//------------------------------// // Invader of Darkness – Sunset vs Twilight (Part 1) // Story: Duelists of the Friendship Cup // by DrakeyC //------------------------------// Duelists of the Friendship Cup Invader of Darkness – Sunset vs Twilight (Part 1) -Sunset Life Points: 8000- -Twilight Life Points: 8000- Twilight’s eyes flickered as she looked down at her duel disk. “You can take the first turn,” she whispered, raising her eyes back to Sunset. “You need all the help you can get.” Sunset reached to her duel disk, not looking away from Twilight as she drew five cards. When she looked down at them her breath caught. Harmony Guardian Infernal Juniperus… She swallowed heavily and moved her hand down, making sure not to touch that card as she took hold of another. “I summon ‘Harmony Guardian Risus’ in attack mode.” A wave of pink light in front of Sunset rose from the grass, revealing a warrior in rounded pink and blue armor, a pair of crossbows hanging from her hips. She pulled them up and twirled them and pointed them forward, pink hair popping out from a slot in her helmet (1400/1100). “I set a card and end my turn.” Sunset lowered her duel disk. Across the field, shadows slithered out of Twilight’s deck into her outstretched hand, forming six cards. She looked at them and took hold of one and held it out. “I activate the Spell card ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’. This lets me send the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard, and then I can add a Lightsworn monster from my deck to my hand.” Twilight’s top three cards dissolved and a fourth popped out, Twilight flipping it up. “I’ll take this, ‘Jain, Twilightsworn General’.” Sunset tensed. Twilightsworn? “Next, I summon ‘Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner’, in attack mode.” A glowing white portal appeared in front of Twilight, and from it rose a young woman in a white robe with golden chains around her chest (1000/1000). “I then activate Lumina’s effect. By discarding a card from my hand, I can revive a Level 4 Lightsworn monster in the Graveyard.” Twilight slid her card into the Graveyard slot and the card dispersed in a swirl of darkness. “I’ll get rid of ‘Ryko, Twilightsworn Hunter’, and revive ‘Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman’.” A dark portal appeared next to Lumina. The monster that rose up from it resembled her, but over her white robe she wore a black cloak with gold trim, and dark energy crackled between her fingers. She raised her head as the portal closed and grinned at Sunset (1000/1000). “I activate the Spell card ‘Allure of Darkness’. This lets me draw two cards, but I must banish a Dark monster from my hand.” Twilight held her hand over her deck as her two cards manifested, then drew them and reached to her other cards. “I’ll banish Jain, Twilightsworn General. But she won’t be gone for long. Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman, has a similar ability to her counterpart. By banishing a Lightsworn monster from my Graveyard, Lumina can revive another banished Lightsworn. So I’ll banish my discarded Ryko and revive Jain, Twilightsworn General.” From a second dark portal came a woman in dull white and gold armor, a black and gold cloak hanging from her shoulders. She reached to her waist within the cloak and swung her arm out, drawing a massive red and black broadsword that she gripped with two hands and levelled before her (1800/1200). Sunset’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at the unfamiliar monsters. Those cards look like the ones in her journal! She created them? She turned her attention to her opponent, Twilight’s eyes still pulsing with dark purple light. Even her deck has been taken over by this dark magic she’s channeling. But how did she become so powerful so quickly when she hadn’t even awakened her powers before? Twilight thrust her hand out. “Jain, Twilightsworn General, attack Harmony Guardian Risus!” Jain cried out and held up its sword, an aura of shadows appearing over it. It ran forward and jumped, swinging the sword and cleaving Risus apart. Sunset’s monster lit up purple and exploded. -Sunset Life Points: 7600- Sunset glared across the field as the smoke of her monster’s destruction cleared. “It’ll take more than—” She paused as the smoke cleared. “What?” Standing in front of her, facing the other way, Fluttershy looked