Duelists and Friendship - Seven Darknesses

by Prince Dustin Hogan

The Dragon's Gamble

Talking

YELLING

Thinking

Singing

Flashback

"Nice job, sis!" Dustin congratulated, patting Erena on the back.

"Yeah. I honestly thought Cinch was gonna mop the floor with you." Spike admitted sheepishly.

“Where in tarnation did ya even get that Magic of Friendship card, anyway?” Applejack asked Erena.

“Well…Dustin gave me and Emille both a copy of that card.” Erena said sheepishly, making the other girls and Spike look to Dustin.

“Seriously? How’d ya get three copies of that?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock.

“Well…remember when I told you guys that Somnambula women who gave me the Armband of Courage?” Dustin asked the girls, to which they nodded. “Well, she also gave me a stack of Duel Monsters cards as well. There were three copies of that card, along with these seven cards called the seven Harmonious Elementals”.

The others, save for Erena and Emille, were just shocked upon hearing this.

In the city, three girls were walking out of a local card shop.

The red haired girl was Applebloom, Applejack’s younger sister. The tan girl was Scootaloo, a fan of Rainbow Dash. And the curly haired girl was Sweetie Bell, Rarity’s younger sister. They were admiring the new cards they have just bought.

“Aw yeah! These should fit my F.A. deck nicely.” Scootaloo said with a grin.

“And these new cards I got for my Plant deck should help me out in the long haul.” Applebloom said with a nod.

“Not to mention the new additions for my Lunalight Deck.” Sweetie Bell beamed with joy.

As the three talked to one another, a hooded figure was watching them while trying to stay hidden.

At Canterlot Mall, Dustin and friends were chatting while enjoying some pizza in the food court.

“Hey guys,” Pinkie started, getting the attention of the others. ”What’s say that sometime later we head up to the Dueling Terrace and throw down? Y'know, that way we can test our skills.”

“I don’t see why not.” Erena said with a shrug.

But just as they all were getting ready to leave, Dustin’s phone rang. He pulled the device from his pocket and placed it against his ear. “Hello”, Dustin asked. “Ah, Dustin Miller I presume?” Dustin gave the phone a perplexed look. “Okay? Who’s asking?”

“Oh, no one special, but I got three friends of yours who’ve got something their just dying to tell you.” Dustin’s blood went ice cold when he heard the voices on other end. Three familiar voices, each crying out in fear and despair, leaving Dustin both confused and enraged. “What the fu-, WHAT IS THIS!?”

The voice on the other end let out a low, almost demonic laugh, “Call it a little incentive, now if you don’t want anything… unfortunate to happen to them, meet me at the dueling Terrace in 10 minutes. And bring that little posse of yours. Don’t keep me waiting”.

“That mother….!” Rainbow yelled out before running towards another elevator. The others followed suit and entered the same elevator.

After ascending several floors, Dustin and the others departed the elevator into a large open area with marked spaces on the floor for duels. A man in a hooded cloak waiting at one of these marked spaces.

“Alright pal!” Applejack declared. “Who are ya, and what did ya’ll do to Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell?!”

“Calm down, sweetheart. I’m not one to harm kids, as for their current condition.” The man produced three duel monsters cards from his cloak. He showed the group and their blood turned to solid ice. “You could say their souls are mint on card.”

Dustin was stunned, Spike and the girls even more so. Applejack fought with all her might to restrain an outraged Rainbow Dash, Rarity held her hands over her mouth in horror, and there others were a mix of shock, rage, and despair.

“You better explain yourself, fucker!” Dustin growled, and the hooded man smirks.

“Very well then, ol’ sport.” The man removed his robe, revealing to be a fair skinned man in his mid-twenties. His hair was silvery and slicked, his eyes were emerald green, and he wore a fancy purple suit.

“My name is Alphonse Goldberg.” The man named Alphonse stated, “And as for I obtained your friends’ souls, it’s thanks to my Stone of Sin.” Alphonse said, pointing to a red colored heart-shaped gemstone on his tie.

“Stone of Sin?” Twilight asked with curiosity.

