//------------------------------// // Duel #26: Pendulum Summon (Edited 28.4.2020) // Story: Equestria Girls: Duel Monsters Arc 2 // by Night-Quill //------------------------------// “Make them your strength?” parroted Fluttershy. “Connecting two worlds?” Rarity muttered. “What does it all mean?” “Honestly, I don’t know,” said Sunset, staring down at her cup, now emptied of most of its contents. “At best I have are theories, none of them conclusive.” “Well, hit me with the best ya got,” Applejack bid, tapping her chest in assurance. Sunset looked between Applejack and Rarity, to a sidelong glance at Fluttershy. “What is obvious at least is that it’s tied to the time we were all affected by Twilight’s Element of Magic. Perhaps some bit of it remained in each of us. Though I have no idea about the tree…” “In many mythologies trees are often symbolic of divinity,” said Fluttershy in an informative tone, only to promptly blush when everyone’s focus diverted towards her. “My friend Treehugger from yoga told me once.” Sunset looked to her shy friend contemplatively, when she came to a vague realization, “Now that you mention it; I do recall there being a tree in Equestria. The Tree of Harmony I believe.” “Whuzzat?” asked Pinkie abruptly, chewing something nestled in one cheek. “Princess Celestia was a tad… obstructive, back when I was her student-” “Can’t imagine why,” muttered Rainbow. “Regardless…” muttered Sunset, “the Elements of Harmony were said to be tied to the Tree of Harmony. This is nothing definitive, but what Fluttershy said about trees and the divine might have merit.” “Still doesn’t explain the heart thing,” Rainbow interjected. “Point is, maybe the Element of Magic, or the Tree, maybe both, have bound the six of us during the game of darkness with Twilight.” “What for?” asked Fluttershy. Sunset frowned dejectedly. “That’s just it; a theory to the how. Just not the what or the why.” She sighed, “If only Twilight were here right now…” She leaned against the table’s surface with her elbows, holding her head up with her hands, “I mean after all I did, why would anyone or anything want to associate with me?” “That’s not true Sunset,” said Fluttershy across from her. “Yea! I mean you got us!” concurred Pinkie more jubilantly. Sunset peered up, smiling faintly, “And I appreciate it, I really do.” Her frown returned, “But now on top of everything there’s a damn manhunt for me at school. I may have beat Trixie, but what about when the other, stronger students come to challenge me, when I barely know how my new deck works?” “There’s only one thing what will help with that,” said Fluttershy with an uncharacteristically forward display of assertiveness. “Sunset, the two of us should duel. That’s the only way you’ll get the hang of it.” - The suggestion to duel went over unanimously in favor (even from Rainbow Dash). The six, after politely finishing their orders, trekked to the nearby park, which put them only a short distance away from Sunset’s apartment. They went over to a relatively secluded area in the park, with Sunset and Fluttershy donning their respective duel disks. As a show of trust, Sunset Shimmer showed her disk’s shuffle function do its job, before the two of them took the appropriate distance between each other. “Remember; don’t hold back,” came Fluttershy’s voice through the communicator. “You too, Flutters,” Sunset replied as her disk’s tray halves slid forward, combined into one and aligned with her arm. The screen flared up, displaying the five-by-five grid, followed by the virtual coin which spun. Her result was tails. “Remember to have fun, you two!” called Pinkie from the side among Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity, their respective disks in spectator mode. “Duel!” Duel Start! Fluttershy Life Points: 4000 Sunset Shimmer Life Points: 4000 Turn 1: Fluttershy (Hand: 5) Fluttershy’s starting hand was ejected, which she then fanned out, “Alright; here I go. I banish one spell card from my hand to Special Summon ‘Monoceros’ in attack mode!” To Fluttershy’s field arose a creature whose top portion seemed distinctly equine with a brown coat and silvery white, shaggy mane. However, the beast’s hide was rugged, bulging with muscle and bone underneath, its lower portion and legs looking closer to that of an elephant, complete with the coat giving way to a grey, rugged hide. Like a unicorn, it bore a golden horn on its forehead; one that seemed more than half the overall length of the monster. It stomped the ground, letting loose an aggressive, steamy snort. (Level 3, 1000/1000) “Then I Normal Summon the Tuner monster ‘Elephun’ in attack mode.” And with that the unique dichotomy with Fluttershy’s