Chrysalis, queen of Card Combatants, stood at her spot on the arena, a wide grin on her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she held two cards in her hand still. Not that she needed them. At this point, the battle was as good as won. Admittedly, Twilight had put up much more of a fight than Chrysalis had expected, but the result was -- and will always be -- the same.
No one and nothing could stand up to her Royal Assassin deck. Especially not some brat that no one had heard of and was just starting to play in official tournaments.
Still, it would be better not to take the risk. A little psychological warfare was permitted, and may make things easier for both of them.
"You may as well give up," Chrysalis called out. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the empty creature section of her opponent's side, then let her gaze drift to her own, completely full one. "You have nothing left." Her smirk grew wider, and more wicked. "And even if you do draw something you can use, my Infiltrator Queen will destroy it without even breaking a sweat."
On her side of the arena stood a holographic projection of the very character, as large as life. Much like Chrysalis, the creature had dark skin and dark green hair. However, where Chrysalis was dressed in a dark suit and green blouse, Infiltrator Queen was dressed in glistening black armor, a hint of green to its sheen. One hand held a crooked dagger, while the other glowed with magic.
"Or maybe your own Shining Knight should be the one to cause your downfall," Chrysalis added. It was always fun when Infiltrator Queen stole one of her opponent's most powerful creatures, and made them work for her. Especially when she snagged the most powerful on the other side. The look on their opponent's face when they lost their favorite, and then had it destroy them, was just priceless.
"Don't listen to that meany!" one of the girls that made up Twilight's peanuts gallery shouted out (Chrysalis did not know nor care which one it was). "You can do this, Twilight!"
"Yeah!" another shouted. "Kick that bully's butt!"
"It ain't over 'til there ain't no life points left!" added a third.
"Indeed. You've dealt with far more skilled and stylish opponents in the past."
"Don't give up."
Chrysalis let out a huff, rolling her eyes. The whole thing was ridiculous, and made her want to puke. People did not win through the magic of cheerleaders or whatever. They won by having good cards, a keen strategy, and fudging things in a way that were not technically against the rules. There was no teamwork in a one on one battle.
However, it did seem that Twilight was still dumb enough to believe such things. The young woman on the other side of the arena straightened up, staring directly at Chrysalis. There was a new fire in her eyes, and a look of determination on her face.
Then she started talking.
And talking...
And talking...
The girl went on and on, talking about friendship, encouragement, blah-blah-blah, harp of the chords or whatever. Chrysalis had not cared in the slightest when it started, and had basically stopped listening all together at some point pretty early on. She was instead planning what she was going to do that evening, when the tournament was finished for the day.
It was only when she saw Twilight finally draw a card -- in an overly dramatic manner at that -- that she brought her full attention back to the present.
"Yes, yes," Chrysalis sighed. "All very nice and lovely. Now hurry up and play so we can get this all over with."
Twilight lowered her hand, bringing the card to her face. As she looked at the newly drawn card, her eyes lit up with excitement, and a smile spread across her face.
"And now," Twilight announced, "let me show you the power of the cards." She held out the card she had just drawn.
"I summon Dungeon Delver!"
In a flash of bright light, a woman dressed in khaki adventure clothes and wearing a pith helmet appeared in the opponent's creature section of the board. The figure pushed up the edge of her helmet, the well tanned woman narrowing her eyes at the other side.
It was not a card that Chrysalis was familiar with, not that she would admit it. The data screen in front of her showed her Dungeon Delver's attack and defense, but they were not that impressive.
Chrysalis let out a laugh before calling out, "How pathetic. What can one little dungeon crawler possibly do against my Queen?"
"You're right," Twilight called back. "Dungeon Delver couldn't beat Infiltrator Queen in a head to head fight." The girl let out a smile. "Fortunately, that's not what I need her for. First, because I played her, I'm allowed to search through my deck for one item card of my choice."
She grabs her deck and quickly flicks through it.
"I choose: Crystal Heart of Purity."
She then started shuffling the rest of the deck.
"That's... cute," Chrysalis said. She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Hardly think it will do you any good, though."
"In itself, no," Twilight acknowledged. "However, I can now use Dungeon Delver's second ability. By sacrificing her and one magic item on my field, I'm able to bring back one of my monsters from the graveyard. I sacrifice Crown of Magic and Dungeon Delver, and bring back... Princess Guardian of Love!"
In the magic section of the field, the crown appeared and shattered into shards of light. Simultaneously, Dungeon Delver also turned into light and shattered. In its place appeared a woman dressed in a pink and gold, flowing toga, with feathery wings splaying out from her shoulder blades, and holding a bow in one hand. Little red hearts fluttered in the air around her as she appeared, slowly floating to the ground before disappearing.
A groan of annoyance escaped Chrysalis as she rolled her eyes. She thought she had gotten rid of all the stupid Princess Guardians. Now, not only was one being brought back, but had to be the annoying pink one that was all about "love." Why even bother? Why not bring back one of the others? They were more powerful. The only advantage with Guardian of Love was...
Her gaze drifted back to her side of the field, at the knight she had stolen.
"I activate Princess Guardian of Love's special ability, Arrow of Love, to reclaim my Shining Knight!" Twilight announced.
The angelic woman held up a bow and grasped the string. As she pulled it back, an arrow of rainbow light with a heart-shaped tip appeared. She released and the arrow flew across the arena, striking the knight in his armored chest. As soon as it hit, Shining Knight disappeared from Chrysalis's side, and reappeared on Twilight's.
"Clever," Chrysalis said, "but ultimately useless." She let her gaze drift back toward her side. "You may be able to take out my infiltrator drones, but my Infiltrator Queen is still stronger than either of them." She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "You're only delaying the inevitable."
"You're wrong," Twilight announced, her tone brimming with confidence. "It may be true that neither of them can defeat your Queen straight on, but I don't need them to." She then smiled. "And I have everything I need to win this round!"
"...What?"
"Now that I have both Princess Guardian of Love and Shining Knight on the field, I can now use Crystal Heart of Purity to send all the creatures on your side to the field back to your hand." A large crystal heart appeared behind the two. It began to hum and glow before unleashing a burst of glowing blue light. As the energy hit Chrysalis's side, the creatures turned back into light and vanished.
Before Chrysalis could even process what happened, Twilight continued.
"Now, with nothing left to stop them, Guardian Princess of Love and Shining Knight from attacking your life points directly!"
Chrysalis stood there, staring with wide eyes. Unmoving as she tried to process what just happened. She had it won. In the bag. Just one more round, and victory would be hers. Now, it was all collapsing. Everything had backfired. And all she could do was watch as Twilight's creatures attacked.
The Princess was first, raising her bow and pulling back the string before letting it go. The heart tipped arrow flew straight at Chrysalis, striking her in the chest before vanishing.
It felt like it had actually sunk in, hitting her in her actual heart.
The Knight was next. With a single jump, he leapt into the air, launching himself at her. With one arm, he raised his sword high above his head, the blade glowing bright white with magical energy, and swung down. The sword came down on her head, passing right through her skull.
The light faded as her life point score hit zero.
"BAH! This is a stupid game anyways!"