RANK 44: Birdie and the Beast:
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THE STORY SO FAR...:
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In Canterlot High School, every student is wild over the world's most popular trading card game: Duel Monsters! Every day, players of the card game, known as "Duelists", go head-to-head to see who among them is the best around. Among the Duelists in attendance at CHS, one of the best is a young teenager named Sunset Shimmer, a girl from another world...
So far, in the WCQ Qualifier Tournament, three Duels had taken place: Ember and her Dragon Deck emerged victorious over the Amazoness cards wielded by Indigo Bolt. Later, out-of-towner Duelist Steel Shadows came in with his Six Samurai Deck and managed to defeat another newcomer named Slid Diamond, who used a Dinosaur Deck. In the third Duel that followed, Gilda - a student from Griffonstone High School, went up against another unknown face: His name was Night Switch, and he already seemed to believe that he would win easily.
Gilda's Raidraptors clashed fiercely with Night's Destiny HEROes throughout the entire match. Then, when Night Switch revealed his ace-in-the-hole - The Grand Jupiter (one of the Legendary Planet cards), it seemed that his prediction of the Duel's outcome would come true. But with the support of her new friends, as well as the knowledge she had gained from her past Duels, Gilda managed to not only defend herself from Jupiter's wrath, but was also able to defeat it and secure her spot in the next round of Duels. Strangely enough however, Night Switch vanished shortly after the Duel was over...
Now the fourth Duel of the first round is about to go underway... And as everyone will soon see, the next two Duelists to be selected will be a shocking surprise to all those in attendance...
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The air was still filled with excitement after the third Duel of the tournament had finally wrapped up. Gilda had managed to defeat Night Switch - a boy who seemed to think he had the Duel won before it even began. Obviously, his prediction hadn't come true, and Gilda had won the right to compete in the quarterfinals. After the Duel was over, the competitors and spectators were given a five-minute break before the next match.
"You did it, Gilda!!" cheered Gabby in her usual ecstatic tone of voice. "I knew you could do it!"
"Pfft, like I'd let a weirdo like that beat me in a Duel?" Gilda asked rhetorically. "Believe me, it was my pleasure to boot him out of the competition." She then turned to Fluttershy and asked her, "So, tell me: What'd you think of the Duel?"
"I think you did amazing...!" the normally-shy girl replied. "I can see that you've gotten much stronger since our first Duel with each other. I never thought I'd ever say something like this, but...well...I'm really excited to face you again...!"
"Same here." the kindly roughneck told her. "And I'll make sure to give ya the Duel I should've given ya last time!" Fluttershy nodded, looking forward to that moment, if and when it came. Looking up into the stands above them, Gilda also saw her other friend Martin, along with Pinkie Pie. She then said to her other friends, "I'm glad t' see that you guys showed up to watch too...though I didn't see you there when the game started. What took ya so long?"
"Well, um...we ran into a bit of a snag earlier..." Martin told her.
"A snag?" asked Gilda, wondering what that meant.
"It's nothin' to worry about!" Pinkie chimed in. "We managed to take care of it together so that we wouldn't miss the end of the Duel!" Gilda smiled a bit; though she didn't know what had happened to the two of them during her match, she did notice that Martin sounded a bit more confident than he did the last time she talked to him. In any case, she was happy to see her school friend overcoming some of his nervousness.
Glancing around the arena, Gilda noticed something that was off. Turning over to Sunset Shimmer, she asked her, "Say, Sunset...did ya see where that Night Switch guy went? He was here a moment ago, but now he's gone..."
"Hmmm..." the jacket-wearing teen hummed, looking around. "That's a good question... He must have slipped out of the arena after he lost the Duel."
"Yeesh, what a sore loser..." noted Spike, sitting on Twilight Sparkle's lap. "Doesn't even stick around to watch the rest of the tournament...or even congratulate Gilda for her win?"
"He was a bit strange, to put it mildly..." the Princess of Friendship stated. "I can't put my hoof- er, finger on it, but something seemed particularly off about him and the way he acted..."
(...Good, it wasn't just me, then...) thought Sunset after hearing her friend's comment. (I can't say I'm certain about it, but when he started losing the Duel...I could swear I felt some kind of ill feeling coming off of him. I thought it was just some chill I got from his appearance and attitude...but Twilight seemed to feel it as well... That can't be a coincidence.)
Her thoughts on the matter were interrupted when Megan Williams - the tournament MC, flipped on her microphone and spoke into it, saying, "Allllllright, ladies and gentlemen! We're ready to begin the fourth Duel of the first round! Those who have yet to be selected for a Duel, keep a close eye on the big screen: You may be next!"
Figuring that she should worry about the matter involving Night Switch some other time, Sunset put her focus back on her job as Tournament Judge. Watching the monitors, she stated, "Whoever wins this match faces off against Gilda next round..."
"I wonder who it'll be?" asked Martin.
"Well, according to the introduction," said Pinkie Pie, "it'll be a shocking surprise to all of us." This put a confused expression on Martin's face as he wondered what she was talking about.
The reels on the digital slot machine spun quickly, cycling through the remaining ten Duelists. "Yes, folks," Megan said, "the slots are rolling! Soon, we'll know who will be next to face off against one another!" The audience, staff, and especially the remaining competitors were on pins and needles, wondering who would duel next. And when the reels stopped, there was a large collective gasp when the two Duelists were revealed...
"Fluttershy and Gabby!!" announced Megan with excitement. "They will be competing in the next Duel!"
"Oh...oh my...!!" gasped Fluttershy. "I-I-I-I'm next...!"
"M-me too...!" Gabby said, finding it hard to believe that she would be dueling right after Gilda. For once, her facial expression was anything but a chipper one; she now seemed about as nervous as Fluttershy was.
"Heheheh...well, isn't THIS interesting?" chuckled Gilda. "Who would've thought, out of all the remaining Duelists for the first round, you two would be next? And right after my Duel, even?"
"I did!!" shouted Pinkie.
Walking over to them, Gilda then said to them both, "You know what this means, right? Whoever wins this fights me in the second round. I'm lookin' forward to duelin' one of you when that happens."
Fluttershy and Gabby then looked at each other, still in total disbelief that they would have to compete against one another. After all, Gilda was the whole reason they had signed up for the tournament in the first place. Now it was clear that only one of them would get to the chance to battle her...
"Wow...unbelievable..." said Sunset. "Those two are the next ones to Duel... Talk about pressure."
"What do ya mean?" asked Spike. "What pressure?"
"Well, Fluttershy entered this tournament because she wanted to have a rematch with Gilda ever since the Inter-school Duel." the red-and-yellow girl explained to him. "And from what I was told, Gabby was taught how to Duel by Gilda herself, and I'll bet she's been really eager to show off what she's learned in that short amount of time. But with the pairings as they are, only one of them will get to face her next round..."
"In other words," Twilight spoke, "one of those two will get what they wanted during the tournament...but the other won't. That IS a lot of pressure on both of them..."
"While I do agree that it could create a lot of stress on those two, having to Duel each other with the stakes as they are," Sunset continued, "that ALSO means that - because they both want the chance to duel Gilda next round, that could help to bring out their best dueling skills, too. I wouldn't be surprised if this match is just as action-packed as the others have been, maybe even more."
"I guess we'll just have to see what happens for ourselves, then..." said Spike as he and Twilight looked over the arena.
After the usual formalities for the start of the Duel came and went (shuffling each others' Decks and determining turn order), it was decided that Fluttershy would go first. As they stood on opposite ends of the arena, the yellow-and-pink girl - clad in her customized dueling outfit made for her by Rarity, thought to herself, (This is it... My one and only chance to duel Gilda in the next round... I have to admit...this is probably the most nervous I've ever been in my life... But I won't let that fear overtake me...! I made a promise to Gilda, and I don't want to break it! I want to show her just how much I've grown as a Duelist... So I have to win!)
On the other side, Gabby had some thoughts running through her own mind as well. (So this is it... I've got a chance to take on Gilda in the next round.) the young girl pondered. (But in order to do that, I have to win this Duel first! I promised Gilda that once I got strong enough, I wanted to take her on and show her how strong I really am, just like when she dueled her grandpa! I don't know if I can beat Gilda yet or not, but I want the chance to at least try and do it! There's no two ways around it: I have to WIN!!)
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" said Megan with excitement in her voice. "Time to begin the next Duel! Duelists, draw your cards and get ready to brawl!"
"Let's DUEL!!" said Fluttershy and Gabby, drawing their opening hands (Fluttershy: LP 4,000) (Gabby: LP 4,000). No one knew just what kind of Duel these two would produce, and everyone was anxious to see just what they were made of...
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Elsewhere - in what seemed to be a vast, empty space, an object could be seen flying in the sky above, coming closer and closer to the ground. As it neared, the object was revealed to be a hot-air balloon. However, the balloon was designed to look just like Discord's head, which sported a toothy grin. Inside of the balloon's basket was Discord himself, who appeared to be driving the balloon using a steering wheel of some sort; he somehow managed to travel between Sunset Shimmer's mind to here inside the bizarre-looking craft.
