//------------------------------// // Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky part 2 // Story: Duelists and Friendship - Seven Darknesses // by Prince Dustin Hogan //------------------------------// Talking YELLING Thinking Singing Flashback Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky part 2 Sunset stood, shaking in a mix of fear and anticipation as she eyed the two monsters that stood before her. Sunset LP – 6400 Sunset's opponent, Nightingale, stood with a smirk visible on her face, knowing she had the upper hand. Nightingale LP – 6200 “If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, feel free to forfeit at anytime.” Nightingale said to Sunset with a wicked grin. “Like Hell I will!” Sunset growled. “I’m not going down without a fight!” Sunset then drew her next card, but what a bit nervous to see what it was. 'This next card might be my last. Regardless, I better make it count.' She then mustered up the courage to see what she drew. "Perfect! I play Card of Sanctity! So now we both draw until we both have six cards in our hand." Sunset said as she and Nightingale both drew until they both possessed six cards in their hand. Sunset smiled upon seeing the cards she drew. "Next, I play Harmonious Fusion!" Sunset said, revealing her card, surprising Nightingale, and everyone else present. "Harmonious what?!" Nightingale asked in bewilderment. "Harmonious Fusion. It's like Polymerization, but exclusively for "Harmonious" or "Harmony" monsters. And I think I'll use it to combine both Harmonious Elemental of Reformation - Emendo and Elemental HERO Blazeman from my hand." With that said, a massive multicolored vortex appeared a few feet above Sunset's field, and from it appeared Sunset's fusion monster. The monster resembled Sunset Shimmer, but with a sight amber skin tone and adorned in a magical girl uniform version of Sunset's regular clothes. "Let's say hello to Harmony HERO Emendo Aurora!" Sunset declared as said monster struck a pose. [Harmony HERO Compassio Aurora/Lv: 8/LIGHT/Spellcaster/ATK: 2900/ DEF: 2000] "As jeez! That's great!" Quicksilver groaned. "Fret not, Quicksilver." Haze said with a snicker, getting his friend's attention. "That magical girl reject is powerless against both of Nightingale's monsters." "Admittedly, that monster's quite impressive, I'll give you that." Nightingale said with a smirk. "But that thing isn't strong enough to take on either one of mine." "We'll see. Emendo Aurora, attack Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" Sunset declared as Compassio Aurora floated into the air, charging a beam of bright red energy. "Red Redemption!" With a thrust of her right arm, Compassio Aurora fired a red magical beam towards her target. "What's she doing!?" Twilight declared in panic. "Did you not hear what I just said, you bacon-headed idiot?" Nightingale asked, not seeing what Sunset was planning. "Oh, every bit of it." Sunset said, a smirk visible on her face, surprising Nightingale. "And your right, she's no match for your Synchro Dragon. But not after sending this to the Grave." Sunset then revealed a card from her hand, the image depicting a phoenix visible on it. "My Harmonious Phoenix Philomena!" "What!?" Nightingale asked with shock. "Where in the devil did she get that!?" Cinch asked, just as shocked. "By sending my little feathered friend to the Graveyard during the Damage Step, my Harmony HERO gains attack points equal to those of her target until the end of this turn." Sunset said as the red beam Aurora Compassio fired grew in intensity and took on the shape of the Phoenix. "Shit!" Quicksilver said with shock. “So what if your monster now has more attack points. Have you forgotten about my Crystal Wing's special ability?” Nightingale scoffed. Sunset gave the girl a cheeky grin. “Nope, I’m just surprised that you don’t know my phoenix’s special ability. “Huh?” Before Nightingale could reflect upon what the bacon headed girl said, a pillar of fire burst forth from the ground behind crystal wing. Everyone stared in owe as a massive beautiful phoenix emerged from the flamed rapping the crystal dragon in its wings before dispersing into flames. Leaving the dragon ensnared in chains made of fire. “Wha- WHAT IS THIS!?!” Nightingale screeched. “Looks like someone needs a refresher on their ornithology. When Harmonious Phoenix is sent to the graveyard by a card effect, my opponent can’t activate monster effects during the battle phase. Now without further ado, Harmony hero Aurora, attack with prismatic inferno!” Once the attack hit its mark, Nightingale's Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon roared in agony before shattering to pieces. "Aw yeah!" Rainbow cheered with glee. "Now we're talking!" "Nice!" Dustin said with an impressed smile on his face. "Oh, and I should mention