beasts was complete: From great and vicious, to small and cuddly. Onto her fiend arose a small fluffy baby blue ball with a short trunk below two large eyes, and with wings to its sides, giving it the likeness of an elephant’s head. (Level 2, 500/300) “Now I Tune my level two Elephun to my level three Monoceros!” Fluttershy declared, raising her right hand towards the late afternoon sky. Elephun’s form faded, unleashing two glowing spheres that spread out into the green tuning rings. The rings swept to hover in a horizontal line around Monoceros, whose own form faded into golden outlines, before unleashing a row of three spheres that aligned with the tuning rings. (2 + 3 = 5) “Little critters need not fear, for their inner courage will light the way for the coming of a valiant protector in their hour of need.” The orbs erupted into a column of light. “Synchro Summon! Level five steed of lightning; ‘Thunder Unicorn’!” A fearsome neigh, accented by the rumble of thunder, permeated the air, from out of the column galloped Fluttershy’s flagship beast; the blue unicorn with a golden yellow mane and streaks like lightning bolts accenting its form. It galloped around Sunset before swerving back to its master, rearing on its sparking hooves before planting them back down with the sounds of thunderclaps. Its bolt-shaped horn coursed with lightning. (Level 5, 2200/1800) Fluttershy held forth her right hand, “Next, when Monoceros is used for a Synchro Summon, since the Tuner was a beast-type, I can Special Summon said Tuner from my Graveyard!” As such, Fluttershy’s Elephun remerged back to the field, giving out a joyous toot. “Now, I Tune my level two Elephun with my level 5 Thunder Unicorn!” Two Synchro Summons on her first turn? thought Sunset in amazement. Thunder Unicorn galloped; against all laws of physics (or the fact it was a state-of-the-art hologram), the equine rose to the sky in its wake, as Elephun once again faded and unleashed the tuning rings which aligned with the skyward galloping Thunder Unicorn. (2 + 5 = 7) “Little critters need not fear, for their call shall beckon the heavenly guardian of roaring thunder in their hour of need.” “Synchro Summon! Level seven heavenly steed: Voltic Bicorn!” From the erupting pillar of light, a bolt of lightning struck the field, bringing with it a great, black equine with a dark turquoise mane; the left and right of its forehead affixed with blade-like, backwards swerving golden horns. A crest of lightning energy affixed to its powerful chest, whilst a static lightning bolt served as its tail. (Level 7, 2500/2000) “I end my turn,” Fluttershy declared firmly. (Hand: 2) Turn 2: Sunset Shimmer (Hand: 5) Sunset drew the first card of the duel, “Great opener, Fluttershy!” Fluttershy responded smiling sweetly. Sunset then turned to look down at her hand. True enough; two Pendulum cards were in her hand. As was Odd-Eyes! Alright, don’t worry, Sunset. It’s just Fluttershy; this isn’t a life-or-death struggle; we’re just friends having a duel to practice and learn. We good…? I suppose so. She presented the two cards, “I take the scale one ‘Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon’ and the scale eight ‘Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon’ to set the Pendulum Scale!” Sunset announced, mostly going by what she remembered from her and Trixie’s duel, setting the two cards near the ends of her duel disk’s tray’s cleft. True enough, the obscured circuitry in the cleft lit up, followed by ‘PENDULUM’ being spelled out in capitalized, rainbow letters. The two pillars representing the scale emerged. To her right was a bipedal, sauropodian light red dragon with its head, back of the neck, chest, forearms and feet covered in a pearly-white armoring with gold rims, and a sleek tail ending in a pronounced forked split. To her left was a green sauropod-like dragon in similar armor, though more lacking, with four pronounced tusks lining its lower jaw and a bladed horn jutting out of its forehead. Like its brother it possessed a long, serpentine tail, only this one ended in a thick, three-spiked bludgeon of shorts. As the two arose within the pillars, the numerals one and eight. “The swing of the pendulum connecting two worlds draws out the arc of harmony.” “Pendulum Summon! Come forth; my companion!” Sunset called forth, raising her right hand. The great gate opened between the scales, a bright red swathe of light launching down to the ground, materializing into a familiar, bipedal dragon. "Arise, valiant dragon with dichromatic eyes! Level 7, ‘Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!’” The red, dichromatic dragon stepped forth on one of its heavy legs, letting