After the balloon touched down on the pink-colored ground below, Discord stepped out of the basket, reached back inside, and brought out what appeared to be a steering wheel lock. He then locked it over the wheel in the balloon before saying, "Safety first: After all, you can never be too careful these days." The draconequus then reached into his...pocket (where he had previously stored his suitcase) and pulled out another map before saying, "Now let's see...Twilight's Soul Room... Hmmm...this place is pretty big... Might be hard to find my way around here. I could use a guide of some sort..."
Just then, a large pink cloud formed in front of Discord and exploded in a shower of pink fluff. In place of the cloud, there now stood a secretary-like desk, with the pony version of Twilight Sparkle sitting behind it. "May I help you, sir?" she then asked.
"Hm? Twilight, is that you?" inquired the draconequus.
"Twilight?" asked the purple pony. "Well, yes and no. My name IS Twilight, but I'm not THE Twilight whose mind you and I are currently occupying. Rather, I'm merely a visual representation of her complex thought processes; specifically, her detailed attention to organization."
"OHHHH, I see." Discord replied, understanding the situation. "Yeah, I have those sorts of things in my head too. And lemme tell ya, it's a real circus in there! Literally, it's a circus; clowns and everything."
"In any case," said Twilight, "I am willing to help guide you through this area and help you find whatever you are looking for. I only ask that you not disturb anything in her mind; we've only just started sorting out most of her recent thoughts."
"Well actually, as a matter of fact," the draconequus told her, "that's what I wanted to see: Could you show me Twilight's most recent memories? In particular, any strange dreams she might have had in the past few days?"
"Dreams?" asked the other Twilight. "Hmmm...if I remember correctly - which I tend to always do, we should be able to find those stored away in the cortex...or maybe the limbic system. Anyway, I'll take you over there, if you wish; it's actually pretty easy to lose your way around here."
"In other words, I could get...'lost in thought' as one might put it?" Discord joked. He let out a hearty chuckle, finding his comment quite funny.
"Uuugh...!! That was TERRIBLE!" groaned what appeared to be a second Twilight (also in pony form), passing by the two of them by in the opposite direction with a slight scowl on her face.
"...Yeesh, what was that about?" the spirit of Chaos asked the first Twilight.
"Oh, don't mind her." she told him. "She's in charge of the apathetic part of Twilight's personality. She doesn't get much work to do, and gets bored pretty easily."
"Hmm, I can imagine..." hummed the draconequus as they continued on their way. Discord hoped that whatever he could dig up in Twilight's mind could help him figure out more information regarding the dream that he had previously seen in Sunset's mind. Figuring that since the dream was centered on look-a-like versions of both girls, he should find a similar dream in Twilight's mind as well...at least, that's what he assumed. In any case, he continued to follow the Twilight in front of him to where all of the dreams were stored...
Back in reality, the surprise Duel between Fluttershy and Gabby had just started. Both Duelists wanted the same thing: To win this Duel so that they could take on Gilda in the next round. However, only one of them would get that chance. Who it was going to be was anyone's guess.
Looking over her hand, Fluttershy thought to herself, (Okay...this is it... If I win this Duel, I'll finally get to face Gilda again... I just hope that I CAN get through this... Well, here goes...) Taking a card from out of her hand, she said, "I'll start by playing the Spell Card Terraforming. I'll use it to add my Naturia Forest Field Spell from my Deck to my hand." After getting her chosen card out of the Deck, she then immediately played it, transforming the area around them into a dense, yet bright forest.
"Looks like Fluttershy's still using her Naturia Deck, just like during our first Duel..." Gilda noted, watching the Duel closely. "The effects of the Naturias can activate in response to almost anything the opponent might do, so that she always has the element of surprise... Let's see just how Gabby can deal with them..."
After playing her Field Spell, Fluttershy then said, "Next, I'll set a monster in Defense Mode...then two cards face-down... Um, then I end my turn."
Looking at her field, Gabby then thought to herself, (Gilda told me that you were tough, Fluttershy... I'll admit, you don't look like you are, but she wouldn't fib about something like that! Either way, I'm gonna beat you and get my Duel with Gilda!)
"It's my turn! I draw!" said the younger Griffonstone girl as she drew her first card. Looking at it, she then declared, "I'll start by Special Summoning a monster from my hand!"
"A-a Special Summon?" asked Fluttershy with a slight gasp. "Right away?!"
"You've got it!" Gabby said with a giggle. Playing her card, she shouted, "I Summon Lyrilusc - Turquoise Warbler in Attack Mode!!" Her first monster appeared to be a very young girl with turquoise eyes wearing a jumpsuit of some sort. Only - instead of arms, the suit had a pair of dark yellow wings with blue-tipped feathers. The suit was mostly a tannish-yellow with yellow streaks running around it, as well as a few black bumps on the shoulders, chest area, hips and knees. The legs of the suit were orange and resembled bird legs, and the outfit was topped with a brown helmet and goggles (Lyrilusc - Turquoise Warbler: Level 1 / ATK 100 / DEF 100).
"She's using a Lyrilusc Deck?" asked Vinyl Scratch, sitting beside her friend Octavia Melody on a bench to the side of the arena.
"I must say, that is a rather interesting Deck choice for this tournament..." said Octavia. "Not what I would have expected to see in a major competition."
"Lyrilusc - Turquoise Warbler's effect lets me Special Summon her from my hand if I've got no monsters on the field." Gabby explained. "And not only that, but BECAUSE I Special Summoned her from my hand, I get to use her OTHER effect! Now I can Special Summon another Lyrilusc monster from my hand to keep her company! And I choose...this one! Cobalt Sparrow!!" She then excitedly played her second monster to the field right away.
The next Lyrilusc monster - Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow, was another young girl wearing a bird-like jumpsuit. Hers was mostly chocolate-brown in color, with a patch of white across her chest, as well as on both her legs (each of which ended at a yellow bird's foot), and her feathery "hair" on the back of her head. Her cobalt-blue eyes shone like jewels underneath her bird head-shaped helmet (Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow: Level 1 / ATK 0 / DEF 100).
"Another monster..." noted Fluttershy, sizing up the situation. "And they're both Level 1... I guess she might try for an Xyz Summon next..."
"Not bad so far..." Sunset noted. "Gabby Summoned two monsters, and she even still has her Normal Summon left for this turn. She's definitely setting something up..."
"But what IS she gonna do?" asked Spike.
"Not sure," Twilight told him, "but I'm pretty sure we'll see very soon."
Continuing her turn, Gabby then told her opponent, "Now I activate Cobalt Sparrow's effect! After she's Special Summoned, I get to add another Level 1 Winged Beast monster from my Deck to my hand!" She then selected Raidraptor - Last Strix as her choice and added it to her hand. Then - taking another card from her hand, she said, "Now I'll activate the effect of Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow in my hand! Since I've got at least one Winged Beast out on the field, I can Special Summon her, along with ANOTHER Level1 Winged Beast from my hand!"
"A-A-AGAIN?!" exclaimed Fluttershy in shock.
"For cryin' out loud...!" Rainbow Dash asked. "How many monsters is she gonna Summon this turn??"
Taking a second card out of her hand, Gabby then announced, "Now I Special Summon Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow to the field, along with Sonic Chick; BOTH in Attack Mode!" Her first monster - like her previous two, was a young girl in a bird costume, though she seemed slightly older compared to the others. Her outfit was composed mostly of different shades of blue, and it even appeared as if she was wearing a tuxedo. Her dark blue eyes matched her outfit completely, as did the blue bird hat she wore on her head (Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow: Level 1 / ATK 100 / DEF 0). The other monster was a tiny, pink bird with pale-green eyes and tiny wings. It wore a small green collar around its neck and a pair of red boots (Sonic Chick: Level 1 / ATK 300 / DEF 300).
"Hmmm...not a bad start." thought Steel Shadows as he watched from the sidelines like the other competitors. "Summoning four monsters on just her first turn. I'm quite familiar with the Lyrilusc Deck's strategy, so I am pretty certain of what's coming next..."
Fluttershy knew what was coming as well, even though she wasn't as familiar with the Deck like Steel was. She braced herself and said, "No matter what...I have to remain brave... I have to...!"
"Alrighty, Fluttershy! Get ready for this!!" cheered Gabby. "I overlay all four of my monsters to create the Overlay Network!!"
"A-all four of them?!" gasped Sunset as all of Gabby's monsters on the field transformed into beams of light - three green and one orange. The beams were then sucked into a red summoning portal in the center of the field.
"Birds with beautiful wings!" the young Griffonstone student chanted. "Gather together and sing the majestic song of victory! Xyz Summon! Now be heard! Rank 1! Lyrilusc - Recital Starling!!" After her chant was done, the portal shot out a brilliant red light. When it faded, a new monster was now on the field, surrounded by four green orbs that circled her. She was an older woman - probably a young adult, with pink skin and amber-colored eyes. Like the other Lyriluscs, she wore a bird-like costume, but hers was a lot more elaborate: It was mostly dark blue, with some bits of dark green here and there as well as gold trimmings. Her navy blue wings had star patterns on them, and her bird-shaped headwear was dotted with purple gems.
