//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Let The Games Begin! (By Golden Flare) // Story: The Missing Barian Numbers // by Golden Flare //------------------------------// Crystal Prep School Bus 3rd Person POV The bus turned the corner as it traveled along the pavement. After a few more turns, it finally reached its destination. The vehicle pulled into the parking lot of Canterlot High as the logo on it was that of Crystal Prep. Once the driver parked the bus, Principal Cinch stood up which got the attention of the participants. "Remember. No mercy. You are here to put Canterlot High in its place. To remind them why they are nothing more than second-rate duelists. They think they know hard work, but they don't what the meaning of the word is. You have trained for this day nonstop; strike fear in their hearts. We must make them think of quitting before the Games start. The same goes for the duels, squeeze them, show them your advanced skills, and suck the air out of their lungs long enough that they beg you to put them out of their misery. Then you released and pull the trigger." The students heard Cinch's rally as they all had focused looks. "A win for Crystal Prep is the only outcome." The students raised their fists into the air as they were pumped by the pep speech. Apart from everyone else, the two students had different reactions. Twilight was a bit timid while Isaac held a defiant scowl. The boy could see the girl was panicking on the inside as he placed his hand on her shoulder and got her to look at him. "Hey, it's going to be okay. No matter what happens, as long as we have each other by our side, we'll get through this. Together." assured Isaac in a soft tone. "Right. Together." said Twilight as her friend's response got her to smile a bit. Soon the students began to file out as they each strapped on their Duel Disks. Both Twilight and Isaac did the same as the girl slid her hand into her friend's unexpectedly. It wasn't that hard to notice as Isaac felt Twilight's warmth from her hand in his. He looked at his friend as she smiled knowing that it made her feel comfortable. He smiled as he let her continue to hold his hand as they both exited the bus together. They began to follow their classmates into the building. Principal Cinch had been watching her soldiers as they were entering the school. She saw both Twilight and Isaac as the last ones to exit the bus as the thought from the other day ran through her mind. She knew the boy was special, granted when he first enrolled into CPA, the finances that came with it were a bit pricy for the boy's parents to pay. However, there was another way for him to be accepted. The woman agreed to allow the boy to take a dueling entrance exam and if he passed, he would be able to attend Crystal Prep and she would cover the majority of his cost. Granted, he and his parents still had to pay a fair sum, but for them, they wanted the best for their son. They believed that with Crystal Prep's history, they could help him to become a pro when he graduated and he could live his dream. So when they heard that Cinch was willing to do this favor, they were grateful for the opportunity. And as it would happen, Isaac managed to pass with flying colors as he beat an elite upperclassman. There were still some kinks to work out with the boy, but Cinch knew she could take care of them with their dueling program. And true to her word, in no time flat, the boy was dueling as one of their top students. He managed to rise the ranks in such a short amount of time that she was grateful to have made the right call. But now was the time to return the favor she did for the boy and his parents. And seeing that Isaac managed to do something only a few could do, knowing how to do nearly all the summoning methods, possessing his signature star monster, as well as the deck he carried with him, she was getting her money's worth and then some. And she believed that this boy could be the secret weapon to taking down CHS once and for all. And then, of course, there was Twilight. The girl was the smartest student at Crystal Prep. And unlike her friend, she rarely dueled. But the few times she did, she was unbeatable. She had a brilliant mind for the game that made her untouchable. Twilight was the brains when it came to Duel Monsters, and Isaac was the skill and heart that the game exemplified. Together, the two made for a devastating power couple. And Principal Cinch believed these two would be the most vital parts of her plan to put the final nail in the coffin that was Canterlot High. "Principal Cinch, how wonderful it is to see you," said Principal Celestia as she and Luna made their way to her and Cadance to greet them. "Vice Principal Luna can help your students get settled if you'd like me to show you around. There have been quite a few changes since your last visit." "Oh, yes, Principal Celestia. I'm sure that would be fascinating." said the woman with distaste as she left with Celestia to explore the school. "Oh, it's always such a pleasure to see you, Dean Cadence. Even if it means another defeat.” said Luna as she was already accepting that they were going to lose. "Thank you, Vice Principal Luna, but I hear it's not going to be so easy this time." said Cadence as she had a feeling this year's games were going to be very different. Neither knew what awaited them. Or what was about to go down between the two schools and certain individuals. Canterlot High’s cafeteria had been turned into a social hub for the tournament, with food and drink lining the tray and tables set up for free duels. The two sides of the cafeteria, divided by the tiled path between the doors on either end of the room, were decorated with banners, flags, and posters for their respective schools, the letters “CHS” on one side in blue, and “CPA” in purple letters on the other side. The little social gathering was full of tension. Both schools were separated as they were on opposite sides of the room. The only time they would cross paths was when they went for refreshments and food at the table. The girls had arrived as they saw Celestia on the stage as she was speaking with Principal Cinch. They saw the expressions of the Crystal Prep students as they had looks of disgust. "Well this certainly is a living party," said Sunset as she was eating a cookie. "Seriously? It's boring if you ask me, this party is dead." Rainbow had crumpled up her napkin as she shot a basket into the trash can. "At least the fighting hasn't started." said Golden trying to sound positive. "I'm amazed that Dash hasn't already become the cause of it." snickered AJ holding a cup of punch. "What do you mean, AJ?!!" growled Rainbow as she was offended by what her friend said. "Just calm down. Don't want Crystal Prep to think that they can write their victory speech by seeing us argue. We got to stick together. Show them that we're all a team." said Sunset trying to get everyone back on the same page. "Sunset's right. If we allow Crystal Prep a chance to make fun of us, they're gonna use that to get inside our head. We need to remain focused. This whole event is about us restoring honor to CHS." said Golden as the girls couldn't help but nod in agreeance by what their friend said. "I'm gonna go get some more punch. Any of you girls want any?" asked the boy to which they shook their head. Golden shrugged then left to the refreshment table as Twilight was walking around the auditorium. She was trying to avoid her classmates as they still didn't like her. However, for some strange reason, when she and Isaac entered, the students of CHS seemed to know her name. Almost as if they recognized her. The pair was confused as they simply put it to the back of their head. "So...no word from Princess Twilight?" asked Fluttershy to Sunset. "Nothing, I'm afraid she's not responding." said the bacon-haired girl. "She's a princess in another world, darling. You can't expect Twilight to drop everything and come here." stated Rarity. "Did someone call my name?" The girls turned in their heads in the direction of the voice. They looked and saw Twilight. However, it wasn't the version they knew. "Twilight?!" said the girls collectively. "Um, yes. But...how do you know my name? How does everyone know my name here?" asked the girl. "You're kidding, right," said Rainbow as she felt like she was playing a joke on them. "Besides, when did you start wearing glasses?" "Um, like, since forever." stated the bespectacled girl. "Huh?" said the girls as they were confused. Though Sunset could tell that something was off about Twilight. For one, the girl wasn't the princess they knew but rather this world's version. But aside from that, she was getting a strange read from the girl. Like something dark and sinister dwelled inside of her. While the girls were having their own moment, another was occurring. Golden had finally made his way to the refreshment table. He put his hand out to grab the ladle of the punch bowl as soon as another hand was on the lower part of the spoon. The boy tried to pry it off but failed as he then looked up. He was soon met with another student as it was none other than Isaac. And just like that. Time froze. Everything around the two boys was slowing down and coming to a halt. Everything but the teens themselves as they merely stared at one another. Not taking an eye off the either less they risk being weak in front of the other. The aura from both boys was shown clashing as it erupted and evolved into something even fiercer. The best way to describe what was happening was an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. While the boys stared, the images and spirits of the monsters in their decks were also shown. They stood behind their masters as if they were the generals of two opposing sides who were getting ready for a huge battle and war. Even their monsters had glares as they stared at the opposite side. Time now resumed as everything moved in motion. "Sorry, didn’t see you there at first." said Golden as he released his hold. "No, it's my fault. You were here first," stated Isaac as he too retracted his hand. "I'm Isaac." "Golden Flare." The boys extended their hands out to shake. Once they met, both their auras clashed as this time they both could feel it. Once more, they stared into each other's eyes as the whole story was being told. "So you attend Crystal Prep, huh? You don't act like the others." "Well, believe it or not, not everybody at CPA is an entitled asshole. They're some diamonds in the rough." stated Isaac. "Well, I'm glad you're not one of those entitled assholes." smirked Golden Flare. The whole time, they kept shaking hands as if they didn't break once. They didn't realize they were trying to intimidate the other by applying more strength to the handshake as they simply stared at the other. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Golden. I wish you the best of luck in these Games." "You too." And just like that, both boys broke the handshake. They turned around at the same time as they were leaving. Each one was walking slowly as time once again moved at a slower pace. Both teens had smiles on their faces as the message they got from each other was one they were looking forward to. Their auras shined as they got farther and farther. As Isaac was walking, the spirits of his Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl appeared. Both magicians sensed the power that lies in Golden as they were concerned for their master. "Master, I sense a great power." "Coming from the boy you just met, no less. Isaac, do you think..." "Relax, Mahad. Mana," said the boy to his magicians as he walked. "Don't worry, I know what I sensed. And no doubt he does too. I just wonder if he'll show us his Number very soon?" At the same time, Sunset had finally made her way to where her friends were surrounding Twilight. A few others saw this and began to make their way toward our heroes. She arrived as the other girls stepped to the side and allowed Sunset to meet Twilight face to face. "I'm Sunset Shimmer. And you are?" asked the girl. Before Twilight could say, she felt something on her shoulder as a person had suddenly appeared beside her. "Who wants to know?!" shouted Indigo Zap as she was getting in the face of Sunset. "Um, we do," replied Dash as she returned with the same fury in her voice. This caused both Indigo and Dash to stare at each other as they pressed their foreheads together getting ready to fight. "All right, everyone. Let's not get too competitive before the Games even start." Applejack saw that Dash was about to do something terrible, so she decided to defuse the situation to avoid seeing her friend get hurt. "Please. The Games aren't really competitive since we've never lost." Sugarcoat now made her presence known as she bluntly stated the fact while looking at Applejack with an intense stare. "That's not a very nice thing to say." Fluttershy was hoping that everybody would get along to avoid any physical violence. "Sorry, dearie, but these games aren't about being nice," said Sunny Flare as she had a bit of uptightness in her voice. "Well, you might use a little tact," replied Rarity as she was trying to defend her friend. The girls all then began to look at each other as they were waiting to see what would happen next. They even managed to separate both Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap as they pulled them back. At that moment, both Golden and Isaac made it back to their respective teams. "What's going on?" said Golden Flare. "What did I miss, Twi?" stated Isaac. Both boys looked once more as they saw each other. What was only a few moments from the last time they saw each felt like a lifetime as once