Back in Canterlot, Flash and the others stared at the room they had just entered in amazement.
It was large and had several oversized computers up against the wall, but what really caught many of their eyes were the machines in the center of the room.
These machines were a bunch of large glass spheres, big enough to fit a person inside. Each of them were surrounded by a metal ring with eight metal spikes sticking out of them to form a star shape. Each sphere was a different colour and had one of the six attribute symbols on them.
"What are these things?" Rainbow asked, while Aria and Sonata recognised them.
"We saw these things when he hacked into the Zealot's computer systems," Aria explained. "No idea what they're for."
"Nothing good I imagine," Cold told them before moving over to what he hoped was the main computer. "Let's see if we can't figure out what they're up too." He started typing away while the others continued to look around the room, but all the while they kept an eye on the machines in front of them.
"These have to be important," Misty announced. "Why would the Zealots go to such lengths if they weren't."
"Then let's smash'em!" Rainbow cried, "then they can't use them."
"Maybe we should try and find out what they are first," Fluttershy told her. "In case damaging them does more harm than good." Rainbow huffed at this, but agreed.
"I'm just surprised the Zealots haven't shown up yet," Trail said. "If these things are so important, why aren't they here protecting them?" The others were wondering that too, all curious what Midnight and the Zealots were up too.
But as they got to work, Cold's phone suddenly went off.
He took it out and was surprised to see who it was. "Starlight?" The others turned to him in surprise, curious why she of all their friends in Nevada were calling him. "Cold Steel," he answered while putting it on speaker. "What's up."
"TROUBLE!" Sunburst screamed through the phone, making them worry. "Midnight and the Zealots attacked!"
"WHAT!?" They all screamed, rushing over to the phone.
"Sorry we didn't call you earlier," Starlight told them. "We just managed to get communications back up after the Zealots took them down."
"Give us the facts," Cold explained. "From start to finish, tell us everything that's happened."
As the two explained, Cadance continued to stand outside in the shield room staring at the Omega Field. She was going crazy not knowing what was happening inside of it, fear gripping her heart at the thought of the two Dueling against one another. "Shining," she whispered. 'It was dangerous to face her when she only had one Zenith Dragon. But now she has them all and some other crazy card.' She reached out to try and touch the field, thought every cell in her body told her not too. And the jolt she suddenly felt made her pull her hand back. "Please be careful."
"And now Midnight has all the Zenith Dragons," Sunburst finished.
"That's not good," Cold said back.
"At least the Zealots are dealt with," Flash's voice spoke up and surprised the two since they thought he was still getting his deck back. "Is Marble okay?"
"I'm fine." The two turned to see Sunset and her group step into the control room, Sunburst quickly grabbing a chair so Marble could sit in it and regain her strength. "But I'm sorry. Gaia-Maiden sacrificed herself and now Midnight has everything she needs."
"There's still a chance," Misty said back. "If the two of them are Dueling, then Shining might be able to beat her and free Twilight before Zeronull can bring his plan to fruition." Those in the control room nodded and one by one, they stepped into the shield room and stared at the Omega Field.
"Good luck Shining," Sunset said what everyone was thinking. Each of them hoped the Duelling Paladin would be able to claim victory against Midnight and save the world, before it was too late.
Within the Omega Field, Shining was still staring up at the biggest Duel Monster the probably every existed.
"So what do you think of Zeronull in all his majesty?" Midnight asked with a smirk. "Now you see why he needed such a strong Duellists as his host. No ordinary human can survive housing something that big and that powerful."
"I'll admit it's impressive," Shining nodded. "But it takes more then size to win a Duel."
"You're right," Midnight nodded. "It also takes power and Zeronull's ATK and DEF points become the sum total of every banished Zenith Dragon times one thousand." The three filled orbs glowed its dragon's colour, that energy flowing into the rest of Zeronull and powering him up. (A3000/D3000/L12)
"Only three thousand?" Shining asked with a smirk, "my Grand Emperor can easily beat that."
"Are you sure?" Midnight smiled before pointing upwards. "Omega Deity of Destruction, Zeronull." She then pointed at Grand Emperor, "ATTACK!"