back and stared at her, pink hair softly blowing against her shoulder. As Sunset watched, the image of her friend lit up and dissolved in purple light. Sunset recoiled and clutched her head, wincing. “I forgot to mention the rules of this Shadow Game, didn’t I?” Twilight asked. She chuckled darkly and shook her head. “Silly me, it’s my first time. The simple way to think of it is that every time we take damage to our Life Points, a memory of someone close to us is erased from our minds.” She tilted her head. “I think that one was Fluttershy, wasn’t it?” Sunset lowered her arm and blinked. “Who?” She realized what she had just said and put a hand to her chest. “Wait.” She closed her eyes. That girl… Someone had appeared in front of her, hadn’t they? Who was she? Someone important? Sunset cried out and gripped the fabric of her shirt. “Who was that?” “Exactly. Here, let me give you another demonstration.” Twilight pointed again. “Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman, attack directly!” Lumina held up her hands and an orb of glowing purple light appeared between her palms, her dark cloak blowing out behind her. Sunset lifted her head. “No!” I won’t lose anyone else. “I activate my Trap card ‘Harmony Call’.” A small whistle appeared in front of Sunset and blew. “Since I control no monsters, this card lets me summon a Level 4 Harmony Guardian monster from my Extra Deck.” Risus slid out of her duel disk and Sunset returned it to her card tray. Twilight frowned. “Fine then. I end my turn, and the effect of Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner, activates, sending the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard.” As Lumina lit up in white light, the other two monsters in front of Twilight jerked, purple light appearing over them. “Since the effect of a Lightsworn monster was activated, the effects of Jain, Twilightsworn General, and Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman, activate too, sending another five cards to the Graveyard.” Twilight looked down at her deck as it glowed and her cards retracted, popping out in the discard slot. -Twilight’s deck: 20 cards- “My turn.” Sunset took a breath as she drew and looked at her card. “I activate the Spell card ‘Harmony Jewel’. This returns Harmony Guardian Risus to the Extra Deck and lets me draw a card.” Risus faded away as Sunset drew again. “I activate the Spell Card ‘Harmony Journal’. I reveal two Harmony Guardians with different names from my deck, and then you pick one of them to add to my hand and the other goes to my Extra Deck.” Sunset tapped her duel disk and holograms of her cards appeared above her as she picked them up. “I reveal these, ‘Harmony Guardian Honestas’ and ‘Harmony Guardian Magnanimity’.” “You can have Honestas,” Twilight said. “Magnanimity’s drawing power isn’t something I’m keen on.” “Fine.” Sunset set Magnanimity on top of her Extra Deck and then reached to her hand. “But you’ll see her again regardless.” She held out two cards. “Using the Scale 3 ‘Harmony Guardian Gracia’ and Scale 5 Harmony Guardian Honestas, I set the Pendulum Scales!” The dark clouds around Sunset receded as orange and yellow pillars of light shot up on either side of her. Gracia rose in the yellow, curved green armor gleaming, and in the orange rose Honestas, thick orange armor glowing. Sunset looked up at Gracia. That card… why is it in my deck? It looks familiar. She shook her head and turned forward. I can’t deal with that now, I need to win this duel. “Using the cards in my Pendulum Scales, I can now Special Summon monsters from my hand or face-up in the Extra Deck, as long as their levels fall within the Scales!” Sunset held her hand up. “Pendulum Summon! From the Extra Deck, I summon Harmony Guardian Risus and Harmony Guardian Magnanimity!” Gracia and Honestas held their hands toward each other and a swirling vortex appeared between them. Violet and pink streaks of light shot out and landed on Sunset’s field. Risus jumped up from the pink light, arms in the air to twirl her crossbows, while Magnanimity stood within the violet, crystal blue armor jutting in the air as she drew her rapier and brandished it (1200/800). Sunset looked at her hand and swallowed. Juniperus… if I summoned this, I could perform a Synchro Summon using one of my the monsters in my Pendulum zones. Not to mention I have all I need to Xyz Summon, too. She