again, their auras clashed as their monsters were shown ready to fight for their respective masters. The tension was high as it only needed a single match to light this gasoline to cause an inferno to break out involving both schools. Just then, something happened. "Let's get this party started!!!" shouted Pinkie as she stood near the bleachers. She had two giant presents with her as they were aimed at the auditorium. The party girl pulled the strings on both of them as hard as she can, and a huge blast of confetti came out. It was such a huge amount that it transformed the entire room. Now there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, balloons had appeared and streamers were now hanging all over the place. Even music started to play as everybody started to lighten up and get in the groove of the music. Now there were a bit more conversations happening between the two schools. "Now this is my kind of party!" said Rainbow as she suddenly forgot about fighting with CPA as she was getting into the groove of things. "Leave it to Pinkie to liven things up." smiled Golden as he started to bop to the music. Everyone was enjoying themselves as they were having fun. Isaac and Twilight smiled as they were relieved to see that both sides were getting along and delaying the bitter rivalry, even if it was only for a while. The boy then looked at the girl as a thought ran through his head. He was about to ask Twilight for a dance when a loud, ear-piercing sound was heard. It was the feedback from the mic that Principal Cinch was touching as she stood on the stage with Celestia to address the student body. "I'd like to thank Principal Celestia for her unconventional welcome. It's been four years since the last Friendship Games, but it feels as though nothing has changed. Canterlot High continues to pick its competitors in a popularity contest and Crystal Prep continues to field its top twelve students. It is a comfort to know that even after so many years of losses, your school remains committed to its ideals, however misguided they may be." Principal Cinch then stepped back as the atmosphere was slowly going back to what it originally was. Celestia now stepped forward as she began to speak. "On behalf of me and everyone working at Canterlot High. I would like to recognize the twelve students that CHS has elected to compete with. I don't think we could have chosen a better group to represent the excellence, sportsmanship, and friendship the Games stand for." said the woman as she pushed a small remote. A projector was coming down behind her as it turned on. Celestia pushed another button as the logo for CHS came up and under it were the portraits and names of the individuals who would represent their school for the Friendship Games. Principal Cinch then took the remote and microphone from Celestia as she had some final things to say. She pushed the button as the logo for CPA was shown; the names and portraits of the students selected were shown. "Today, your chosen representatives will face the twelve best duelists that Crystal Prep Academy can offer. Disregard your school’s history in this tournament or our school’s reputation. As each duel is a new opportunity to better one’s understanding of the game, this tournament yours to lose or win will show if you are good enough to be considered the best. There can be no doubts or hesitation moving forward. There is only what is to come, and how we each, as schools and as individuals, handle it." Surprisingly enough, the students from both schools agreed with what Principal Cinch was saying as they applauded her and Celestia's speech. "I wish you all the best of luck, regardless of the inevitable outcome," said Principal Cinch as she already knew they were going to win. Now the vibe was back to where it first started. Both schools having disdain for each other, wanting to tear each other to shreds. The students began to fine-tune their decks as they were making sure to cover all their bases. “Geez, and here I thought my friend, Rainbow had an ego.” Cinch snapped her head at the offending voice, it was none other than Golden, standing there with a stare of indifference mixed with defiance. “Turns out you’re far too arrogant for your own good. Or the students’ good for that matter.” Cinch narrowed her eyes at the trash talker, “…And who are you?” “Golden Flare. One of the top twelve in the Friendship Games. ‘Friendship’ being the key word, meaning this is supposed to be about our two schools getting along. Guess money really doesn’t equal intelligence.” Some of the students took offense to that last statement evidenced from the looks the disdain they flashed at him. Cinch retorted with, “Would you like a fork? Because you’ll eat those words.” “There’s no need. I won’t be. YOU will, though.” Golden replied, then began to walk back to his group. Cinch wasn’t worried in the least, her students had these Games in the bag, but his words served to greatly irritate her. “Principal Celestia.” “Yes, Principal Cinch?” “Who was that boy just now? His skill, I mean.” “Oh! Um, Golden, before transferring here, was at the top of his class in academics. But now his skill in Duel Monsters is phenomenal. I dare say he may be one of our best students—“ “—And yet not THE best, am I correct?” Cinch rudely interrupted. “…In some ways, yes.” “Hmm…” Cinch hummed, as she talked she never took her eyes off of Golden, seeing that he may possess some form of skill. Golden Flare was now with the girls as he began to inform them. He told them about what went down when he left to get some punch. While they were dealing with Twilight's doppelganger, he met Isaac, and immediately he got a vibe from the guy. "So, what? You think this kid's got a Barian Number?" asked Dash. "Hard to say. Couldn't really sense that within. But...I sense something else. Like...his spirit. His fighting spirit. It's strong. Really strong." stated Golden. "It must be destiny!" said Pinkie. "Two rivals, both forged in the ires of battle or in this case, Duel Monsters. Destined to face each other and in the end, after an epic showdown, only one shall remain standing. Ooh, a tale as old as time." stated the party girl putting on a dramatic voice. "Yeah, right!!!" said the other girls and Golden in unison as they didn't believe what their party friend was saying. "Well, regardless or not, if this Isaac has a Barian Number. We need to focus on winning our duels to advance past the first round. Besides, it's like I said: we got you on our side, it's not like you're gonna lose." stated Sunset. "Ah don't know, Sunset. This is Crystal Prep we're talking about. No doubt they got some fancy- schmancy cards in their decks that we haven't seen. And no doubt they know the more advanced summoning methods better than we do." said Applejack putting her hand to her chin. "But...even so. Someone can't know all of the summoning methods. Right?" said Fluttershy with some concern in her voice. It didn't go unnoticed by the others as even they felt a bit concerned and afraid at that thought. Even Golden was a bit rattled at thinking that maybe someone from Crystal Prep might be just that damn good to know how to do them all. But again, that would require such skill and command over the duel field. Even pros on TV rarely did that due to how limited their opportunities were. The group soon put that thought out of their mind as they began to discuss with each other their decks and make any last minute changes they saw fit. While they were having their own pow-wow. On the other side, the students of Crystal Prep were doing the same. They all had finished and left the classroom they were held up in as they left for the location of the first event. However, two students were still in the classroom as they were taking their time and thinking about the cards to make up their deck. "I think I'm ready," said Twilight as she ran the final calculations in her head as before her, stood the finished product. "This deck is 100% flawless and will guarantee me and Crystal Prep victory." "You know not everything is about numbers, right Twilight?" said Isaac to the girl. "Dueling is a game of skill, capable of being distilled down to basic mathematical probability formulae. Once the contents of one’s deck are sufficiently analyzed and weighed against the opponent’s, it is easy to determine who the superior player is. At that point, dueling is a formality.” Twilight recited as if she said this before. "I think chance and luck would disagree with you on that hypothesis.” argued Isaac. "Chance and luck are not deciding factors, only mitigating. A percentage can still be refined from analysis and will produce reliable results. If I stand an 80% chance of winning, is it really necessary to go through the trouble of playing that result out?” asked the girl to her friend. "Yet, there's still the lingering 20%? No matter how small it may be, it's still a percentage? What would you do in that certain scenario if it came down to that?" Twilight then thought of her answer. "If that were to happen then it would simply be a case to further cause as to why single-elimination duels are inadequate to properly demonstrate one’s skill at the game. There’s a reason professional tournaments run on a best-of-three system, after all. The more data you collect, the fewer outliers you have to deal with and the more reliable your result will be.” "You’ve thought this through, I see." chuckled Isaac. Twilight looked sheepish. “My brother has tried to get me to play when we were younger. I’ve had to explain this before.” "You really are an adorkable nerd, Twily," stated Isaac as Twilight now turned red. "Hey, there's something I've wanted to show you." The boy reached into his deck box on his side and inside was some cards. Six, to be precise, as they were unlike his ordinary cards, but rather special ones. "I haven't shown them to anyone. Not even Principal Cinch knows about this. I figured you'd be the first, since...I trust you. And ‘cause you're my best friend. And I'll be there to support you and be by your side." said Isaac as he extended his hand out with the cards. Twilight grabbed them as their hands grazed each other while looking into each other's eyes. The girl now flipped them over as she had to do several double-takes. She traced her fingers alongside them as she read the effects of the cards. Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing as she had all sorts of questions for her friend. "How...How did you get these?" As this was going on, two people were on their way to watch the Friendship Games via walking the town; they were a boy and a girl, the boy has white skin, teal eyes, and purple hair styled like someone else's by the name of Leon Kennedy, wearing a white jacket over a purple shirt marked with a snowflake, a purple scarf (despite that it's in the middle of spring), grey jeans, and blue sneakers, while the girl had arctic bluish white skin, light arctic blue hair with moderate Persian blue streaks, and raspberry colored eyes, wearing a simple hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. The boy was currently unknown, but the girl's identity was clear as day, especially since she looked rather anxious. "You okay, Sonata?" the boy asked, "You look nervous." "That's 'cause I AM nervous..." Sonata answered, "It's been a while since the Battle of the Bands, and I'm sure everyone at CHS knows me and still sees me as a monster..." "Hey now, none of that." the boy softly ordered, "Your sisters may be having a difficult time trying to make amends, but you've done more than enough to prove you're different than who you were before. Besides, you have me to protect you." Sonata hesitated, but eventually smiled, "You're right. Thanks, Arctic Ace." Arctic chuckled, "I told you, you can just call me Ace." Sonata giggled and they both held hands as they turned the corner into CHS's parking lot, ready to see what the school has in store for Crystal Prep this Friendship Games. The sun shined down on the school of Canterlot High. While it looked calm on the outside, inside there was a huge encounter about to go down. A rivalry that stood the test of time as Team CHS would take on their bitter rivals in Team CPA. For these two schools, there was nothing but anger, distain, brutality, viciousness, and overall, HATE! For the time between both schools was now upon them. Soon the school bell had rung. The students heard the sound of the bell. Soon the P.A. system crackled to life. "Good morning, students. I'm sure you're all thrilled to start the first day of the Friendship Games. Our competitors will face off in every aspect of the Duel Monsters curriculum, culminating in the exhibition duels that will pit every member from Team Crystal Prep against Team Canterlot High." said Luna. With the announcement made, the students from CHS began to make their way to where the first event was being held while some went to the auditorium to see the screen of the live footage of the Games. Both students of Crystal Prep and Canterlot High were shown as they were all gathered in the main hall. The room was divided as there were several chairs stationed. Two podiums that were facing each other. And a projector screen that was shown behind where Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch were. Once both sides arrived, they were instructed to sit down as Cadence stood up to begin the Games. "Welcome to the first event, the Duel Monsters Decathlon! You'll be scored on everything related to Duel Monsters. Spells, Traps, card archetypes, and everything in between. But remember, only the six students from each team with the most points will move on to event number two. Good luck!" said Cadence. "Now to