“This is just one of seven. The one I possess is called the Fire Ruby.” Alphonse elaborated, “Each stone represents one of the seven sins.

“Wait!” Emille said with sudden realization. “You wouldn’t by any chance have one of those Sinful Lord cards too, would you?”

“My, aren’t you an astute young lady.” Alphonse said with a giggle, “But as for which one I possess, you’ll have to duel me to find out.”

“Hey, it’s your funeral buddy…” Rainbow was about to accept, but then Spike stepped forward.

“You wanna Duel, then you got one.” Spike said before strapping on his Duel Disk.

“Spike!” Twilight said in worry.

“Oh? You certainly have fire in ya.” Alphonse said with a chuckle. “And what’s your name, son?”

“Spike’s the name! And kicking butt is my game!” Spike said with determination before placing his Deck into the deck slot of his Duel Disk.

“Well Spike, I should warn you that if you lose, you lose more than just the Duel. Not only well your little friends souls remain a part of my collection, but yours well join them.” Alphonse said, making the girls gasp in shock. “Think ya got what it takes?”

“I’m willing to take that risk!” Spike said, his determination never fading.

“Spike! Please don’t!” Twilight pleaded, but then Dustin placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Kick his ass, Spike!” Dustin said to Spike, making the others look to him in shock.

“What!?” The girls asked in shock.

“Dude, You serious!?” Asked Rainbow.

“Relax guys. I got a feeling Spike’s got this.” Dustin said with a nod before looking to Spike. “Kick his ass to the curb.”

“You got it.” Spike said with a nod and a smile on his face before giving Alphonse his attention. “Alright, Alphonse! Get ready!”

“With pleasure.” Alphonse said before sliding his deck into his duel disk. “Remember, defeat me, and I’ll release these three little dolls from imprisonment.”

“For your sake, you better live up to your promise!” Rarity declared with rage.

“Of course, doll. I am a man of my word.” Alphonse said before both he and Spike drew their hands. With their hands drawn and their life point meters at 8000, the duel was set.

“Let’s Duel!” Both Spike and Alphonse stated, beginning the game.

"I'll go first." Alphonse as he drew his sixth card before examining his hand, formulating a strategy. “First I play the Spell Card called Infinite Cards. So now both our hands exceed the six card limit. And then I play Abare Ushioni in defense mode.” Alphonse said before a big, red bull with white lines running across its body and a third eye on its forehead appeared on the field.

[Abare Ushioni/Lv: 4/EARTH/Beast/ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1200]

“Abare Ushioni?” Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Isn’t that a gamble card?” Pinkie asked confusion.

“Correct you are, my dear.” Alphonse said with a chuckle. “If you’re wondering what he does, he allows me to toss a coin, and….”

“Yeah, I know how it works.” Spike said with annoyance. “If you call it right, I take 1000 damage. But if not, you take the damage instead.”

“Quite the sharp wit, my boy”, Alphonse said before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a gold coin. “Now, let’s see if lady Luck smiles upon me me. I call heads.” And just like that, Alphonse tossed the coin. But unbeknownst to the others, the Fire Ruby emitted a feint glow before the coin landed. And sure enough, it landed on heads, much to the shock of Spike and the others while Alphonse grinned.

“Oh dear, it would seem that it’s my lucky day.” Alphonse said as a red beam emitted from Abare Ushioni’s third eye, hitting spike directly in the chest, causing the boy to groan in pain.

“Spike!” Twilight called out in worry, but Spike stood his ground.

“I’ll admit that smarts. But I’m not out yet!” Spike growled fiercely.

“That’s the spirit, it wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t fight back. I’ll just end it from there.” Alphonse said before motioning to Spike. “You’re move.”

“Right.” Spike nods before drawing his card. He observes his hand before he starts formulating a strategy of his own. “First thing I’ll do is play Foolish Burial, allowing me to send one monster from my deck to the graveyard.” Spike explained as he picked the right card from his deck before putting it into the graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. “And while I’m at it, I’ll play Extra-Foolish Burial! So now by paying half my life points, I get to send one monster from my Extra Deck to my graveyard.”