glanced at her Extra Deck. The backs of the cards seemed to glare up at her, forcing her to look away. I can’t. I can’t lose control in this duel, not with these stakes. “Are you going to Xyz Summon now? Or are you afraid?” Sunset gasped softly at Twilight’s voice and looked across the field. Twilight crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. “Come on, Sunset. I’m not holding back anything. Why should you?” Sunset’s hand shook. “You know what happened last time I used cards like that.” “Last time you caught me off-guard. This time… I think I might enjoy beating you, even when you summon them.” Twilight bit her knuckle and grinned wickedly. “I thought you guys all told me I should have fun dueling? Where’s the fun in an opponent who isn’t trying?” Sunset said nothing else and reached to her duel disk screen. “I activate the Pendulum effect of Harmony Guardian Gracia. Since I have a Harmony Guardian in my other Pendulum Zone, Gracia lets me return a monster that was Special Summoned to the deck. I choose your Jain!” In the column of yellow light, Gracia took hold of a coiled whip hanging from her waist. She drew her arm back and then lashed it out, the whip cracking and wrapping around Jain. The whip lit up in yellow light and Jain dissolved in the same light. “Now for your two other monsters.” Sunset pointed. “I attack Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner, with Risus, and Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman, with Magnanimity!” Risus held up its two crossbows and swung them together, a pair of shining pink bolts of energy firing from them. Magnanimity ran across the field with them, rapier held over her shoulder. The energy bolts hit Twilight’s first monster and she burst in pink light, while Magnanimity stabbed her rapier into the second Lumina and it shattered in violet light. -Twilight Life Points: 7400- In front of Sunset, Risus lowered its weapons and Magnanimity leapt back into place beside it. “Since you took damage, you lose your memories, too.” Behind Twilight, the ghostly images of Sour Sweet and Sugarcoat rose up from her. Twilight turned her head to either side and shrugged. “I can’t say I’ll miss them. Good riddance.” The two figures faded away. Sunset frowned. “You don’t care if you forget about your teammates?” “Why should I? The only thing I need to worry about is beating you and mastering this magic. Anything else is a distraction.” Twilight snorted. “Unlike you, I don’t need ‘friends’ to be sure of myself.” “If you say so,” Sunset muttered. Aloud she said, “I end my turn.” “Good.” Twilight drew, looked at her card, and placed it on her duel disk. “I activate the Spell card ‘March of the Dark Brigade’. This lets me return a Lightsworn monster in the Graveyard to my hand, and then I banish cards from the top of my deck equal to its level.” Twilight lifted her card and flipped it over. “I’ll take back my Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman. Since she’s Level 3, three cards are banished.” Twilight’s cards glowed purple and retracted, and a purple light shone from her duel disk. Twilight looked at her screen and smiled. “Perfect. It so happens that one of my banished cards was ‘Wulf, Twilightsworn Predator’. When he’s banished, I can Special Summon him, but he returns to my deck when he leaves the field.” From a portal rose a humanoid figure with the head of a black wolf, a black cape hanging from its shoulders. It swung a massive black axe through the air to rest on its shoulder and bellowed (2100/300). “Next I summon Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman back to the field, and activate its effect. I banish ‘Ehren, Lightsworn Monk’ from my Graveyard and summon from my banished zone ‘Lyla, Twilightsworn Enchantress’.” A woman in a long white robe with a black cape and witch’s hat appeared in front of Twilight. She swung an arm, her cape flying out, and twirled a wand of black and gold, an orb of dark energy on the tip (1700/200). “And now it’s time to attack again!” Twilight laughed. “Wulf, Twilightsworn Predator, attack Harmony Guardian Magnanimity, and Lyla, Twilightsworn Enchantress, attack Risus!” Wulf growled and charged across the field. Behind it, Lyla pointed her wand forward and fired a wave of dark purple lightning. Risus convulsed and collapsed under the attack, breaking apart as she hit the ground. Wulf