//------------------------------// // Turn 45: Clashing of Two Lights // Story: Yugioh EQG: XX // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// It was another sunny day in Canterlot, and the city was abuzz about only one subject. In two days, the Double X's final round would commence and everyone was itching to see who would win. Would the Dominators remain on top, or would the V-Fighters pull off a miracle. In one of the Canterlot houses, Starlight Glimmer was laying on her bed looking up at the ceiling. As she did, she thought back on what she had seen during the last semi-final Duel. The Trap Monster Twilight Sparkle had used, where had it come from? She didn't actually know how these humans learned about Duel Monsters and their abilities, or how they're able to recreate them in card form. But even if they did have a way to know about her world, how could Saltalunam become one. It was their understanding that dying in this world meant death in theirs, so how did the Moondancing Scholar become a new card when she's supposed to be dead? She knew she wasn't the only one wondering about this. She got up and headed out her room, travelling into the living room and seeing Tempest sitting at a table. A picture of Moondancer was on said table, with the Dominator staring down at it oddly. "You need to snap out of this," she told her. "The finals are in a few days and we need to be at our best," Tempest said nothing, making Starlight frown before rushing up to her and slamming her hands into the table. "Snap out of it!" "I need you to do something." Starlight frowned, "will it snap you out of this funk?" "Go find Twilight Sparkle and Duel her." This order shocked her. "Why?" "She may still be an eligible candidate for Project Omega Zenith. Duel her and if she wins, we add her to the list." Tempest continued to look down at the picture, remembering what he had seen during her Duel. "She's...not the same as when Heath and I Duelled her. Starlight could barely believe what she was hearing. "You can't be serious." But the look Tempest gave her when she turned to lock eyes with her showed the girl she was. "Fine, I'll Duel her." She headed towards the door, "but I think this is just a waste of time. I'll beat her and once I have, you'd better snap out of this." With that, she was gone. Tempest turned back to the image and stared down at Moondancer. "What happened to you. Did you find your way back to our world? Or did you cut the Soulink before your host? "Flash Heart Dragon, attack!" Flash's ace rocketed across the field and struck Orchid Marshal, destroying it. Flash: 1200 Applejack: 1800 Applejack smirked, "not bad partner. But you're gonna need to do better then that if ya'h wanna win this thing." "I know that," Flash told her seriously. "I don't intend to hold back. Not one bit." He gave her a 'bring it' gesture, "come on. Give me everything you've got." Flash and Applejack were Duelling in the park, and they weren't the only ones. Sunburst and Spike were also in their own matches, against Rarity and Mac. The three of them had been Duelling opponents non-stop, doing everything they could to prepare themselves for their match against team Dominator. Spike was facing Rarity and had Dragonic Blazemaster on his field against her Gem-Knight Master Diamond, whilst Sunburst and his Magician were facing Mac and his Cyber Handyman. Over to the side, Misty Vail was watching along with team Crusaders and team Tidal Maidens. The two teams had also been facing off against the V-Fighters, trying to help the boys push each other to their absolute limit. "This is looking good," Misty said. "The boys are in top form." "Well they'll need to be if they want to beat team Dominator," Twilight explained. As they were saying that, a loud growl caught their attention and made them turn to Scootaloo. The young teen smirked as she rubbed her stomach, "sorry. Duelling tends to give me an appetite." Misty laughed, "you get that from your father." She turned away, "it's getting pretty close to lunch. So why don't I go get us all something to eat." The girls all smiled at this, with Twilight stepping up to her. "I'll help. You'll need a crane the carry the food needed to feed both Flash and Spike." They all laughed and Misty agreed, the others staying back so they could come up against the V-Fighters once their next Duel ended. And so the two took everyone's orders before heading out the park towards a nearby sub shop. As they made their way to it, Misty turned to Twilight and smiled. "Thanks for helping me with this." Twilight smiled back at her, "no problem. Happy to help." "I was actually hoping we could spend some one on one time together. I want to learn as much about my future daughter-in-law as possible." This statement made Twilight go red in the face, causing Misty to laugh. "But seriously, I'm glad Flash found a wonderful girl like you to be with." Twilight's blush increased. "Thanks." She looked up at the sky, "I