start," said Luna as she stood up and approached the podium meant for the four adults. She clicked a button on a remote as the screen behind her came up and the words "Duel Puzzles" was shown. "To start, every member from both schools we are paired up with another member. In this event, each side will be competing to see who can complete the most Duel Puzzles. Let me clarify to those that don't know what Duel Puzzles are. Duel Puzzles are Puzzles in which the player is given a fixed Duel scenario and must win within a single turn." Murmurs now began to float around with the students as it was more prominent on the students from CHS as they were a bit unsure about this. "One team from CHS and one from CPA will step to the podium. You will be given the same prompt. And whoever can finish the solution first and explain how they came to the conclusion will gain a point for their respective side. Now, take a few seconds to choose who your teammate will be." stated Luna as the students from both sides began to select partners. Once that was done, Celestia and Cinch each gave the six teams on their sides a number from 1 through 6 to determine when they will be called up. With that, Luna then pushed a button on the remote as the number 3 came. That meant the pair from both sides that were assigned that number were to step to their respective podiums. On Crystal Prep's side, the team of Upper Crust and Jet Set walked to the podium as for CHS, it was none other than the team of Astral Flare and Rarity. With both pairs now standing in front of their podiums, the computer program began to come online. It was running some code as soon its interface projected the Duel Puzzle for both to solve. On the screen behind Luna for all to see, it showed the puzzle that both sides were going to attempt to solve. Opponent's Life Points: 5700 Your Life Points: 1100 Cards in your opponent's hand: None Cards in your hand: 2x Cards of Consonance, 1x Polymerization, 1x White Stone of Legend Cards in your opponent's deck: None. Cards in your deck( in order from top to bottom): The White Stone of Legend, 3x Blue-Eyes White Dragons, 1x Shining Blue-Eyes Dragon Cards on the opponent's field: 1x The Dark Door (Face-up), 1x Magic Cylinder (Face-down) Cards on your field: 3x Totem Dragon (All face-up attack position), 1x Ultimate Offering (Face-down) Cards in your opponent's graveyard: None Cards in your graveyard: None Your opponent's cards removed from play: None Your cards removed from play: None Your opponent's extra deck: None Your extra deck: 1x Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon "You may begin," said Luna. Upper Crust and Jet Set began to get to work as Rarity was sweating a bit. "Don't worry, Rarity. Just stay calm and let's think as one," said Astral to the girl as he could tell she was a bit nervous. "Thank you, darling. Now then, let's see what the cards in our decks are," said the fashionista as she and Astral looked and saw them. The pair then looked at their Extra Deck as they finally looked at the cards they were given to start. Based on the scenario that laid before them, their opponent's field was wide open with no monsters. Yet, the only thing they had was a single face-down that could stop their attack. So the key was to get rid of that trap before launching an all-out assault. "Tricky, but I have a feeling, that we need to summon those dragons," said Rarity as she was on the right track. "Correct, but not so to do damage. But use them for another way," said Astral as he and the girl were putting their brains to work. Soon they clicked as both looked at one another. They began to enact their plan as soon they pushed the button on their podium. "We got it!" said Rarity and Astral Flare. "Let's see," said Luna as everyone turned to the screen as the plays that Rarity and Astral Flare inputted were playing out as the pair explained their line of thinking. "The first step is to play Cards of Consonance to discard The White Stone of Legend in your hand to draw two cards. Activate The White Stone of Legend's effect from the grave to add a Blue-Eyes from your Deck to your hand. Play the second Cards of Consonance to discard the second White Stone of Legend to draw the last two cards. Tribute one Totem Dragon to summon a Blue-Eyes." said Astral Flare. "Then activate Ultimate Offering twice to summon the two other Blue-Eyes. Play Polymerization to fuse all three dragons to bring out Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Tribute Ultimate Dragon to summon Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon. Using effect to boost attack points, can also negate Magic Cylinder with its effect. Attack for the win." stated Rarity as she finished telling the rest of their play. "That is...correct!" said Luna as she awarded the point to CHS. Everyone was surprised to see that Canterlot High had managed to score the first point as they were shocked. But none were more shocked than the students of Crystal Prep as they couldn't believe it. Even Principal Cinch was enraged at seeing the students who she considered second-rate managed to get the first puzzle right. Upper Crust and Jet Set returned to their seats as the woman was anything but furious with them. "Nice work, Rares." said Astral to his friend as she simply hugged him. "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without you." said the girl giving the boy a light peck on his cheek. "Next one." said Cadence as the Number 5 was shown on the screen. This time it was Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest going up against Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon. Both teams approached their podium as their puzzle was revealed for all to see. Opponent's Life Points: 1600 Your Life Points: 2900 Cards in your opponent's hand: 1x Battle Fader Cards in your hand: None Cards in the opponent's deck (In order from top to bottom): None Cards in your deck (In order from top to bottom): 1x Shrink Cards on the opponent's field: 1x Doomcaliber Knight (Face-up attack position), 1x Dark Armed Dragon (Face-up attack position), 1x Pestilence (Face-up, equipped to your face-up Amazoness sage), 1x United We Stand (Face-up, equipped to their face-up Doomcaliber Knight) Cards on your field: 1x Ancient Gear Cannon (Face-up attack position), 1x Amazoness Sage (Face-up attack position), 1x Amazoness Trainee (Face-up attack position), 1x Big Bang Shot (Face-down), 1x Amazoness Willpower (Face-down), 1x Alchemy Cycle (Face-down) Cards in your opponent's graveyard: None Cards in your graveyard: 1x Amazoness Archer Your opponent's cards removed from play: None Your cards removed from play: None Your opponent's extra deck: None Your extra deck: None "Begin!" instructed Cadence. With the newfound confidence that Rarity and Astral Flare did by getting them the first win. Both girls were determined to keep the momentum on their side. However, just like that, Crystal Prep finished theirs. "Done." said Sour Sweet. They all turned to the screen to see the events unfold as it was explained. "Attack Doomcalibur Knight with Amazoness Sage. Amazoness Sage's effect goes off. Doomcalibur Knight chains and destroys itself and Sage. Main Phase 2, Activate Amazoness Willpower to bring back Amazoness Archer. Activate its effect, tribute itself, and Amazoness Trainee to drop the opponent to 400. Activate Ancient Gear Cannon's effect, tributing itself to deal 500 damage for the win." said Lemon Zest. "Correct." said Cadence awarding the point to Crystal Prep. "And the pendulum swings back." spoke Sunset in a whisper. "Oh, boy..." responded Golden to his friend. The next was Number 2. This time it was Flash Sentry and Sandalwood taking on the team of Sugarcoat and Enix. Their puzzle was presented. Opponent's Life Points: 4500 Your Life Points: 100 Cards in your opponent's hand: None Cards in your hand: 1x Six Samurai United, 1x Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki, 1x Legendary Six Samurai - Mizuho, 1x Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan, 1x Double Summon, 1x Double Cyclone Cards in the opponent's deck (In order from top to bottom): None Cards in your deck (In order from top to bottom): 1x Six Samurai United, 1x Gateway of the Six, 1x Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, 1x The Six Samurai - Yariza, 1x Kagemusha of the Six Samurai Cards on the opponent's field: 1x Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon (Face-up attack position), 1x Aegis of Gaia (Face-up), 1x Miracle's Wake (Face-down), 1x Magic Cylinder (Face-down) Cards on your field: 1x Reinforce Truth (Face-down) Cards in your opponent's graveyard: 3x Blue-Eyes White Dragon, 3x Totem Dragon, 1x Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon Cards in your graveyard: None Your opponent's cards removed from play: None Your cards removed from play: None Your opponent's extra deck: None Your extra deck: 1x Trishula, 1x Magical Android, 1x Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En, 1x Stardust Dragon, 1x Red Dragon Archfiend, 1x Goyo Guardian, 1x Scrap Dragon, 1x Black Rose Dragon, 1x Naturia Barkion, 1x Naturia Landoise, 1x Naturia Beast, 1x Brionac, 1x Flamvell Uruquizas, 1x Iron Chain Dragon, 1x Ally of Justice Catastor Both teams were given the signal as they began to get to work. Soon Enix managed to finish the puzzle as Sugarcoat did the talking. "Activate Double Cyclone on Magic Cylinder and Reinforced Truth. Activate Six Samurai United. Normal Kageki, special Mizuho with Kageki's effect. Send United to draw United and Gateway. Activate United and Gateway. Special Kizan. Send United to draw Grandmaster. Special Grandmaster. Send 4 counters from Gateway to grab Kagemusha. Activate Double Summon. Normal Summon Kagemusha. Synchro Kagemusha, Kageki and Kizan for Trishula. Remove Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Attack with Trishula to drop the opponent to 1800. Attack with Grandmaster for the win." stated the girl bluntly. "Correct." said Luna giving Crystal Prep another point. Number 1 came up as it was Applejack and Pinkie taking on Royal Pin and Suri Polomare. Opponent's Life Points: 4100 Your Life Points: 1100 Cards in your opponent's hand: None Cards in your hand: 1x Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, 1x The Six Samurai - Zanji Cards in the opponent's deck (In order from top to bottom): 1x Glow-Up Bulb, 2x Dandylion Cards in your deck (In order from top to bottom): 1x Legendary Ebon Steed, 1x Smashing Ground, 1x The Six Samurai - Irou Cards on the opponent's field: 1x Spirit Reaper (face-up, defense position), 1x Ryko (Face-down defense position), 2x Mirror Force (Face-down) Cards on your field: 1x Six Samurai United (Face-up), 1x Seven Tools of the Bandit (Face-down), 1x Call of the Haunted (Face-down), 1x Raigeki Break (Face-down), 1x Jar of Greed (Face-down) Cards in your opponent's graveyard: None Cards in your graveyard: 1x The Six Samurai - Kamon, 1x The Six Samurai - Yariza Your opponent's cards removed from play: None Your cards removed from play: None Your opponent's extra deck: None Your extra deck: None It took a bit longer for both teams to figure this one out. Especially for Applejack as Pinkie's crazy attitude wasn't helping that much. The farm girl was starting to lose her mind as she was trying hard to figure out the puzzle. It wasn't until Pinkie mentioned a seven-layer cake that the country gal had a lightbulb go off. She looked at a card that she held that was named Seven Tools of the Bandit as the freckled-teen finally put it together. "Normal summon Zanji, Special summon Grandmaster. Send United to draw Steed and Smashing Ground. Activate Jar of Greed to draw Irou. Activate Rageki Break on one of the Mirror Forces, discarding Irou. Activate Smashing Ground on Spirit Reaper. Activate Steed on Zanji. Attack Ryko with Irou, auto-killing it with Irou's effect and negating Mirror Force with Seven Tools. Attack with Grandmaster and Zanji direct for the win." said Applejack. "Correct!" said Luna. Applejack was proud to have figured out a tough problem. Though she couldn't take all the credit as Pinkie gave her the help she needed. The pink girl hugged her friend tightly as she gave her a cupcake to celebrate. The next to be called to the stand was Number 4 as it meant that the team of Sunny Flare and Indigo Zap would take on the pair of Fluttershy and Rainbow. For the two athletic girls, they couldn't be more pleased to see their arch-rival across from them as they looked to settle the score. Soon Cadence approached the podium and gave them their puzzle to solve. Opponent's Life Points: 2300 Your Life Points: 1000 Cards in your opponent's hand: None Cards in your hand: 1x Remove Trap, 1x Axe of Despair, 1x Cost Down, 1x Shooting Star Bow-Ceal, 1x Bird King Alector, 1x Tribute to the Doomed. Cards in the opponent's deck: None Cards in your deck: None Cards on the opponent's field: 1x The Dark Door(face-up), 1x Green Gadget, 1x Yellow Gadget, 1x Red Gadget, 1x Ancient Gear Soldier, 1x Stronghold the Moving Fortress(face-up), Mirror Force(face-down) Cards on your field: Tragoedia Cards in your opponent's graveyard: None Cards in your graveyard: None Your opponent's cards removed from play: None Your cards removed from play: None "So, what do we do?" asked Fluttershy as she was hoping Rainbow could take the lead in guiding them. "This is easy!" said Rainbow as she grabbed the cards herself and began to play out her move as she for sure saw the win. "We've got a powerful monster on the field, and the Shooting Star Bow-Ceal equip spell in my hand, so this is a no-brainer! By equipping the enemy's Green Gadget with Shooting Star Bow-Ceal, I can take away 1000 attack points. Bam! Sure my monster