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Lyrilusc - Recital Starling:
(Xyz-Effect Monster/Winged Beast/WIND/Rank 1/ATK 0/DEF 0)
2+ Level 1 monsters
If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can target 1 face-up monster on the field; it gains 300 ATK/DEF for each material attached to this card. Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card; add 1 Level 1 Winged Beast monster from your Deck to your hand. All battle damage you take from battles involving this Xyz Summoned card is also inflicted to your opponent.
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"How MARVELOUS...!!" Rarity squealed with glee. "She's absoLUTEly beautiful! I'd love to have one of those, even though I can't use it for my own Deck!"
"But...why'd she use up all four o' her monsters for just that one?" Applejack wondered.
"...Pthbth." responded Fluffle Puff, who was still sitting with them and Rainbow Dash. Of course, no one knew what she said.
Back in the arena, Fluttershy asked her opponent, "So...um, Gabby? What does this monster do...? That is, if you don't mind me asking..."
"I'll tell ya, but there's a few OTHER things I gotta mention first:" Gabby replied. "To start, since I used Cobalt Sparrow to Summon Recital Starling, you can't target her with any card effects! Second, since I used Sapphire Swallow as a material, I can take a Lyrilusc card from my Graveyard and stick it to her as a material!"
"...But, you don't have any in your Graveyard, Gabby." Sunset Shimmer reminded her.
"Huh? I don't?" asked the dark-grey teen. She then tapped her D-Pad and checked her Graveyard. "Oops! You're right! I don't have any! In fact, I don't have ANY cards in the Graveyard yet! My bad!" Most of the people watching let out a slight groan in response.
"Heh...even during a Duel, Gabby's still Gabby..." Gilda said to herself, chuckling a bit.
"Let's see...where was I...?" thought the younger Griffonstone girl. "Oh yeah! Recital Starling's effect! After she's Xyz Summoned, I can target any monster on the field and give it three hundred attack points for every one of her Overlay Units! And of course, I'll have her target herself!" And with that declaration, Gabby's Xyz Monster became more powerful in an instant (Lyrilusc - Recital Starling: ATK 0 + 1200 = 1200 / DEF 0 +1200 = 1200).
(I see now...) thought Utopia from within Twilight's mind. (She used all four of her monsters to Xyz Summon Recital Starling because of that effect.)
(Sure seems like it.) Twilight responded with her thoughts only.
At that moment, Utopia perked his head up. (Hm? What is that...?) he asked.
(What's what?) Twilight inquired him.
(...I think I sense something in your mind, Twilight.) he told her. (I'll look into it. I shall return as soon as I am done.) And with that, the warrior retreated into the depths of his master's mind. Twilight wasn't sure what that was all about, but decided not to worry about it for now so that she could pay attention to the Duel.
"Time for my Battle Phase!!" shouted Gabby. "Recital Starling, attack Fluttershy's face-down monster! Shrieking Melody!" Her monster then let out an ear-piercing scream that immediately caused everyone watching to cover their ears. Unfortunately for Fluttershy's monster, its arms were too short to reach its ears (Naturia Cherries: Level 1 / ATK 200 / DEF 200). Thus, it was destroyed. "Alright! I got 'em!!"
Letting go of her ears, Fluttershy then said to Gabby, "...I activate the effect of Naturia Cherries. After they are destroyed by one of your cards, I can Special Summon up to two more from my Deck in Defense Mode." The pale-yellow girl then took the other copies of Naturia Cherries out of her Deck and placed them face-down on her field.
"Urrgh...so I destroyed one, but two more took its place?" asked Gabby. "That's a little irritating..." Taking a card from under her Xyz Monster, she added, "Then I'll use Recital Starling's effect: I remove one Overlay Unit and add Turquoise Warbler from my Deck to my hand!" After taking her chosen card (Lyrilusc - Recital Starling: OLU 4 - 1 = 3), she said, "Okay, it's your turn." Fluttershy nodded as she prepared to draw a card from her Deck...
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Back in the audience stands, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluffle Puff were watching the Duel very closely, wondering what would happen next. "Those two still seem like they're just feelin' each other out..." AJ noted. "No one's damaged each other yet, and both of 'em have made some good openin' plays."
"The good news is that Fluttershy's still holding her own against this Gabby chick..." said Dash. "She's even got two monsters t' help her Summon out somethin' stronger!"
"Let us hope that she can, for her sake." Rarity chimed in. "After all, she needs to win this Duel in order to get her re-match with Gilda."
At that moment, Pinkie Pie finally returned to the area where her friends were sitting after hers and Martin's little adventure earlier on. "Hey girls!!" she said in her usual cheery voice. "Sorry 'bout the wait: It's kind of a long story, but you can pull up the previous episode if ya really wanna know what happened!" Turning over to Fluffle Puff she said to her, "Thanks for keeping my seat warm. And I can see you wasted no time getting into those tacos I promised ya."
The fluffy pink girl nodded her head while munching on a taco that had been in her mouth the whole time.
"It's about time you got back, Pinks." Rainbow Dash told her. "We were beginnin' t' wonder if you'd vanished on us."
"And miss watching Fluttershy's Duel? Notta chance!" said Pinkie, sitting in between both Rainbow and Fluffle Puff. "You'd have a better chance of Victory Dragon getting off the banlist than that! And speaking of victory, I'd better get started cheering for Fluttershy! She'll need our support!" Turning her attention back to the Duel in progress, the party-loving teen shouted, "Go for it, Fluttershy! You can win this one, two, three!!"
"Yeah! Show her what you're made of, Flutters!" Dash cheered as well. The others shouted encouraging words of their own as well to show their support (Fluffle Puff did so with a loud, happy gasp, which dropped the taco she was eating onto her lap).
Feeling her friends' support for her, Fluttershy said to herself, "I'll do it...! I'll do my best and show everyone how much stronger I've become...!" Pulling the top card of her Deck, she shouted, "I draw!" She then looked at the card and placed it into her hand. "For my first move...I'll Flip Summon both of my face-down Naturia Cherries...!" The two monsters then revealed themselves to everyone watching. "Next," she continued, "I'll activate my Trap Card, Naturia Sacred Tree! By releasing my EARTH Plant-Type Naturia Cherries, I can then Special Summon a Level 4 or lower EARTH Insect monster from my Deck."
(I get it...) thought Gabby. (She planned on having me trigger her Cherries' effect so that she could play that Trap Card...)
After disposing of one of her two Naturia Cherries, she then pulled out a new card from her Deck and said, "I Special Summon the Level 4 Naturia Mantis in Attack Mode!" The nature-lover's newest monster was a small, cute-looking praying mantis with baby-blue eyes and leaves in place of the scythes on its arms (Naturia Mantis: Level 4 / ATK 1700 / DEF 1500).
"Hmmm... I see what you're up to." said Gilda, smirking a little.
"Now I'll tune my Level 1 Naturia Cherries to my Level 4 Naturia Mantis!" Fluttershy shouted. Her cherry monster then began to glow and transformed itself into a small, white light that shot up into the air. It returned as a green ring that surrounded her other monster, transforming it into four more lights (Level 1 + Level 4 = Level 5). "Blessed forest, give me your strength!" the girl chanted. "Call forth the beast as green as the trees to protect the creatures that dwell within it! Synchro Summon! Hear my call! Level 5! Naturia Beast!!"
After her chant was done, the ring and lights were struck by a column of bright light. After it faded away, Fluttershy's green tiger creature was now on the field, ready to battle (Naturia Beast: Level 5 / ATK 2200 / DEF 1700).
"Yeah! Fluttershy brought out one of her Synchro Monsters!" cheered Rainbow Dash. "She's got this one in the bag!"
"It does seem that way," Rarity stated, "but let's not assume that things will go exactly the way we think... After all, we can't say for sure that her opponent doesn't have a countermove ready to go."
"Wha'dya mean?" asked the cyan-skinned girl. "That other chick doesn't have any face-down cards out! Flutters'll be just fine!"
"That don't necessarily mean she's totally defenseless." Applejack told her. "Don't get me wrong; Ah WANT Fluttershy t' win, but she can't get too cocky, even though she's got a powerful monster out." Dash understood the gist of what the others were saying, but still believed that Fluttershy had the advantage right now.
Fluttershy however, was also weighing the potential risks as well as she tapped on her D-Pad's screen. "Now I activate the Trap Card, Horn of the Phantom Beast...! This card equips onto my Beast-Type Naturia Beast and gives it an additional eight hundred attack points!" At that moment, a pair of what appeared to be moose antlers formed onto her Synchro Monster, raising its power (Naturia Beast: ATK 2200 + 800 = 3000).