Shining's brain shifted gears without the clutch as he looked up at the giant monster, seeing the round gem on its chest beginning to glow reddish-black. "Why?" He looked back down at Midnight, "she wouldn't order an attack unless she knew her monster could win. So that must mean..."
"I activate Zeronull's skill!" Midnight yelled as a card slotted out of her deck, which she took and held up to show Shining Armor.
"Marventus?" He asked in confusion before seeing Midnight throw the card into the air. As she did, the card glowed green and suddenly began to fly up towards one of Zeronull's empty wing orbs. Once it was in reached it, the card phased into the orb and in a flash of light, the Zenith Dragon of Limitless Skies appeared within the orb. Said orb began to glow, the light flowing into Zeronull.
"Whenever Zeronull attacks, I have to banish a monster from my hand, deck or graveyard."
"But with another Zenith Dragon removed from play..." Shining looked down at his Duel Disk and saw Zeronull's score change. (A4000/D4000/L12) "So that's it," Shining growled as the crystal in Zeronull's chest unleashed a laser straight for Grand Emperor. But then, he smiled. "That's fine!" His face down flipped up, "because I have my Trap. Mirror Force!" The beam suddenly collided with a barrier at appeared in front of Grand Emperor and bounced the energy that hit it off. "With this Trap, all your ATK position monsters will be destroyed!"
Midnight watched as the rebounded energy began to rain down on her field and destroyed Midnight Archangel. But when the blasts got close to Zeronull, they simply faded away inches from him.
"What?" Shining asked, "how did-"
"As long as I have a Zenith Dragon removed from play, Zeronull is immune to the effects of all Traps."
"That can't be!" Shining yelled as Zeronull's attack continued and finally broke through the Mirror Force, hitting Grand Emperor and filling the Omega Field with an intensely dark light. "Grand Emperor!" Shining cried while covering his eyes, the light eventually fading and allowing him to see the results of the attack.
Grand Emperor...was still on the field. "What?" He looked down at his Duel Disk and saw his points hadn't changed. "What's going on."
"As long as I have a Zenith Dragon removed from play, neither Zeronull or the monster he battles will be destroyed by battle. Nor will we take damage from a battle involving Zeronull."
"So he nullifies Traps and makes all battle damage zero?" Shining asked, "this guy's really living up to his name."
"I end my turn by playing Dian Keto, the Cure Master!" The green haired women appeared infront of Midnight and held up her sphere, which exploded and unleashed a light that Midnight bathed in as her life points increased.
Shining: 1700
Midnight: 1450
Shining frowned as he stared Midnight down, then glared up at Zeronull. 'This doesn't make any sense. Sure, the monster's strong. But if it can't destroy a monster or deal me damage, how is she planning on beating me?' He reached for his deck and drew his card. "There's more to this monster then she's letting on and if I want to free Twilight from its control, I've gotta figure out everything there is to know about it." She glanced up at Midnight, "just hold on sis. Just a little while longer." He played his card, "I activate the Lightning Vortex Spell card!"
Midnight raised an eyebrow as Shining discarded a card, right as a giant tornado exploded between them. This tornado had lightning surging around it, the storm then shooting towards Zeronull.
"This card will destroy every monster on your field."
"Will it?" Midnight asked, Shining raising an eyebrow before looking up as the tornado reached Zeronull. But before it even got close to touching the Omega Deity of Destruction, it was blown away by some kind of invisible force and left Zeronull completely unscathed.
"What?" Shining asked while Midnight smiled.
"As long as I have a Zenith Dragon removed from play, Zeronull is immune to the effects of all Spell cards."
"You gotta be kidding me," Shining frowned. He was about to end his turn, but then remembered Midnight Coward's Punishment. If he didn't attack, Grand Emperor would be destroyed. And if he wanted to win, he needed his ace monster. "Grand Emperor, attack Zeronull!" The king of knights charged forward as his sword began to glow, then pointed it at Zeronull and unleashed a beam of light that flew towards the outer god and struck it. But the light rebounded and flew back to Grand Emperor, hitting him and knocking him backwards.
He slid to a stop infront of Shining, Midnight smirking. "Are you done yet?"
Shining sighed, "yes."