will lose 600 points since there's one less card in my hand but it's still got enough attack to finish my opponent off. Ha! Told you it would be quick!" Rainbow had a confident smile on her face as she was proud of herself for figuring not only solving it but doing it faster than anybody else. "Error! Reveal face-down, Mirror Force!" said the A.I. as on the screen it reflected the attack from Rainbow's monster and destroyed it causing them to lose the duel. "Huh?" Rainbow was surprised that her plan failed. "That's what I was trying to tell you..." spoke Fluttershy softly as she tried to warn her friend. "Rainbow!" groaned Sunset and Golden as they face-palmed themselves as to how her attitude was only thinking about ending the puzzle the fastest that she didn't look at all the angles. "Well, that didn't work. Maybe you should—" said Fluttershy as she was going to suggest a different tactic. Rainbow was so pissed that she failed that she ignored what the shy girl was trying to say. "Alright, I'm done playing around! This time I'll increase my own power so that I can crush my opponent. I'll equip Tragoedia with the Axe of Despair! Now Tragoedia has 4000 attack points! Like before he'll lose 600 since there's one less card in my hand, but that spell card makes up for it by giving him an extra 1000 points. Then I'll have Tragoedia attack Green Gadget!" shouted Rainbow as she once again failed to listen to her partner. "But what about—" said Fluttershy. "Error! Reveal face-down, Mirror Force!" said the A.I. as it did the same thing from before. "Is she that stupid?" asked Sunset. "You really want the answer to that?" responded Applejack. "AHH!" said Rainbow as she was losing her mind. "Maybe—" said Fluttershy as soon a buzzer went off. "Done." said Sunny Flare as she did a hair flip. She and Indigo managed to successfully finish the puzzle despite the loud noises they got from the chromatic-haired girl. "Activate the Cost Down spell. Discard Remove Trap to lower Alector from 6 to 4. Activate Tragoedia's special ability; send Alector to the graveyard to gain control of Ancient Gear Soldier. Activate Tribute to the Doom by discarding Shooting Star Bow-Ceal to destroy Green Gadget to lower Stronghold's attack to 0. Equip Axe of Despair to Ancient Gear Soldier and attack Stronghold for the win." explained Indigo Zap while giving Rainbow a smug smile. "Correct." said Cadence. "Never mind." sighed Fluttershy as that was the exact plan she was going to try to tell Rainbow. Sunny Flare and Indigo gave a high five as Rainbow was now really pissed off at failing. The pair made it back to their seats as even though they didn't solve the puzzle correctly, their teammates still offered words of encouragement. "Why?!!" growled Rainbow. "'Cause you don't think before you act!" shouted Golden to his friend as he, along with Sunset and Applejack all glared at the athletic girl. "...I prefer to play as I go along." said Rainbow as she pouted. "Yeah, but here, you actually need to slow down and think about your every move twelve steps ahead!" said Sunset. "Seriously, have you learned nothing from our last duel?" Astral asked her. The girl was grumbling to herself as her friends kept running her down on how she acted. However, the final number was called as only two teams were left. From Crystal Prep, both Isaac and Twilight approached the podium as they were taking on the pair of Golden Flare and Sunset. Both sides essentially saved their best comp for the final puzzle as it was sure to be a doozy. "You nervous?" asked Sunset to her friend. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't." responded the boy to the girl. "Well, let's do this. As a team." said Sunset. "As a team." said Golden as Sunset held his hand to which then both stepped to the podium. "The final Duel Puzzle," said Cadence. "No doubt, it's probably the hardest." said Rarity to the girls in a whisper. "Then we're lucky that both Sunset and Golden were picked to be last. They're probably the best out of all of us." said Applejack. "Let's hope they can solve it. Seeing as how it's Twilight they're up against, not to mention that Golden said that Isaac has a strong Duelist spirit. I'm thinking this won't be a walk in the park." responded Fluttershy softly. "They're starting." said Pinkie pulling out some popcorn to chew on. "Here it is." said the Dean. Opponent's Life Points: 4700 Your Life Points: 100 Cards in your opponent's hand: 1x The Fabled Cerburrel Cards in your hand: 1x Fishborg Blaster, 2x Dark World Dealings, 1x Dimensional Fissure, 1x Space Mambo Cards in the opponent's deck (In order from top to bottom): 1x The Fabled Cerburrel, 1x Battle Fader Cards in your deck (In order from top to bottom): 1x Fishborg Blaster, 1x Dimensional Fissure, 1x Mobius the Frost Monarch, 1x Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder Cards on the opponent's field: 1x Dandylion (Face-up defense position), 1x Burden of the Mighty (Face-up), 1x Mirror Force (Face-down, 1x Negate Attack (Face-down) Cards on your field: 1x Divine Dragon Aquabizzare (Face-up attack position), 1x T.A.D.P.O.L.E (Face-up attack position), 1x Dark Mimic LV 1 (Face-down defense position), 2x Fish Depth Charge (Face-down), 1x Fairy Meteor Crush (Face-down), 1x Dimensional Fissure (Face-down) Cards in your opponent's graveyard: None Cards in your graveyard: None Your opponent's cards removed from play: None Your cards removed from play: None Your opponent's extra deck: None Your extra deck: 1x Stardust Dragon, 1x Flamvell Uruquizas Once they were given the signal, both teams stopped to think. Neither did anything the previous ones did as they were actually taking running through every possible card combination in their head and reading the effects of the cards, even the ones they knew by heart. Both sides watched as they waited to see, some even trying to figure it out themselves only to immediately fail. "Okay, I give up." said Rainbow in finality, once they finished presenting the problem, she just stopped listening. "Wouldn't be the first time you quit on a math problem," snickered AJ. "Repeat that, Applejack!" said Rainbow as she took offense to the comment made by her friend. "Quiet down!" said Luna as she shot a glare in the girl's direction. She gave a warning to the girl that unless she wanted to spend some time in detention, she would pipe down and not cause any issues for the teams trying to solve the problem. Rainbow smiled before sinking into her chair. She was red from embarrassment as the other girls couldn't help but chuckle. Back with the two teams, they were truly working their minds and knowledge when it came to Duel Monsters as they were trying to solve the puzzle. "What are you thinking, Sunset?" asked Golden. "I know the first step is to play Dark World Dealings to draw 1 card and discard Fishborg Blaster. That would cause our opponent to discard the Fabled Cerburrle which he can special upon discarding. Then discard the other Fishborg Blaster to get the one in the Graveyard onto the field." said the girl. "Correct, then we do this. Discard Space Mambo to special summon the Fishborg Blaster we sent to get the other back. Activate Dimensional Fissure. Then activate Fish Depth Charge, tributing a Fishborg Blaster, destroying Dandylion, and drawing Dimensional Fissure. Activate second Fish Depth Charge, tributing other Fishborg Blaster, destroying The Fabled Cerburrel, and drawing Mobius." said Golden Flare as he relayed the next part of their plan. "But's that only half the puzzle. Where do we go from there?" asked Sunset as both only made it this far and were thinking about what to do next. Golden then looked at the monster they had face-down. He flipped it up to see it was Dark Mimic LV1. "We don't happen to have Dark Mimic LV3, do we Sunset?" asked Golden. "Nope, neither in the deck or our hand. But it at least allows us to draw a card when it's flipped up," said the girl still thinking about the solution. "We would get Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. But he could be summoned by sacrificing three spell cards—" said Golden as he stopped himself. "Three...Spell cards..." said Sunset as she too noticed that small detail. Both pressed their faces together as they looked at the cards in their hands as the pieces began to fall in place. They saw the link that chained each of their moves as they saw the finish line. "That's it! All we need is—" said both in unison. "Finished." spoke Twilight as she and Isaac submitted their answer. It surprised both Sunset and Golden as they were just seconds away from locking in their answer and pushing the button. Soon the projection of the duel played out behind the adults as they waited to hear what the pair was going to say. "Isaac, care to explain?" said Twilight to her partner. "Sure," smiled the boy at his friend as he cleared his throat. "Activate Dark World Dealing, drawing, and discarding Fishborg Blaster. Opponent specials The Fabled Cerburrel. Discard Fishborg Blaster to special the other Fishborg Blaster from the grave. Discard Space Mambo to special summon Fishborg Blaster. Activate Dimensional Fissure. Activate Fish Depth Charge, tributing a Fishborg Blaster, destroying Dandylion, and drawing Dimensional Fissure. Activate second Fish Depth Charge, tributing other Fishborg Blaster, destroying The Fabled Cerburrel, and drawing Mobius. Flip Summon Dark Mimic Lv 1, drawing Hamon. Activate Face-Down Dimensional Fissure and Dimensional Fissure from hand. Tribute Dark Mimic LV 1 to Tribute Summon Mobius, destroying Mirror Force and Negate Attack. Send the three D. Fissures to special Hamon. Hamon, Mobius, and Divine Dragon Aquabizzare attack directly for the game." said Isaac as he finished explaining his and Twilight's answer. Everyone waited to see what the adults said as they were kept in suspense. "I'm sorry to say, but that is...correct!" said Cadence. "Crystal Prep is currently in the lead." stated the Dean as that final puzzle put CPA in a bit of lead in terms of points. "Yes!" said Isaac as he looked to give Twilight a high-five as she instead hugged her friend to which he accepted it. The students of Crystal Prep were relishing in their victory as, despite a rocky start, they managed to come back and steal the win in the first game of the event. Both Isaac and Twilight were making their way back to their seats when Cinch stopped in front of them. "Good work, you two. Very good work." said the woman with a smile. Isaac merely had Twilight stay behind him as they passed the woman and returned to their seats. He kept a scowl on his face while staring down the woman as Twilight just looked away. Sunset and Golden made it back to their seats as they were being applauded by their classmates for putting up a tough fight against two of Crystal Prep's very best and almost beating them. "That was awesome!" said Rainbow giving both of her friends' pats on the back. "Truly amazing!" said Rarity. "But we didn't win!" said Sunset. "True, but that was as close to winnin' as Canterlot's ever been." said Applejack. "AJ's right. Besides this was only the first round in the first event. We still got plenty more chances to catch up." stated Astral as he put his hand on Golden's shoulder. "I guess you're right. Still...if we had just been a little faster...we would have had it." stated Golden. "Sometimes you win some and sometimes you just miss it. Nothing to be ashamed of, darling." spoke Rarity. "Come on! We still got more rounds to win!" said Pinkie as she pulled the string of her confetti cannon as it shot out the pieces. From there, the rest of the rounds flew by. The students were pushed to their limits as in each new round, they were given points that would be calculated at the end of the first event. The top six from each team would compete in the next round. Till then, everyone was doing their best to make sure they got the spot to advance to the next part of the Friendship Games. Hours passed and both teams of warriors weren't backing done. Some excelled in certain areas more than others, but soon the dust was starting to settle. For the final round, everyone had gathered in the field behind CHS as all twelve duelists were being pitted against each other in exhibition duels. These would serve as the final indicators of who would pass to the next round. The pair-ups for these duels were revealed. The first duel pitted Rainbow going up against Royal Pin as the chromatic girl zoomed past her opponent in record time. Sunny Flare took on Lyra as the rich snooty girl had no trouble getting past her. Enix defeated Flash Sentry without so much as breaking a sweat. Applejack managed to beat Jet Set as the girl showed just how tough she was. Suri fell to Sunset, Sugarcoat was bested by Astral Flare, Sour Sweet dethroned Bon Bon, Lemon Zest defeated Fluttershy in a surprisingly close match, Twilight picked up a decisive win over Sandalwood, and Pinkie managed to defeat Indigo Zap, but the latter was able to make the former work for her victory. Now only two duels remained before the first event official ended. It was Golden Flare taking on Upper Crust while Isaac would take on Rarity. Golden was with his comrades as he was going off the contents of his deck one final time and made any last-minute changes. Soon he was called as he got up and made his way to the field. His whole team cheered him on as he got on and faced Upper Crust who was staring the boy down. "Good luck." said Golden Flare as he put his hand out for Upper Crust to shake. "Please." scoffed the girl as she just ignored the boy's offer and made her way to her side of the field. Golden blinked and he turned and made it to his side, uttering, "Well, that was rude." "Let the