loose its distinct call. Its odd-colored eyes glinted either from sunlight or by some inherent power within the sauropodian creature. (Level 7, 2500/2000) After finishing her summon, she looked to Fluttershy intently. “Well? Do you feel anything?” Fluttershy stood still, looking about expectedly, but as nothing appeared to change, it would seem Sunset’s question was answered. Fluttershy closed her eyes and held her breathing for a moment, before sighing. Scrutinizing herself, she looked over to Sunset and shrugged. Sunset turned to the rest: Applejack proceeded to shrug, all the while Rarity held her arms to her sides in a relaxed posture, before shaking her head. Pinkie Pie proceeded to frown in an overt manner. “Aww, I don’t feel the fuzzies…” “Well, no heart pains at least,” Rainbow remarked, taking a deliberate deep breath. “Do you think it was a one-time thing?” asked Fluttershy, sheepishly tapping her index fingers together. Sunset bobbed her shoulders, feeling at a loss, “Just speak up if anyth-” They were immediately distracted by a shrill shriek they instantly recognized; “Pinkie?!” the two of them called out. The urgency came out as unneeded, when they saw Pinkie leaning backwards, her eyes fixated on something small that seemed to be following her quite intently. With remarkable hand-eye co-ordination, Rainbow, having produced a ruler, smacked away the wasp that had become enraptured by Pinkie’s bubblegummy-cotton candy coloration. The six could not help but share a laugh about the predicament afterwards, with Pinkie’s cheeks flaring up like peppers. “Little pests notwithstanding, if anything out of the ordinary comes up,” Sunset finished her earlier remark. “Alright; now, I set one card…” Not much I can do but this and hope for the better. “I attack Voltic Bicorn with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!” - Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is just as strong as Fluttershy’s Bicorn… Rainbow Dash thought as she observed Sunset’s performance. Her gaze drifted towards her meek friend, currently having only Voltic Bicorn to protect her, and no facedowns. Come on, Fluttershy. You’re better than that to lose to this punk… - With a threatening hunched display, Odd-Eyes roared: The raptor-like dragon began charging forward on its hefty hindlegs (ATK: 2500), to which the lightning equine (ATK: 2500) reared up defiantly before charging to meet its foe head-on. Stomping to a full stop, Odd-Eyes lashed out with its mouth-based energy attack, to which Voltic Bicorn lowered its head during its charge, its dual horns flaring up with electrical power, which seemed to split the fiery beam in their wake. In an upward swerving swipe of its head, Bicorn’s attack struck home, causing a rattling detonation that destroyed both monsters. “Since Voltic Bicorn was destroyed, both of us send seven cards from the top of our decks to the graveyard,” said Fluttershy informingly, taking the allotted amount from her own and feeding them one at a time to her graveyard slot, which Sunset mimed herself. “I end my turn,” Sunset declared. So far so good. Whether this is the ideal method or not… “… You didn’t feel anything just then, did you?” (Hand: 2) Turn 3: Fluttershy (Hand: 2) “Oh, no; I’m fine,” said Fluttershy quite casually as she drew her next card. “I activate the Field Spell; ‘Closed Forest’.” On feeding in the card and tapping her screen, a series of gnarled trees began erupting out of the ground all around, encompassing the dueling field, far enough that it even enveloped around Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie. The pink party girl suddenly went stiff, fingers gnarled and an expression of pure horror etched on her face as a thick, thorny branch came through her chest. Only to subsequently guffaw in laughter as she waved a hand through the obvious hologram. “I then summon ‘Uniflora, Mystical Beast of the Forest’ in attack mode.” Emerging to her field in a billow of willows and flowers, onto Fluttershy’s field emerged another distinctly equine creature: In this case a pearly white horse with green lines arranged int a myriad of interwoven patterns throughout its body. Its head and back were covered in a thick carpet of willows and moss, a golden horn sticking through at its forehead, all the while a golden eye gazed out from a gap in the foliage. (Level 1, 700/500) “I then activate Uniflora’s effect: If all the monsters in my Graveyard are beast-type; I can sacrifice Uniflora and Special Summon one beast-type monster in my hand or graveyard.” Uniflora held up its head, its golden, vine-encroached horn emitting a blinding flash. “Return to us; Voltic Bicorn!” The air was overtaken