reached Magnanimity and cleaved its axe to the side, Magnanimity’s armor rending under the blow and pitching her to the side, where she shattered as well. “And then, Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman, attacks directly!” Lumina flung her hands out and an orb of dark energy fired from her hands and impacted Sunset’s chest, sending her tumbling backward. -Sunset Life Points: 5400- “Say goodbye to three more friends,” Twilight whispered. Laying on her back on the grass, Sunset groaned and pushed herself up. She raised her head and saw Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash standing over her. “Girls?” Sunset reached out a hand as the three glowed purple and dissolved into light that faded away on the grass. Sunset’s hand fell on her lap, her eyes staring where the three had been. “I wonder what would happen first,” Twilight mused, “you forgetting everyone you know, or me winning this duel.” Holding her head as she slowly stood, Sunset glared at her. “Neither’s going to happen, especially not that second one.” “We’ll see. For now I set one card and end my turn.” “Good.” Sunset drew her card and looked at it. Her breath caught in her throat. Harmony Guardian Infernal Erysimum… She glanced at her card tray, her fingers shaking. She stopped herself and slid the card into her hand next to Juniperus. No. I can beat her without resorting to them. She grabbed another card instead. “I activate the Spell card ‘Harmony Sprout’. This lets me select two Harmony Guardians in my Graveyard or face-up in my Extra Deck, and return them to my hand.” Sunset reached to her Extra Deck cards. “Since I only have two, I’ll take back Risus and Magnanimity.” “Before you do,” Twilight interrupted, “I’ll chain the effect of Lyla, Twilightsworn Enchantress. When a Spell or Trap card is used, Lyla lets me banish a Lightsworn monster from my hand or Graveyard, and then she destroys a Spell or Trap on the field.” Twilight tapped her duel disk. “I’ll banish ‘Ryko, Twilightsworn Fighter’ from my Graveyard, and destroy Harmony Guardian Honestas!” Lyla pointed her wand and fired. The bolt of lightning struck Honestas floating inside the pillar of orange light and it exploded, the light fading away. Sunset watched the destruction from below and blinked. When did I play that card? “Since I used the effect of a Lightsworn monster, the effect of Lumina sends three cards from my deck to the Graveyard, and then the effect of Lyla is triggered to send three more.” Twilight’s deck glowed as her cards were retracted. -Twilight’s deck: 10 cards- “You destroyed my monster, but I still get my Spell effect.” Sunset lifted her two cards and looked down at them. She peered closer at one of them. Harmony Guardian Magnanimity… why does this seem familiar? She clenched her eyes shut. This duel is affecting my memories. I know Risus symbolizes my friendship with Pinkie Pie, but this one, I have no idea who it is. She opened her eyes. I may not know what this card means, but I can still use it. “In my empty Pendulum zone, I activate Harmony Guardian Magnanimity.” A new pillar of light shone beside Sunset in violet, Magnanimity rising to be level with Gracia. Their Pendulum Scales are the same, so I can’t Pendulum Summon. Sunset looked at her duel disk. Honestas was the only monster I’ve had access to with the higher Pendulum Scale I need. Except… She glanced back at her hand and scowled. She grabbed a card and set it on her duel disk. “I summon Harmony Guardian Risus to the field.” Risus appeared again in a flash of pink light, crossbows at the ready. “I activate the Pendulum effect of Gracia, and return Wulf, Twilightsworn Predator to the deck.” Gracia lashed out her whip around Wulf and Twilight’s monster faded away with an angry snarl. “Next I use the Pendulum effect of Magnanimity. I can look at the top card of my deck, then place it on either the top or bottom of my deck.” She flipped the card over and inhaled with a small smile. Harmony Guardian Compassio. I can definitely get some use out of this. “I return my card to the top of my deck.” “Finally, I attack Lumina with Harmony Guardian Risus!” Risus aimed its crossbows and fired. “Before your attack lands, I activate my Trap card ‘Twilight Eraser’!” Twilight’s card flipped up and pulsed with dark energy. “Since I control two Lightsworn monsters with the same type but different names, I can