duel...begin!" instructed Luna. Upper Crust activated her Duel Disk as a pale purple card tray projected. Golden pulled out his D-Pad as both Duelists put on their Duel Gazers. "Augmented Reality Vision Link Established." said the A.I. "Let's duel!" shouted Upper Crust and Golden Flare in unison. Upper Crust: 8,000 LP Golden Flare: 8,000 LP Turn 1: Golden Flare - Hand: 5 "I'll start," said Golden as he drew his card and looked at his hand. "And I'll start with my trusty bud, NumberMan.EXE (900/900) in attack mode." A humanoid robot with a blinking light bulb for a head appeared on the field, "Then I'll activate its ability, once per turn, I can roll a die and whatever number it lands on, you take 100 points of damage multiplied by that number. Go, Doom Dice!" stated Golden Flare as a die appeared in front of him. The die was tossed as it landed on a six. "Nice! Say goodbye to 600 of your life points!" the die let loose a massive explosion in Upper Crust's general area, creating a simulated dust cloud as her life points began to drop (Upper Crust: 8,000 - 600 = 7,400 LP). "He's got unique cards." said Isaac as he and Twilight were watching Golden. "Never seen cards like that. I wonder where he got them, and what other surprises they have in store." said Twilight as she pulled out a notepad and was taking some notes on Golden and his cards. "I'll end my turn with one face-down." Turn 2: Upper Crust - Hand: 5 "My turn," stated the girl as she drew her card. "To start—" "Hold it, I'm activating my NumberMan's ability again!" smiled Golden. "What?!" screamed Upper Crust. "Oh yeah, I can activate his ability during either player's turn, did I forget to mention that? Now, Doom Dice!" smirked the boy as another die appeared. It was tossed as another six was shown. "Two 6's in a row. Send me to Las Pegasus, I'm hitting the jackpot!" smiled Golden as he was feeling lucky while the die let out a massive explosion (Upper Crust: 7,400 - 600 = 6,800 LP). "You're pissing me off!" growled Upper Crust. "So...he can activate his monster's effect during any player's turn? Fascinating." said Twilight as she made a mental note of that while Isaac kept on watching. "Now then, I play Fluffal Owl (1000/1000)! Then by summoning Fluffal Owl, I can add 'Polymerization' to my hand," said Upper Crust as her Duel Disk ejected the card for her to grab. "Next, I'll play Polymerization so that I can combine my Fluffal Octopus with my Edge Imp Chain in my hand!" shouted the girl as she held her cards up high as the spirits of them appeared before entering a swirling portal. Fluffal Octopus Attribute: WATER Level: 1 Type: Fairy/Effect ATK: 800 DEF: 800 Effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 "Fluffal" or "Edge Imp" monster in your Graveyard; add it to your hand. If this card is sent to the Graveyard as a Fusion Material for a Fusion Summon of a "Frightfur" Fusion Monster: You can target up to 2 of your banished monsters; return them to the Graveyard. You can only use each effect of "Fluffal Octopus" once per turn. Edge Imp Chain Attribute: DARK Level: 4 Type: Fiend/Effect ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 Effect: When this card declares an attack: You can add 1 "Edge Imp Chain" from your Deck to your hand. If this card is sent from the hand or field to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Frightfur" card from your Deck to your hand. You can only use 1 "Edge Imp Chain" effect per turn, and only once that turn. "Blades of steel and monster of the deep! When you two come together, your heart will skip a beat! I Fusion Summon! Hold on to your pirate hat, 'cause you're about to face a seafarer's worst nightmare! It's Frightfur Kraken!" A tidal wave washed over the field as standing behind Upper Crust was a Kraken as its tentacles were sharp blades that looked to slice its enemy to bits. Frightfur Kraken Attribute: WATER Level: 8 Type: Fiend/Fusion/Effect ATK: 2200 DEF: 3000 Effect: 1 "Edge Imp" monster + 1 "Fluffal" monster Once per turn: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; send it to the Graveyard. This card cannot attack directly the turn this effect is activated. This card can make a second attack during each Battle Phase. Once per turn, at the end of the Battle Phase, if this card battled: You can change this card to Defense Position. "Hey, any of you girls know what kinds of deck Upper Crust is playing?" asked Sunset to the group. They all shook their heads as they had never seen this archetype. "Now Frightfur Kraken, attack his monster!" ordered the girl to her sea creature. "I thought Crystal Prep students were better than this. You're making a rookie error, 'cause I still got my facedown. Reveal, Battle Chip - FullCust! With this card, since I control an '.EXE' monster, I can end your turn altogether!" stated Golden Flare as Upper Crust's monster stopped dead in its tracks. "I'm starting to really hate you!" growled Upper Crust. "Oh come on, I'm a good person once you get to know me." said Golden as he continued to have fun with his opponent. "Just take your turn!" Turn 3: Golden Flare - Hand: 4 "Alright then," said the boy as he drew his card. "Time to show you why my monsters are unique. 'Cause NumberMan.EXE has a special power. Once during my Standby Phase, I can add a 'Battle Chip' Equip Spell card to my hand. And I'll choose this one, BattleChip - HeroSwrd!" Golden's Duel Pad then ejected his card as it then shuffled his deck. "So, as long as his monsters stay on the field, each turn he can power them up for free. Impressive." said Isaac as he was starting to see how Golden's deck functioned. "Just what kind of cards does he have?" said Twilight as she was learning more and more about the boy's deck. "By equipping this new Spell onto my monster, it gains 2,000 extra Attack Points, and it can inflict piercing damage!" A shining and grand sword appeared before the humanoid monster as he grabbed it and felt the power surge through it (NumberMan.EXE: ATK 900 + 2000 = 2900). "But first, I'm gonna activate my monster's other ability! Doom Dice!" A die appeared once more, this time it landed on a four, giving Upper Crust an explosion that's a little more tame than the last couple (Upper Crust: 6,800 - 400 = 6,400 LP). "He's making a mockery of me!" growled Upper Crust as she was getting outplayed and outdueled by a student of CHS. "What'd I tell you? Golden is one of the best duelists this school's got. Ain't no way he gonna lose or he's gonna be outshined by anybody else." said Rainbow with cockiness. "Let's hope so." muttered Sunset to herself as she kept on looking at Twilight and Isaac. The girl sensed powerful energy coming from the pair. "Now, NumberMan, attack her Kraken! Time to make sushi out of that monstrosity!" commanded Golden as his monster leaped into the air and brought the sword down on the sea creature as it exploded (Upper Crust: 6,400 - 700 = 5,700 LP). "I'll then end my turn with a face-down." Turn 4: Upper Crust - Hand: 2 "My turn, I play the Spell Card, Suture Rebirth." Suture Rebirth Normal Spell Card Effect: Target 1 "Fluffal" or "Frightfur" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it, but its effects are negated. You can only activate 1 "Suture Rebirth" per turn. "With this, I can bring back my Frightfur Kraken, but its special abilities are negated! So rise from the depths of the sea, my creature!" stated Upper Crust as another tidal wave appeared as soon her monster was back. "Then I'll activate the ability of my Fluffal Owl, by paying 500 life points, I can Fusion Summon monsters on my field without Polymerization!" said the girl as both her owl and Kraken turned into lights as they entered another swirling portal (Upper Crust: 5,700 - 500 = 5,200 LP). "Here's the wild, wicked cat that's all paws, claws, and jaws! I Fusion Summon! Frightfur Sabre-Tooth!" A demonic plushie cat appeared as it was pretty big and had sharp jaws hanging off its mouth and growled. Frightfur Sabre-Tooth Attribute: DARK Level: 8 Type: Fiend/Fusion/Effect ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000 Effect: 1 "Frightfur" Fusion Monster + 1+ "Fluffal" and/or "Edge Imp" monsters When this card is Fusion Summoned: You can target 1 "Frightfur" monster in your GY; Special Summon it. All "Frightfur" monsters you control gain 400 ATK. If this card was Fusion Summoned using 3 or more Fusion Materials, it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. "Only 2,400 Attack Points? No sweat." said Rainbow. "You forget, it must have a powerful ability, darling." stated Rarity. "Now when my monster is Fusion Summoned, I can target 1 'Frightfur' monster in my Graveyard and then Special Summon it. And my Saber-Tooth gives all my 'Frightfur' monsters an extra 400 Attack Points," smirked Upper Crust as her Kraken was back in play as both her Fusion Monsters powered up (Frightfur Sabre-Tooth: ATK 2400 + 400 = 2800) (Frightfur Kraken: ATK 2200 + 400 = 2600). "You were saying, Dash?" said AJ. "Well, neither of them have enough Attack Points to take down Golden's monster anyway." stated Rainbow. "When will you learn?" asked Astral Flare. "I'm activating my NumberMan's ability, you know the drill, or should I say Doom Dice!" said Golden as another die appeared. The number that it landed on was a three and it exploded again, this time a slightly smaller one (Upper Crust: 5,200 - 300 = 4,900 LP). "Like that matters, cause now I'll activate my Kraken's ability. Once per turn, I can send one card you control to the Graveyard. So your pesky monster is finally gone!" stated Upper Crust as she was happy to see the source of her pain disappear. "Now, Frightfur Saber-Tooth, attack him directly!" commanded the girl. Her monster heard its orders as it charged forward and looked to take a bite out of the boy's Life Points. It leapt into the air as Golden just barely rolled out of the way as a scuff appeared on his arm. He dusted it off as it began to fade (Golden Flare: 8,000 - 2,800 = 5,200 LP). "Ooh, in just one move, Upper Crust has nearly tied it up." said Fluttershy. "Well, he still has a chance." said Pinkie as she was wearing a cheerleader outfit and had pom-poms in her hands. "I'll then end my turn by playing the spell card, Frightfur Patchwork." Frightfur Patchwork Normal Spell Card Effect: Add 1 "Edge Imp" monster and 1 "Polymerization" from your Deck to your hand. You can only activate 1 "Frightfur Patchwork" per turn. "Now I can add 1 'Edge Imp' monster and 'Polymerization' from my Deck to my hand." stated Upper Crust as she selected the monster she wanted. Both cards slid out for her to grab as she ended her turn. Turn 5: Golden Flare - Hand: 4 "My turn," said the boy as he drew his card and looked at his hand. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Double Summon. So now I can summon two monsters this turn. So I'm summoning out another NumberMan.EXE and joining him is his buddy, MegaMan.EXE (1900/1500)!" A blue and yellow armored man with a strange symbol on his chest made his appearance on the field, sporting a blaster where one of his hands should be, "Now, time I bust out one of my best monsters!" "One of his best monsters?" said Fluttershy. "I think I have a clue on which one it is..." hinted Sunset. "By returning both monsters to my deck, I can be able to conduct a Fusion Summoning without Polymerization! Go, MegaMan.EXE and NumberMan.EXE, Double Soul Fusion!" The two aforementioned monsters leaped into the air and swirled into a combining vortex before reappearing as a merged version of them in one being. "With the warrior of blue and machine of numbers, I bring forth a warrior that can solve the most difficult calculations! I Fusion Summon, MegaMan.EXE - Number Soul (2000/2400)!" "What?! You Fusion Summoned without Polymerization?!!" said Upper Crust as she was stunned to see that given what she learned in her Fusion classes. "Double Soul Fusion?" said Twilight. "My guess is it works like Contact Fusion. Remember reading about it. Essentially you can fuse by sending the monsters required back to your deck." said Isaac as he too was impressed by Golden's skills. "One thing is for sure, this kid is something else." spoke Twilight making more notes on Golden. "Now, I'll equip my new monster with this, Battle Chip - BambSwrd! Now my monster gains 1,400 extra attack points and it can attack three times this round!" said Golden as Upper Crust sweated from hearing that. With the power surging through it, Golden's monster took to battle as it leaped into the air and a greenish-yellow laser blade was shown (MegaMan.EXE - Number Soul: ATK 2000 + 1400 = 3400). It came down on both monsters as they were destroyed (Upper Crust: 4,900 - 600 - 800 = 3,500 LP). "And the last attack is going right at your life points!" stated Golden as his monster did its final triple attack at the girl who was knocked on her back (Upper Crust: 3,500 - 3,400 = 100 LP). "It's over." said the boy. "I...still have...100 life points." said Upper Crust as she sat up. "Which is why it pains me to do this. Especially to a girl, but...I activate my monster's special ability. I can roll a die three times this round and whatever number it lands on, you take that amount of damage by 100." "No." gasped the girl. "Sorry, but, you know, not really. Go, Triple Doom Dice!" smiled Golden as all three dies landed on one for a triple pair of snake eyes. They each let loose a relatively small explosion as they drained the last bit of Upper Crust's points (Upper Crust: 100 - 300 = 0 LP). WINNER: Golden Flare "The winner of this duel is...Canterlot High's Golden Flare!" announced Luna. The sea of students of CHS was cheering at the top of their lungs. Golden simply waved as he made his way toward his teammates. They all cheered and