that whenever Emendo Aurora destroys a monster, she inflicts damage to your life points equal to that monsters attack points." Sunset smirked triumphantly while Nightingale growled furiously while her life points plummeted. Nightingale LP – 500 "And not only that, but I also gain life points equal to its defense points." Sunset's smirk grew into a smug grin as her life points increased. Sunset Shimmer LP – 8900 "Ow wow! Quite a stunning turn of events, people." The commentator announced with excitement. "YAHOO!!" Pinkie Pie cheered for Sunset. "Since it’s near the end of my turn, I'll activate the effect of Harmonious Fusion in my Graveyard. By shuffling 1 "Harmonious" or "Harmony" monster from my Graveyard back into my Deck, I can add it to my hand. So I'll shuffle Harmonious Elemental Compassio back to the deck in order to add Harmonious Fusion back to my hand." Sunset did as she said. "Plus, Compassio Aurora's attack now returns to normal." "Lucky little bitch!" Nightingale cursed under her breath before drawing her next card. When she drew it, she had a grin on her face. "I activate the Spell Card, Winds of Rejuvenation!" "Winds of Rejuvenation?" Sunset asked, not liking where this was going. "A very handy card when used in a Winged Beast deck." Nightingale said with a chuckle. "You see, this card increases my life points multiplied by the combined levels of all Wind-attribute and/or Winged Beast-type monsters currently in my Graveyard." "Oh no!" Sunset gasped in shock. "Oh yes." Said Nightingale. "And if memory serves me well, my Grave consists of Gale the Whirlwind, Auster the South Wind, Kris the Crack of Dawn, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, and Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon." "Wait!" Twilight said, pulling out a calculator to do some number crunching. "Gale is Level three, Sister and Kris are both Level 4, Clear Wing is Level 7 and Crystal Wing is Level 8. Add all of that and thats's twenty six." "Multiply that by 300 and that's..." Sunset counted before gasping in horror. "That's right. That's 7800 added to my life points! Boosting them from a measly 500 to a whopping 8300!" Nightingale said, laughing as her life points increased. Nightingale LP – 8300 "Christ!" Dustin exclaimed in shock. "This is not good!" "Correct you are, Hogan!" Nightingale called out. "But I'm sad to say that things are going to get much worse." Nightingale then reveals her next card. "Because now I use Polymerization to fuse Necrogale with Assault Blackwing - Kunai the Drizzle from my hand." And just like that, Necrogale was engulfed in a massive tornado, causing the winds to pick up once again. "I don't like where this is heading!" Spike said, shaking like a leaf. "With Necrogale combined with both Kunai, I created one of my ace beasts. One that strikes fear in the hearts of veteran duelists!" As Nightingale said this, the tornado picked up in intensity. Then, from the twister, a pair of glowing green eyes stared at Sunset, making said girl nervous. "Everyone, let's al give a warm welcome to my best card! Corvus, Black-Plague Dragon of the Midnight Sky!" Nightingale announced as the tornado dissipated, revealing a monster that resembled a cross between a dragon and a raven, it's green eyes stared Sunset down like a hawk eyeing its prey. [Corvus, Black-Plague Dragon of the Midnight Sky/Lv: 12/DARK/Dragon/ATK: 3500/ DEF: 2300] "Oh crap!" Sunset shivered in fear, staring wide-eyed at the dragon that stood before her. "We've never seen Nightingale use that before!" Erena declared, just as shocked. "Like it?" Nightingale asked with a smug smirk. "Its one of my newest additions added to my deck. In fact, this is the first time I get to put it to good use!" "WHAT!?" Pinkie asked in shock. "But Corvus isn't the only new addition to my Arsenal." Nightingale chuckled. "Next, I'll play my third and final Pot of Greed. Allowing me to draw two more cards, and a good way to compensate for the cards i just used." As Nightingale drew her two cards, her smile grew even wider. "And I play one of those cards, being Monster Reborn!" "Oh my!" Fluttershy whispered in fear. "This is not holding well." Rarity said with worry. "I'll use it to bring back Assault Blackwing - Kunai the Drizzle." As soon as Nightingale said that, a humanoid bird appeared beside her. It was black as a raven; it wore a blue vest and had gauntlets with bladed fingers on its "arms". "And while I'm at it, I'll also bring out the Tuner monster Blackwing - Decay the Ill Wind in attack mode!" Nightingale declared as a humanoid vulture appeared alongside Kunai. "A Tuner?" Dustin gasped in shock. "Aw man, this just went from bad to worse!" "Quite the understatement!" Twilight said, just was worried as her friends were. "And when Decay is summoned successfully, I can target 1 Blackwing monster