banish two Lightsworn monsters in my Graveyard in order to banish two cards on your side of the field.” Twilight grinned and grabbed two cards from her Graveyard, and pointed them at her targets. “I banish ‘Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior’ and Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner, and banish the two Harmony Guardians in your Pendulum zones!” The cards in Twilight’s hand transformed into two orbs of purple light, and they launched across the field. They struck Sunset’s monsters floating above her and they both exploded, the remnants of their armor hitting the ground and fading away. Sunset grit her teeth. “My attack is still going to hit!” “Big deal,” Twilight muttered. “I’ll barely even notice.” Risus’ crossbow bolts struck Lumina and she exploded in dark purple sparks. -Twilight Life Points: 7000- The image of Lemon Zest rose over Twilight and faded away. “Another friend is gone from your mind, too,” Sunset said. “I didn’t even notice they left,” Twilight quipped. “Are you done yet?” Sunset looked at her hand. “Yes.” The two cards left in her grip shook slightly. I don’t need these cards. I can do this on my own. On my next turn I’ll draw Compassio and can set Honestas in my Pendulum Zone again. I’m not done yet. I can’t be… “I activate the Spell card ‘Lunar Recharge’. This lets me banish a Lightsworn monster from my hand to draw two cards, and then I can banish two cards from the top of my deck.” Twilight’s card turned to shadows in her fingers, and she then drew. “I banish ‘Garoth, Twilightsworn Sentinel’ from my hand, and draw.” -Twilight’s deck: 6 cards- She looked at her two new cards and smirked. “Well, I think this duel has just about been clinched.” Sunset narrowed her eyes. Now what? “I summon ‘Minerva, Twilightsworn Sacrifice’.” A young woman in a white robe with chains hanging from her wrists manifested in front of Twilight, her eyes giving Sunset a furious glare from under dark red bangs. A crow flew out from behind her and circled it, cawing and landing on her shoulder (800/200). “When Minerva is summoned, I can add to my hand from my deck a Dark-attribute Dragon monster whose Level is equal or lower than the number of Lightsworn monsters I currently have banished. I currently have nine, so I’ll take the Level 7 ‘Punishment Dragon’.” Twilight chuckled. “And I won’t make you wait to see him! Since four or more Lightsworn monsters are currently banished, I Special Summon Punishment Dragon!” The clouds of darkness behind Twilight seemed to part, and a dark shadow floated out from behind them. The shadow shifted and grew, forming wings, claws, and a tail and head. Purple light shone from within and the shadow receding, revealing a massive black dragon. Feathered wings slowly flapped as it landed behind Twilight on red claws, a spiked tail swinging through the air. It raised its head and roared, the ground shaking (3000/2600). “And I’m not done yet,” Twilight hissed. “Minerva, Twilightsworn Sacrifice, is a Tuner monster. So, I tune the Level 3 Minerva with the Level 4 Lyla!” Minerva’s crow screeched as Minerva raised her arms and lit up bright purple. The light slid into three rings that rose up and descended around Lyla, rotating slowly. Lyla turned pitch black as the rings spun faster. Twilight’s eyes flashed. “By aligning the spirit of the dark tribute and the will of the dark enchantress, I open the door to the world beyond darkness and invoke the wrath of the herald of shadows!” She held her hand up. Streams of purple energy and black shadows swirled around her hand, congregating into a card. “Synchro Summon! Eclipse this duel in twilight! Descend, Level 7, ‘Michael, the Arch-Twilightsworn’!” A beam of purple light shot up from where Lyla and Minerva were combined. From within the light spread a large pair of feathered black wings. With a roar a dragon flew from the light, looking like Punishment Dragon save for the figure seated atop it. Commanding the dragon was a man clad in white and gold armor with a black cape and cowl around his shoulders, and a pair of dark black metal wings spreading from his back. He raised his hand, holding up a sword handle in black and red, and a blade of red energy erupted from it (2600/2000). Sunset swallowed heavily. “That power…” Twilight laughed, her eyes blazing with dark purple light. “I told you, Sunset, I’m not holding anything