"Then it's my turn," Midnight drew her card before pointing at Grand Emperor once again. "And now I'll attack your Grand Emperor with Omega Deity of Destruction, Zeronull!" The monster's chest gem began to glow while a card slotted out of Midnight's deck. "Zeronull's skill!" She took the card and showed it to Shining.
"Now it's Perfignis?" He asked as she threw the card into the air, the card glowing as it shot up towards one of the two empty orbs remaining on Zeronull's wings. Like before, the card phased into the orb and in a flash of light the Zenith Dragon of Endless Inferno appeared within it.
"Now Zeronull's power increases by a thousand points!" Midnight cried as th orb Perfignis was in glowed, the power travelling into Zeronull. (A5000/D5000/L12)
"All that power," Shining whispered. "It's on the level of the Egyptian Gods." Zeronull fired its blast at Grand Emperor, "but it's wasted!" The blast struck his monster and filled the void with a bright light, which quickly faded to reveal Grand Emperor was still standing with no a scratch on it. "What's the point in having such a strong monster if it can't even do any damage. All it's doing is increasing power and...wait." His eyes slowly grew wide as he put the pieces together
"I place one card face down and end my turn," Midnight announced before looking up at Shining. "Your turn." But his focus wasn't on her, "hello."
He looked down at her, "it's not an Egyptian God." Midnight raised an eyebrow at this, "it's Exodia!" He pointed at Midnight, "you're going for an auto-win."
Midnight couldn't help but chuckle, "the great Shining Armor. Of course you'd figure it out." She nodded and held up her Duel Disk so Shining could look at her deck, "that's right. All I need is to banish six Zenith Dragons, then during my standby phase I'll win the Duel automatically."
"I knew it," Shining growled before looking up at Zeronull and seeing the only empty orb. "She'll banish the last Zenith Dragon next turn, that means I only have two turns left to beat her with."
"If you can," Midnight smiled. "But I like to think of myself as an optimist, so why don't you give it a go."
"Fine!" Shining cried as he drew his card and instantly played it, "go Pot of Greed!" He drew two more cards and smiled when he saw what one of them was. "Or should I say, Pot of Need. I play Reinforcements of the Army, which lets me add a Level four or below Warrior Monster from my deck to my hand." He drew said card from his deck and slapped it onto his Duel Disk. "I summon Royal Paladin of Twin Spear!" In a flash of light, a young knight carrying a pair of short spears appeared. (A1200/D1000/L3)
"You expect him to be the one to save you?" Midnight asked, while Shining smiled.
"That's right," The teen threw on of his spears onto the ground. "Because once I cut his ATK points in half, he can attack you directly." (A600/D1000/L3) Twin Spear then threw his weapon at Midnight, the javelin hitting her in the chest and phasing right through her.
"Augh!"
Shining: 1700
Midnight: 850
"Nice trick!" She told him as he face down flipped up, "now here's mine. Numinous Healer!" Light wrapped around her, granting her an extra thousand life points.
Shining: 1700
Midnight: 1850
"Dang it," Shining sighed before Grand Emperor charged at Zeronull and unleashed the burst of light. But once again, the outer good was unharmed. "I place one card face down and end my turn." Royal Paladin of Twin Spear's ATK points returned to normal. (A1200/D1000/L3)
"Your little monster was cute," Midnight drew her card. "But even without my trap, he wouldn't have been able to beat me next turn anyway."
"He would with this!" Shining's face down flipped up to reveal a Trap, "Just Desserts!" The Trap unleashed a burst of energy, which struck Midnight and made her cry out in pain.
Shining: 1700
Midnight: 1350
Midnight huffed and stood tall, "good thing I padded my points last turn."
"I still have a chance," Shining told her. "One card's all it takes to flip the odds."
"Maybe you're right," Midnight played something. "One card is all it takes." The ground beneath Twin Spear suddenly broke open and he fell into it, barely managing to grab the side of the crack so as to not fall into the abyss below.
"What?" Shining asked, "this must be-"
"Fissure," Twilight corrected as Twin Spear finally fell and the crack slammed shut once again. "Quite a lucky card to draw, wouldn't you say?" Shining looked up and shot her a glare, while Midnight simply smiled. "Now," Zeronull's chest gem glowed, "I'll attack your Grand Emperor. But first," her deck slotted out a card. "The final piece of the puzzle."