by the familiar sounds of thunder, accented with equine neighing; when Voltic Bicorn’s form replaced that of Uniflora. The revived beast of lightning turned in place, reared on its hind legs before bucking triumphantly. (Level 7, 2500/200 -> 3400/1800) Sunset looked at the screen in confusion, “Wait; how’d Votic Bicorn’s attack points increase?” “Closed Forest’s effect,” said Fluttershy, indicating their general vicinity. “All beast-type monsters of mine gain 100 additional attack for each monster in my Graveyard. I sent five thanks to Voltic Bicorn’s effect, with the addition of all my other friends in there; that amounts to 900. However, monsters summoned by Uniflora’s effect can’t attack the turn they’re summoned. “I set one card,” Fluttershy inserted a card into her disk, “then end my turn.” (Hand: 1) “You got this, Flutters!” called Rainbow encouragingly. “Keep it up!” “Just ignore her,” said Fluttershy in a very serene tone, the animal caretaker taking a deep breath in demonstration of calmness. Turn 4: Sunset Shimmer (Hand: 2) Sunset drew, to which she quickly indicated her set card, “I activate my set card; ‘Call of the Haunted’ to bring back…” Wait, Odd-Eyes isn’t in the Graveyard…? - Plushfire is safe and snug in Trixie’s Extra Deck,” she declared, tapping the lid of her duel disk’s Extra Deck compartment. “What?!” Sunset wondered aloud. “But that’s not possible. A monster can’t be placed in the Extra Deck unless it’s an Extra Deck card.” “This is different,” said Trixie, sounding deliberately vague. “This will be a performance that none at CHS have yet to behold.” - “Oh! That’s right! Pendulum Monsters go to the Extra Deck instead of the Graveyard when destroyed,” Sunset swiped a finger across her disk’s screen, bringing up the system data. True enough, there was Odd-Eyes, registered as face-up over the Extra Deck. - “Now Trixie can special summon any monsters from levels two to five: Pendulum Summon! Come on down, my wonderful assistants!” A wide portal opened between the pillar, from which two balls of light shout out, coalescing onto the field as monsters: “First up; level 4; ‘Performage Mirror Conductor’! And level 4; ‘Performage Plushfire’!” - So that’s how they work! “With Call of the Haunted, I Special Summon…” she quickly browsed through the registered contents of her Graveyard, finding quite a few monsters having been dumped due to Voltic Bicorn’s milling effect. “I summon… ‘Oafdragon Magician’.” From the dark Graveyard portal arose a male spellcaster with lime green hair, garbed in a green, billowing heavy robe with a yellow sash tied around his waist. A distinct, sharp-angled tattoo emblazoned his left cheek, and grasped in one hand was a staff with a forked, two-pronged blade at the end. (Level 6, 2100/1400) “Oafdragon Magician’s effect lets me take one ‘Magician’ Pendulum or ‘Odd-Eyes’ Monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand: I choose Dragonpulse Magician for this, which I will now Normal Summon.” On slapping the card to her tray, the young magician in armor obscured by the billowing white robes, brandishing his dual-bladed glaive arose this time to the field of battle instead of within the blue pillar of the scales. (Level 4, 1800/900) “With my Pendulum Scale still active, I Pendulum Summon! Return to the field, Odd-Eyes!” With the portal between the scales opening, in a flash of red, Odd-Eyes remerged back to the field with another roar. (Level 7, 2500/2000) - Rainbow eyed the assembled monsters warily. None of Sunset’s monsters are strong enough against the empowered Voltic Bicorn. As far as I know, there shouldn’t be that many power-boosting cards in that deck… Unless whatever the… magic did to it. - “Then from my hand, I activate the spell ‘Union Attack,’” Sunset said as she swiftly slid a card into her disk. “This card lets me take one monster and increase its attack points by the combined attack power of all other monsters on my field. (Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK: 2500 + 2100 + 1800 = 6400) However, you take no battle damage from battle involving its attack, whereas other monsters I have can’t attack this turn.” “That’s a relief,” said Fluttershy sweetly. Perhaps a tad too sweetly…? “I use Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to attack Voltic Bicorn!” Odd-Eyes (ATK: 6400), in a sweeping trail of its neck, opened its toothy maw, a veritable ball of power gathering before it, all the while Dragonpulse and Oafdragon Magician stood in matching positions akin to a prayer, a white aura shining off their outlines. “Spiral Strike Burst!” “Trap card activate!” Fluttershy responded. “‘Super Rush Recklessly’!” Before Odd-Eyes could finish