"Not only is her monster much stronger," Sunset said to herself, "but every time Fluttershy uses it to destroy one of Gabby's monsters, she'll get to draw another card."
"Then, I'll Summon Naturia Butterfly in Attack Mode..." the pale-yellow girl said next, playing the card she had drawn during her turn. Her monster was a small, pink butterfly with pale-ink wings and green legs (Naturia Butterfly: Level 3 / ATK 500 / DEF 1200). With the stage all set, Fluttershy decided to go for it and attack. "Go, Naturia Beast! Attack Recital Starling with Naturia Claw Strike!" The green tiger-beast roared and pounced on Gabby's Xyz Monster, slashing it with its claws and wiping it out.
"Aaaack!!" Gabby shrieked as she took a big hit to her Life Points (Gabby: LP 4,000 - 1,800 = 2,200). She then looked up at her opponent and told her, with a smile, "You got me pretty good there! But now watch THIS!"
"Huh...?" asked Fluttershy, confused. But then when she glanced up, she gasped when she saw a flurry of navy-blue feathers suddenly coming from out of nowhere. "Eeeeeeeee!!" she screamed, taking damage as well when the feathers struck her (Fluttershy: LP 4,000 - 1,800 = 2,200).
"What the-? What just happened?!" asked Rainbow, bewildered. "Why did Fluttershy take damage too?"
"That's Recital Starling's OTHER effect for ya!" the younger Griffonstone girl explained. "If I take any damage in a battle involving her, my opponent ALSO gets hit with the same amount of damage right back! Didn't see THAT one comin', did ya?"
Fluttershy sighed a little; she didn't expect that move at all. "Even so..." she told her opponent, "since Naturia Beast destroyed her in battle, I draw a card with the effect of Horn of the Phantom Beast." She then drew her next card, seeing that it was Naturia Bamboo Shoot.
"Ah thought so... That's why she didn't set any face-down cards last turn." Applejack stated. "She knew Fluttershy wouldn't be able to resist attackin' her monster while it wasn't bein' protected, so she lulled her into a false sense o' security in order t' set off that effect."
"Wow... I guess you two were right about Gabby having a countermove ready, huh?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Indeed, but it isn't all bad for Fluttershy right now..." Rarity pointed out. "While she may have lost some of her Life Points, she still has monsters on the field while her opponent does not. Not only that, but she still can attack with her Butterfly this turn as well!"
"Whew...that's a relief." said Rainbow, relieved to hear that.
Looking over the field in front of her, Fluttershy thought to herself, (Let's see... Gabby has no other cards out, so I can attack her directly right now...) Despite knowing this, the shy girl had a feeling that something wasn't quite right regarding the situation, based on the fact that her opponent didn't seem too worried about being defenseless. (...Still, I have to at least try.) Fluttershy thought before shouting, "Naturia Butterfly, attack Gabby directly!" The small creature then whipped up a gust of wind aimed straight towards the other player.
"Sorry, but I'm not gonna let you get to my Life Points THAT easily!" Gabby shouted cheerfully. Taking a card from her and placing onto her D-Pad's card tray, she then declared, "Come on out, Battle Fader!" Immediately, a small, fiendish-looking creature appeared on Gabby's field in Defense Position, appearing to be a combination of a demon and a clock pendulum (Battle Fader: Level 1 / ATK 0 / DEF 0). Right after it appeared, the bell attached to its body let out a low GONG sound, which was strong enough to shield itself and Gabby from Naturia Butterfly's attack.
"Hey, what just happened??" Spike asked Sunset. "Why didn't Fluttershy's attack work?"
"Because of Battle Fader's effect, that's why." the red-and-yellow teen answered him. "When its user is about to get hit directly, it can Summon itself from the player's hand. Afterwards, it automatically ends the Battle Phase. Which means Fluttershy can't attack it right now."
"That's a pretty good tactic, I'll have to admit." Twilight said. "She made herself look completely defenseless...but in reality, she had a plan to defend herself and even cause some damage to Fluttershy as well. This Gabby person is a lot stronger than she's making herself seem..."
"Fluttershy can still beat her, can she?" asked the dragon-turned-puppy.
"As long as she's ready for anything, she still has a chance...I hope." the young Princess replied. The two of them - along with Sunset, continued to watch the Duel as it progressed.
Sighing a bit out of disappointment, Fluttershy told her opponent, "Okay...I guess I will end my turn. So go ahead."
"Alright then! Here I go!" said Gabby, drawing a card. Looking over the field, the grey girl thought, (I may have pulled off that combo just like Gilda taught me, but I still have to deal with that Synchro Monster with three thousand attack points...) Noticing a card in her hand, her eyes lit up as she said, "Hey! This might do it!" Without hesitating even a little, she played the card right away and shouted, "I activate the Spell Card, Quill Pen of Gulldos!!"
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Quill Pen of Gulldos:
(Normal Spell Card)
Target 2 WIND monsters in your GY and 1 card on the field; shuffle both of those first 2 targets into your Deck, and if you do, return the other to the hand.
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"I'll take Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow and Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow in my Graveyard and shuffle 'em back into my Deck," she stated, "and send your Naturia Beast back into your Extra Deck!"
"That won't work!" Fluttershy responded. "I activate Naturia Beast's effect! By sending the top two cards of my Deck to the Graveyard, I can negate your Spell Card and destroy it!" After paying the cost, her Synchro Monster let out a mighty roar that shattered Gabby's card.
"Aw, no!! I forgot it had that effect!" said the grey girl, a bit distressed.
"Not only that," the nature-lover continued, "but since I negated the activation of your Spell Card, my Naturia Forest lets me add my Naturia Cosmobeet from my Deck to my hand." Gabby groaned a little at the fact that she had just given her opponent more of an advantage.
"Gabby! Ya gotta think out your moves a bit more!" Gilda shouted at her. "You can't just rush in blindly and not pay attention!"
(Hmmm...she's right...) thought Gabby as she sized up the situation. (I can't rush things, or I'll just make another stupid mistake like that... I have to calm down; it's the only way I'll get my Duel with Gilda in the tournament...) Looking at her hand, she then noticed another card that could help her. (Hmmm...her Naturia Beast can only negate Spells; It can't stop Traps, however...) Taking the card out of her hand and putting it into her Duel Pad, she said, "I'll set a card face-down, and then I'll Normal Summon Raidraptor - Last Strix in Attack Mode!"
Gabby's next monster was a small bird wearing massive amounts of armor. It was shown having small, green wings, a red and silver-colored body (complete with the Raidraptors' insignia on its chest), and a yellow head, beak, and talons. Despite its miniscule size, it had a fierce look upon its face (Raidraptor - Last Strix: Level 1 / ATK 100 / DEF 100).
"A...a Raidraptor??" asked Fluttershy. Seeing that monster pop up confirmed her suspicions that Gilda had taught her opponent how to play Duel Monsters, figuring that she had put the card in Gabby's Deck. Snapping out of her shock, she then told her opponent, "By Normal Summoning a monster, I can use the effect of Naturia Cosmobeet and Summon it in Defense Mode!" She then played her monster, which was a small flower bulb with big, blue eyes (Naturia Cosmobeet: Level 2 / ATK 1000 / DEF 700).
"Now Gabby's got another two Level 1 monsters..." noted Applejack. "No doubt about it: She's plannin' another Xyz Summonin'..."
"The only question is: WHAT will she Summon?" Rarity inquired.
They would all get their answer soon, as Gabby put her hand into the air and shouted, "Now I'll overlay my Level 1 Battle Fader and Raidraptor - Last Strix to create an Overlay Network!" Immediately, her two monsters transformed into a pair of purple lights that were drawn into a red portal in the middle of the field. "Disdainful Bird of Paradise, come into this world!" she then chanted. "Show no fear in front of the enemy! Prove that nothing can break past you! Xyz Summon! Come on out, Rank 1! Kikinagashi Fucho!"
Then, from out of the red portal came a small, black-and-yellow bird surrounded by a pair of green orbs. Above its each of its eyes were a pair of wavy red wattles. Due to its size as well as its facial expression - which suggested that it didn't seem to really care about the battle going on around it, Gabby's new monster didn't seem very tough at all (Kikinagashi Fucho: Rank 1 / ATK 0 / DEF 0 / OLU 2).
"...Uh...Tavi?" Vinyl asked her friend. "What the heck is that...??"
"A small bird, obviously." Octavia told her. "Really, the question you ought to be asking is, 'Why did that girl Summon it?'"
To most everyone in the audience, Gabby's Xyz Monster didn't seem that strong at all. However, Sunset and Fluttershy were among the few that weren't so sure about that. They had a feeling that Gabby was once again trying to make things look easier than they actually were, and that this new monster was part of that strategy.
"I'll put Kikinagashi Fucho in Defense Mode and end my turn with that." said Gabby with a smile. "It's your turn!" Fluttershy nodded as she proceeded with her turn, extra-cautiously...