"Mesmeridiem," Shining whispered as Midnight threw the card into the air.
"With this, Zeronull has reached his-" She giggled, "his Zenith." The card flew up to the final orb and phased into it, the Zenith Dragon of Glorious Shine appearing to fill the orb and make it glow. The light flew into Zeronull and its power rose to its max. (A6000/D6000/L12) At the same time, the laser fired and struck Grand Emperor.
The force created a shockwave that pushed the Royal Paladin backwards while Shining was knocked off his feet. "WOW!" He cried as he hit the ground, while his monster remained unharmed.
"I end my turn," Midnight announced before looking up at her monster. "Soon, victory shall be yours and your true power can be used to end this world."
"Not if I have anything to say about it," she turned back to Shining as he picked himself up. Once he was back on his feet, he raised his Duel Disk. "I still have...one turn left."
Midnight smiled, "then you'd better make it count."
'I'd better,' Shining reached for his Deck. 'If I don't, then everything we've worked for. Everything we care about, it'll be taken away.' "I can't let that happen!"
"Found it!" The others looked around and saw Cold had managed to finish hacking into the Zealot's computer systems.
As they did so, the door of the room opened and Grand, Tidal and Tempest stepped inside. "Hola!" Tidal smiled as they stepped over to them, "what happened in the rooms before? It looks like a wars zone."
"It's a long story," Soarin told him.
"So what did we miss?" Tempest asked.
"Just that Midnight now has all six Zenith Dragons," Rainbow explained. The three's eyes went wide and they began questioning the others while Flash, Misty, Trail and Cold focused on the computer.
"So you're in the system?" Misty asked, getting a nod from Cold.
"Yes. Now let's see what we're up against." He began clicking on one folder after another. Then, he found a folder labelled Project Omega Zenith. "Here." He clicked on the image as the rest of the group tried to get a look at the screen, while an image appeared onscreen. The image was of the machines that filled the room, but that image didn't last long.
It changed to show a picture of the planet. After a few seconds, the devices appeared around the planet. Once all six appeared, they began to connect to one another by a blackish-red light that flew from one device to another. Eventually, they made a hexagon around the planet.
"I've seen this before," Aria told them. "It was in the other base."
"Si," Tidal said whilst he and Sonata nodded in agreement. It was then that another image replied that one, this being a pair of planets floating next to one another.
"And I've seen this before," Flash told them. He turned to Tempest, who appeared to recognise the clip. Even more so when the two worlds moved closer and closer before eventually colliding, then vanishing. "Storm King Dominator showed it to me, Spike and Sunburst."
"But what does it mean?" Gilda asked, while Cold slowly began to put the pieces together. And when he did, his eyes went wide.
"We need to destroy these things!" Cold stood up and turned to the devices, "I know what Midnight's planning with them."
"If I don't win this now, then everything will be lost." Shining closed his eyes and the first thing that came to mind was his daughter, so young and innocent. Millions of limitless futures awaiting her. All of that would be stolen from her, if he didn't win this Duel.
"One turn," Midnight told him. "That's all you have."
"One turn's all I need," Shining replied. "To save everything I care about. My daughter, my wife...my sister, and everyone else whose futures you want to steal away." He drew his card, "I'LL SAVE THEM ALL!" He looked at the card he had gotten and gasped, realising what he could do. "My only chance. I summon my Royal Paladin, Courage Seeker!" In a flash of light, a teenage knight with silver armour appeared. He had small metal wings on his back and carried a golden cutlass in one hand and a short-sword in the other. (A300/D200/L1)
"Let me guess,"midnight frowned. "Another tuner monster."
"You're right," Shining nodded. "And with his ability, I can now summon a Royal Paladin from my graveyard with five hundred or less ATK points!" In a flash of light, Llew appeared besides Courage Seeker. As soon as he did, he glowed and looked like he was beginning to weaken. (A0/D0/L1)
"So it weakens the monster summoned?" Midnight asked, "do you really think that can help you?"
"Of course!" Shining cried as the two low level monsters leapt into the air, "especially when I tune my Level one Courage Seeker with Level one Royal Paladin of Future Potential!" The tuner transformed into a single light and drew a circle around Llew, Shining chanting as he did so. "Both strength and strategy are key to claiming victory in battle. Now watch as a monster embodying both is given life!" The monsters were consumed by an explosion of light. "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!"
