said. "Remember, she said them being destroyed will hit Flash with three hundred points of damage."
"Then all we can do is hope Flash can win with what he's got," Grand finished. He looked over at Cold and saw he was staring at Marble with intrigue. Did he know something they didn't?
Cold couldn't help but sense something about this girl. As if she was different from other Duellists. Where had he sensed this feeling before.
Pinkie and Maud continued to watch as their sister continued to act strange. "Something's...not right," Pinkie said.
"I know," Maud said while a look of concern broke through her usually stoic expression. "This is weird." The two looked over at Marble's new monster. Where had she gotten it and why was looking at it giving them this strange sensation of dread?
"It's my turn," Marble drew her card. "And I equip Lady Marble with the Rock Crusher!" Her monster's staff transformed into a large hammer. "You see, when a monster equipped with Rock Crusher destroys a monster, she can destroy every Rock Monster on your field."
Flash quickly caught onto what she was planning. If she attacked and destroyed one of his monsters, she'd destroy the three Blockade Tokens on his field and in doing so, would deal him a total of nine hundred points of damage."
"Then I'll use her ability, to banish Emerald from my graveyard." The monster appeared on the field before breaking into pieces, which were shot towards Magna Bull. With each piece that struck him, Magna Bull's power went down until it was much weaker.. (A1300/D2200/L6/P4) "This...ends....NOW!" Lady Marble charged forwards, ready to end this.
Celestia: Is this it?
Luna: Will team Rock Party be the ones to go through."
"FLASH!" Spike, Sunburst and everyone in the box yelled out as they watched Lady Marble reach Magna Bull.
"This ain't over yet," Flash told Marble before activating his face down. "Go, Defence Draw!" Lady Marble struck Magna Bull with her hammer and destroyed it, but a bubble appeared around Flash to block the attack. Flash then drew his card while Marble growled.
"Fine!" She almost screamed, "but the effects of Rock Crusher will still destroy your Blockade Tokens!" Then Gaia-Maiden used the hammer and shattered the stone monsters, the pieces of them flying at Flash and hitting him as he cried out and was knocked off Flash Heart.
Flash: 400
Marble: 2000
"I place one card face down and end my turn."
Celestia: Flash Sentry, holding on by the skin of his teeth.
Luna: And with the board now freed of those Blockade Tokens, how will he use his new advantage?
Anyone who was looking at Marble could tell she was angry. "Don't think you're anything special because you survived." Her eyes opened, a pulse of bad vibes shooting out of her and being felt throughout the entire field. "You're only delaying the inevitable!"
Flash flinched as that feeling washed over him, only to gasp when he saw something. A strange light, flowing off of her. That light seemed to take the shape of a woman, holding a staff. Flash's eyes flashed between the light and Marble's monster, realising they were exactly the same. "What are you?"
Meanwhile, the rest of the stadium was reeling from that negative vibe pulse.
The younger members of the audience felt goosebumps, Flurry even breaking out into tears, while the older ones felt this horrible sense of dread. "What was that?" Rainbow asked.
"Just for a second," Fluttershy continued. "I got a sense of something awful."
"I thought that was just me," Sunset said.
"That kid," Tidal stared down at Marble. "Who is she?"
Cold stood up, continuing to stare at Marble. "Cold?" He turned to see Shining looking up at him. "You okay?"
Cold just looked back at the field, "I'm fine." But no one was believing that. As he stared at Marble, he suddenly got a familiar sense. That girl, was very similar to Tempest Shadow.
He looked down into the crowd, spotting Adagio and her sister in the stands. The blond looked up at him and nodded, him nodding back. Seems they were on the same page.
Over with Spike and Sunburst, the younger of the two turned to his teammate. "I'm worried. Flash is looking rattled and that's not something that happens easily."
"He'll be fine," Sunburst replied. "He just needs to keep his head in the game."
Flash stared at Marble as he reached for his deck. There was no doubt now, this wasn't the same Marble he'd Duelled before. Something had happened to her. "I draw!"
"And I activate my face down," Marble's card flipped up. "Trap Mirror. Now I can banish Stone Blockade from my graveyard to activate its effect." Three lights shot out of the Trap and hit Flash's field, creating the three stone statues once again.