“Huh?” Rainbow asked with confusion. “Why would he do that?”

“I think he might be planning something.” Sunset said while equally confused.

“What’s the point of this, boy?” Alphonse asked, just as confused.

“You’ll see. Now I play Pot of Greed! So that’s two new cards added to my hand.” Spike said as he drew his next cards, smiling at what he drew. “And what a lucky draw it is. Now I activate one of the cards I drew with Pot of Greed. And that card is…” Spike then revealed his chosen card, “Monster Reborn!”

“What?” Alphonse asked with surprise.

“And I’ll use it to bring back the monster I sent with Foolish Burial.” As Spike said this, a white portal appeared on Spike’s field, a golden column emerging from it. A pair of golden dragon wings emerged from the column, and a shrill roar was heard.

“Wait!” Emille said, her eyes widened in shock. “Is that…”

“No way!” Erena gasped, just as shocked as Emille was.

“Everybody, let’s welcome the one, the only, Felgrand Dragon!” Spike declared before the column died down, revealing golden dragon with a silver underbelly. The dragon released a mighty roar to signal its power.

[Felgrand Dragon/Lv: 8/LIGHT/Dragon/ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2800]

“Oh my.” Fluttershy gasped in a mix of awe and shock.

“Looks like Spike’s got this in the bag.” Dustin said with an impressed look on his face.

“And if you think my dragon’s scary now, we’ll just wait until you see his special effect.” Spike said with a smirk. “Whenever my dragon is special summoned from the graveyard, I can choose one other monster in my graveyard, and my dragon gains 200 attack points multiplied by that monster’s level.”

“Wait!” Alphonse gasped in realization. “That must be why you sent a monster from your Extra Deck with Extra-Foolish Burial!” Alphonse started to shake a bit, clearly unprepared for what was about to happen.

“Yep. And that comes in real handy, as the monster I sent to my graveyard with Extra-Foolish Burial was my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!” Spike declared, making everyone gasp in shock, including Alphonse.

“Holy crap!” Sunset said as she did the math. “Blue-Eyes Ultimate is a level twelve, so multiply that with 200 and you get 2400.”

“Now add that with Felgrand's 2800 attack points and you get…” Twilight said before gasping in shock.

“That’s right, my Felgrand Dragon’s attack points reach to a whopping 5200!” Spike said as Felgrand Dragon roared while encased in a bright yellow aura as it’s attack points rose, making Alphonse tremble in slight trepidation.

(Felgrand Dragon: ATK; 2800 - 5200)

“But why stop there? Next I summon Assault Wyvern in Attack Mode!” Spike exclaimed as the monaster appeared before him, screeching in might.

[Assault Wyvern/Lv: 4/LIGHT/Dragon/ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1000]

“Now, Assault Wyvern! Turn that Abare Ushioni to beef jerky! RAZOR WINGS!” Spike exclaimed as Assault Wyvern flapped its wings, sending a barrage of blue energy blades at Abare ushioni. All the three-eyed bovine could do was roar in agony before shattering to pieces.

“Next, I’ll activate my Assault Wyvern’s special ability. Whenever he destroys a monster by battle, I can sacrifice him to bring out another dragon from my hand or graveyard.” Spike said as he selected a card from his hand while Assault Wyvern was shattered to bits too. “So I’ll summon Divine Dragon Ragnarok from my hand in defense mode to take his place.”

Suddenly, a large white dragon appeared before coiling around Spike as if it were defending him. Its eyes meeting Alphonse’s.

[Divine Dragon Ragnarok/Lv: 4/LIGHT/Dragon/ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1000]

“And with no monster protecting you, you’re wide open! Felgrand Dragon, attack now!” Spike declared as the gold and silver dragon opened its maw, a bright yellow energy ball forming. “Golden Energy Blast!”

Felgrand Dragon then fired a bright yellow blast of energy at Alphonse, making him flinch as his life points decreased drastically.

“Yeah! Go Spike, go!” Emille, Erena and Pinkie cheered for Spike.

“Well, whadya know?” Applejack said, really impressed at what she saw. “Spike managed to get the upper hand.”