I control and either reduce, or increase its level by one. And I choose to increase his level by 1." Nightingale declared as Decay was enveloped in a dark purple aura. Up in the spectator box, Cinch had a smirk on her face. "It appears Miss Shimmer is in over her head, Celestia." Cinch said, looking to said principal. Celestia was worried that Cinch could be right on this one. "Now, my Level 5 Decay the Ill Wind tunes with my Level 5 Kunai the Drizzle!" Nightingale as Decay cawed before exploding into five green rings. Each ring encased Kunai before Kunai was engulfed in a massive twister, the winds picking up once more. As the winds picked up, a tremendous thunderstorm appeared in the night sky, lightning flashed brightly and thunder roared loudly. “By aligning the power of my fowl flier and my winged assailant, I invoke the champion lurking in the raging storm! A winged marauder who strikes mercilessly and vanishes with the wind!" Nightingale chanted as a pair of red eyes stared Sunset down from behind the tornado, making Sunset break out in a cold sweat. “Synchro Summon! Fly high, Level 10, Assault Blackwing – Masamune the Shadow Storm!” Suddenly, the tornado dissipated, revealing a new monster. It resembled a man clad in black armor, the shoulder pads each resembled an eye while a third smaller eye was visible on its chest, in place of hands were what resembled black bird heads made of metal, its arms had winds that were a combination of black and maroon, it had bird-like legs instead of human legs, and sprouting from its tailbone was a long deep-red tail. The monster leapt into the air before a bloody-crimson blade emerged from both of its "hands". [Assault Blackwing - Masamune the Shadow Storm/Lv: 10/DARK/Winged Beast/ATK: 4000/ DEF: 4000] "Oh...my....God!" Sunset said, shaking even more now at seeing this new monster. "Yikes!" The commentator said, slightly creeped out by the sight of this new monster. "It appears your friend has turned the tides, yet again." Yurika said to Haze and Quicksilver, who smirked upon seeing the events unfold. Sunset's friends, on the other hand, they were shocked beyond belief and a little scared as well. "No..." Dustin shuddered with eyes widened in shock. "Not freaking way!" "I hope you and your friends are watching, Hogan! Because he's about to mop the floor with your bacon headed friend here! Masamune, slice that Harmonious HERO to ribbons!" Nightingale declared, causing Masamune to take to the air. Once he h was high enough, he dove towards Compassio Aurora, his blades ready to strike. "Crimson Cross!" Nightingale called out as Masanune's blades glowed bright read. Once he got close enough, he performed a cross slash at Compassio Aurora, making her yell in pain before shattering to pieces. Sunset Shimmer LP – 7800 Sunset was too shocked to say or do anything as Masamune descended to Nightingale's side. Suddenly, a symbol shaped like a sword appeared above Masamune's head, catching Sunset's attention. "You're probably wandering what that is, right?" Nightingale asked, catching Sunset's undivided attention. "That is a Blade Counter. Every time Masamune deals battle damage to you, he gains a Blade Counter." "I see." Sunset said, looking back at the Blade Counter above Masamune's head. "And if memory serves me well, he grants you an instant win once he has 5 Blade Counters in total." As soon as Sunset said that, her friends gasped in horror. "You're very quick, aren't ya?" Nightingale said with a wicked chuckle. "Now Corvus, attack her directly! Duststorm!" Nightingale declared as Corvus took to the air before firing a blast of hurricane-force wind at Sunset. Sunset Shimmer LP – 4300 "And with that, I'll end it from there. But not before taking 1000 damage since Decay was sent to the Graveyard this turn." Nightingale LP – 7300 "You think you can get rid of Masamune before he gains 5 Blade Counters?" Nightingale taunted, making Sunset growl. 'This is not good! Dammit, I should have expected this!' Sunset thought as she looked towards Masamune. 'If I don'rlt find a way to get rid of Masamune, then I'm done for!' Sunset then looked to Corvus. "But I also have that damn dragon to deal with! I'm in between a rock and a hard place, here!' "Don't let her psyche you out, Sunset!" Dustin called out, catching both Sunset and Nightingale's attention. "I'm confident you can turn this duel around!" "Pfft! Please, Hogan! You couldn't even last a few minutes against me while you attended Crystal Prep." Nightingale said before turning to Sunset. "What makes you think your buddy here can win this?" "Don't underestimate our friend, Nightingale!" Erena called out defiantly. "Yeah!" Emille joined in. "Just you wait! She'll turn this whole Duel around!" "Oh? We'll see about that!" Nightingale said before looking to Sunset. "Go ahead, bacon head. Let’s