The light faded, revealing an aged knight with glasses and a gray beard, who was carrying a quiver filled with maps and scrolls. "Royal Paladin, Formation Scout!" (A800/D0/L2)
"So that's your new Synchro Tuner?" Midnight asked, only to see a smile appear on Shining's face.
"He's not a tuner monster," Shining explained. "But he does have a pretty impressive special ability!" Grand Emperor began to glow. "By tributing a Synchro Monster on my field, I can special summon two or my Synchro monsters in my graveyard whose Levels equal his." Midnight's eyes went wide as Grand Emperor exploded, with the lights forming forming two groups that took shape before fading to reveal Royal Paladin Commander and Glorious Mage. (A2500/D2100/L7) (A1200/D700/L3)
"You de-tuned your monsters?" Midnight asked, "why?"
"To win," Shining explained. He then smiled. "Synchro Summoning has always been special to me and my family. I learnt it and showed it to Cadance, who mastered it herself and then taught Twilight. She taught it to Spike and hopefully, Flurry will one day learn to use it. And now, to save my sister, I'll push Synchro Summoning to its absolute limits!"
"What are you talking about?" Midnight asked before seeing all three of Shining's monsters begin to glow.
They then leapt into the air, as Glorious Mage waved her wand. "I tune Level three Royal Paladin, Glorious Mage, with Level seven Royal Paladin Commander and Level two Royal Paladin Formation Scout!" Glorious Mage exploded, a trio of golden rings appearing where she was floated. Those rings lined up as Shining's other monsters flew into them. "I'll dig deep and and push passed my limitations! The stars unite to brighten the future! Form the path of light!" The monsters were engulfed by an explosion of golden light, which formed a pillar that shot down on Shining. "LIMIT OVER ACCEL SYNCHRO!"
A form appeared above Shining within the pillar, said light vanishing to reveal his monster. It looked like Grand Emperor, but his horse was gone and his armour was slightly different. It had golden trim on it and connected to its shoulder-pads were hostlers with two large metal triangular spears linked to each one. it was also holding Grand Emperor's sword, which now had a golden line running down the middle of the blade. "The ultimate guardian of light. OATH-MAKER MONARCH! GRAND EMPEROR, EXCELSIOR!" (A4500/D4000/L12)
Midnight looked impressed, and a little bit scared, at the sight of the new Synchro Monster.
Shining smiled while continuing his turn. "Since Grand Emperor is in my graveyard, Excelsior gains an extra five hundred ATK points." The ghostly image of Grand Emperor appeared before exploding, the light absorbed into Excelsior and making his armour glow. (A5000/D4000/L12) "Plus, his other ability increases his ATK points even more. One thousand points for every Synchro Monster used to summon him." Commander, Glorious Mage and Formation Scout appeared, looking as ghostly as Grand Emperor. They also exploded, the light adding to Excelsior and making his armour glow brighter then before. (A8000/D4000/L12)
"Eight thousand ATK points?" Midnight whispered. "It's powerful, sure, but completely useless. Zeronull won't be destroyed if you attack and I'll take no damage."
"Maybe so," Shining told her. "But there are other ways of winning this battle then a straight up attack!" As he said this, Excelsior raised his sword as the triangular pieces flew off his shoulders. They zipped around him before connecting to the blade of his sword, forming a cubic rectangle with a pyramid shaped end. "Excelsior's skill!" Shining cried as his monster leapt into the air. As he did, he pointed the sword straight up and this caused the four pieces to shoot off the end. Connecting the two pieces was a long beam of light.
"What are you doing?" Midnight asked while Shining laughed.
"Now you're scared," he told her. "By skipping my battle phase, Oath-Maker Monarch can destroy one monster on your field whose ATK is lower then his and then deal you half the destroyed monster's ATK points as damage." Midnight's eyes went wide, causing Shining to smirk. "It's time to free my sister from your control, once and for all!" Excelsior's blade was miles long, shining brighter and brighter by the moment. "Excelsior, unleash your brilliant fury!" The knight began to swing his sword downwards, pulling the beam down with it. Doing so caused the light to draw closer and closer to Zeronull, ready to finally end him. "SHINING EXCALIBUR!"