“Where’s your luck now, Alphonse?” Rainbow taunted, who only smirked.

“I wouldn’t be celebrating just yet.” Alphonse said before drawing his next card. And he had a sinister grin at what he drew. “I play Cup of Ace!”

“Another gamble card?” Sunset asked with shock.

“That’s right, my dear. With this, I can toss a coin. If I get heads, I can draw two cards. But if I get tails, it’s the other way around.” Alphonse said before tossing his coin yet again, and his Fire Ruby glowed faintly once again. This time, Dustin took notice of this. The coin lands on heads yet again.

“Oh goodie. Looks like I get two cards after all.” Alphonse said before drawing his two cards, his smile growing upon seeing what he drew. “And I’ll play one of those cards. And that is Graceful Charity. So now I draw three cards, but at the cost of discarding two.” Alphonse drew his next three cards before placing the two of the tree cards into his graveyard.

“And now, with my graveyard prepared, I can bring out my ace card.” Alphonse said with a wicked chuckle.

“What?” Spike asked, not liking where this is going.

“Looks like we’re about to see his Sinful Lord card in action.” Dustin said as worry started to set in.

“By offering the essence my Abare Ushioni, Arcana Force 0 - The Fool, and Sand Gambler, the gateway to the side is now opened!!!” As Alphonse chanted, the sky began to turn red as a dark portal appeared in front of Alphonse. And from the portal emerged the transparent images of the three before they each turned into streaks of pale green light and colliding into each other, morphing into a large sphere of dark energy. Suddenly, the shape expands, and the ground begins to shake.

“By the light of the blood moon, I conjure the golden prowler! The collector of souls, the keeper of vast wealth, the beast of avarice! Join the hunt, glimmering Demon Lord of Greed!” Alphonse continued chanting as the sphere shattered, revealing a massive anthropomorphic wolf that seemed to be made of gold. It wore a suit, it had a pair of wings on its back, and it carried a chest. “'MAMMON, THE AVARICE’S WOLF!' Bare your fangs!”

Mammon began to howl as Alphonse laughed like a madman while Spike and the others watched in shock.

[Mammon, the Avarice's Wolf/Mk: 10/GREED/Beast-Warrior/ATK: 0/ DEF: 0]

The sight of the golden Sinful Lord monster that towered over Spike had every onlooker in total shock, and even a bit terrified.

“Oh…my…God.” Dustin uttered in shock as Emille hid behind him in terror.

“Holy smokes.” Applejack said with a shiver running down her spine.

“Guys, chill.” Rainbow said with a smirk. “That thing has absolutely zero attack and defense. That golden mutt has nothing on Spike’s dragon.”

“Not for long, my dear.” Alphonse said, surprising Rainbow. “You see, for every card in my hand, my magnificent beats gains 1000 attack power. And since I currently have seven cards, Mammon’s attack and defense value change to 7000!”

Mammon released another howl as it glowed a bright red aura, signaling that its attack power has changed.

(Mammon, the Avarice's Wolf: ATK/DEF; 0 - 7000)

“7000 attack points!?” Erena asked in disbelief.

“That thing’ll easily chew Spike’s dragon like a chew toy!” Applejack said in utter shock.

“But that’s not all. I’m afraid it’s going to get much worse for your friend.” Alphonse said, making the others gasp. “When Mammon is successfully Necron Summoned, I can draw three additional cards! Further adding to my hand, while also fueling my Mammon’s attack even further!”

“Shit!” Dustin swore in shock. “That means Mammon is now at a whopping 10,000 attack value!”

(Mammon, the Avarice's Wolf: ATK/DEF; 7000 - 10,000)

“Correct! Now Mammon, add Felgrand Dragon's head to your collection, with AFFLUENT ANGUISH!” Alphonse declared as Mammon opened the chest it carried, firing a blast of golden energy at Felgrand Dragon. Spike’s monster could only roar before shattering to bits, while Spike shielded himself as his life points dwindled.

The attack somehow managed to do some real physical damage to him. His clothes were lightly tattered; his body covered in slight burns and scorch marks, and his breathing was heavy.