see you back up their words." Sunset was a bit nervous at first, but she took a deep breath and regained her composure. Clenching her eyes shut, she drew her card in hopes that it will turn the tides. Sunset looked at her card, and it was as if her prayers have been answered. "I play a second Card of Sanctity. Now we once again draw until we both have six cards." Sunset said as both she and Nightingale did as the card instructed. "Next, I play another Pot of Greed. So that's two more cards added to my hand." Sunset drew her next two cards. "And next, I play not one Monster, but two Monster Reborns. And with them, I bring back Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys and Fire King High Avatar Garunix!" Sunset said with a smug grin as the familiar golden phoenix appeared back to Sunset's field in a plume of fire, cawing in supremacy. "Big deal, sister!" Nightingale said, not fazed at seeing Nephthys. "Oh, it's a very big deal!" Sunset retorted confidently, making Nightingale confused a bit. "Next I play Self-Duplication! And I'll use it to create two clones of Nephthys!" Sunset declared as two additional copies of Nephthys appeared. "But what's the point of this?" Nightingale asked in confusion. "Neither one of those overgrown pidgeons are strong enough to go toe to toe against my monsters!" "Oh, you're right! But this next monster I'm about to bring out is!" Sunset declared, making Nightingale gasp in shock. "I overlay Garunix and Nephthyx, in order to perform an Xyz Summon!" Sunset grinned as the two Nephthys clones slid together into a mass of gold light. “I unite the fires of both my golden phoenix and my winged avatar of fire! Desend from the heavens and cast you'd heavenly glow!” Sunset's Extra Deck ejected her card and she picked it up as the glow faded, revealing a massive golden sphere. “Xyz Summon! Shine bright, Rank 8, Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis!” The golden sphere then unfurled, revealing an enormous dragon composed of glowing red energy and parts of the golden sphere making up its body, complete with the two sparks of gold light circling it. [Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis/Rk: 8/LIGHT/Dragon/ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2400] "What!?" Nightingale explained, absolutely shocked! "So not cool!" Quicksilver uttered in shock. "Dammit!" Haze growled furiously. "No! This cannot be!" Cinch exclaimed, just as shocked while Celestia had a smirk on her face. "Once again, Sunset has managed to turn the tables, folks!" The commentator announced while staring at the dragon in awe. "And I must say, it's quite a looker!" "B-Big deal!" Nightingale stuttered, trying to keep her composure. "That thing's still too weak!" "In in terms attack points, yes. But I don't need to attack just yet!" Sunset said, now Nightingale was panicking. "I activate my dragon's effect. By detaching 1 Xyz Material from him once per turn, I can sacrifice any number of monsters from my hand and/or field, then Heliopolis destroys the same number of monsters on the field." "No!" Nightingale cried out in horror. "So I detach Nephthys, in order to sacrifice my two Nephthys clones to destroy both Masamune and Corvus!" As sunset said that, one of the golden sparks flew into the dragon's mouth. The dragon chomped down, inhaled, and releases a stream of fire at both of Nightingale's monsters. All Nightingale could do was watch in shock and horror as both her monsters were roasted alive. Once the flames have subsided, all that was left was a huge scorch where her monsters once stood. "Are you kidding me!?" Nightingale declared, her panic increasing. "You show her what for, Sunset!" Applejack cheered her friend on! "You go, Sunny! WHOOO! " Dustin cheered along with his friends. "And with no monsters shielding you, you're wide open! Hieratic Sun Dragon, SOLAR FLARE STRIKE! " Sunset declared as her dragon launched another stream of fire at Nightingale, who only grunted as the fires burnt away a large portion of her life points. Nightingale LP – 4300 "And I'll finish up by playing 1 card face-down." Sunset declared as her set card appeared on the field. "Hmph, lucky shot!" Nightingale growled angrily and drew her next card. "I'll just play Blackwing - Tornado the Reverse Wind in defense mode!" Nightingale said as said monster appeared in a defensive position. "And since he's brought out, I can bring out 1 "Blackwing" Tuner from my Graveyard, but its effects are negated. And I chose to bring back Blaxkwing - Decay the Ill Wind, also in Defense Mode." Decay then appeared as well, also in a defensive position. "And I'm afraid that's all I can do for now." Nightingale said with growl. "Then I guess its my move." Sunset drew her next card, then smiled. "First I reveal my Trap. Sinister Yoshiro! As long as this card is