The beam finally struck Zeronull and unleashed a brilliant explosion of light, blinding everyone in the Omega Field.
When Shining Armor opened his eyes, he found he was in a dark void. "What is this?" He asked while looking around, but saw nothing that could answer his question. However-
"Shining!" He gasped and turned towards the voice, as a light flashed infront of him. Twilight appeared from that light, looking scared as she held an arm out. "Shining. Help me!"
"Hold on!" Shining reached out as the two slowly drifted towards one another, "I've got you Twilight." He saw her tear up, "I'm taking you home." But as their fingers got within inches of each other, a dark light suddenly exploded and pushed them away from one another. "NOOOOO!"
"SHINING!" Twilight screamed as that light wrapped around her and started taking shape, becoming the form of Zeronull with a pair of blazing red eyes glaring down on Shining.
"LET HER GO!" Shining yelled, but Zeronull simply unleashed a burst of energy that pushed him away and made him crying out. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" He was forced to close his eyes and as he did, he felt solid ground beneath his feet.
He opened his eyes and found he was back in the Omega Field, Midnight standing there panting. And behind her, Zeronull remained and he appeared completely unharmed.
"What?" Shining looked down at his Duel Disk and saw now change in their points. "How?" He looked up and saw Excelsior floating down to land infront of him. "How is this possible." Realisation that struck, "don't tell me."
Midnight smiled. ""As long as I have a Zenith Dragon removed from play, Zeronull is immune to any and all Monster Effects."
"No," Shining whispered. He looked up at Zeronull, "that thing's indestructible."
"That's right," Midnight agreed. "Now you understand just how useless it is to stand up against a power like this. Now then, since you're out of monsters to attack with and your hand is empty, I'll assume you're done." Shining looked around, trying to find some way to win this now. But he had nothing. He was...finished.
"I...end," tears broke free from his eyes, "my turn."
Midnight laughed and drew her card, "it's over." As she said that, all six orbs on Zeronull's wings began to glow brighter then before. "Zeronull, ultimate ability activate." The light flew off the orbs and into the gem on its chest, which began to glow brighter and brighter by the second. "With six Zenith Dragons removed from play, Omega Deity of Destruction's ability activates and grants me...instant victory."
Back outside the Omega Field, something started happening.
The energy sparking around the orb started growing more and more erratic, making those outside it fearful it might blow up or something. "Shining!" Cadance cried as she cried to get near it, but was zapped and knocked backs until Applejack and Maud caught her.
"Careful," Applejack told her.
"It's too dangerous to be in here," Sunburst exclaimed. "We need to get back into the control room."
"I'm not going anywhere!" Cadance pulled herself out of the girls grasps and moved as close to the Omega Field as she could, "Shining. Please be safe."
The Omega Field began to shake as more and more power began to build within the gem, with Shining beginning to fear how badly this attack was going to hurt.
"Now," Midnight raised her hand, "be silenced. Omega..." she clutched her hand into a fist, "End." With that, Zeronull unleashed a wave of energy that was a mix of its light colour and the colour of the Zenith Dragon. This energy flew out in all directions, destroying anything it touched. The first things hit were Disharmian of Deceit and Greed, followed by Oath-Maker Monarch.
"No," Shining hissed as his monster was vaporised by the energy that flew towards him, "no." The energy struck and he felt himself knocked off his feet, as his entire body suddenly rived in sheer agony as a mixture of burning, electrocution, cutting and so much more flew through him. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Shining: 0
Midnight: 1350 (Winner)
Cadance and the others cried out as the energy from the Omega Field suddenly exploded out in all directions, blinding them and knocking them stumbling backwards.
Cadance was the only one to stay on her feet and forced her eyes to remain open and stare at the Omega Field, which started doing something that made her gasped. It was slowly flowing off the ground, the energy reshaping to form a sphere that flew higher and higher into the air.
Then, when it was high enough, it suddenly...vanished.
The light disappeared in a flash, everyone suddenly flinching at the suddenly re-acquirement of their sight. They all turned to where the Omega Field had been but saw nothing, nor did they see the two who had been inside the orb. "What happened?" Pinkie asked.