Celestia: Oh no, now Flash is stuck with only two monster zones.
Luna: And next turn, Ms Pie's Rock Crusher will destroy then and deal him enough damage to be defeated. It seems the fate of this Duel will be decided during this turn.
"Come on!" Marble cried, "give me everything you've got."
Flash growled, "oh I will!" Flash held up the card he'd just drawn and slapped it onto his Duel Disk. "Come on out, Vail Pixie X!" The little fairy appeared on his field, floating next to Flash Heart. (A100/D100/L1) "Then, I'll tribute her and Flash Heart, in order to awaken Flash Heart's ultimate power!" With that, Flash Heart and Vail Pixie glowed before they shot into the air, with Vail Pixie morphing into a cocoon of light that completely enveloped Flash Heart Dragon.
Flash held up the card he'd gotten from Defence Draw before slapping in onto his Duel Disk, "TRANSCEND!" The cocoon of light exploded off of his monster, revealing a hyper evolved Flash Heart. "Flash Dragon...MAGNA HARMONY!" (A3000/D2500/L8)
All over the stadium, everyone was watching in awe as the monster that saved the earth appeared before them. Marble just stared at it, "you don't scare me with that."
"We'll see about that!" Flash said as he removed two cards from his graveyard, "I banish Flash Dragon Accel and Space-Warp Dragon! Now Magna Harmony will gain their abilities." The spirits of the two banished monsters flashed in front of his dragon before flying inside of it. "ATTACK!"
"Why?" Marble asked, "our monster's ATK are the same. If they clash, they'll both be destroyed." She then smiled, "In fact, only yours will be destroyed. All I have to do is banish another monsters from my grave to protect her." But her confidence vanished whens he saw Flash smiling.
"Don't forget, Magna Harmony now has Space-Warp's abilities. And if Space-Warp attacks while you have more banished cards then me, his ATK is doubled."
"What?" Marble looked up at Magna Harmony and saw it begin to glow. (A6000/D2500/L8) "No!" She knew her only hope was an Action Card, so she and her monster began to run off while Flash leapt onto Manga Harmony's back before it flew after them.
Marble reached to top of a hill and spotted an Action Card at the bottom of it. If she could just reach it.
"Who or what are you!?" She looked back to see Flash and his monster following. "And what did you do to Marble!"
Marble didn't answer, instead jumping down the hill and sliding towards the Action Card. She grabbed it, seconds before Magna Harmony could reach her monster. "I play the Action Spell, Grass Guard!" A tornado of grass appeared around Lady Marble, as Magna Harmony tried to punch her. "This card will cut the damage I take in half, while banishing an Earth monster from my grave protects my monster!" The fist broke through the tornado, but Lady Marble blocked it with her staff.
Flash: 400
Marble: 500
Flash frowned, but then spotted an Action Card. He leapt off Magna Harmony, as the monster was consumed by light. "I activate the skill inherited from Flash Dragon Accel!" The light faded, revealing Flash Heart Dragon X. (A2500/D2000/L7/P4) Flash landed on the ground next to the Action Card and grabbed it, turning it around to see what he'd gotten. He then turned to Marble, "this is what we've all been aiming for. The images of Sunburst and Spike flashed in front of him. "Our goals. Our dreams. Coming together, at the Double X. Flash Heart Dragon X, ATTACK!"
"Why?" Marble asked, "it can't beat my Gaia-Maiden."
"We'll see about that!" Flash played the Action Spell he'd gotten. "Time to play Cloud Gazing. This Action Spell lets me take a Monster, Spell and Trap from my graveyard." He took said cards and held them up, "now pick one." Marble raised an eyebrow at this. "If you pick the monster, I'll get to summon it. If it's the Spell, I can play it. But if it's the Trap, I lose five hundred life points."
Marble quickly realised what he had planned. As long as she didn't pick the Spell, the match was hers.
Celestia: It all comes down to this.
Luna: One choice, may decide the fate of this match.
Flash glared at Marble. "I don't know what happened, but whoever made Marble into this...thing, will have to pay for what they did. For taking away her love of this game."
"The far right!" Marble chose, with Flash smiling.