on the field, I can Normal Summon a Level 5 or higher Fiend without any tributes. And I know just the one!" "Ah recognize this move." Applejack said with a smile. "Uh oh." Rainbow said with a smirk. "Looks like Nightingale's in for it now "Sunny's really bringing out the big guns!" Pinkie said, knowing what Sunset was planning. "What do you mean?" Erena asked with confusion. "You're about to find out right now, darling." Rarity said, further confusing Erena. "So lets all say hello to a personal favorite of mine!" Sunset declared, making Nightingale anxious. "I don't like where this is heading!" Haze said with a hint of worry. "From the reaches of the stars, I call upon the embodiment of the incandescent cosmic light, the morning and evening star!" As Sunset chanted, a massive ball of fire appeared, the crowed watched in shock and awe. "Descend down to Earth, cast your radiant glow upon the field, and burn away all who stand in your path! I summon the ruler of the Solar System, the Supremacy Sun!" Suddenly, the ball of fire exploded, and from it emerged a muscular tan-skinned man adorned in black and gold armor, complete with an image of a sun visible on his chest. "No way!" Dustin said in awe upon sering the new monster. "Is that..." Erena gasped, just as stunned as Dustin and Emille. "No freaking way!" Nightingale gasped. Is she wasn't dumbstruck before, well she is now. "A Legendary Planet!" Haze was absolutely stunned by what he and his friend were seeing! "Not possible!" Cinch gasped in shock! "How did she get her hands on such a rare card!?" "But if you think its bad now, just wait! It's gonna get worse!" Sunset chuckled before revealing another card in her hand. "Next I activate the Spell called Rekindling! Now I can Special Summon as many FIRE monsters from my Graveyard as possible, so long as their Defense Points are exactly 200. So I'll use it to bring back Flamvell Magician and Fire King Avatar Kirin!" "Wait!" Nightingale called out. "How the Hell did you get Kirin in your Graveyard!?" "Remember on my first turn, when I used Cost Down?" Sunset asked, making Nightingale even more nervous. "Next, I use the effect of my Sun Olverlord dragon again. So I detach Garunix to sacrifice both Kirin and Flamvell Magician, in order to roast your two birds!" "Drat!" Cinch growled furiously. "This simply cannot be!" "Alright my dragon! Light 'em up!" As Sunset said this, her Dragon munch on the last remaining spark, Kirin and Flamvell Magician both erupt in flames before being inhaled by Sun Dragon Overlord, and the dragon breathed out a stream of fire at Nightingale's monsters, burning them into a crisp. 'Shit! This can't be happening!''Nightingale thought to herself with a look of horror on her face. "Alright! Damage time! Sun Dragon Overlord, attack her directly!" Sunset declared as the dragon breathed out another stream of fire at Nightingale. Nightingale LP – 1300 "Alright Supremacy Sun! Your turn! End this Duel with Corona Flames!" Sunset declared at Supremacy Sun raised his arms upwards, forming a massive fore ball before throwing it at Nightingale. Nightingale LP – 0 "Sunset Shimmer. You are the victor." The jumbotron declared, making the audience erupt in applause. "Alright! You did it!" Dustin yelled in elation. "She did it!" Erena and Emille cheered, hugging each other. While the representatives for CHS cheered for Sunset, the representatives for Crystal Prep were in shock, and a bit upset. "Dammit!" Quicksilver growled furiously. "How could this happen!?" But if anyone was taking this defeat the worst, it was Principal Cinch. Needless to say, she was displeased at how this first round went. "Impossible! Simply impossible!" Cinch said while seething in anger. "Nightingale is one of my most elite students!" "You should never underestimate my students, Cinch." Celestia said with a chuckle. "Smile while you still can, Celestia." Cinch said, regaining her composure. "There are still the next six rounds left." Back up in the bleachers, Sunset was being praised by her friends for her victory. "You were amazing, darling?" Rarity said to Sunset, making the girl blush. "Amazing? You mean "awesome"!" Rainbow said, making Sunset even more bashful now. "C'mon guys, it was nothing." Sunset said, being modest. "No need to be bashful, Sunny." Dustin said, patting Sunset on the back. "And seeing the humiliated look on Nightingale's face was a huge bonus." Speaking of Nightingale, she was back in her spot in the bleachers, clearly upset about her loss. She was fuming with rage, clenching her fists, shaking; to say that she was angry would be quite the understatement of the century. "I cannot believe I lost to that freaking bitch!" "Don't sulk yet, Nightingale." Haze said to her reassuringly, a smirk on his face. "This was only the opening act. We still have six rounds to go."