"Where's Shining?" Starlight asked, "and Twilight?"
"They're gone," was all Sunset could say in return. She looked over at Cadance, who hadn't moved or pulled her eyes from the spot the Omega Field had been.
"Shining," she whispered, "Twilight." Fear flew through her body, making her worry for the safety of her husband and sister-in-law. "Where are you."
"AUGH!" Shining cried as he was thrown backwards and slammed into the ground, rolling along it until he finally came to a stop.
He panted as his entire body screamed, but he fought through it and looked around to see where he was. "This is..." He couldn't believe his eyes. He was back in Canterlot, standing in front of the Freeze Stadium.
A light made him turn to see Midnight standing a ways off, a card floating above her open palm. "Finally," she whispered, "I have everything I need." She turned back to smile at Shining. "Still alive, are we? That's fine." She began to walk off, "you can watch as your world comes to an end. Thanks to your failure."
Shining groaned as he rolled onto his front and tried to pull himself towards Midnight, only for her to be consumed by light and vanish. "TWILIGHT!"
Back at the secret base, sounds echoed through the building.
Those sounds were of our heroes trying to destroy the Zenith Generators. Some were hitting them with whatever they could find laying around, while others were seeing if they could find some part they could rip out.
"Come on!" Gilda cried as she punched the glass orb, trying to shatter it. "Break already!"
"Maybe this will work," Soarin placed his Duel Disk on his arm and activated it before slapping a card down. "Assault Convoy!" The robot appeared and started firing at the Generator, but the shots just passed through it.
"The ARC system must have switched off after the last battle," Trail guessed. "Our Duel Monsters aren't gonna be much help."
"And there doesn't seem to be a self-destruct," Misty told them while typing away at the computer. "Though I doubt they'd want their prize creations destroyed before they were used."
Flash turned to Cold, "you haven't exactly told us how they're gonna be used. What's Zeronull planning?" Cold turned to him and was about to explain, only for a light to flash and pull their gaze over to the center of the room.
When the light faded, Flash and the others gasped when they saw Midnight standing in the center of the room. "No way," Flash gasped while starting at her. "Midnight?"
She looked up and smiled at them, "oh. If I had known we were going to have company, I'd have put out snacks."
"If you're here," Cold couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. But he knew what must have happened, and what that meant.
"What did you do to Shining!" Flash yelled, the others worrying the same thing.
"Don't worry," Midnight smiled. "He's alive...for now." Flash glared at her, "he was helpful enough to be my guinea pig, allowing me to test out my new power on him." She held up seven cards, everyone seeing it was the Zenith Dragons and one more.
"What are you planning?" Soarin asked, but this time Midnight remained silent.
"Don't want to talk?" Rainbow asked, "fine!" She began to rush forward, "we'll just take you down and force you out of Twilight's body!" She was joined by Gilda, Aria, Trail, Grand and Tempest. But before any of them got close, Midnight raised her hand.
The mark on the back glowed and unleashed a wave of energy that struck everyone in the room, making them cry out before freezing in place. This caused her to chuckle, "humans." She was about to get down to business when another light caught her attention, making her look around and see the back of Flash's hand glowing. "What?"
Before he could investigate further, the light exploded off of Flash's hand. His hair turned white as the energy flew throughout the room, hitting everyone including Midnight.
"Augh!" She cried while staggering back, as everyone else suddenly unfroze. They all wondered what had happened until they spotted Flash glowing with white hair. "Harmonica," they heard Midnight growl. "I should have known she would interfere."
Flash smirked, "you're not the only one with the powers of an outer god." He walked forward, his hair changing back to normal while the glow vanished. "I'm the Alpha Zealot. And I'm taking you down."
"I don't think so," Midnight replied before raising her hand again and unleashing the light.
Flash tried to summon his power again, but it hit him before he could. And in the blink of an eye, everyone suddenly vanished from the entire building. Midnight was the only one left.
Back outside the Freeze Building, Shining laid there until he heard a noise.
"The light came from over here." He heard Scootaloo's voice and looked around the see Spike and Team Crusaders stepping outside, the four gasping.
"SHINING!" Spike yelled as Sweetie helped him hobble over to his brother, only for another light to appear in front of them.