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Meanwhile, back in the mind of Twilight Sparkle, Discord was following a Twilight look-a-like to where the Princess of Friendship's dreams were stored away. The area they came to appeared to be a room with a beautiful night sky theme to it. The room was circular, with dark-blue walls and a blue-violet carpet on the floor. The ceiling was of a similar color to the walls, but was also decorated with small, white stars surrounding a bright, white moon in the center (incidentally, the stars and moon also appeared to be the room's sources of light as well).
Approaching a desk, Discord and the mind-generated Twilight were met by yet another Twilight clone. This one, however, was wearing a black crown and necklace, the latter of which had a crescent moon emblazoned upon it, making her look like Princess Luna (at least in terms of her outfit). "Hello. Welcome to the Dream Archives." she said to them. "I'm in charge of collecting and sorting out Twilight Sparkle's dreams. May I help you two?"
The other Twilight that was with Discord said to her, "Yes, you can. We wish to take a look at Twilight's most recent dreams, if that is okay with you."
"May I ask why?" inquired the Luna-cosplaying Twilight.
Clearing his throat, Discord stepped forward and told her, "It's for Princesses Celestia and Luna. They sent me to look into matters involving little Twily, and I believe that looking into her dreams might help out with that. So whad'ya say?"
"Hmmmmm...I admit, it is an unusual request..." hummed the dream-managing Twilight. "But I suppose if it's for the Princesses - Luna especially, I suppose I could allow you both to do what you need to. All I ask is that you leave the chamber in the same manner as when you walked in; we can't afford to leave anything out of place."
"We understand perfectly." said the Twilight assisting Discord. "I promise you that nothing will be disturbed." Discord promised too, and signified it by placing his right hand on his chest, raising his left hand, and making an angel's halo appear over his head. Satisfied with that, the dream-managing Twilight escorted them both down a hallway to a door labeled "DREAM STORAGE". After once again reminding them to not make a mess of anything inside, she returned to her work desk.
"Well, now that THAT'S out of the way, let's get to work!" said Discord, rubbing his hands together. He then tried the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Hm? What's wrong with this thing?" he then asked.
"Hang on; need to unlock it first." said the Twilight that was with him. Using her magic, she pulled out a shiny, purple key with her cutie mark on the handle and used it to unlock the door in front of them. She then nudged the door open and went inside, with Discord following shortly after.
Switching on the lights, the pair found themselves in a vast room full of what appeared to be shelves of film reels. The room seemed to stretch upwards infinitely, as neither of them could see the top of it - if there WAS a top. In the center of the room was a pair of pink recliner chairs and a film projector. On the wall in front of the chairs and projector was a big, white screen - clearly used for watching the films.
"Oh my..." said Discord, looking around in slight astonishment. "This might be a little tougher than I thought..."
"Well, the Dream Archives have every single dream that Twilight has ever had." said the Twilight that was with him. "From fillyhood to marehood, every single dream is stored here for safe-keeping."
"Every single one??" asked the draconequus. "You're kidding! It'll take YEARS to find the dream I need to see!" Pulling out what appeared to be a standard-sized grandfather clock from out of nowhere, Discord looked at the clock face. However, instead of the usual display, the face was split into four sections: "More than enough time", "Just in time", "Not enough time", and "Time to retire". The hand on the clock (there was only one) was jittering in-between "Just in time" and "Not enough time". Discord grumbled, saying, "At this rate, we'll have gone into the events of the series finale LONG before we're done!"
"It is a bit distressing, I know...but there's not much we can do." Twilight told him.
"...Perhaps I may be of help?" asked a male voice from nearby. The two of them looked over in the direction of the voice and saw someone standing at the door. It was none other than Utopia, who had gone into the deep recesses of Twilight's mind after noticing a slight disturbance.
"It...it's you again!" said Discord. "You're that Number card Twilight has...! Utopia, right?"
"Indeed." the warrior told him. "And I can see that the disturbance in Twilight's mind was coming from you; I thought that energy signature felt familiar."
"Hmph, I'm not exactly flattered about being called a 'disturbance'..." mumbled the draconequus, huffing and folding his arms in front of him.
"My apologies." Utopia said to him. "I spoke with someone nearby and learned why you have come here to Twilight's mind this time; you are looking for a dream that she had most recently, am I correct?"
"That's right." Discord confirmed. "I was in Sunset's mind a while ago, trying to find some information about the Astral World for the Princesses. When I got there, I saw a dream that she had that seemed to have some ancient-looking versions of both her and Twilight."
"Ancient versions of them, you say...?" asked Utopia. "Most...interesting..."
"After I saw her dream," the draconequus continued, "I went over to Twily's mind; I figure that there was a slight chance that she had the same dream as well. If that's the case, then there may be more to them than just merely being dreams."
"...I think I understand the situation." Utopia replied. "In that case, I think I might be able to find what you're looking for, if you will just give me a moment." The others nodded to say that they would allow the golden warrior to do what he needed to do. Utopia then took a deep breath, took his right hand - middle and index fingers sticking out, and placed it upon his forehead. As he focused all of his concentration, Utopia began to radiate a faint, yellow glow that grew steadily bigger with each passing second.
Neither Discord nor the Twilight standing next to him knew what to make of this...until the purple pony suddenly noticed something from the corner of her eye. Glancing up towards one of the shelves, she saw that one of the film reels was giving off the same kind of glow as Utopia. "Look! Over there!" she said to the draconequus, pointing up with her left front hoof.
"That reel...! I bet THAT's the one we're looking for!" Discord figured. The Twilight duplicate then elected to go over and retrieve it. She flew up to the high shelf with her wings and used her magic to pull the glowing reel out. Returning back to the ground, Discord took the film reel just as Utopia finished his deep concentration. Presenting the reel, the draconequus then asked the warrior, "Is this it, then?"
"I believe so..." Utopia answered. "It's strange, but...I could feel something very familiar in it... Perhaps - assuming that this IS the dream you are looking for, it might beneficial for me to watch it as well."
"Well, there's only one way we'll know for sure..." said the Twilight copy as she took the reel with her magic and set it into the projector. She then turned off the lights in the room and turned on the projector. She and Discord then both sat down in the pink chairs, while Utopia remained standing behind them. They watched the screen in front of them, hoping that whatever was on this film would help answer some questions...
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Back in reality, Fluttershy had just began her next turn. Drawing her card, she looked over at her opponent's field and said to herself, (Okay...Gabby has one face-down card, plus that Xyz Monster in Defense Mode... But I have no idea what she's up to this time...) Sighing, she added, (Oh well...I guess I'll just keep playing in order to find out.) Taking the card she drew this turn, she announced, "I play my Spell Card, Pot of Desires! I banish ten cards off the top of my Deck and draw two more...!"
As the pale-yellow girl resolved her card, Gabby asked herself, "Now what's she up to...?"
After drawing her two cards, she then said, "Now I'll activate the effect of a monster in my Graveyard...! By banishing Rose Lover from my Graveyard, I can use her effect and Summon any Plant monster from my hand...!"
"Huh? Rose Lover?" asked Gabby. "How did you-" But before she could ask how Fluttershy had gotten Rose Lover into the Graveyard, she then realized that it must have been one of the cards that Naturia Beast had sent there for the cost of its effect.
After banishing the card from her Graveyard, the nature-lover then said, "Now I Special Summon my Level 5 Naturia Bamboo Shoot in Attack Mode!" Her next monster was a large, brown, seed-like creature with cute, pinkish-red eyes (Naturia Bamboo Shoot: Level 5 / ATK 2000 / DEF 2000). Looking over at Gabby's field and expecting a big countermove, Fluttershy then quickly made her next decision: "I tune Naturia Cosmobeet, Level 2...to Naturia Bamboo Shoot, Level 5...!"
Everyone watched as Cosmobeet transformed into two lights that flew up into the air before returning as a pair of green rings that surrounded Bamboo Shoot, transforming it into five smaller lights (Level 2 + Level 5 = Level 7). "Hmmm...a Level 7 Synchro Monster, huh...?" Gilda asked herself, knowing what her rival was bringing out next.
"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings and strike down your enemies at the speed of light!" Fluttershy said, reciting the Summoning chant. "Synchro Summon!" Instantly, the rings and small lights were engulfed by a giant column of light that shot down from above. "Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" the yellow teen said, finishing her chant. From out of the massive light came Fluttershy's ace monster, given to her by Rainbow Dash. It roared as it took its place on the field, immediately making its presence known (Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: Level 7 / ATK 2500 / DEF 2000).
"Alright! It's Clear Wing!!" cheered Rainbow Dash. "Her best card!" Putting on a smug expression, she then added, "Given to her by ME, of course."
"Yay!! I knew she could do it!!" Pinkie Pie screamed out of excitement.
Applejack and Rarity were also impressed that their friend had managed to Summon the monster that won her the Inter-school Duel. However, they also noticed that - despite staring down such a powerful beast, Gabby didn't seem too worried.
"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon... That's the card she beat Gilda with..." the young Griffonstone girl said to herself. "I had a feeling that it could show up..."