remember when I first met Flash. He was so anti-social. He didn't have any friends and everyone seemed to be afraid of him." She smiled, "but I knew he wasn't as bad as everyone said. After all, if he was that bad, why would he try and help my brother from a bunch of bullies." Misty smirked as she remembered back to when she met Trail, how he helped her and her father against those punks. No doubt Flash had inherited his father's just heart. "They're definitely something special." Twilight nodded. "Then when he started Duelling, he changed. He went from being really moody to being the happy guy he is today. He went from having no friends, to having tons of them." Misty nodded, "that's one of the beautiful things about this game. It connects people, from all corners of life. Duellists with nothing else in common can become friends, all because of their love of this game." Twilight smiled at that, "I know it helped me become the person I am today." She continued to look up at the sky, "I love this game. And I wanna help spread its message as far across the world as I can." "So you wanna become a pro?" "Maybe," Twilight replied, "but that's not my only path to spreading the game. I could go the same route Cadance went down and help organise events or become a manager. The future is limitless for me." Misty smiled, happy that Twilight was wanting to dedicate her life to helping spread the word of the game she loved. She then reached into her pocket and pulled something out. "Well then, this might help you in whatever you try and do." Twilight saw she was holding out a card and took it. She turned it over and saw it was a Spell card, reading its name and effect and going wide-eyed. "This is..." Misty smiled, "it's the first card I've made since coming back here. You can thank Cold for letting me have my old job back. I made it especially for you. Its effects should help you with summoning your more powerful Synchro monsters. You like?" Twilight stared at the card for several long seconds until she held it close to her and before turning to smile at Misty, "I love it. Thank you." "No problem," Misty smiled back. "Sorry I didn't give it to you during the Double X, but it would have been useless there." "Well don't worry," Twilight took out her Duel Disk and placed the card inside with the rest of her deck. "I promise I'll put it to good use." "Glad to hear it. Now come on, let's get lunch before my kids decide to eat each other." They laughed and continued on their way, but were forced to stop at the sound of a certain voice. "Twilight Sparkle!" They turned towards the voice and both gasped when they saw who was standing a ways off "Starlight Glimmer," they both whispered. The Dominator pointed at Twilight, "I challenge you to a Duel." This statement shocked both of them, "will you accept?" Twilight and Misty shared an unsure glance, both beginning to worry that this might be some kind of trap. But then again, it could also be a chance to find out what the Dominators were up to and maybe free one of them. Twilight then turned back to Starlight, giving her a serious glare. "Alright, I accept." This made Starlight smile before gesturing for them to follow, which they did as she lead them over to the riverbank where Twilight had first Duelled Trixie. "Before we Duel," Starlight turned to her and pulled out her Duel Disk. "I have a question I want you to answer." "Which is?" "Where did you get that Trap Monster card?" Twilight frowned at the mention of her new card, "why's it matter?" "It matters because ever since she saw it, Tempest has been blue screening. So where did you get it? Did your friend Cold Steel make it especially on request? If that was true, then I wouldn't mean Saltalunam was alive." But alas, "I happened to get it out of a booster pack I got right before the match." Starlight raised an eyebrow, "I find it hard to believe that you would just happen to find that card in some random booster pack." But to this, Twilight just shrugged and pulled out her Duel Disk. "I was just as amazed to find it as you are. Who knows, maybe it was destiny that I chose that pack." Starlight growled, "whatever." She placed her Duel Disk on her arm and activated it, Twilight doing the same. "Let's get this over with. "DUEL!" Twilight: 4000 Starlight: 4000 "I'll take the first move!" Twilight drew her card and looked through her hand, then looked over at Starlight. "I'll start by summoning Magician's Valkyria in DEF mode." The female magician appeared infront of her before kneeling down, "I place two cards face down and end my turn." "My draw!" Starlight drew her card before smiling, "and I summon Celestial Spirit Capricorn!" The constellation appeared infront of her before exploding to reveal the lanky man in goat themed armour. (A1600/D1400/L4) "Now attack!" The man rushed forward, "and with that attack, I activate Capricorn's skill!" Starlight discarded a card and Capricorn's ATK points went up. (A2500/D1400/L4) "I