“Oh shit.” Dustin uttered to himself after seeing his young friend in rough shape.

“Spike!” Flutterhsy called out to him, but Spike raised his hand.

“Relax…guys. I’ll muscle through.” Spike said through pants.

“Oh my. It looks like that attack took a lot out of you, my boy.” Alphonse said with an amused smile.

“Bastard!” Rainbow growled in fury.

“What did you do to our friend, you miscreant!?” Rarity demanded.

“Oh pardon me; I forgot to mention that the stones of sin tap into very dark forces. To put it simply, they make any duel a fight to the death. Whatever damage you would take from a duel inflicts actual damage.” Alphonse said, chuckling sinisterly a bit before looking towards Spike. “But I gotta admit, boy. You certainly are tough for a little tot.”

“Are you done rambling?” Spike asked with a growl.

“Oh, I suppose so. I’ll just end it there. You’re move.” Alphonse said, causing Spike to draw his next card.

“I play the Spell, Terraforming. Allowing me to search out one Field Spell.” Spike declared before choosing the card he needed from his deck. “And while I’m at it, I’ll put it to good use! I activate the Field Spell, Fusion Gate!”

As Spike plaid his Field Spell, the arena charged. The sky darkened, a green line grid formed on the ground, and a purple vortex appeared behind Spike.

“With this, we each get to bust out a Fusion monster by banishing monsters from our hand or field. No polymerization required,” Spike then selected his next card. “Next I play Swords of Revealing Light!”

Suddenly, three luminous swords surrounded Alphonse and Mammon.

“Sweet. Spike bought himself some time.” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh of relief.

“You truly think a three-turn delay will save you?” Alphonse asked, not at all intimidated by this.

“Only one way to find out. Now I use Fusion gate to banish Divine Dragon Ragnarok from my field, along with the Lord of D. from my hand!” Spike announced as the two monsters were sucked into the vortex behind Spike. Then, as soon as both of Spike’s monsters vanished, a new monster appeared. It resembled a hybrid of both monsters used to fusion summon it.

“Let’s welcome his royal majesty, King Dragun!” Spike declared as the new monster released a mighty war cry.

[King Dragun/Lv: 7/LIGHT/Dragon/ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1100]

“To play it safe, I’ll put him in defense mode!” Spike said as the monster swirled around Spike, as if he was shielding his owner. “Then I’ll lay one card face-down and end it here.”

“Goodie, it’s my move then.” Alphonse drew his next card before examining his hand, contemplating which card to use. “While your swords prevent me from attacking, they don’t prevent me from using monster effects.”

“Oh boy.” Sunset said with a worried look. “This isn’t good.”

“I play a second Abare Ushioni in Defense Mode!” Alphonse said as the familiar red bovine appeared at Alphonse’s field. “Now I activate his special ability! I’m sure you know what happens next.”

Alphonse then tossed the coin again, and like before, the Fire Ruby glowed faintly yet again along with the coin. Then, the coin landed on heads.

“Crap!” Spike called out in worry.

“That’s another 1000 points of damage to you. Tsk tsk this just isn’t your day kid.” Alphonse retorted as Abare Ushioni fired a beam from its third eye at Spike, making him flinch in pain while his life points dropped some more.

“No!” Erena called out as Spike was on his knees, panting like he ran a marathon. But Spike managed to muster enough strength to stand back up, much to Alphonse’s amusement.

“My, my. Despite how much you’ve been battered, you’re still standing.” Alphonse smirked. “I’m impressed. Not many have lasted longer than you have.”

“If you think…I’m going… down that easy….” Spike goes to draw his next card. “Then you’re… dead wrong!” Spike then drew it, and when he laid eyes upon the card he drew, its as if his prayers have been answered.

"I play another Pot of Greed, so now I draw two more cards." Spike drew his next two cards, and he had a smile on his face upon seeing what he drew.

“I activate the effect of Fusion Gate again! But this time, I’m banishing King Dragun…” Spike then revealed the card he drew, earning a gasp of shock from Alphonse. “Along with Buster Blader!”