Thinking a little bit about her next move, Fluttershy said to herself, "I don't know what Gabby might be planning next...so I'd better finish this Duel before she can complete her strategy...!" Pointing forward at her opponent, she shouted, "Go, Naturia Beast! Attack now...!" Her Beast-Type monster then lunged forward, intending on making Gabby's bird monster its next meal.
"Not gonna happen! I activate Kikinagashi Fucho's effect!" the grey teen responded. "By removing both of its overlay units, I keep it safe in battle!" The tiny bird then absorbed both of its floating green orbs (Kikinagashi Fucho: OLU 2 - 2 = 0), and then let out a massively loud, "SHRIEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!". The ear-breaking noise caused everyone to shield their ears. The shriek was so loud, it stunned Fluttershy's Naturia Beast and halted its attack.
"Oh no...!" said the animal-lover. "My monster couldn't finish its attack...!"
"That's right!" Gabby told her. "And his protection effect lasts all turn! So that means even your dragon can't destroy him!" Fluttershy gasped a little upon hearing that.
"Once again," Sunset commented, "Gabby made great use of her weaker monsters in order to protect herself..."
"That's been her plan all along." Twilight chimed in. "She's making herself look like her Deck's weak, but is hiding a clever strategy behind it. And that might be what gives her an edge here..."
"I just hope that Fluttershy can find some way of winning this..." said Spike. "Otherwise, she won't get her Duel with Gilda next round!"
A bit frustrated, Fluttershy then spoke up, saying, "I guess, since I can't destroy your monster, I'll just go to Main Phase 2..."
"And when you do, I'll activate my Trap Card!" Gabby then told her with excitement in her voice. "Go, Icarus Attack!"
"Oh no...!!" gasped Fluttershy.
"After I release my Xyz Monster," the grey girl continued, "I can destroy both of your Synchro Monsters and leave you almost defenseless!" Everyone watched as Kikinagashi Fucho transformed into what appeared to be flames. Those flames then soared towards both Naturia Beast and Clear Wing and struck them, wiping them out completely.
"Aw, no!! She blew 'em both up!" said Rainbow, disappointed that Fluttershy was losing her advantage.
"So that's what she was planning..." Rarity spoke. "I'll bet she wanted Fluttershy to Summon another Synchro Monster so that she could destroy them simultaneously! That's why she set up that Xyz Monster as a decoy..."
"Oh man, oh man...what's she gonna do? What's she gonna do?!" asked Pinkie Pie, getting a bit frantic.
"...Pthbth pthbth, pthbththth... Pthbth pthbth pthbth." Fluffle Puff responded.
"Yeah, you're TOTALLY right!" Pinkie replied. "She can still win this as long as we've got faith in her!" Fluffle Puff smiled and nodded back...and then went back to her taco.
Fluttershy still wanted to win the Duel, but she knew she was running out of options, especially now that two of her best monsters had been wiped out already. "Now what do I do...?" she asked herself. "Gabby will surely try to attack me next turn...and if I don't guard against it, I might lose...!" She then recalled something in her mind; something that Gilda had said to Gabby earlier on in the Duel...
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"Gabby! Ya gotta think out your moves a bit more!" she had said. "You can't just rush in blindly and not pay attention!"
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Gasping slightly, she then said to herself, "She's right... I got scared and tried to rush things by Summoning Clear Wing, and it backfired... I have to try and relax, and think my moves out better..." Looking over her hand again, she then thought, (Now think, Fluttershy...there must be something in your hand that can help you..." She then spotted one of the cards she drew with Pot of Desires earlier. (Maybe...maybe that could help... Although it does seem a bit risky...) Shaking her head, she then told herself, (No! I have to take a chance on this...! After all, it's probably the only chance I have...)
Taking some cards from her hand and placing them into her Duel Pad, Fluttershy then said, "I'll set two cards face-down...and then switch my Naturia Butterfly to Defense Mode. That will end my turn."
"Then it's my turn! I draw!" shouted Gabby as she drew her next card. Wasting no time, she played it right away and said, "I'll also activate Pot of Desires!" After resolving its effect and drawing an extra pair of cards, She looked over to Fluttershy's side of the field and thought, (Okay...right now, all she has out is that Butterfly... But she also has two face-downs... Might be a good idea to try and get rid of them first.) Taking a card from her hand, she then said, "I'll play my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy one of your Spell or Trap Cards!"
Fluttershy began to sweat a little, not sure which of her cards would get popped. She hoped with all her might that luck would favor her this turn... If it didn't, this Duel would end very quickly...
"And the card I pick will beeeeeee... The face-down card on your left!" Gabby said, finally deciding on her target. Fluttershy gasped in surprise as the cyclone generated by her opponent's Spell Card shattered her Set card. "Sorry 'bout that, Fluttershy...but it had to be done." the young Griffonstone student told her opponent.
"...You don't really have to apologize, Gabby." the shy girl responded. She then gave out a small smile and told her, "...I was actually hoping you would choose that card."
"H-huh??" asked the grey girl, confused. "Why?" But Gabby would get her answer when Fluttershy took the card that had been destroyed from out of her Spell & Trap slot and revealed it to everyone. Shocked, Gabby then exclaimed, "Aw, NO!!"
"Is...is that what I think it is??" asked Gilda after seeing the card for herself...
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Waking the Dragon
(Normal Trap Card)
If this Set card in its owner's control has left the field because of an opponent's effect, and is now in the GY or banished: You can Special Summon 1 monster from your Deck or Extra Deck.
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"Waking the Dragon??" asked Sunset. "I didn't know Fluttershy had that card in her Deck...!" Needless to say, a lot of the other people watching were unaware of that as well.
"...By destroying my Trap Card and sending it to the Graveyard," Fluttershy told her opponent, "I can use its effect to Special Summon another monster...!" Taking a card out from her deck box, she then announced, "From my Extra Deck, I Summon Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree!"
And with that, another Synchro Monster appeared on Fluttershy's side of the field in Attack Position. It was a massive, lion-like creature, with some plant and insect elements added onto it. Its mane was a flower made up of red petals, its body was much like an insect's exoskeleton, it had horns that were similar to the pincers of a stag beetle, and a red poppy flower grew on the end of its tail. This creature seemed to be as powerful as it was beautiful (Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree: Level 10 / ATK 3100 / DEF 1900).
"Th-th-THIRTY-ONE HUNDRED ATTACK POINTS?!?" gasped Gabby after seeing just how powerful this new monster was.
"That's correct..." Fluttershy told her. "In addition, Leo cannot be targeted by any opposing card effects, except during my Main Phase 2. I'm sorry to say this, but you might not be able to defeat it."
Sighing out of relief, Rainbow Dash said, "That sure was lucky... That's just what she needed to get back into the game."
"Let us just hope it will be enough..." Rarity commented.
"Yeah, just about anythin' could happen in this Duel." noted Applejack. "If there's one thing that's for certain, it's that this Gabby chick's always has some kinda plan t' fight back."
"Whatever she's got," Pinkie told them, "Fluttershy can handle it, no problem! Right, Fluffle Puff?"
"...Pthbth." was all that the fluffy-haired girl replied with.
Staring down the powerful beast in front of her, Gabby shook a little bit, but remained as calm as she could. "Okay, I'll admit: I didn't expect you to do that..." she said. "But that doesn't mean I'm out of this yet!" Taking a card from her hand, she then said, "I'll use Turquoise Warbler's effect and Special Summon her, since I don't have any monsters out!" After doing that, Gabby continued, saying, "Then, I'll use Turquoise Warbler's other effect to bring Cobalt Sparrow back from my Graveyard!" After her second monster was revived, and then added, "And then...I'll use my Normal Summon and bring out another Sapphire Swallow!"
Looking at the three, small monsters on Gabby's field, Twilight said to herself, "She's building up her monsters again, just like she did during her first turn..."
"I'll bet she'll try to Xyz Summon again, right?" Spike asked. Twilight nodded yes to confirm his hypothesis.
And just as Spike had predicted, Gabby made her next move, shouting, "I overlay all three of my Level 1 monsters and create an Overlay Network!!" Her three monsters transformed into a trio of green lights that were drawn into another red vortex. "Birds with beautiful wings!" the young girl chanted. "Gather on the battlefield and take brilliant flight! Xyz Summon! Dance in the sky! Rank 1! Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale!!"
Everyone watched as a red light shot from out of the vortex in the center of the field. Then, a figure emerged from within the light: Another young adult-aged, human-bird hybrid creature with large, beautiful wings took her place in front of Gabby. Her outfit consisted of a top that exposed most of her stomach region, a long, flowing dress that extended down to her ankles, and a pair of skin-tight shorts that covered the upper legs, leaving the lower legs exposed, revealing them to be bird's legs, complete with sharp talons. Her color scheme consisted of several different colors that complimented each other perfectly, such as pink, aqua-green, dark grey, yellow, and beige. Three green orbs swirled around her as spread her wings for all to see (Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale: Rank 1 / ATK 0 / DEF 0 / OLU 3).