activate my Trap!" One of her face downs flipped up, "Negate Attack!" A force field appeared between Capricorn and Valkyria, preventing the Celestial Spirit from getting close to Twilight's monster. "Great work Twilight," Misty praised her. She then turned to Starlight, "but even so, she's already starting to get monsters in her graveyard. Which means she's getting ever closer to summoning Draco Starlight." "Not if I beat her before she can do that," Twilight noted. "You're willing to try," Starlight replied before playing another card, "I activate the Spell Card Shooting Star Blast." Capricorn exploded, transforming into four stars. "By sacrificing a Celestial Spirit, I can now deal your three hundred points of damage for each of its Level stars." Twilight eyes went wide as she watched each star split into three new ones, which then shot towards her and struck her in the chest. "AAAHHH!" "Twilight!" Misty cried as she watched her girl stagger back. Twilight: 2800 Starlight: 4000 Starlight seemed to be relieved in the sight of her weakened opponent. "I place one card face down and end my turn." As Twilight felt re-steadied herself, she looked over at Starlight. 'She left her field completely exposed. That face down she has must be a Trap.' She looked down at her hand, 'but I don't have anything that could stop a Trap. I'll have to hope to draw one.' She reached for her deck, "I draw!" The card she got wasn't what she'd been hoping for, but it'd have to do. "I summon Pyro Charmer!" The little fire wizard appeared beside her. (A1300/D1200/L3) "Oh wow," Starlight said. "A Tuner monster. I totally didn't see that coming." Twilight frowned, "well then did you see this coming. "Pyro Charmer, tune Magician's Valkyria!" The fire wizard leapt into the air and transformed into a trio of lights, which each carved a circle for Valkyria to jump into. "Beings of mystical might, unite your power and let the magic shine for all eternity." In that moment her monsters disappeared in an explosion of light, "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!" The light faded, revealing Twilight's ace. "Twilight Warlock!" (A2500/D2100/L7/P4) "Warlock's skill!" Twilight drew five cards and add one to her hand, which she instantly activated. "I play Spellbook of Rebirth, to revive Magician's Valkyria!" The female Magician appeared besides Warlock, the Synchro Pendulum then unleashing a magic blast at Starlight. "ATTACK!" "TRAP SUMMON!" Starlight's face down flipped up to reveal the snake charmer, "Celestial Spirit Ophiuchus!" (A1700/D1000/L4) The flute playing woman intercept Warlock's attack, getting hit by the spell and exploding. But as soon as she did, her serpent slithered towards Warlock and wrapped itself around him. Twilight frowned before pointing at her, "Valkyria!" The female magician raised her hooked staff as a sphere of green energy appeared on it, then tossed it towards Starlight. "GAAAH!" She cried as the green lightning zapped her. Twilight: 2800 Starlight: 2400 Misty smiled, "attah girl! That's how you play." "I end my turn." As the sparks finally subsided, Starlight glared up at Twilight. "You'll pay for that," she drew her card and smiled. "Since it's my Standby Phase, your monster loses one hundred ATK points for every Celestial Spirit in my graveyard." Twilight frowned as she watched Starlight's serpent bite into her monster, making him flinch as the poison was injected into him. (A2300/D2100/L7/P4) "This is bad." "Now I play the Spell card Celestial Device Sextant, to revive a Celestial Spirit in my Graveyard. Come on out, Celestial Spirit Gemini!" The constellation appeared before exploding to reveal the blue-haired twins in black cloaks. (A1000/D1000/L3) "Then I sacrifice Gemini, who can count as two tributes, to summon Celestial Spirit Leo!" The twin disappeared and were replaced by another constellation, which then exploded to reveal the lion armoured man. (A2500/D2200/L7) "This is really bad," Misty agreed as Leo activated his ability. "I now look at the top five cards of my deck and send any Celestial Spirits among them to the graveyard." She took out two of the cards and discarded them before shuffling the rest back into her deck. "And now, I'll have Leo attack you Magician's Valkyria!" Leo charged forwards, as his power increased due to the four Celestial Spirits in Starlight's graveyard. (A3300/D2200/L7) His fist ignited, the flames taking the shape of lion heads before he leapt up and threw a punch at Twilight's monster. The flaming lions struck Valkyria and destroyed her, making Twilight grunt. Twilight: 1100 Starlight: 2400 "You activated my Trap!" Twilight's other face down flipped up, "Magician's Wisdom! Since you destroyed a Spellcaster whilst I have another one on my field, I can add a Spellcaster whose Level is equal to or lower then Warlock's and add it to my hand." She did so. "I place one card face down and end my turn," Starlight announced. "My draw!" Twilight did