“What!?” Alphonse exclaimed in disbelief as both the human dragon hybrid and mighty swordsmen were sucked into the vortex. And sure enough, a new monster arrived to Spike’s side of the field. And it resembled a more advanced version of Buster Blader. Sporting a pure white armor with black accents, and a truly monstrous sword griped in his hands.

“No! No way!” Erena asked in shock.

“Is that…” Emille asked in awe upon seeing the new monster.

“It is!” Dustin answered Emille’s question, equally as shocked as his two sisters.

“Meet Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman!” Spike said as the new swordsman held his sword, ready to strike. “And he’ll be sure to carve up your life points!"

[Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman/Lv: 8/LIGHT/Warrior/ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2500]

Alphonse then started to laugh, confusing the gang. “I’ll admit, son. That swordsman is truly fierce, but I have no dragons to give you the upper hand. And let’s not forget, Mammon’s attack power far exceeds your swordsman’s.”

“He’s right.” Fluttershy muttered in worry. “How can Spike win this?”

“And it was also foolish to bring that swordsman out in attack mode. Because by doing so, you’ve triggered another effect of Mammon.” Alphonse’s words made the onlookers gain a worried expression.

“That can’t be good!” Applejack said with fear in her tone.

“Oh, believe me, it isn’t.” Alphonse chucked madly. “Well, for your friend anyways. By summoning his swordsman in attack mode, Mammon allows me to draw cards equal to that sordsman’s level! Meaning I just got an eight card bonus to my hand”

“You’re kidding!” Twilight exclaimed with shock.

“That’s right! So every time you Normal or Special Summons a monster in attack mode, you further add to my hand while also fueling Mammon’s power!” As Alphonse explained this, Mammon howled as his power further increased.

(Mammon, the Avarice's Wolf: ATK/DEF; 10,000 - 18,000)

“Shit!” Dustin swore, his eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s an 18,000 attack boost!”

“And once you’re swordsman’s wiped off the field, my Sinful Lord will wipe you out, and your soul will be added to my collection.” Alphonse declared with a smug grin, but he then gained a confused look upon seeing Spike with a smug smile of his own.

“That’s what you think.” Spike retorted with a smirk, making Alphonse confused. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten about my facedown card!”

“And what about it?” Alphonse asked, not understanding what Spike was getting at.

“It’s something that’ll give me the upper hand. And that card is…” Spike said before the card flipped face-up. And what it was left Alphonse gasping in shock. “The Trap Card, DNA Surgery!”

“NO!” Alphonse was now horrified at this turn of events.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow beamed. “Now we’re talking.”

“Now I’ll use its effect to change all monsters to Dragon type!” Spike said as every monster gained dragon-like features. Scaly skin, dragon wings, horns on their heads, you name it. “And with that, my Dragon Destroyer Swordsman gains 1000 attack and defense for every dragon you control!” Spike declared as his monster unleashed a bellowing war cry as he was enveloped in a white aura, his power rising in the process.

(Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman: ATK/DEF; 2800/2500 - 4800/4500)

“And not only that, but he also changes all dragons you control to defense mode! And on top that, he also renders the effects of every dragon you have null and void.” Spike said as he pointed to Mammon. “And since Mammon is a dragon thanks to DNA Surgery, his attack and defense now drop to zero.”

(Mammon, the Avarice's Wolf: ATK/DEF; 18,000 - 0)

“No No NO! This can’t be happening!” Alphonse stuttered in absolute terror, knowing full well that the tables have turned on him.

“Oh, it is!” Spike said with, his smirk never fading. “Next, I activate another Monster Reborn! And I'll use it to bring back Assault Wyvern!”

Then, the familiar blue dragon appeared back onto the field.

"Assault Wyvern, destroy Abare Ushioni!" Spoke declared and the dragon fired another wave of blue crescent bladed at the monstrous bovine, destroying it in the process.

(Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman: ATK/DEF; 4800/4500 - 3800/3500)

“Woohoo!” Pinkie cheered. “You show that jerk what for!”

“And since he destroyed a monster by battle, I’ll sacrifice him to bring back a dragon from my grave! And I’ll use it to bring back my good friend, Felgrand Dragon!" Spike declared as Assault Wyvern vanished before the familiar gold and silver dragon took its place to the field. This further shocking Alphonse while the gang cheered for their young friend.