preparing its blast, Voltic Bicorn in an abrupt, and at impossible speed, launched itself like an oversized black bullet at the wingless dragon. A thundering blast rang out, all the while Odd-Eyes, despite its greater mass, was sent flying, disappearing on reaching the end of the holo-emitters’ range. “This card lets me destroy one beast monster I control; in return a monster on your field is shuffled into the deck.” Sunset was taken aback at the sudden abrasiveness of Fluttershy. Welcomingly so, seeing the normally shy-to-timid animal caretaker show off her assertiveness was a comfort for Sunset, knowing that after all the hardship she’d put her through, there was still a fire burning bright within. She acquiesced in placing Odd-Eyes’ card atop her deck, after which it was shuffled into the confines of her deck. “Since Voltic Bicorn was destroyed by my card, it does not send cards to the Graveyard,” she added, seeming to not be troubled over the lack of cards on her field. “Alright; I end my turn,” said Sunset, not at all distraught. In fact, she felt… Normal. For the first time in so long, she was genuinely just enjoying herself, with a friend. If only Celestia could see this. (Hand: 2) Turn 5: Fluttershy (Hand: 1) Fluttershy drew, a pleased look donning on her features, “Wonderful; I activate ‘Gift of the Weak’. I banish a level 3 or lower monster from my hand, to draw two cards.” The faded image of what looked to be a small snouted animal loomed behind her: It looked much like a tapir, which was bearing its teeth from underneath the flabby appendage that was its nose, most likely at Sunset. “When Dark Desretapir is banished, he lets me Special Summon any level 4 or lower monster from the Graveyard: I summon ‘Desmanian Devil’, in attack mode!” To her field emerged what looked to be an enlarged version of the creature Sunset knew only of thanks to being named after the only place it was encountered in; a Tasmanian devil: A bulkier weasel-like animal with a dark brown coat, rodent-like ears black, beady eyes and a short, furry tail. Despite their normally small size, they were known for being ornery, such as when the one on her field bore its teeth, an unnerving guttural snarl escaping from its toothy mouth. (Level 4, 1700 -> 2600/1400). “And finally, the spell card; ‘Ayer’s Rock Sunrise’, activate,” Fluttershy slid the card into her disk. A brilliant ray of light pierced through the choking branches of the Closed Forest, lighting up Fluttershy from behind in an almost heavenly halo. Before her field opened the Graveyard summoning portal, any beast in the Graveyard being hers to call upon. “I Special Summon Voltic Bicorn once more to my aid,” she beckoned, her black, thundering equine returning from the dead. (Level 7, 2500 -> 3300/2000). “And for every beast, winged-beast and plant in my graveyard, all your monsters lose 200 attack points. I have eight beasts overall, so they lose a total of 1600. As the sun gleamed over them, Dragonpulse (ATK: 1800 –> 200) and Oafdragon (2100 -> 500) Magician had to err away from the sunbeams shining into their eyes. Ghostly apparitions of all the monsters in Fluttershy’s Graveyard loomed over them, including Elephun, Monoceros, Uniflora, Thunder Unicorn, Playful Possum, Giant Rat, Key Mouse what looked to be some form of flying squirrel with a cheeky grin on its face, This duel’s over… “Now, Desmanian Devil attacks Dragonpulse Magician!” Fluttershy called out, pointing at the weakened spellcaster defiantly. In staying true to its smaller cousins’ reputations, Demanian Devil (ATK: 2600) let out a feral scream as it lunged at Dragonpulse Magician (ATK: 200), snagging the blinded magician by the leg and viciously body-slamming him to the ground, erupting into pixels. Sunset Shimmer Life Points: 4000 – 2400 = 1600 “Voltic Bicorn, attack Oafdragon Magician!” With a compliant neigh, Voltic Bicorn galloped (ATK: 3300), its hooves sparking against the ground with every beat. In a dazzling display of agility for an animal its size, it performed a sharp turn, and launched back with its hindlegs, viciously bucking into Oafdragon Magician (ATK: 500). With a peal of thunder, the weakened magician was decimated like struck from the heavens themselves. Sunset Shimmer Life Points: 1600 – 2800 = -1200 Fluttershy victory! The Closed Forest faded from around them; the spectacle having drawn a few distant spectators, who proceeded to go about their business. Pinkie Pie was eagerly clapping in a rapid pace, whilst Rarity seemed to be contemplating on the spectacle. Rainbow Dash appeared very pleased with the outcome. As Sunset’s disk emptied the contents of the graveyard to be placed back into the deck, Fluttershy