so and smiled, "I play the Spell card Magical Mallet, which lets me send any card from my hand back to my deck before drawing the same number of cards!" She sent all but one card to her deck, which then shuffled before she drew three new cards. "Now, I set the Pendulum Scale with scale two Timebreaker Magician and scale eight Magi-Beast Mystic Dracoteen!" The pillars of light appeared before the two monsters flew up into them, the portal then forming above Twilight, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened before a pair of lights shot out, revealing Twilight's monsters. "Magi-Beast, Twilight Unicorn!" (A1800/D1300/L4/P7) "And Shadow Charmer!" (A1200/D700/L3) "Now!" Twilight's two new monster flew up into the air, "I tune Shadow Charmer with Twilight Unicorn!" The wizard transformed into a trio of lights, which carved three circles that Twilight Unicorn leapt into. "It's time to embrace the power given by those we call friends and ascend to a higher plain of life." Instead of disappearing in a flash, the light infused into Twilight Unicorn as two new appendages appeared on its back. "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!" The light faded from the monsters body, revealing Twilight monster. "Twilight Alicorn!" (A2600/D1900/L7) "Now I activate Warlock's skill!" Twilight drew five cards and nodded before taking one and returning the rest to her deck. "I activate the Spellbook of Secrets, to add a Spellbook to my hand!" Her deck slotted out a card, which she took before activating. "I play the Magic Tome of Starswirl and equip it to Twilight Alicorn!" Said book appeared infront of the winged horse, powering it up. (A2800/D1900/L7) Starlight frowned. "Let me guess. You're gonna use that cards other effect to send...let's say...Spellbook of Power to the graveyard and add it to your hand." But then Twilight smiled, "shows what you know. I'm using the tome's effect to send another Spellbook of Secrets to my grave and activate its effect!" Her deck slotted out a card, which she took and sent to the graveyard before her deck slotted out another card. "What's the point of this?" Starlight asked? "Well first, it powers Alicorn up again." (A2900/1900/L7) "Then I'll use the card I just got, called Spellbook of Collection. This card lets me draw one card for each Spellbook in my graveyard. And right now, I have three." She drew three and once again, Alicorn powered up. (A3000/D1900/L7) "That still doesn't help you beat Leo." "I'm getting to that," Twilight said. "Don't forget, Alicorn has her own ability." "That's right," Misty realised. "By banishing a Spellbook in her graveyard, she can power up her monster by one thousand ATK points." And that was exactly what Twilight did, taking out Spellbook of Collection. This caused Alicorn to lose one hundred ATK points, but it also powered her up. (A3900/D1900/L7) "ATTACK!" The winged pony's horn shined before it unleashed a blast of magic, which struck Starlight's monster and destroyed him while burning her. Twilight: 1100 Starlight: 1800 "You activated my Trap!" Starlight's card flipped up, "Starlight Ride! Since a Light monster was destroyed, I can now summon two Monsters whose combined Levels equal Leo's." A pair of constellations appeared before exploding to reveal Celestial Spirits Cancer and Libra. (A600/D1600/L3) (A1800/D0/L4) "Well, I'll just have my Warlock take out Cancer!" The wizard raised its staff, ready to fire. "Cook that crab!" He launched a magical blast, hitting the young Celestial Spirit and destroying it. "Gah!" Starlight cried as her monster was destroyed, "any battle damage dealt to me during a battle involving Cancer is halved." Twilight: 1100 Starlight: 950 Twilight sighed, "I end my turn." Alicorn's ATK power returned to normal. (A2900/D1900/L7) "This Duel's heading into its final few turns," Misty said. "And Starlight still doesn't have enough monsters in her grave to summon her dragon. Hopefully Twilight can end this Duel before then." She turned to her son's girlfriend, "you can do it." "My turn," Starlight reached for her deck. "I draw." Once again, Twilight Warlock was bitten by the serpent and his power weakened. (A1700/D2100/L7/P4) Twilight turned to her Synchro monster and began to worry. "Hold on, I'll get that thing off you." "How sweet," Starlight said. "You make it sound like you actually care for your monsters." Twilight frowned at her, "I do care for my monsters." "Right," Starlight said sarcastically. "So what do you call forcing your monsters to fight battles they probably don't want to even fight? Tough love." "What would you know?" Misty asked. "I don't know which Duel Monster you are, but it's obvious you're one who never got closer to a Duellist." Starlight frowned, "and...you are." "Misty Vail," the older woman replied. "Flash Sentry's mother. And more then that, I'm a Spirit Seer. I can see Duel Spirits and their feelings. And I know one thing," she turned to Libra. "Your monster isn't