back in this duel.” She grinned widely. “And I have to say, if this is the power of magic, I definitely understand why you use it!” “You don’t understand anything!” Sunset protested. “You don’t know anything, not about me, about my friends, or about our powers!” “Spare me the speech!” Twilight snapped. “I understand that you use magic all the time, even though you admit you can’t control it! And rather than try to learn how, you’d just deny it and pretend nothing’s wrong.” Her shoulders shook as she pulled back. “I was wrong before, Sunset. You’re not a fraud. You’re a coward. Afraid to admit to herself and the world who you really are.” “That’s not true,” Sunset whispered. She clenched her hands at her side. “I used to be something just like you are now – cruel, arrogant, using my magic to crush anyone in my way. And back then, I liked it.” She stepped forward, giving Twilight a stern look. “But I’ve changed, and that’s why I’m not using those tactics! Because I am not that kind of person anymore!” “Is that so?” Twilight’s lips curled into a sneer. “You seemed like that person yesterday. You used your magic to humiliate me, to hurt me. And you were liking it then, too.” “I lost control and couldn’t stop myself!” Sunset protested. “I told you, it was an accident!” “This won’t be!” Twilight shouted. “Keep telling yourself whatever you need to if it makes you feel better! It won’t change the reality and it won’t change what I’m about to do!” She thrust her hand out. “Michael the Arch-Twilightsworn, attack Harmony Guardian Risus!” Michael’s dragon lifted its head and fired a beam of dark energy. The blast hit Risus and the monster exploded. -Sunset Life Points: 4200- Within the smoke of Risus’ destruction, the image of Pinkie Pie appeared and waved to Sunset before fading away. “Pinkie!” Sunset cried out. “And one more to go! Punishment Dragon, attack Sunset directly!” Sunset looked up as Punishment Dragon rose above her, wings flapping. It opened its jaws and fired a massive blast of energy at her. Sunset raised her arms, closed her eyes, and braced her legs. The attack washed over her, driving her feet back into the dirt. With a scream, Sunset flew back through the air. -Sunset Life Points: 1200- “Sunset?” The voice made Sunset pause. She slowly opened her eyes. She seemed to be floating in the air, the world around her made of pure, white light. She looked up and gasped. “Twilight?” Hovering over her, Twilight gave her a small, sad smile. Sunset reached out a hand. “Help me! Please!” The vision glowed a pale purple, and Twilight shook her head. With a flash the image shattered, the darkness of the Shadow Game overtaking Sunset’s vision again. She hit the grass heavily and scrambled forward. “Twilight!” Sunset quickly crawled to the purple particles of energy that was fading into the grass. She held her hands out, cupped to catch them, and watched as they passed right through her fingers. She shook, a tear sliding from her eye. “No…” “Calling for mercy now won’t save you,” Twilight said coldly. Sunset didn’t raise her head, still staring at her hands. “By the way, a fair word of warning that this duel really is over already. When Michael the Arch-Twilightsworn is destroyed, I can return up to four of my banished Lightsworn monsters to the deck and deal three hundred points of damage to you for each of them.” She smirked. “Or, to put it another way – if Michael is destroyed, you lose the duel. Food for thought as I end my turn.” Sunset slowly blinked and reached up to cup her moist cheek. “The duel…” She sat back on her heels, staring at the ground. There was an electronic beep. She slowly raised her duel disk and looked at the cards sitting on it; her screen was blinking to indicate her turn. My deck… these… where? She pushed herself to her feet, gasping for breath. “Look at you. Confused, helpless, afraid. No idea what’s going on or why.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Now you know how I felt during our duel. How every opponent you’ve used magic against has felt. Sounds fair to me.” “S...shut up. I’m not giving up…” Sunset whispered. “Not yet… they’re counting on me…” She considered her words. They’re counting on me… who? Why? She put a hand on her deck. It doesn’t matter anymore… I’m here. I have to win. Can’t let her win. Have to beat her. For… for me. With a shaking hand, Sunset gripped her deck and drew.