"Another Rank 1 Xyz Monster..." noted Flash Sentry. "I wonder what this one does...?"
"Whatever it does," Sweetie Belle chimed in, "I'm pretty sure it's not good news for Fluttershy..."
Moving on with her turn, Gabby then stated, "Now lemme explain what happens next... First things first, Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale gains 200 attack points for each of her overlay units. So since she's got three, that means her attack is at six hundred (Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale: ATK 0 + 600 = 600)! But that's not all! Because I used Cobalt Sparrow to Summon her, you can't target her with any card effect! And not only that, but with Sapphire Swallow stuck to her as an overlay unit, I can take Recital Starling out of my Graveyard and attach it to her as an ADDITIONAL overlay unit!"
"And because of her effect," Gilda said to herself, "that means she'll get another two hundred attack points." As she said that, a fourth green orb appeared on Gabby's monster (Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale: ATK 600 + 200 = 800 / OLU 3 + 1 = 4).
"Even so..." Fluttershy began to point out, "my monster is still far too powerful for her to destroy..."
"You're right; Assembled Nightingale has no way to destroy your Synchro Monster." Gabby admitted. "Luckily for me, she doesn't have to."
"Wh-what do you mean?" asked the pale-yellow teen.
"Assembled Nightingale has another effect:" her opponent told her. "Not only can she attack as many times as she has overlay units, but she can skip past your monster and hit your Life Points directly!" Fluttershy gasped upon hearing what Gabby's Xyz Monster was capable of.
"Oh no...!" said Rarity. "If that is true, then that means that Assembled Nightingale can inflict up to 3,200 points of damage on just this turn!"
"And Fluttershy's only got 2,200 Life Points left!" Applejack pointed. "If that girl can get at least three attacks in, Fluttershy'll lose the Duel!"
"No way! She can't lose now!!" said Rainbow Dash, not believing for a second that their friend was going to be beaten that easily. "Fluttershy gotta win this if she's gonna get her Duel with Gilda next round! She's gotta win it!"
"Yeah, come on Fluttershy! You can still do it!" cheered Pinkie. "Think of the children!"
"Uh, children?" asked Applejack, a little confused.
Indeed, it seemed like Gabby was sure to pass on to the next round of Duels as she extended her arm out and shouted, "Go, Assembled Nightingale!! Attack her directly!!" Gabby's monster then flew in towards Fluttershy, seeking to end the fight right here and now as it slashed the pale-yellow teen with her right leg's claws.
Everyone gasped as they watched Fluttershy take the attack. Her friends, as well as Gilda, leaned forward, anxious to see if Gabby had - in fact, made the winning move. Unbeknownst to everyone watching, the normally-shy girlhad just tapped her D-Pad's screen...
"Yeah!! I did it, I did it, I-!" but Gabby stopped her cheering when she noticed something was off. "Huh? Wait a second... Why didn't it do a lot of damage?" When Gabby looked at her opponent's Life Point counter, she saw that, even though her monster had 800 attack points, it could only deal 400 points of damage (Fluttershy: LP 2,200 - 400 = 1,800). Confused, she then ordered her monster, "Um...go! Attack her directly again!"
Once more, the Xyz Monster attacked Fluttershy, but again, only half the damage got through (Fluttershy: LP 1,800 - 400 = 1,400). Gabby then had her monster attack a third time (Fluttershy: LP 1,400 - 400 = 1,000), and then a fourth (Fluttershy: LP 1,000 - 400 = 600), but the result was the same: Each blow only had half the power that it should have had, and as a result, Fluttershy didn't lose the Duel, surviving with just a small fraction of her starting Life Points.
"She...she survived...!" Spike noted. "She still has some points left!"
"Yeah, but how did she do it?" asked Twilight.
"Wh-what just happened?!" Gabby asked, unsure why her attack had been weakened. "That should've won the Duel for me! How come my attack didn't work?!"
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Gabby..." Flutterhsy began to explain. She then put on a look of pure determination and told her opponent, "but this Duel isn't over yet! Just after you attacked, I activated my face-down card. It's called Butterspy Protection!"
"Butterspy Protection?" asked Gabby.
"It's a Trap Card that switches one monster that is in Attack Mode to Defense Mode." Sunset explained to her. "After that happens, the Trap Card's owner then only takes half damage for the remainder of the turn. Fluttershy used her Trap to switch her Synchro Monster to Defense Mode and cut all the damage from your direct attacks in half. As a result, she only lost a total of 1,600 Life Points, leaving her with 600 left."
"Oh...I see what happened." Gabby replied, understanding everything now. Smiling a bit, she then told her opponent, "That was a pretty slick move you made; I didn't see it coming."
"Um, thank you..." Fluttershy told her. "Though, I'll be honest: If you had not destroyed my Waking the Dragon card first, I really would've lost. Still...I guess it WAS a very good move, if you don't mind me praising myself a little..."
Gilda thought the move was pretty good too. (Not bad, Fluttershy... 'Course, I didn't expect any less from someone I consider my rival. Now the real question is...what're ya gonna do next?)
Thinking about the situation, Gabby said to herself, (Even though I couldn't beat her this turn, I can still get her next turn! All I have to do is direct attack her again, and I'll win! And if she tries to get rid of my Xyz Monster somehow, I can use Assembled Nightingale's effect: By removing an overlay unit, I can keep her from being destroyed, and even prevent myself from taking any damage!) Looking over towards Fluttershy with a smirk on her face, she added (The moment she tries to destroy my monster, I'll trigger the effect and stop it from happening!) She then told her opponent, "Okay, I end my turn!"
As Fluttershy began her next turn, Spike then asked Twilight, "So...what now? Can Fluttershy still win this?"
"I suppose it is still possible..." the young Princess replied. "How, I'm not so sure; I don't know the contents of her Deck, but I'm sure there's something in there that might get her through this. I suppose the only thing we CAN do is hope for the best." Spike nodded and began wishing for their friend's victory. In the stands, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all wished as best as they could as well.
(...This is it...) thought Fluttershy, looking at her Deck with a slight amount of worry about what card was next. (This is my last chance to turn this match around... I may be scared...REALLY scared, even...but I have to try and prove to everyone that I won't let my fear keep me from being at my best...! But most of all...I have to prove that to myself as well.) Reaching for the top card of her Deck slowly, she continued to think, (It's a bit funny: I never, ever would have imagined myself participating in such a huge tournament like this... The old me wouldn't have even thought about it. But I'm not the old me anymore...! Thanks to my friends, I've become a little stronger day by day...and I want to keep on getting stronger, even if it means stepping out of my comfort zone...!)
Looking around, Fluttershy looked at each and every one of the people that helped her get this far: Sunset, Twilight, and Spike sitting on the sidelines, her friends sitting in the audience cheering her on, and even Gilda, a rival that helped to push her to be at her best.
(That's right...!) Fluttershy thought to herself and smiling. (With my friends behind me...I have absolutely nothing to fear! They were there to support me in the Inter-school Duel... And when I fought Fast Buck, I had the support of Angel and my brother!) Putting on her determined look once again, she told herself, (Win or lose, I'll do it with confidence and courage!)
"It's my turn! I draw!!" the not-at-all-shy girl shouted as she drew her next card. Everyone was on pins and needles, wondering what she pulled. And when Fluttershy got a look at the card she drew, she smiled and said, "I activate the card I drew!! I play Super Synchro Fusion!!"
"Huh? Super Synchro Fusion??" asked Gabby.
"This Quick-Play Spell Card costs me half of my Life Points to activate." Fluttershy explained. "But since I only had 600 Life Points left, half of that isn't too much for me to pay (Fluttershy: LP 600 รท 2 = 300). In any case, after I activate it, I can Fusion Summon any monster from my Extra Deck that uses at least one Synchro Monster as a Fusion Material, by returning those materials from my field or Graveyard to my Deck and Extra Deck!"
"Oh no...!!" exclaimed Gabby, getting a little worried.
"She's using her Synchro Monsters for a Fusion Summon?" Gilda asked herself. "I've never seen anything like that before..."
Not sure what Fluttershy planned on doing, Gabby then thought, (I'd better not risk it...! I'll activate Assembled Nightingale's effect to protect her!) But when she tapped her D-Pad to do that, nothing happened. "Huh?" she gasped in fear. "I can't activate her effect?? Why not??"
"Because after Super Synchro Fusion is activated," Fluttershy answered her, "neither of us can respond to it with any card effect. In other words, not even I can stop my card from using its effect..." Putting her hand into the air - which was now covered with swirling red and blue clouds, the pink-haired girl then said, "I now fuse Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree on my field with Naturia Beast in my Graveyard!" Everyone watched as the two monsters flew into the clouds above, merging together as beams of orange light.
