//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Fall // Story: Dueling is Magic! A Rip in Time // by Wolfgang //------------------------------// Dueling is Magic! A Rip in Time Chapter 8: Fall *********************\ Paradox begins his ruthless assault on the Bearers of Harmony and their guardians! Yusei struggles to protect Fluttershy as they search desperately for their friends!. Can the Bearers of Harmony escape Paradox’s wrath, or has he already won? Only time will tell... *********************\ Author’s Note: And thus we begin the downfall of our heroes! I have so many plans with this story now. I still know where this story is going to end, but it’s getting bigger and bigger all the time. So many things I can do now. A grown-up Spike, Pinkie’s family, Chancellor Puddinghead being exactly the opposite of her portrayal in the pageant, Star Swirl the Bearded, and let’s also not forget about the cloaked figure in Tartarus, and the opportunity for some character development between Yusei and Fluttershy. /*********************\ “Who are you?” asked the bearded pony. “My name is Paradox, as the Element of Magic has stated,” said the masked man. “Element of... you mean to tell me that you’re connected an Element of Harmony?” said Star Swirl. “Long story and we’re from the future, so maybe you shouldn’t know about that,” said Spike. “I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish,” said Twilight, “but you’re destroying my home! I’ll stop you here and now!” “That is laughable,” said Paradox. “But you are welcome to try.” Twilight fired a beam of magical energy from her horn. Paradox revved his D-Wheel and sped out of the beam’s path. He held a card up. A dragon appeared above him. “That’s-!” said Spike. “Yusei’s card,” said Twilight. “Stardust Dragon!” The creature roared. Black and white armor wrapped around its chest, knees and legs. A mask similar to Paradox’s was clamped onto its face. “What have you done to it?!” demanded Twilight. “I have subdued it and made it mine,” said Paradox. “Malefic Stardust Dragon, attack!” The dragon roared again and fired a sparkling beam at Twilight. Twilight shielded her eyes. But the impact never came. She looked up. A barrier had appeared around her. She looked behind her and saw that Star Swirl had conjured it. “Thank you!” she said. “Don’t thank me yet,” said Star Swirl. “You! Just what do you think you’re doing?” “Changing your past to save my future,” said Paradox. “In my world, my race is dead, destroyed by their own selfishness. My mission is to prevent that future.” “Just who do you think you are?!” roared the bearded unicorn. “What you are doing could tear the very fabric of reality apart!” “That is my goal,” said the masked man. “Your writings on time travel were quite enlightening, Star Swirl, but now, your role has reached its end. Malefic Stardust Dragon, attack!” Twilight blinked. The old pony was knocked to the ground, smoke rising from his cloak, his hat laying only a few feet away from him. The barrier faded and this time, Twilight felt the impact. She and Spike were thrown to the ground. Spike tumbled on and fell disappeared. Twilight, however, didn’t notice. “You cannot fight against me, Twilight Sparkle,” said Paradox. “Not even you are strong enough.” Twilight stood up slowly. Fire burned in her eyes as she shot Paradox a glare. “We’ll see about that!” she roared. Energy swirled into her horn. Malefic Stardust inhaled. Two massive beams fired at one another, one clear and sparkling, the other bright pink. The two beams were not aimed directly at each other and just barely missed one another. they began to twist around one another as they approached their targets. Suddenly they slammed together and exploded. The shockwave pushed against Paradox and tossed the dragon backward through the air. Twilight rushed forward, firing a quick stream of small pink bolts at Paradox. Paradox revved his engine and drove out of the way. Twilight stopped and followed him as he circled her. Paradox weaved and twisted to avoid each bolt. Twilight began charging another large blast. Paradox looked at Twilight. He quickly took a card from his deck and played it. Twilight fired her beam at the spot where Paradox would be. She grinned and said, “Gotcha!” There was a flash of white and an explosion. Twilight was knocked back again. She groaned and looked up. Two white dragons loomed over