“I told you guy’s he’d ace this duel.” Dustin said with a proud smile on his face.

“And you know what that means. Now I can target 1 monster in my graveyard to boost his power by 200 multiplied by that monster’s level. And guess who I’m picking.”

Alphonse only gasped in horror, knowing what Spike was planning.

“That’s right! I’ll power Felgrand’s attack power by 200 times the level of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Raising his attack power to 5200 again!” Spike announced as Felgrand Dragon was enveloped in the familiar yellow aura from before.

“YEEHAW!” Applejack cheered as Pinkie, Erena and Emille squealed in joy.

“That’s what happens when you mess with my pals! Swordsman, swing your mighty sword, and put Mammon down like the dog he is! DRACONIC CLEAVER!!!”

Following his master’s command, the swordsman lunged forward to Mammon before slicing him in half. All Alphonse could do at this point was watch helplessly as his Sinful Lord monster was destroyed.

“And one more thing I should mention about my Dragon Destroyer Swordsman, is that he inflicts piercing battle damage when he attacks a monster in defense mode!” Spike said smugly as Alphonse’s life points dropped.

“Felgrand Dragon, finish this duel once and for all! GOLDEN ENERGY BLAST!!!” Spike cried out as his dragon launched the finishing attack, and Alphonse was too stunned to even move a muscle. Once the attack hit, Alphonse screamed in agony as his life points dropped down to zero. But that’s not all, the Fire Ruby that was attached to his bow tie was completely shattered to pieces, causing three streams of light to shoot out from the CMC’s cards and fly off.

Meanwhile, in a local park, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were resting under a tree. When the three light entered their bodies, the three girls awoken.

Once the attack subsided, Alphonse was seen on his knees, his eyes widened in disbelief as he held the shattered bits of what once was the Fire Ruby.

“This…this can’t be!” Alphonse stammered, not grasping his defeat.

“I guess all that glitters is not gold, huh?” Pinkie said, clearly making a pun.

"Alright punk!" Rainbow growled angrily as she grabbed Alphonse by the collar. "You better pull your end of the deal! Release Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Bell! Now!"

"They already have been released!" Alphonse said, holding up the broken pieces of the Fire Ruby as well as three blank cards. "When my sin stone was shattered by that attack, their souls were released and by now have already returned to their bodies."

"Phew." Applejack sighed in relief.

"Ok, pal. Start talking" Dustin said as he walked up to Alphonse. "Where did you get that damn stone!"

"You certainly do not fail to disappoint, Alphonse." Another voice called out, catching Dustin and his friends by surprised and scaring Alphonse senseless. Alphonse looks behind him to see a figure draped in a purple robe and wearing a metallic mask to cover his face.

"Huh?" Twilight muttered in surprise upon seeing the mysterious figure.

"Please boss! I tried my best!" Alphonse stammered in fright, but not before the figure lifted his hand, making Alphonse levitate.

"And yet, your best failed you." The figure said before Alphonse's sinful lord card flew out of his deck and into the figure's hand. "You are truly pathetic, now get out of my sight!"

The figure then swung his arm, sending Alphonse skidding on the ground.

"Who are you pal?! Just by looking at you, I know you're up to no good!" Dustin said to the figure, making said figure look to him.

"Ah, Dustin Hogan. We meet yet again." The figure said, confusing Dustin and the others.

"What? What are you..." Before Dustin could finish, he noticed something vaguely familiar about the figure. But his eyes then widen in shock, the memory coming back to him.

"Y-You! You're the...the..." Dustin stuttered while shaking, to which his friends took notice of.

"The one who killed your true mother and father? That I am." The figure said, making the others gasp. Dustin's shock quickly turned to anger.

"You...mother....FUCKER!!!" Dustin roared out before charging to the figure, only for the figure to vanish, catching him off guard.

"Too slow, child!" The figure said before grabbing Dustin by the shirt collar and threw across the pavement.

"ONII-CHAN!!!" Erena and Emille called out as they ran to Dustin.