approached her, her demeanor returning from decisively assertive to meek and soft-spoken. “Umm… H-how do you feel, Sunset?” “Overall,” Sunset proceeded to shrug nonchalantly, “I feel fine. I know that wasn’t exactly stellar on my part, but it honestly just feels good to be back in the game again! Thanks for doing this, Fluttershy!” she stated enthusiastically, to which Fluttershy started kneading her hair around a finger with noticeably reddening cheeks. “Ooh! Me next, Sunset!” called Pinkie, bouncing on her toes with one hand held up. “And then maybe Applejack, then Rarity, and-” “Whoa, easy there, Pinks,” said Applejack. “It’s gettin’ kinda late for a ‘boss rush’ as you’d put it.” “I have time for one more,” stated Rarity, looking up from her duel disk screen, “but I must concur; I have things to do tonight.” “That’s cool,” replied Sunset leisurely. “This was pretty spur of the moment anyway. But sure; I’ll take you on, Pinkie.” “Wohoo!” exclaimed Pinkie eagerly. “Our first duel ever without you being possessed and-” she abruptly slapped a hand over her mouth, “… Sorry.” She grinned sheepishly at her ill thought remark. Sunset rolled her eyes, “Eh, you reap what you sow, right?” Pinkie seemed to scrunch her face in contemplation, “Eh, leave the country-isms to Applejack. That was a bit…” “Archaic?” “Uhhh… Yea, that.” “Although,” Fluttershy said, chiming in, “what about the sensations we had earlier?” “Oh yea, didn’t anyone feel something during the whole duel?” asked Sunset, looking to the rest of their group. Everyone proceeded to dismiss. “Whatever do you think this means?” asked Rarity. Sunset fell silent, losing herself in her thoughts in trying to piece together a feasible resolution, “I honestly don’t know. It might have been a one-time thing with the Elements working off of us. Or maybe it didn’t happen since it’s us six specifically dueling each other instead of someone else.” “So then we need to keep tabs on it, right?” asked Applejack. “Ah just hope this ain’t some hint of them Games of Darkness workin’ its magic off us.” Applejack’s words struck just the right chord, “I know…” said Sunset, the vision of her old self reaching out for her in her mind coming to the forefront of her thoughts. As much as she’d been able to renounce its hold over her, she couldn’t help but dread if the darkness might have still been ingrained somewhere within her, trying to claw its way back to claim her. - Making her way back home from game club, though the recent fictitious escapades as imagination and theatrics had been an overall pleasant distraction, Trixie could not help but be reminded of her ignominious defeat at the hands of Sunset Shimmer in front of her peers at CHS. And after all the time spent researching into the art of Pendulum Summoning… She could not help herself but fall into her habit of talking to herself in a huff, “Hmph! It’s not fair! How did Shimmer know about Pendulum Summoning when I could have sworn, I was the only one to do so before everyone else?” “Hey,” came an abrupt voice from behind Trixie. Turning to look, it wasn’t anyone she’d recognized. A girl, sporting a pale fuchsia skin color and a head of purple hair with very noticeable streaks of aquamarine, worn in a pair of long twin-tails that reached almost down to the level of her waist, each tied with a silver, spiky pin. Her rather glamorous appearance, what with the purple eyeshadow and brilliant red gem hanging off a choker around her neck, felt rather underplayed by her very lacking outfit: A baggy green hoodie adorned with a pair of worn out, either from use or as a mode of style, jeans. “Look, normally I wouldn’t give two shits about your gripe, but you didn’t happen to be bitching about a Sunset Shimmer by any chance? Tell me.” she asked in a forwardly brusque manner, clearly lacking any basic manners. Trixie eyed the stranger with a bitter taste in her mouth. Sure, she herself wasn’t exactly known for being humble or courteous (even she herself would freely admit to that… behind closed doors, naturally), but the abrupt forwardness of whomever it was, all the while immediately demanding information? Trixie did not feel particularly compliant. She harrumphed, “Please, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not feel like very compliant. Especially not to such a model of decorum and manners such as yourself. Now if you don’t mind-” “Oh, you misunderstood,” said the girl flatly, “I wasn’t asking.” Her eyes lit up with a crimson hue. Before Trixie could even utter out a single vocalization, she found herself unable to do… very much anything; all that swam through her mind was the red, and the desire to obey. “I was ordering you…”