happy. None of them are happy. It's obvious they hate you for taking control of their true partner. There's no love or connection between you and these cards." She then smiled at Twilight, "but I can easily see the connection between Twilight and her monsters." She looked up at Warlock and Alicorn, seeing that the two of them were almost...shining. "The bond they share is one of the strongest I've ever seen." She turned back to Starlight, "a bond you've obviously never felt." Twilight smiled at Misty before turning her attention on Starlight, "so why don't you just let go of Starlight and go back to your own world. Let her and her monsters reunite!" Starlight growled at this, "I won't." She shot daggers at Twilight, "this body is mine!" She activated her card, "I play the Spell Magical Mallet! Now I can return my entire hand to my deck before drawing the same number of cards." She did so and when she drew her new cards, she smiled seeing what they were. "This is gonna be fun." She activated a card, "I play, Card Revival. Now the two of us declare a card type and draw until we get a card that isn't the one we chose." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "And the cards we draw that are that card?" "We send them to the graveyard, then gain two hundred life points for each one." She reached for her deck, "I choose monster." Twilight frowned and did the same, "I chose Spell." With that, they both drew. The first three cards Twilight drew were all Spellbooks, which she discarded, but then she drew Flame Burst Magician and had to stop. Twilight: 1700 Starlight: 950 And with another three Spellbooks in her grave, that was another three hundred points for Twilight Alicorn. (A3200/D1900/L7) Starlight meanwhile, drew Scorpio, then Aquarius, then Aries, Virgo and Taurus. It was only then she drew a Spell card, but by then the damage was done and she sent the other five to the graveyard. Twilight: 1700 Starlight: 1950 Twilight and Misty both grew worried, "she's got almost all the monsters see needs to summon her dragon." "Maybe," Twilight said, "but the last one she needs is stuck on the field. So if I can find a way to beat her without destroying it." "Nice idea," Starlight told her. She then activated the Spell she drew before, "but it won't help you. I activate Paralysing Light!" Libra exploded into a brilliant flash of light, which flew over to Twilight Alicorn and struck her. The winged horse flinched as lightning sparked around her. "ALICORN!" Twilight cried out before turning to glare at Starlight, "what did you do?" Starlight smiled, "I paralysed her. By tributing a Light monster, I can prevent a monster on your field from attacking or activating its special abilities until the end of your next turn." Twilight and Misty both gasped, realising Twilight couldn't make use of the many Spellbook in her grave now. "What's more," Starlight grabbed another card in her hand and held it up. "Now I have everything I need to summon this." The card glowed. Twilight gulped, as Misty began to shake. "Twilight's in trouble." "By banishing twelve different Celestial Spirit monsters from my graveyard, I can summon the ultimate Celestial Spirit!" The card fired a single beam of light into the sky, the light splitting into nine spheres before flying into formation and creating a new constellation. "Beast of the cosmos, with fury greater than a supernova, descend from the heavens and bath this world in your mighty light!" Twilight watched as each of the stars exploded, unleashing a light that flowed into one all powerful entity. Then when the light faded, she saw the orb carrying dragon slither downwards towards the field until it landed behind Starlight. "Celestial Spirit, Draco...STARLIGHT!" (A4000/D4000/L12) The beast roared in Twilight and her monster's face, pushing them all backwards. "Ahh," she moaned while waving her hand infront of her face, "and I thought Flash had bad breath." "Cute," Starlight told her, "but jokes won't save you." She pointed at Twilight Warlock, "ATTACK!" The dragon opened its mouth and began to gather light, ready to wipe out Warlock and the rest of Twilight's life points. "TWILIGHT!" Misty cried, fearing the worst, but then saw the girl didn't look worried. In fact, Twilight smiled. And the reason became clear with her next two words, "TRAP SUMMON!" Her face down flipped up before a burst of light shot out and took shape, then faded to reveal her Trap Monster. "Moondancing Guardian Scholar, Saltalunam!" (A1000/D2500/L7) Saltalunam leapt infront of Warlock, as Draco Starlight unleashed its laser-like attack. Starlight growled at the sight of that monster, the one that had Tempest so out of it. "She won't save you." "Won't she?" Twilight asked as her monster created a magic circle that blocked the attack, but it quickly began to crack. "Saltalunam's skill. Tribute Twilight Warlock and add one Spellbook from my grave to my hand." Warlock disappeared as Twilight regained her Spellbook, just as Saltalunam's magic circle shattered and she was destroyed. "Darn you!" Starlight cried, "well it isn't over yet. Since Draco Starlight destroyed a monster, he now deals you damage for every Celestial Spirit I have removed from play." The dragon raised its orb before said orb fired a beam of light, which flew across the field before striking Twilight. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" She screamed as she was sent flying backwards, hitting the ground as her Life Points dropped. Twilight: 500 Starlight: 1950 "I place one card face down and end my turn." Misty watched as Twilight moaned while picking herself up, "you okay?" "I'm fine," Twilight sat herself up before looking over at Starlight. "Is that really the best you've got?" Starlight's face became one of anger, "don't try and mock me. You're hanging on by a thread." "Maybe," Twilight said, "but as long as that thread holds then I'm still in this." She held up her Duel Disk, "I have faith in my deck to pull through for me. Something you wouldn't understand." Misty smiled, only for her eyes to go wide when she saw a light begin to pulse off of Twilight. "What?" "You've stolen Starlight's body and are using it for your own selfish reasons. That's why you can't bring out the true power of her deck, because you have no connection to it." Starlight growled, but then hissed as a pain shot through her head. "Shut up," she clutched her head. "I won't," Twilight told her. "Because this is something you need to hear." She pointed at her, "I won't let you get away with the pain you've put Starlight through." "Shut up!" "And it's not just me. Sunburst won't let you hold his friend captive any longer." "SHUT UP!" Starlight's eyes shot open as a light shot out of them, Twilight suddenly finding herself almost blind when they locked eyes. She gasped and closed her eyes, only to suddenly feel the earth beneath her disappear. She then opened her eyes and found she was floating in a black void, then started looking around and gasped when she saw something a ways off. It was Starlight, unconscious, who was chained to a stone tablet. "Starlight!" She suddenly floated towards the girl and overlooked the chains. "Don't worry," she started pulling at the chains. "I'll get you out of here." "Twilight," she heard a whisper. She looked up and saw Starlight's eyes flicker open, "please..." Before Twilight could say anything, a bright flash of light made her turn to see the light take the shape of what could only be called a movie screen. On said screen, the image of a younger Starlight and Sunburst could be seen Duelling. "Are these...Starlight's memories?" She continued to watch as the screen changed to show Sunburst giving Starlight a card, then Starlight watching Sunburst be driven off. The screen then changed to Starlight opening several booster packs, smiling as she pulled out certain cards. It then changed to show her Duelling with said cards, defeating her opponent. But upon defeat, the kid ran off and left Starlight all alone. The screen continued to play out similar scenarios, showing Starlight Duelling with those her age. But after each Duel, her opponents ran off. "No one wanted to be her friend." Once again the screen changed to show Starlight standing outside Sunburst's house, watching as a moving truck drove away from it. "Did you hear?" She turned to see two women talking, "Sunburst flunked out of Duel Academy." "How embarrassing. No wonder they're leaving." Starlight frowned at this and ran off, just as the screen changed again. Now it showed an older Starlight opening a booster pack and flipping throw a bunch of cards. But as she did, she stopped at one card and looked at it funny. But before Twilight could figure out what card it was, the ground began to shake and Starlight placed the card in her pocket. Seconds later, the ground broke open and a crystal spike shot out of it. "Wait," Twilight realised when this was, "the Crystal Tower." The screen changed for one final time, showing Starlight holding up her card. Leo appeared and started destroying the crystals, but as he did Starlight didn't notice the card in her pocket begin to glow. She also didn't notice a light shooting down from the sky, flying right at her and hitting her pocket. This caused Starlight to freeze up as the light spread around her body, Leo turning around to see this. Starlight cried out as she fell onto her knees, Leo rushing over to her but exploded before he could reach her. Seconds later, Starlight picked herself up and smiled a sinister smile before the screen disappeared. "So that's how it happened," Twilight realised. She turned back to Starlight, "you were all alone. And you just happened across that card." She began to pull on the chain, "I'll get you out of here." "No," Starlight whispered, "you can't. Please...tell Sunburst..." "Yes?" "He's...strong. Tell him...I believe in him." The chains suddenly tightened around her body, making her flinch as she lost consciousness. "No!" Twilight tried to pull at them, but suddenly found herself being pulled back from her. "Starlight!" "GET OUT!" Twilight shut her eyes again and when they reopened, she was back at the riverbank. She looked over at Starlight and saw she was standing limply. "Twilight," she turned back to Misty, "are you alright?" "I'm fine," she turned back to Starlight. "Time to end this." She reached for her deck, "I draw!" She looked at the card she'd gotten and gasped, seeing it was the card Misty had given her earlier. She looked over and smiled at her, then turned back to Starlight as the portal formed above her. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened before a single light shot out and struck the ground, revealing her monster. "Twilight Warlock!" (A2500/D2100/L7/P4) Starlight suddenly recovered, "you activate my Trap!" Her face down flipped up, "Prism Prison!" A bunch of crystal broke out of the ground and linked into a tepee like construct with Warlock inside it. "What?" Twilight asked. "This Trap prevents a monster on your field from attacking, using its abilities or being tributed. He's useless." Twilight frowned, "no monster's useless. If we each give a little bit, then anything's possible." She took the card and threw it into her Duel Disk, "LET ME SHOW YOU!" In a flash of light, the three of them suddenly found themselves in a new place. Behind Twilight was a giant castle-like building made with of purple crystal that had multiple waterfalls and a pond around them, with them standing on a path running through the water, that had multiple stepping stones in it. Starlight looked around, "where are we?" Twilight smiled. "We're on the Field Spell, Twilight School of Friendship! It's here you'll meet your defeat." Starlight glared at her, "and how's that gonna happen?" "Easy," Twilight discarded a card, "first I need to discard a monster from my hand." Flame Burst Magician appeared next to her before the school's doors opened, and he flew inside. "Now I can summon two monsters whose Levels equal his." Trunade Magician and Royal Charmer leapt out of the door, landing besides Alicorn and Warlock. (A600/D400/L2) (A100/D100/L1) Misty smiled seeing Twilight use her card so easily. "This is gonna be good." "Now!" Royal Charmer leapt into the air, "I tune Royal Charmer with Twilight Alicorn and Trunade Magician!" Her Tuner's staff gave off a brilliant light which almost blinded Starlight. The light began to take shape, forming a twenty-foot transparent version of Royal Charmer who held his hands together as Twilight Alicorn and Trunade Magician jumped between them into a ball of light. "Knowledge, the greatest of all weapons, grant me the wisdom to lead us into a perfect future!" Twilight chanted as the two monsters became transparent before disappearing in an explosion of light that once again blinded everyone. "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!" From the light came Twilight's monster, flying down to land besides Twilight Warlock with a serious look on its face. "Alicorn Princess...TWILIGHT ASCENSION!" (A3300/D3000/L10) "That's it?" Starlight asked, "that card can't destroy my dragon." Twilight smirked, "for someone claiming to know all about my deck, you seem to have forgotten about Ascension's special ability." Starlight's eyes went wide as she watched Twilight pull two cards out of her graveyard. "By banishing one Spellbook from my graveyard, I can add another Spellbook back to my hand. And now I'll play it!" Starlight watched as the Magic Tome of Starswirl appeared infront of Ascension. And with five cards in Twilight's grave, that was five hundred extra points for the alicorn. (A3800/D3000/L10) "That's not enough," Starlight told her. "You sure," Twilight pointed at Starlight's dragon. "Twilight Ascension, ATTACK!" The Alicorn spread its wings and took to the sky, as its horn glowed. "You're nuts," Starlight cried. But in that moment, she spotted the building behind Twilight was beginning to glow. "What's going on." "The School of Friendship's other effect," Misty explained. "Whenever a monster with Twilight in its name attacks, another monster on its side of the field can give up its chance to attack in order to grant its ATK points to the monster attacking." "That's right," Twilight said as the door opened before Twilight Warlock was sucked inside. Seconds later, light shot out of the crystal building and struck Ascension. The light then took the shape of Twilight Warlock, as Ascension's power increased. (A6300/D3000/L10) "No," Starlight realised she was done for. Twilight pointed at her dragon, "FINISH THIS!" Ascension unleashed a blast of magic that struck Draco Starlight and cut it in half, the beast the exploding and sending the Dominator flying backwards. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" Twilight: 500 (Winner) Starlight: 0 "SHE DID IT!" Misty cheered as the holograms faded, rushing over to Twilight. "That was great sweetheart." Twilight turned to her and smiled, "thanks. I couldn't have done it without your card." "Glad I could be of help." Before either of them could say anything else, a loud cry of pain made the turn to where Starlight had landed and was now clutching her gloved hand in what appeared to be intense pain. Was this it? Was Starlight gonna be free? Alas, as she stopped quivering and sat up, Starlight shot them both a glare that showed she was still being Dominated. Twilight began to trod over to her. "Alright, it's time you gave me some answers. What are you guys doing in the Double X?" Starlight didn't answer, instead standing up whilst still clutching her hand. Then, slowly, she started stepping backwards. "I'll get you for this," she told her. "Mark my words!" With that, she turned away from them and rushed off. "Wait!" Twilight cried, but it was too late and she was gone. She sighed, but then felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over and saw Misty smiling at her. "Don't worry, you did great." She turned back to the retreating form of Starlight. "You beat her, so now she's one loss closer to being freed." "Maybe," Twilight frowned, "but she's still trapped. The pain on her face...it was just horrible." "There's nothing more we can do. It's up to the V-Fighters now." She was right, they were the only ones that could free the Soulinked Duellists from their torment. Now Twilight had helped bring one of them closer to their freedom. That was something she could be proud of. Back at her house, Tempest was right where she had been when Starlight left. Only now there was a folder on the table And as the pink-skinned girl staggered into the room, still clutching her hand, she turned towards her. "Well?" From the looks of things, Tempest could guess her answer. Starlight growled, "she beat me." Tempest nodded, "then it's as I expected. She's grown to the point where she's just what we need." She opened the folder and took out three photos, ones of Flash, Soarin and Gilda, then pulled another three-pictures out and placed one of them with the others. This one was of Twilight, whilst the other two were of Spike and Sunburst. "That makes four. Is this the maximum, or will it end up being six?" Starlight said nothing as she pulled up her glove and saw the mark on her hand was barely see-able. One more loss and she was done. She then turned to Tempest, "what about the others?" "All but one of our allies have managed to get here. But I'm told the last should be with us shortly. Once they are, we should be able to move onto phase three as soon as the tournament is over." Later that night. Several cities away from Canterlot, in the alleyway between a pair of stores, a figure was rummaging through one of the dumpsters. "Come on," they said but couldn't find anything useful. They then stopped when they heard footsteps and jumped away from the dumpster, turning towards the sound of the footsteps. The owner of said footsteps turned out to be non-other then Marble Pie, now with her hair up in a ponytail along with a new set of clothes. She was now dressed in a sundress similar to Lady Marbles, only instead of gems, it had sequins. Marble smiled at the man as she stepped further into the alleyway. "Hello there...Guto." The figure seemed to freeze up before stepping into the light, revealing a man with grey skin and hair that was wearing black leather clothing with a yellow scarf around his neck. "Who are you?" He asked, "how do you know my name." Marble smiled, "oh I know a lot about you Guto. I know you were once the leader of the Black Griffins until you lost to a pair of kids and were kicked out. I know you were chased out of Canterlot because of that. And...I know you're the one I'm looking for." With that, she reached into her dress and pulled out a card, which he tossed towards him. The man caught the card and he went wide-eyed seeing what it was. "Can you hear it?" He looked back at Marble and saw her pull off her glove to reveal the mark of earth. "The voice of the one whose soul is bound to yours." Before Guto could ask what she was talking about, a blinding light filled the alleyway followed by Guto's scream. When the light died down, Marble was standing next to an unconscious Guto. On the man's right hand appeared a green circle with the symbol for the Wind Attribute on it. "Hey," she nudged his head with her foot, "you in there?" Guto moaned before picking himself up, standing tall. Once he was back on his feet, he turned to glare at her. "Took you long enough." Marble rolled her eyes, "not my fault you're such a picky Dominator." She turned away from him, "whatever. Now that you're here, we're ready to begin phase three as soon as the tournament ends." "Right," Guto replied, "so what about my key?" This made Marble frown before turning back to him, "yours is the only one we don't have. But I know where to find it." "Where?" "A little place called Wonderbolts Academy."