"You certainly have your stepfather's temper. Despite not sharing his blood." The figure said with a chuckle.

"Alright buddy! Who are you?" Rainbow demanded, making the figure turn to her.

"Oh. How rude of me. Remember my name. Darkbright." The figure now named Darkbright said before a black portal appeared behind him. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have things to do." Darkbright was about to enter the portal, but not before casting one glance at the group. "Though, I have a feeling you lot will be seeing more of me. As a matter of fact, I know it. Until then."

And with that, Darkbright entered the portal before the portal finally vanished.

It was evening, and the crew was meeting up at the Honjou Residence, recovering from everything that happened earlier.

"I'm so glad you're ok, Spike!" Twilight said as she hugged the boy like a child with a bunny. "You could have..."

"Well, I mean, I'm still here, right?" Spike said reassuringly to Twilight, rubbing her back.

"You really kicked that Alphonse guy's ass to hell and back, dude!" Rainbow said, patting Spike's back.

"I'll admit though." Applejack said as she examined a shard of the shattered Fire Ruby. "He sure wasn't a pushover. I don't know how he managed to pull off the effects of those gamble cards."

"Maybe he's insanely lucky or something." Pinkie pondered.

"I doubt that." Dustin said, making the others look to him. "It wasn't luck that gave him the upper hand, it was that damn stone."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"Whenever Alphonse used the effects of his gamble cards, I noticed that his sin stone glowed. And so would the coin he tossed." Dustin explained, to which the others were surprised.

"Now that you mention it..." Sunset trailed off, making Dustin look to her. "I also saw the same thing. I thought I my mind was playing tricks on me at first, but after what you just described, my fears are now confirmed."

"So in other words, the guy was a cheat." Rainbow said with slight confusion.

"I'm afraid so." Dustin said before picking up one of the shards of the broken Fire Ruby. "But thank God that thing is broken to bits."

"And as for that Darkbright guy..." Twilight said, shivering a bit. "I get the feeling we'll see him again. And a lot sooner than we think."

"In any case, we'll have to try to take this guy down. I don't know what he's planning, but I have a strong hunch he's up to something big." Sunset said as she pulled out her deck box.

"Right. We'd best Improve our decks as best as we can." Dustin said as he went to fetch out three small boxes packed with Duel Monsters cards.

"Holy cow!" Pinkie exclaimed with wide eyes. "You’ve sure collected a lot, huh?"

"Trust us!" Erena said with a smirk. "He's been collecting ever since he was five years old."

"That's true." Emille said with a nod of agreement. "In fact, he even inspired us to play Duel Monsters too."

"And that's just three boxes. I've got like twelve others." Dustin said, surprising the others, except Emille and Erena.

"Twelve other boxes?" Twilight asked in total shock.

"Yep. Most of the cards in these boxes are cards I have no need for. Feel free to grab which ones you think will help you out in the long run." Dustin said, and the others did their search.

"Aw yeah. Already found some good ones." Rainbow said as she brought another deck box, only to accidentally spill the cards onto the floor. "Aw man!"

"I got it." Erena went to pick up Rainbow's cards, but she gasped when she saw one familiar card. "No way! You have a copy of the Magic of Friendship too?"

"What?!" Dustin and Emille both exclaimed as they saw the card as well.

"Yep." Rainbow nodded. "Though I rarely use it, unless the situation calls for it."

"Matter of fact, we all have a copy of that card." Applejack said as she pulled out her deck box, pulling out a card before revealing to be the same card Rainbow has. Sure enough, the other girls, and Spike revealed they had the same card.

"You're not the only ones who got the card from Somnambula." Twilight admitted, further Dustin, Erena and Emille's collective shock.

"Anyways, with these advancements to our decks, we may have a better chance at trouncing Darkbright." Fluttershy said with high hopes while scouring through the countless cards.

"Hopefully so." Dustin said with a nod.

"They may also help us in taking out Haze, Quicksilver and Nightingale." Emille said with a scowl. "I believe some payback is long overdue for those three."

"I couldn't agree more." Erena said with a nod.