Fluttershy then clasped her hands as if she was praying and chanted, "The beast as green as the trees! The protector of the sacred tree! Merge as one and use your might to guard this blessed forest! Fusion Summon!!" At that moment, the swirling clouds above the stadium gave out a brilliant flash of purple light, which shot down to the ground below. "The ultimate forest guardian, Level 10! Naturia Gaiastrio!!"
Her new Fusion Monster appeared to be an upgraded form of Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree. Most of its elements were the same, except that it was far, FAR bigger (in fact, it had to stand BEHIND the stadium because it couldn't fit inside of it), there was a miniature forest growing upon its back, and the flower on its tail was now in full bloom. With one mighty roar, the massive beast showed just how powerful it was.
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Naturia Gaiastrio
(Fusion-Effect Monster/Rock/EARTH/Level 10/ATK 3200/DEF 2100)
2 EARTH Synchro Monsters
When a card or effect is activated that targets exactly 1 card on the field (and no other cards) (Quick Effect): You can send 1 card from your hand to the GY; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
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"Woah, lookit THAT thing!" exclaimed Applejack as she and the other people around them turned around to look at the massive monster behind them. "It's massive!!"
"It's positively huMONgous!!" Rarity added, in awe of the gigantic creature that Fluttershy had Summoned.
"Whod've ever thought that Fluttershy had somethin' like THAT in her Deck...?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Pthbth."
"You said it, Fluffle Puff..." Pinkie replied, "I'm just glad that thing doesn't see us as food; I'm not in any rush to learn how a cupcake feels after you've eaten it."
Gilda was quite astonished at the powerful monster her friend/rival had just Summoned to the field. "So she even uses Fusions too, huh...?" she asked herself. She then smirked to herself and thought, (Just like when she Summoned Clear Wing during our Duel... That Fluttershy has so much power hidden away inside her... Heh, I can't wait to face that power when she and I have our rematch!)
Gabby was also shocked at the extremely powerful Fusion Monster that her opponent had just bought onto the field...and scared as well. Especially since she still couldn't seem to activate the effect of her Xyz Monster, even though Fluttershy's Spell Card had finished resolving. "Assembled Nightingale..." she began to say, "how come I'm still blocked off from using her effect??"
"That is the other effect of my Super Synchro Fusion." the pale-yellow teen explained. "As long as the monster that was Summoned by it is face-up on my field, you cannot activate any monster effects. Which means that I'm afraid that this Duel will soon be over..."
Gabby just stood there, not believing at first that she was about to lose the Duel, especially after she had done so well up to this point. But she simply sighed to herself, managed to form a small smile and thought, (No wonder Gilda said so many good things about her...she's strong; REALLY strong. I should've known she'd be tough for me to beat.) Putting on a fierce - but happy look, Gabby then shouted to her opponent, "Fluttershy! Come at me! Let's end this with a real BANG!!!"
Nodding, the animal lover then shouted, "Go, Gaiastrio! Attack Assembled Nightingale!! Nature's Force!!" The mighty beast then let out a powerful roar as it lifted up its right front leg and slammed its paw to the ground. This caused an incredible earthquake that caused several massive, jagged pieces of rock to shoot out of the ground. Gabby's monster was struck by one of those spiked rocks, knocking her out of the sky and shattering apart. Gabby just stood there with a satisfied smile on her face, knowing that she had put up a good fight regardless of the result (Gabby: LP 2,200 - 2,400 = 0) (WINNER: Fluttershy).
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"The Duel is over!!" Sunset Shimmer announced. "Fluttershy will move on to the quarterfinal round!"
Both the competing Duelists then approached each other and gave a friendly handshake for a Duel well-fought. "Great job out there, Fluttershy!" Gabby told her, still happy even after she lost the Duel. "I can see why Gilda thinks you're so tough!"
"Um, thank you, Gabby...!" her opponent replied. "But um, I have to admit...if I didn't draw that last Spell Card, you probably would have won instead... You're a very good Duelist, too."
"Aw, gee...! Thanks for saying that!" the grey-skinned girl responded, blushing and rubbing the back of her head. "You're the first person besides Gilda or Martin to ever say something like that about me...!"
"Well, it's true." Fluttershy informed her. "Again, I really thought I might lose a couple of times when you started making all those combos with your monsters." She then asked, "So, um...are you sad that you won't be able to face Gilda in the next round...? If you don't mind me asking..."
"A little bit, yeah..." Gabby answered. "But I'll get over it! Especially since I got to fight such a tough Duelist like you in the tournament! And I can't wait until I get a chance to duel you again!"
"D-duel me again...?" asked Fluttershy, a bit taken aback by her opponent's last comment.
Watching from afar, Twilight giggled a bit and said to Spike, "Well, it looks like Gilda's not the only rival Fluttershy has now. I can tell that those two will get even stronger the more they keep dueling each other."
"Seems like it, at least." the dragon-turned-puppy replied.
Noticing something, Twilight then thought to herself, (...I wonder where Utopia went...? He said he was checking something that was in my mind, but he's still gone... I wonder what it was that he sensed? Could it have something to do with that strange dream I had recently...?) The Princess of Friendship was left to mull over her thoughts, not sure if she would ever get an answer to them...
But deep within Twilight's mind, Utopia - along with Discord and a Twilight look-a-like had just witnessed something particularly interesting: They were watching a dream that Twilight had a few nights ago, which seemed to depict her and Sunset Shimmer (thought they didn't call each other by those names, referring to each other as Spakah and Sun'Et, respectively) in some sort of ancient temple. As Discord discovered, it was the exact same dream that he saw in Sunset Shimmer's mind, except this version was from Spakah's perspective instead of Sun'Et's.
"In any case...will you do that for me?" Sun'Et asked Spakah as the recording of the dream was wrapping up. "Will you try to help me stay on the path of light?"
"I will, my friend. I promise I will." said the other figure in the dream before the two embraced each other in a friendly hug.
"...Most peculiar..." said Discord, munching on the last bits of popcorn in the paper bucket that he was currently holding...and then eating the bucket itself.
As the film of the dream finally reached its end, the Twilight look-a-like used her magic to remove it from the projector and put it back where they had originally found it. "It is quite a strange dream..." she said to the others. "The person that we heard speak - but couldn't see...it certainly seems to be Twilight, but she was referred to by a different name."
"Not only that, but Sunnie was in it as well...or at least someone with her face." the Spirit of Chaos told her as they all made their way out of the room. "Just like the dream I watched in her mind; they're perfectly similar!"
"That is not the only thing..." Utopia chimed in. "The necklace and headpiece that were worn by both of the figures in the dream; they looked very much like the symbol on the necklace that Sunset wears around her neck..."
"That thing that looks almost like a key, correct?" asked Discord.
"Indeed." the Twilight duplicate agreed. "I overheard that it was known as the 'Emporer's Key'..."
Sighing, Discord then said, "Just when I thought we had this whole matter figured out, we end up with a ton MORE questions we need to find answers to...! I knew I should've asked the Princesses for some sort of pay for my services."
"If I recall," said the brain-generated Twilight, "aren't you able to just make more money out of thin air? You don't really need to be paid..."
"That's not the point." the draconequus told her. "Well, whatever...we've got work to do if we're ever going to figure this whole mess out, and we don't have a lot of time." After they all left the Dream Archives, Discord then snapped his fingers, making a tandem bicycle appear in front of them. "Well, we'd better get a move on if we're ever gonna solve this mystery!" He then pulled out a pair of helmets out of nowhere and threw one over to the Twilight duplicate.
Strapping the helmet on, Twilight then said, "We could try to look up something in the Temporal Lobe; that's where all of the other memories are stored."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" said the draconequus. He and the Twilight duplicate then got onto the bike together (Utopia elected to levitate using the wings that were built onto his armor). "Hmmm...before we continue," Discord began to say, "since it seems we'll be travelling for a little while, perhaps I should call you by a different name... I'm sure the writer is getting tired of using terms such as 'Twilight duplicate' or 'Twilight look-a-like' to refer to you."
"What did you have in mind...?" she asked.
"Hmmmm...mind... That's it!" he exclaimed. "I'll call you 'Mind-Twi'!"
"Oh...! Um...I guess if it makes things easier for you, it's fine with me." Mind-Twi responded, not sure how she should feel about her new nickname.
"Then if everything is settled," Utopia told them both while floating in the air, "we should move on immediately. As you yourself said, Discord...we don't have a lot of time."
"Then let's roll!" shouted the draconequus as he and Mind-Twi began riding their bike forward, with Utopia following closely behind. They had merely scratched the surface of what was coming to be a vast mystery, and knew that solving it would not be an easy task...
-- To Be Continued...
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TOURNAMENT RESULTS (Round 1):
1. Indigo Bolt vs. Ember [WINNER: Ember]
2. Steel Shadows vs. Slid Diamond [WINNER: Steel Shadows]
3. Gilda vs. Night Switch [WINNER: Gilda]
4. Fluttershy vs. Gabby [WINNER: Fluttershy]
5. ??? vs. ???
6. ??? vs. ???
7. ??? vs. ???
8. ??? vs. ???
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