her, wearing masks and armor patterned after the mask of Twilight’s opponent. Each dragon was familiar; and each one corrupt. She gasped. Paradox laughed. She looked at him. “Why...” she said, panting. “Why are you doing this?” “For the benefit of my world,” said the masked human before her. “But to do this, I must eliminate all who would stand in my way. And I must, regrettably, sacrifice your world.” Malefic Stardust Dragon roared, twisting its head through the air. Blue-Eyes White Dragon floated beside it, covered in the same armor and mask, one of its eyes exposed. It growled deeply and Twilight shuddered. “Perish, Element of Magic!” said the masked man. The two dragons roared and opened fire. Twilight’s eyes went wide as she cried out. “Help!” The explosion was massive. Dust and smoke flew up into the air. When it cleared, all that remained was a crater. There was no sign of Twilight or her companions. Paradox disappeared. ***** Distant rumbling echoed throughout the mountains. It sounded like thunder, but there were no clouds in the sky that day. A purple dragon bounded down the side of a mountain. An orange earth pony had her front legs wrapped around one of his spikes, hanging on for dear life. Fireballs and energy beams shot over and past them, leaving massive holes in the landscape. Applejack looked over her shoulder. “Left, Spike!” she yelled.. “Left!” The dragon lurched to the left as two fireballs struck the spot where he’d been just moments before. A three-headed, mechanical dragon flew after them, with two smaller dragons trailing behind it. Spike kept running on all fours, shooting ahead as fast as he could. Paradox swerved and sped after them. “Hang on tight, AJ!” said Spike. “I’m hangin’ as tight as I caaaaAAAAAAAN!” Spike had jumped into the air and spun around. He loosed a quick shot of green fire at Paradox. Paradox swerved and dodged the jet of green flame. Spike finished his spin and landed, keeping his pace. “These mountains shall be your grave,” said Paradox. “Go, my monsters! Destroy it all!” Fireballs and energy beams shot overhead at the mountains ahead of Spike. He stopped when explosions shot up in front of him. Landslides began to roll down the mountains. Spike tried to escape, but the attacks from the other dragons kept him from going anywhere. In a matter of minutes, he and Applejack were buried. ***** “Everyone needs to hide!” said Rarity. “Get your family out of here as quickly as possible! He’s after me, not you!” “Who’s after you?” asked Sue. “Paradox,” said Rarity. “He’s trying to destroy our world. Get Clyde and the others and go find a place to hide! I’ll draw him off!” “No,” said Sue, “I won’t let you. We have to stick together!” “Thank you, but this is for the best,” said Rarity. She dashed off toward the front door, using magic to open it as she did. She ran out of the house and into the rain. Her horn was glowing bright blue. “Hey, you!” shouted Rarity. “Over here! You want some? Come get some!” She used her horn as a light as she looked around. She saw large rocks everywhere. Using her magic, she picked them up and began throwing them at the oncoming light. Rocks clanged against the frame of the D-Wheel as it sped toward Rarity. She kept hitting it, but it kept coming. Rarity shrieked and jumped out of the way. As it passed her, she saw that it was vacant. Paradox wasn’t on it. “What the... where could he be?” she wondered aloud. “Behind you.” Rarity whirled around and saw the tall human for a brief moment. His fist came up under her chin and she was thrown through the air, landing hard in a group of rocks. She cried out as the rocks jabbed into her side. She struggled to stand. “The Element of Generosity,” said Paradox. “You are not so generous if you seek to keep this world’s energy to yourself.” Rarity collapsed, panting. She tried again to stand up. “Everyone else has asked why I am trying to destroy your world,” Paradox continued. A white dragon appeared above him and roared. “So I shall tell you as well: My world is dead. My people are dead. I must do something to save them.” “And you would- ah!- sacrifice another world, another species?” Rarity groaned. “You are a hypocrite!” “As long as it saves my world,” said the masked man, “I don’t care! Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon, atta-” A rock hit his head. He stopped and turned around. “You leave her alone!” shouted a pink filly. “Pinkie Pie! Run!” cried Rarity. “So you wish to die as well?” said Paradox. “So be it.” “Uh-oh,” said Pinkie. She started to run as a blast of white lightning struck the ground where she had been moments before. She kept running. Rarity looked around and grabbed as many rocks as she could with her magic, then hurled them at Paradox. A giant wing intercepted them. They bounced off the black and white armor and fell into the mud. Pinkie Pie slipped and fell. Rarity ran as fast as she could toward her. Another blast was fired. A scream. “PINKAMINA!” Lightning flashed overhead. Paradox saw a crater. He turned and left. ***** Pinkie slammed the door behind her. She and the chancellor were panting heavily. “What... in harmony’s name... was that?” asked Puddinghead. “And what was with those weird dragons chasing it?” “Not what,” said Pinkie. “Who. His name is Paradox. And those dragons weren’t chasing him. They were following him.” “The difference being...?” “They’re following his orders.” “Impossible.” “You said the same thing about a time-travelling earth pony.” “Yes I did.” There was a screeching noise outside. “Oh no!” whispered Pinkie. “Come on, let’s hide upstairs!” The two ponies sneaked up the steps as quietly as they could and entered a room across from the landing. Pinkie crept over to the window and looked over the edge. Paradox stood in front of the door. “I know you’re in there, Element of Laughter,” he said. “You can’t stop what is happening. Your world is doomed, but its death will save mine. Could you honestly tell me you would not do the same?” “No I wouldn’t!” shouted Pinkie Pie. She grabbed a potted plant and threw it down at Paradox. It never reached him, and instead disappeared into a rift. “A valiant effort,” said Paradox. “For you, anyway.” He turned and walked back to his D-Wheel. “Burn it to the ground,” he said to the dragons above him. The house collapsed in a matter of moments. ***** Sparkling beams of sonic energy raced past each other. Two nearly identical dragons circled one another, spitting the beams at each other and slashing with their claws when they got close enough. Malefic Stardust Dragon roared and climbed higher into the sky. Yusei’s Stardust Dragon shot up after it. It flapped its wings and gained speed, shooting up like a rocket. Suddenly, the Malefic dragon flipped around and dove past Stardust. It launched a beam directly at Yusei and Fluttershy. Yusei’s D-Wheel raced off. Yusei pushed a button on his console and got a view of the area behind him on the monitor. “What is he doing?!” cried Yusei. Paradox had driven his D-Wheel directly into the path of the blast. “Oh no!” cried Fluttershy. “Yusei, do something!” “I don’t think I can, Fluttershy,” said Yusei. “You have to save him!” she said. “You couldn’t save him before, so save him now! Please!” Yusei blinked. “Fluttershy...” he said. He looked back at the monitor. Paradox had vanished and a large rift had appeared. The beam disappeared within. Yusei looked back up. Paradox appeared before him and swerved to the right. Malefic Stardust Dragon’s attack shot past him and struck Yusei’s D-Wheel, throwing it into the air. Fluttershy screamed. Yusei grabbed her hoof. “I’ve got you, Fluttershy!” he said. They crashed to the ground. ***** Rainbow Dash pushed herself as hard as she could, flew as fast as she could without using another sonic rainboom. Monstrous spikes erupted from the ground in front of her and she swerved to avoid them. Dash looked around, looking desperately for a place to hide. A large outcropping caught her eye. She flapped her wings and sped toward it. She dove behind the rocks and landed, out of breath and exhausted. The cloaked figure rose from the shadows. “You cannot escape his wrath, Rainbow Dash,” it said. “Why do you keep following me?!” Dash demanded. She peeked out from behind the rocks. Paradox was heading her way. “I come to you with an offer,” it said in its deep voice. “I will give you the strength you need to fight him. Should you defeat him, you will do something for me.” “Yeah? And what’s that?” “I will tell you when the time comes.” Dash remained silent. “You can protect your friends this way.” Dash looked up at the figure. “Okay,” she said. The figure vanished. Rainbow Dash stepped out into the open. A dark gray cape appeared around her and a wide, curved, black device appeared before her. TO BE CONTINUED