"You picked my Spell Card," Marble's eyes went wide. "Lightspeed!" Flash Heart glowed as his power went up. (A3500/D2000/L7/P4) The dragon finally reached Lady Marble, pulling back a fist. "You leave our game alone, do you HEAR ME!" Flash Heart punched Lady Marble, shattering her staff and making her cry out.
Marble then smiled. "You are too cute, you know that."
"Huh?" Flash asked before her monster exploded.
Flash: 400 (Winner)
Marble: 0
Marble suddenly hissed in pain, clutching the back of her right hand. Flash noticed this, but before he could ask what it was-
Celestia: There we have it! Flash Sentry has won. And with that victory, the ones going through to the second round is...TEAM V-FIGHTERS!
The crowd erupted into applause, as Duel Field disappeared with Flash and Marble standing on it.
Flash turned back to Marble, only to find her standing next to him with hand hand out. "Good game." Okay, Flash was completely lost but shook her hand anyway. Once she was done, she turned to walk away.
Flash was about to follow, only for footsteps to make him turn around and see Spike running towards him. "FLASH!" He cried as he threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly, "you did it!"
"Hey," Flash turned to see Sunburst walking up to him. He then broke out in a smile before rushing towards him, "we're through to the next stage!" He slapped Flash on the back, the boy crying out while Spike and Sunburst laughed.
"I can't believe they did it!" Scootaloo cheered while everyone in the box clapped.
"It's to bad that Pinkie's team could get through," Sweetie said before Rarity patted her on the shoulder.
"That's just the way thing play out. There's always next year."
"I guess you're right," Sweetie said.
As everyone continued to talk, Cold stepped back before slipping out of the room. Only one person noticed his exit, and Grand was starting to agree with Shining that something was up with him.
In their box, team Dominator were gone.
Luna: The Double X can now proceed onto the next round. Sixteen of our teams have made it through to compete here in round two. The excitement continues to build.
Outside, Marble had left the stadium and was walking off.
"Marble!" The girl stopped before turning to see Pinkie and Maud running up to her. "What's the deal, leaving like that. You don't wanna get lost again, do you?"
Marble said nothing.
"Marble," Maud stepped up, "what happened back there. That Duel...you weren't your usual self back there."
"Yeah," Pinkie agreed, "what's up with you?"
"Nothing," Marble replied before turning towards them. "Listen, I'm heading off."
This caught the girls by surprise. "Where are you going?" Maud asked.
"Maybe we can come with you," Pinkie suggested.
"No," Marble said, "where I'm going...is not a place for weaklings like the two of you." Pinkie and Maud both gasped hearing this, as Marble walked off with a smile on her face. They wanted to go after her, but for some reason they couldn't seem to move.
Up on the roof of the stadium, team Dominator watched the exchanged.
Starlight turned to Tempest. "You're just gonna...let her go?"
Tempest sighed. "When has she ever listened to what other people say. Besides, she has her own mission to attend to. Finding the vessels for our comrades and locating the six keys. We have our mission as well, to find the one worthy. Only then, will our lord be able to make the world the way it should be." Both Starlight and Heath nodded.
In the hallway, Cold and Adagio stood side bye side with Cold on the phone.
"And that's everything," he said into it. "I'm sorry about Flash, but there were situations beyond my control." He listened for several moment before nodding, "alright. I'll have him there tomorrow. Alright, see you then." He cut the call and turned to Adagio.
"Well?" She asked with crossed arms.
"She'll be here tomorrow."
"Who'll be here tomorrow?" The two turned to see Grand walking up to him, a suspicious look on his face. "Alright, what's going on?"
Cold sighed, "it's...hard to explain."
"Just tell me...is Flash in danger?" After what had happened last year, the fact that his grandson might once again be put in the middle of something big troubled him.
"I can't say for sure. It'll be easier to hear what's going on from my informant."
"And whose your informant?"
"Someone you know quite well. She'll be here tomorrow. Her flight from Egypt is just about to take off."
"Egypt?"
Cairo International Airport.
The terminal was busy, as many natives and tourists headed to or from their flights. Over at baggage drop, one woman put a mid-sized travel bag onto the conveyor belt. She then turned towards the board to see where her flight was.
She was a silver skinned woman with purple hair, wearing a pink blouse and blue skirt. She sighed as she headed towards her gate. "Just a little longer, and I'll be home. Wait for me kids."