When they looked up, they saw Flash and the others appear and stagger until they regained their footing. "Flash!" Scootaloo cried, getting her family members to look around and see where they were. Then they saw Shining and gasped, the lot rushing to where he was.
"Shining!" Flash called out, "are you okay? Say something!"
Shining forced his eyes open and looked up at Flash, then reached out to him. "Flash...I'm sorry. Midnight, she..."
"We know," Flash nodded. "She has all the Zenith Dragons." The four younger kids gasped at this.
"Not just that," Shining replied. "Zeronull...is now a card she can use." They had been worried they would hear that, some having hoped the new card was something else. They knew now Midnight had an incredibly powerful monster on her side, and wasn't afraid to use it.
With the nuisances out of the way, Midnight stepped over to the Zenith Generators.
As she did, her eyes began to glow and that light spread to the machines. One by one, the generators began to float and Midnight did the same. And once all seven of them were in the air, they were all consumed by a light and teleported.
They vanished from within the room and reappeared outside the building, floating above it and flying higher and higher. This caught the attention of the guards, who were shocked to see a floating teenage girl surrounded by a bunch of strange machinery.
Midnight smiled down at them before focusing on the machines. "Now go and complete my objective!" The light around the generators glowed brighter and brighter and suddenly, the six machines shot into the air while leaving a trail of light behind them.
"What's that?" Sweetie asked as she pointed off in the distance, everyone else turning to see the six light trail flying higher and higher.
It's begun," Cold stated to everyone's fear.
All around the world, anybody with sensors strong enough detected a group of strange energy signatures coming from the US that were beginning to fly higher and higher. Eventually, they broke out of the stratosphere and made their way into space.
"What's their trajectory!" Thorax asked one of his scientists as they detected the objects.
"They've started to separate," the scientist told him. "They're all heading off in different directions, but they've passed the moon's distance. Three hundred thousand miles. Four hundred thousand miles. Five hundred thousand miles." It was then then the Zenith Generators stopped and remained in their current position.
"Now what?" Thorax asked, only to get the answer when his computer beeped.
Each Zenith Generator remained floating in place but continued to glow. And as they did, something happened to them.
In a flash of light, the generators doubled in size. And in another flash, the doubled once again. This continued over and over until each Zenith Generator was big enough to fit a small city within it. Or, at least, something that size.
Back on earth, Midnight smirked as she held up her Zenith Dragon cards. Each of them began glowing their respective colours, while the teen spoke. "Awaken, beast of light, beast of flames, beast of wind, beast of earth, beast of water and beast of darkness! Do my bidding and bright order to this chaos!"
With that, the lights shoot off the cards and shot into space. Like the generators, they shot up and separated before taking the same course as them.
When each light struck a generator, it phased into the orb before exploding. When the light faded, one of the six dragons now floated inside of them. Each dragon unleashed their power and it began to flow into the generators, powering them up.
Black lightning slowly began to spark around the metal frame, growing stronger and strong until it eventually shot off one of the eight points it had. The energy shot in a straight light and eventually hit one of the other Zenith Generators, creating a hexagonal shape.
It remained like this for several long seconds, with more black energy shooting out of the spikes inside the shape. The lightning met in the center of the hexagon and then, slowly, something appeared at that spot. The something was a small black orb that slowly grew larger and larger by the second. Eventually, it filled the entire shape and when it did, it unleashed a bright light.
Back at Freeze Industries, the group arrived in the conference room with Trail and Grand helping Shining.
Cold and Misty began typing away and the computers, "maybe some of the Freeze satellites are close by." After a few seconds, the holo-screens appeared and showed an image that made them all gasp.
The hexagon was now in full few on screen and they saw the black orb form and grow until it unleashed the light. This caused the satellite to go offline for a moment but eventually reconnect. And when the footage came back online, everyone gasped at what they were seeing.
"What is that?" Adagio asked.
"That is Project Omega Zenith," Cold whispered as everyone stared at the screen. Within the hexagon was a giant portal and on the other side, was a planet many of them had seen before and recognised instantly. The Duel Monster Spirit World.
It was clear now what they were looking at, with Flash saying it out loud. "A Shadow Gate."