gave him pats on the back. The girls smiled at what their friend did with Sunset hugging him. "As I said, no one can defeat you." smiled the bacon-haired girl. Back with Team CPA, Cinch was reprimanding her own student for failing what was supposed to be an easy match, and none of the others were doing anything to stop their principal. "What a horrible display of skill." growled Principal Cinch to Upper Crust as the rest of her classmates, aside from Twilight, Isaac, and her boyfriend scowled. She hung her head in shame as Cinch began to think as she looked over to the last remaining member of their team who was about to duel. That impudent boy seems to be more clever than I originally thought. He could definitely pose a threat...but not against who I have in store for him. The woman approached the boy as the two stared at one another. She soon smiled as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know you won't fail me. Show Canterlot High just who you are and the power that you hold. Show them what a top Duelist can really do." smiled the woman. Isaac merely shrugged Cinch's hand from his shoulder. He kept his defiant scowl as he began to head toward the field. He stopped a moment to pull out his deck from his belt and looked at it. Isaac took a deep breath before he began to speak as he was talking with his cards. "Alright, Rares. You're up. Good luck." said Applejack as they knew their friend was going to have a tough challenge. "Darlings, a lady is always prepared. Now watch, as not only can you be dominant on the field, but stylish as well," giggled the fashionista before heading out. "You guys with me?" spoke Isaac to his allies as they all nodded to their master to show their undying loyalty. "Thanks." "Daring, forgive my intrusion. But are you...talking to your cards?" asked Rarity to the teen. "Yeah, of course. They're my friends. They've been with me since the beginning. Don't you do the same?" asked Isaac. "No. I...I've never done that." said the girl. "Well, give it a try. You might be surprised to learn what your monsters think of you." smiled Isaac. "Perhaps I will. By the way, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Rarity Belle." "Nice to meet you, Rarity. I'm Isaac. I'll say this, you're very beautiful." stated the teen as he stuck his hand out for the girl as they shook. "Quite the charmer, well good luck." "You too." With the show of respect traded, both teens made it to their side of the field. Cadence then stood up and raised her hand to signal the duelists. Isaac activated his Duel Disk as a golden card tray was projected with Rarity pulling out her D-Pad as it transformed into her Duel Disk. Both put on their Duel Gazers. "Augmented Reality Vision Link established." said the A.I. as the whole field around them changed. "Hope you're ready, Rarity. 'Cause it's time to duel!" shouted Isaac with confidence in his voice. "Ooh, anybody else get chills down their spine when Isaac said that?" asked Astral Flare. "I know I did. Hearing that makes me feel...more confident," said Fluttershy as hearing the boy make that proclamation sounded kinda cool and intimidating in a way. Rarity: 8000 LP Isaac: 8000 LP "Ladies first." said Isaac as he was allowing Rarity to make the first move. Turn 1: Rarity - Hand: 5 "Such a gentleman," flirted Rarity giving a wink to her opponent. "Very well then, I draw! To start, I'll summon my Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise in defense mode!" A tortoise with green gemstones in its shell appeared as he was hidden inside. Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise Attribute: WATER Level: 3 Type: Aqua/Effect ATK: 600 DEF: 2000 Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster you control that attacked this turn; change that target to Defense Position. If this face-up card is destroyed in a Monster Zone, you can place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, instead of sending it to the GY. "Then I'll play this nifty Spell, my Crystal Bond." Crystal Bond Normal Spell Card Effect: Add 1 "Crystal Beast" monster from your Deck to your hand, and place 1 "Crystal Beast" monster with a different name from your Deck face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. You can only activate 1 "Crystal Bond" per turn. Now I can add 1 'Crystal Beast' from my deck to my hand and place another in my Spell and Trap card zone. So I'll choose to add my Topaz Tiger to my hand while placing my cute Ruby in my back row." Rarity's Duel Pad ejected her two cards as she place the latter face-down on her Duel Pad. On her field, a red stone was produced. Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger Attribute: EARTH Level: 4 Type: Beast/Effect ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 Effect: If this card attacks an opponent's monster, it gains 400 ATK during the Damage Step only. If this face-up card is destroyed in a Monster Zone, you can place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, instead of sending it to the GY. Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle Attribute: LIGHT Level: 3 Type: Fairy/Effect ATK: 300 DEF: 300 Effect: When this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon as many "Crystal Beast" Monster Cards as possible from your Spell & Trap Zones. If this face-up card is destroyed in a Monster Zone, you can place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, instead of sending it to the GY. "I'll then place one card face-down and end my turn. Now then, Isaac darling, care to show a lady some fun on this date?" flirted Rarity. Turn 2: Isaac - Hand: 5 "With pleasure," smiled the boy as he drew his card, "To start, I'll summon Imperial Bower." Out came a set of knights as they stood side by side as each one was a different color. Imperial Bower Attribute: LIGHT Level: 4 Type: Warrior/Effect ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 Effect: If you control no other monsters: You can Tribute this card; take 2 different monsters from your Deck among "Queen's Knight", "King's Knight", and/or "Jack's Knight", and either add to your hand or Special Summon each monster. You can only use this effect of "Imperial Bower" once per turn. "Then I activate their ability, see if I control no other monsters, I can tribute these guys to take 2 of my Royal Knights from my deck. Then I can either add them to my hand or summon them to the field, so I choose to bring out my Queen's Knight and King's Knight. And then because of my King's Knight's ability, I can summon Jack's Knight from my deck!" All at once, Isaac now had his three royal knights on the field as they all put their swords together. Queen's Knight Attribute: LIGHT Level: 4 Type: Warrior/Normal ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600 Description: This knight catches her opponents off guard, dominating them with swift yet graceful attacks. King's Knight Attribute: LIGHT Level: 4 Type: Warrior/Effect ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned while you control "Queen's Knight": You can Special Summon 1 "Jack's Knight" from your Deck. Jack's Knight Attribute: LIGHT Level: 5 Type: Warrior/Normal ATK: 1900 DEF: 1000 Description: A strong master swordsman. His loyalty is to justice, his duty to protect the weak. "Three monsters in one turn?!" said Rainbow. "Okay, didn't expect that from the kid," said AJ as she too was stunned. "My, my...three knights and all because of a single monster." said Rarity as she was impressed by what Isaac did in his opening play. "Huh, here I thought the kid didn't have that kind of skill." said Indigo as the rest of the Shadowbolts were starting to pay attention to Isaac. "What else has he been hiding from us?" spoke Sugarcoat. "I end my turn with a face-down! Your move, Rarity." said Isaac. "Huh? He does all that and doesn't attack? Perhaps the kid really isn't that good. Right, Principal Cinch?" said Sour Sweet to the woman. "You're all incompetent!" said the woman as the students had stunned looks on their faces at hearing Cinch insult them. "Watch, and you might learn a thing or two from Isaac." Turn 3: Rarity - Hand: 3 "My turn," said Rarity as he drew her card and began her plan of attack, "I summon my Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger (1600/1000)!" A white tiger with a horn and a collar studded with yellow gems appeared. "Now Topaz, attack his Jack's Knight, and my tiger has a special ability, whenever it attacks a monster it gains 400 extra Attack Points. Go Topaz Incisor Shred!" shouted the girl as her cat then raced forward with all of its strength as it then leaped up and took out Isaac's monster. The boy didn't flinch as he stood there (Isaac: 8,000 - 100 = 7,900 LP). "I was hoping you'd do that. Reveal face-down! Court of Cards!" shouted Isaac as his trap flipped up with a bright light. Court of Cards Continuous Trap Card Effect: If you control no monsters, or only control "Queen's Knight", "King's Knight", and/or "Jack's Knight": You can Special Summon 1 "Queen's Knight", "King's Knight", or "Jack's Knight" from your hand or GY. You can banish up to 1 each "Queen's Knight", "King's Knight", and/or "Jack's Knight" from your hand and/or GY; draw the same number of cards you banished. You can only use 1 "Court of Cards" effect per turn, and only once that turn. "Now since the only monsters I currently control are my Royal Knights, I can revive any of them if they're in my Graveyard, so my Jack's Knight rises once more." said Isaac as his knight was back in play. "So not only did he plan for Rarity's attack, but he refilled his field with just a single trap and only took 100 points of damage?" said Pinkie as she and everybody were stunned by the move and tactical strategy that Isaac displayed. "For you see, you imbeciles, Isaac thought twelve steps ahead and now has the advantage for his next turn. No doubt, neither of you would have done the same," said Principal Cinch as she ran down her students once more for their short-sightedness. "Take notes on what a real duelist can do when he commands the field. You'll be lucky if you get even a hint of his skill." "Impressive, well then, I end my turn." said Rarity. Turn 4: Isaac - Hand: 4 "My turn, I draw! And now I'll sacrifice my Queen's Knight so that I can special summon my Arcana Triumph Joker!" said Isaac as his female knight disappeared and was replaced by a more powerful one. Arcana Triumph Joker Attribute: LIGHT Level: 10 Type: Warrior/Effect ATK: ? DEF: 2500 Effect: If this card is in your hand or GY: You can send 1 "Queen's Knight", "King's Knight", and "Jack's Knight" from your hand and/or face-up Monster Zone to the GY; Special Summon this card. This card gains 500 ATK x the combined number of cards in both players' hands. You can discard 1 card; destroy all face-up cards your opponent controls with the same type (Monster, Spell, or Trap) as the discarded card. "No Attack Points?" asked Rarity as her Duel Pad didn't register the attack of Isaac's newest knight. "Let me explain, my monster has a unique special ability. Her Attack Points are determined based on the number of total cards in our hands by 500. I'm currently holding 4, and you're holding 3, so that means she has 3,500 Attack Points." stated Isaac as his female knight powered up (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK: ? + 3500 = 3500). "What the hell?!!!" shouted Rainbow as she was stunned on hearing how Isaac's monster worked. "Alright, I'll admit it, I'm impressed." smirked Golden as he was starting to enjoy seeing how Isaac dueled. "Now to attack, Arcana Triumph Joker, attack Rarity's Topaz Tiger!" instructed the boy as his knight nodded her head and leaped forward. "I reveal my face-down, Last Resort!" Last Resort Normal Trap Card Effect: Activate only when your opponent's monster declares an attack. You can select 1 "Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins" from your Deck and activate it. If your opponent had an active Field Spell Card when this card was activated, they can draw 1 card. "When you declare an attack, I can now activate one Field Spell from my deck. And so get ready because I play Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins!" shouted Rarity as the field around them as the pair found themselves in a rundown Coliseum arena. Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins Field Spell Card Effect: You must have this many "Crystal Beast" cards in your Spell & Trap Zone to activate and to resolve these effects. ●1+: This card cannot be destroyed by card effects. ●2+: Once per turn (including the opponent's) you can halve the battle damage you take. ●3+: When a Spell/Trap Card is activated: You can send 1 "Crystal Beast" monster you control to the GY; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it. ●4+: Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can draw 1 card. ●5: Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can target 1 "Crystal Beast" card in your Spell & Trap Zone; Special Summon that target. "Not bad, but either way, your Topaz Tiger is getting destroyed!" stated Isaac as his female knight brought her sword down and took out the striped feline (Rarity: 8,000 - 1,900 = 6,100 LP). "Now, instead of sending my monster to the Graveyard, I can place it in my Spell and Trap card zone." A yellow gem then appeared in Rarity's back row. "I'll end my turn." said Isaac. Turn 5: Rarity - Hand: 3 "My draw!" said Rarity. "And that means another card in your hand, so my knight gets stronger." stated Isaac as his knight now had 4,000 Attack Points (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK 3500 + 500 = 4000). "So basically it gets stronger the more cards in your hand?!" said Pinkie. "And based on Rarity's deck, she likes to have cards in her hand for many options. This might be difficult for her." said Sunset. "I play Crystal Beacon!" Rarity declared. Crystal Beacon Normal Spell Card Effect: Special Summon 1 "Crystal Beast" monster from your Deck. You must have 2 or more "Crystal Beast" cards in your Spell & Trap Zone to activate and to resolve this effect. "Since I have 2 'Crystal Beasts' in my Spell and Trap card zone, I can Special Summon another beast from my deck! I choose my Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth!" An orange gem appeared as it cracked open. From the orange gem came a large mammoth, a circular amber stone on a crest on its forehead. Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth Attribute: EARTH Level: 4 Type: Beast/Effect ATK: 1700 DEF: 1600 Effect: When another "Crystal Beast" monster you control is targeted for an attack: You can change the attack target to this card. If this face-up card is destroyed in a Monster Zone, you can place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, instead of sending it to the GY. "Then I'll play my Crystal Release and equip it to my mammoth." Crystal Release Equip Spell Card Effect: Equip only to a "Crystal Beast" monster. It gains 800 ATK. When this card is sent from the field to the GY: You can place 1 "Crystal Beast" monster from your Deck face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. "Now he gains 800 more Attack Points, and with two cards less in my hand, your Joker gets weaker by 1,000 attack points!" said Rarity as the former monster's power increased and the latter monster's strength decreased (Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth: ATK 1700 + 800 = 2500) (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK 4000 - 1000 = 3000). "Now Amber Mammoth, attack his King's Knight!" The pachyderm obeyed the command of its mistress as it charged forward and crushed the knight under its gigantic foot (Isaac: 7,900 - 900 = 7,000 LP). "Now I activate the effect of my Emerald Tortoise. Since my Mammoth attacked this turn, I can shift it into defense mode. I then end my turn," said Rarity. Turn 6: Isaac - Hand: 4 "My draw, and once more, my monster gets stronger," said Isaac as his knight powered up (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK 3000 + 500 = 3500), "Next, I'll activate the other effect of my Court of Cards. I can banish my Queen's and King's Knight from my Graveyard and in exchange, I can draw up to the same number of cards that I banished. So I'm drawing two more!" stated Isaac as he picked up more cards to power his Arcana Triumph Joker (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK 3500 + 1000 = 4500). "It now has 4,500 Attack Points!" said Fluttershy as she was scared. "Next, I'll play Emergency Provisions." Emergency Provisions Quick-Play Spell Card Effect: Send any number of other Spell/Trap Cards you control to the Graveyard; gain 1000 LP for each card sent to the Graveyard this way. "So by destroying my Court of Cards, I gain 1,000 Life Points!" said Isaac as he got rid of his trap and his Life Points were back to their original total (Isaac: 7,000 + 1,000 = 8,000 LP), not only that, but using the Spell diminished his monster's power again (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK 4500 - 500 = 4000). "Next, I'll activate the effect of my Arcana Triumph Joker. By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy all the face-up cards on your side of the field that match that same type. So I'm discarding my Electromagnetic Turtle so that I can clear your field of both your Crystal Beasts!" said Isaac. His knight then raised her sword as it did a slash attack that destroyed Rarity's monsters as the girl was defenseless and his monster became even weaker but still pretty strong currently (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK 4000 - 500 = 3500). "Since my Mammoth had Crystal Release equipped, I can place one 'Crystal Beast' in my Spell and Trap card zone. So I choose my Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat!" said Rarity as now her entire back row was filled. Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat Attribute: EARTH Level: 3 Type: Beast/Effect ATK: 1200 DEF: 400 Effect: This card can attack your opponent directly, but when it uses this effect, any battle damage it inflicts to your opponent is halved. If this face-up card is destroyed in a Monster Zone, you can place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, instead of sending it to the GY. "True, but now you don't have room to play any Spells or Traps. Not to mention that my monster has a total of 3,500 Attack Points." stated Isaac. "So he was able to replenish his Life Points, clear out Rarity's field, and can launch two assaults on her?" said Rainbow as she was once again stunned by what Isaac did. "This kid really has skill." said Astral Flare as he was enjoying what they were seeing. "Excellent, Isaac. Show no mercy. Show CHS what awaits them." smiled Cinch as the boy was doing a phenomenal job in control the pace of the entire duel. Even the rest of the Shadowbolts were in awe at what their teammate was doing. "Now, Arcana Triumph Joker, attack Rarity directly!" commanded the boy. "I'm not the defenseless maiden you think I am. Thanks to my Field Spell, since I have at least 2 'Crystal Beasts' in my Spell and Trap card zone. Once per turn, I can cut the battle damage I take in half!" stated the girl as she put her Duel Pad up to block the sword coming down on her (Rarity: 6,100 - 1,750 = 4,350 LP). "Not bad, but let's see you dodge attack #2!" said Isaac as he gave his Jack's Knight its orders. Rarity saw the attack coming as she closed her eyes and prepared to be struck. A few seconds passed as nothing happened. The fashionista opened her eyes as she saw the monster in front of her. The Knight simply touched her shirt with its sword as it counted for its attack. He then bowed to show the girl respect before leaping back to its master's side (Rarity: 4,350 - 1,900 = 2,450 LP). "Even my monsters know not to strike a lady." smiled Isaac. "Well, thank you." smiled Rarity. "I end my turn." Turn 7: Rarity - Hand: 2 "My draw." declared Rarity as once again Isaac's monster got stronger (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK 3500 + 500 = 4000). "Come on, Rares. Do something, or else this is all over next turn." said Rainbow. "But what can she do? Her entire back row is full." stated Pinkie. "I'll start by activating one of my Field Spell's abilities. Since I have four 'Crystal Beasts', I can draw one extra card (Arcana Triumph Joker: ATK 4000 + 500 = 4500). Then since I have five, I can Special Summon one of my Crystal Beasts from my Spell and Trap card zone. So I choose my Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300) in defense mode!" Within the rays of light appeared a small purple quadruple with large red eyes and a round red gem on its tail. It jumped down in front of Rarity and mewled. "When Ruby is Special Summoned, I can release the rest of my crystalized Crystal Beasts. So I release you all!" shouted Rarity. Ruby Carbuncle held up its tail and cried. The gemstone on its tail lit up red and shot beams of energy into the gems behind it. Soon the rest of Rarity's monsters appeared; Topaz Tiger (1600/1000), Amethyst Cat (1200/400), Emerald Tortoise (600/2000), and Amber Mammoth (1700/1600). "Now that my back row is cleared, I'm allowed to play all the Spells and Traps I want. But first, it is time to deal some damage. I'll have my Topaz Tiger attack your Jack's Knight and remember when it battles a monster it gains 400 Attack Points." said Rarity as her tiger (Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger: ATK 1600 + 400 = 2000) leaped and pounced on Isaac's male knight (Isaac: 8,000 - 100 = 7,900 LP). "Next, I'll activate my Amethyst Cat's ability. By cutting her Attack Points in half, she can attack you directly!" stated Rarity as her cat raced toward Isaac as she thought he was a piece of meat (Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat: ATK 1,200 ÷ 2 = 600). It leaped into the air as the boy put his duel disk up to stop the cat from bearing its fangs into him (Isaac: 7,900 - 600 = 7300 LP). Rarity's cat then let go and returned to her mistress as she petted her feline (Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat: ATK 600 x 2 = 1,200). "Now, the effect of my Tortoise means I can switch my Mammoth to defense mode. And lastly, I'll end my turn with one card face-down." Turn 8: Isaac - Hand: 5 "My draw, and now, Arcana Triumph Joker attack her Amber Mammoth!" said Isaac as his monster sliced the huge animal to gem dust. The gem then reformed in one of Rarity's slots in her back row. "Now that I have a Crystal Beast in my Spell and Trap zone, I can activate this! Crystal Raigeki!" Crystal Raigeki Normal Trap Card Effect: Send 1 "Crystal Beast" card from your Spell & Trap Zone to the GY, then target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy that target. "So by sending my Mammoth to the Graveyard, I can destroy one card my opponent controls. So time for the pesky, overpowered monster to leave!" stated Rarity as she finally got rid of Isaac's powerful monster. However, it took so many of her cards just to destroy it and the boy still had a massive lead in terms of Life Points. "Not bad, in that case, I'll end my turn." smiled Isaac calmly as he was wide open. "He's not gonna play any cards face-down?" asked Fluttershy. "He doesn't have to." spoke Golden as he knew what Isaac was doing. "So, why did Isaac not play anything after his monster was destroyed?" asked Lemon Zest to Principal Cinch. "Shows you weren't paying attention! None of you were!" said Cinch to her students as they all put their heads down. Well, apart from Twilight as she knew what her friend was doing. Turn 9: Rarity - Hand: 1 "My turn, I draw, and now that you are wide open, it is time for an all-out attack. Topaz Tiger, take a bite out of him!" declared Rarity. The striped cat raced forward as it had its prey in its sights. The feline leaped into the air as it looked to pounce on the boy. The scene focused on Isaac's mouth as it produced a small smile. At that moment, a wall of electricity was formed. It paralyzed Rarity's tiger as the cat howled in pain as did the other animals. "My darlings!" said Rarity as she saw them in pain. She looked over to Isaac as the boy kept that smile. "What did you do to them?" "Simple; you remember what monster I discarded when I used my Arcana Triumph Joker's ability?" asked Isaac as soon a small metal turtle appeared before its master. "By banishing my Electromagnetic Turtle from my Graveyard, I end your Battle Phase." "That's why he wasn't worried. 'Cause he stopped Rarity's attack before it even began. He's good." said Astral Flare at Isaac's skill being put on display. "In that case, I end my turn." said the fashionista. Turn 10: Isaac - Hand: 6 Isaac drew his card as he looked at what was in his hand, "You know, Rarity? You had a hard time just getting past my Royal Knights. The thing is...they aren't my ace cards." "Huh?" said Rarity. "See, I tend to have a bit of variety in my deck. But...there are certain monsters that I rely on almost in every duel. Like this one," said Isaac as he picked a card up and flipped it. "Berry Magician Girl (400/400)!" A small magician appeared as she had a wand in her hand and a pacifier in her mouth as she made sucking sounds. She soon landed on Isaac's shoulder as the boy was smiling and tickling the baby's tummy as it looked like he was actually interacting with his monsters as if they were alive. "When I summon Berry Magician Girl, I can add a different 'Magician Girl' from my deck to my hand," stated Isaac as his options came up on his duel disk for him to choose. "Berry, your call. Which big sister do you want?" asked the boy to his magician. "Kiwi." said the toddler. Kiwi Magician Girl Attribute: WIND Level: 5 Type: Spellcaster/Effect ATK: 1800 DEF: 1200 Effect: During either player's turn: You can discard this card; "Magician Girl" monsters you currently control gain 300 ATK and DEF for each "Magician Girl" monster with different names on the field and in the Graveyards, until the end of this turn. Spellcaster-Type monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects, and your opponent cannot target them with card effects. Isaac nodded as he made his selection. His duel disk then ejected his card as he grabbed it and added it to his hand. "I'll then lay two cards face-down and end my turn." Turn 11: Rarity - Hand: 2 "My turn, then," stated the girl as she drew her card, "I'll begin by summoning my Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus!" A blue gemstone appeared in front of Rarity and shattered, a winged white horse flying out of the shards. Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus Attribute: WIND Level: 4 Type: Beast/Effect ATK: 1800 DEF: 1200 Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can place 1 "Crystal Beast" monster from your hand, Deck, or GY, face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. If this face-up card is destroyed in a Monster Zone, you can place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, instead of sending it to the GY. "When my Pegasus is summoned, I can a 'Crystal Beast' from my hand, deck, or Graveyard in my Spell and Trap card zone. So I'll choose my Amber Mammoth." Rarity's duel disk then ejected her card from the Graveyard slot as she grabbed it and an orange gem appeared. "Now, Topaz Tiger, attack his Berry Magician Girl!" declared the girl. "I activate Berry Magician Girl's ability, now whenever she becomes the target of an attack, I can switch her into defense mode. But that's not all, I can then summon a different 'Magician Girl' to the field. So...make way for my favorite magical girl who holds a special place in my heart. Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)!" shouted Isaac. A portal opened as out came the boy's top female sorcerer. "Either way, I'm still attacking your weaker magician." "Good, 'cause I reveal my face-down. The trap, Shift! So now your Topaz Tiger is gonna clash with my Dark Magician Girl!" said Isaac as he shifted the target of Rarity's monster. "Remember Topaz Tiger gains 400 extra Attack Points when it battles a monster. So both will be destroyed." stated the girl as her tiger charged forward (Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger: ATK 1600 + 400 = 2000). "Not quite. See by sending my Kiwi Magician Girl from my hand to the Graveyard, I can activate her ability. This lets me grant all of my 'Magician Girls' that I currently control an extra 300 Attack and Defense Points for each 'Magician Girl' with different names on the field and in my Graveyard. So since I currently have three in total: Dark Magician, Berry, and Kiwi, that means both of my girls get a 900 point boost to both stats until the end of the turn. Meaning now my Dark Magician Girl has 2,900 Attack Points. And that means..." said Isaac. "Oh no—" said Rarity as she didn't finish her statement as her tiger was defeated, and a yellow gem was formed on her field (Rarity: 2,450 - 900 = 1,550 LP). "Well, I can still deal you damage. I activate Amethyst Cat's ability." said the girl as her other feline raced forward (Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat: ATK 1,200 ÷ 2 = 600). "I reveal my other face-down, Magicians' Defense." Magicians' Defense Continous Trap Card Effect: While you control a Spellcaster-Type monster, any damage you take is halved. (You cannot halve the same damage twice this way.) If this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can target 1 Spellcaster-Type monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it. Now since I control a Spellcaster, the damage I take is cut in half!" stated Isaac as the cat appeared before him and left a quick bite mark on his arm as it soon faded (Isaac: 7,300 - 300 = 7,000 LP). "I end my turn by switching my Cat (Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat: ATK 600 x 2 = 1200) into defense mode due to my Tortoise's effect." Turn 12: Isaac - Hand: 4 "My turn, and I'll play the Spell, Magic Formula to give my Dark Magician Girl an extra 700 Attack Points." said the boy. Magic Formula Equip Spell Card Effect: Equip only to "Dark Magician" or "Dark Magician Girl". It gains 700 ATK. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: Gain 1000 LP. "Now, Mana, attack her Amethyst Cat!" The magical girl heard the command from her master as she pointed her wand (Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2000 + 700 = 2700) and fired a magical beam that took out Rarity's feline. Another gem formed in her back row. "I'll then end my turn with a face-down." Turn 13: Rarity - Hand: 2 "My turn, and to start, I play the Spell Card Rare Value." Rare Value Normal Spell Card Effect: If you control 2 or more "Crystal Beast" cards in your Spell & Trap Zone: Your opponent chooses 1 "Crystal Beast" card in your Spell & Trap Zone, you send it to the GY, and if you do, you draw 2 cards. "So now you choose which of my Crystal Beasts in my back row to send to the Graveyard and in exchange, I can draw two cards!" said Rarity. "Then I'll choose to send your Mammoth," declared Isaac as the orange gem disappeared and the girl drew her cards. "I then summon my Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle in defense mode," shouted the fashionista. A bird with a jeweled collar set with blue crystals and the same crystals embedded in its wings swooped down to perch in front of Rarity. Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle Attribute: WIND Level: 4 Type: Beast/Effect ATK: 1400 DEF: 800 Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 "Crystal Beast" card you control; place that target on top of the Deck. If this face-up card is destroyed in a Monster Zone, you can place it face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell, instead of sending it to the GY. "Then I activate my eagle's ability, so I can choose a 'Crystal Beast' to put on the top of my deck. And I choose my Pegasus!" Rarity's winged horse then turned into a single white light as it shot towards the top of her deck. "Mmm?" was all Isaac said. He examined the field as he realized that Rarity had brought all of her Crystal Beasts out. "I then lay one card face-down." stated the teen as she ended her turn. "How much longer is Rarity gonna last?" asked Pinkie. "At this point, I think Isaac is just toying with her." said Astral Flare. "What's taking him so long? He should have already beaten her!" said Upper Crust. "Patience. Something neither of you have learned!" growled Cinch at her students once again for not seeing what Isaac was doing. "Now shut up, all of you, and watch." Turn 14: Isaac - Hand: 3 "Mmm?" was all Isaac said as he drew his card and looked at his hand. "I'll have my Dark Magician Girl attack your Emerald Tortoise." Isaac's female sorcerer once again blasted another one of Rarity's monsters off the field as it formed a green gem next to the others. "I end my turn." Turn 15: Rarity - Hand: 2 "My draw! And you know that my top card is my Sapphire Pegasus, so I'll summon him (1800/1200), which triggers his ability, so I'll take my Amber Mammoth from the graveyard and put him in my Spell and Trap card zone." said the girl as she had an orange gem take up the last of her slot as she had three monsters on the field. "Now, the time has come for me to win. I reveal my facedown, Rainbow Gravity!" The entire field began to glow in the colors of the rainbow as the gems from each of the Crystal Beasts shined and soared into the air with a trail of gem dust that matched their colors. Rainbow Gravity Normal Trap Card Effect: If you have 7 "Crystal Beast" cards with different names on your field and/or in your GY: Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Crystal" monster from your Deck or GY, ignoring its Summoning conditions. "When all seven Crystal Beasts are gathered, the greatest light in history resurrects! Appear, Rainbow Dragon!" The light in the air shone brighter, the silhouette of a long, serpentine dragon appearing within it. With the sound of a mighty roar, the light cracked and broke apart. From the shards came a giant white and gold dragon in a rainbow aura, massive white wings spreading into the air, and gemstones in seven colors embedded in its scales. It descended behind Rarity and coiled in the air her, glaring at Isaac with golden eyes beneath a crested helmet of white and gold. Rainbow Dragon Attribute: LIGHT Level: 10 Type: Dragon/Effect ATK: 4000 DEF: 0 Effect: (This card is always treated as an "Ultimate Crystal" card.) Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by having 7 "Crystal Beast" cards with different names on your field and/or GY. This card cannot activate the following effects the turn it is Special Summoned. (Quick Effect): You can send all "Crystal Beast" monsters you control to the GY; this card gains 1000 ATK for each monster sent to the GY. You can banish all "Crystal Beast" monsters from your GY; shuffle all cards on the field into the Deck. "Awesome, Rarity's ultimate beast is here!" shouted Rainbow. "Indeed, Rainbow. Time for her to show Crystal Prep why she likes to make a flashy statement." said Golden. "Oh boy..." said Isaac as he had a feeling the girl was looking to call her dragon. "Now then, my dear dragon. Attack his Dark Magician Girl." ordered the girl to her great beast. "If you want to destroy my Dark Magician Girl, you'll have to find her first! Go, Magical Hats!" shouted Isaac as his face-down flipped up. "What?" spoke Rarity as she was confused. Four top hats with question marks appeared as they covered both of Isaac's magicians on the field before shuffling them as they all stood in a row. Magical Hats (anime) Quick-Play Spell Card Effect: Activate when you control a "Magician" monster. Set up to 4 monsters you control (there are still treated as face-up and their previous battle position). Then, for each monster not Set by this effect, Set 1 "Hat Token" (???-Type/???/Level ???/ATK ???/DEF ???). During your Main Phase, you can shuffle your Monster Zone. During your Main Phase, you Set 1 Spell/Trap Card in your hand in place of a "Hat Token" as a Normal Monster (ATK 0/DEF 0). If a "Hat Token" or Spell/Trap Card in your Monster Zone is targeted for an attack or card effect; the damage is treated as 0 and the target is destroyed. If a Spell/Trap Card in your Monster Zone is targeted by your opponent, you can activate its effect(s). If you flip up a monster Set by this effect, send all "Hat Tokens" to the Graveyard. "What the hell was that?" said Rainbow as she didn't know what Isaac did. "A pro move, that's what." smiled Twilight. "Feeling lucky, Rares?" taunted Isaac. "Rainbow Dragon...attack the second hat from the left! Rainbow Refraction!" shouted the girl. The gemstones on Rainbow Dragon’s scales lit up and sent seven streams of colored light up to the horns on its helmet. With crackles of energy, it opened its mouth and fired a beam of light at Isaac's field. The attack hit as it made contact with the hat as inside was Isaac's Berry Magician Girl. "Looks like you missed." smiled Isaac as she took out the wrong monster. "That may be, but I'm not out of this duel just yet. Next, I'll activate the ability of my Field Spell, since I have four 'Crystal Beasts' in my Spell and Trap card zone, I can draw a card." said the girl as she ended her turn. Turn 16: Isaac - Hand: 4 "It's my turn, I draw. And I'll play the Spell, Graceful Charity. So I pick three and toss out two," said Isaac as he drew the cards and then decided which ones he wanted to send. Before the boy sent his cards away, he looked at what he drew as he couldn't help but sigh. "Well, Rarity. You fought a good duel, but...I'm afraid I'm gonna have to end it." said the boy. "What do you mean?" said the girl. "Time for me to close out this duel. Now, I banish one DARK monster and one LIGHT monster from my Graveyard," said Isaac as the spirits of his Jack's Knight and Breaker were shown. "Pause and rewind! He's removing them why?" asked Rainbow as nobody knew what Isaac was doing. "I've never seen this. Is it a summoning?" asked Fluttershy. "Nah, there's no way." said Applejack as she didn't think so. "No...you're wrong. There is a way!" said Sunset as she suddenly remembered something, "I remember reading about this. Two monsters can be summoned like this. Two rare cards of such power. Duelists have scoured the world over to add them to their collection. The first is Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End. The second has power comparable to the Chaos Emperor, but it's even more rarer." "What are you saying, Sunset?" asked Astral Flare. "What she's saying is that Isaac's got a powerful and rare monster that nobody has seen in quite some time," stated Golden Flare. "Appear, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!!" shouted Isaac as his two monsters before him disappeared and entered a portal of chaos. Soon a warrior emerged as it wielded a sword and shield and dressed in armor. Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning Attribute: LIGHT Level: 8 Type: Warrior/Effect ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from your GY. Once per turn, you can activate 1 of these effects. ●Target 1 monster on the field; banish it. This card cannot attack the turn this effect is activated. ●If this attacking card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: It can make a second attack in a row. "What is that?" said Rarity as she had never seen that monster or heard about it. "This is a special monster that's a part of my deck. But I only bring him out for special occasions. So...consider yourself lucky, Rarity. You got me to play this guy." said Isaac with a smile as he was giving the girl some credit for giving him a decent fight. "Now I activate my monster's ability, I can banish one card on your field!" "My Rainbow Dragon!" said Rarity as she saw her dragon roar as it disappeared in a flash. It now dawned on the girl that she lost. "Because I used that ability of my Black Luster Soldier, he can't attack this turn. But I still have other cards in my hand. Now I'll dispel my Magical Hats and play Sage's Stone." Sage's Stone Normal Spell Card Effect: If you control a face-up "Dark Magician Girl": Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" from your hand or Deck. "Since I have Dark Magician Girl on the field, I can now summon Dark Magician from my deck! Come on out, old friend!" declared Isaac as his star monster appeared (2500/2100). "I then play this, Dark Burning Magic." Dark Burning Magic Quick-Play Spell Card Effect: If you control monsters whose original names are "Dark Magician" and "Dark Magician Girl": Destroy all cards your opponent controls. "Since I control both of my Spellcasters, I destroy every single card on your field!" stated the boy as both of his magicians aimed their wands as they nuked Rarity's entire field as not even her Field Spell was left. The girl was truly defenseless as she was at the mercy of Isaac. "Just do it." said Rarity as she had her head down. "Hey, you played well. Just...I was a bit better," said Isaac trying to lift her spirits. "Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl. Attack Rarity directly! Double Dark Magic Attack!" Both magicians put their wands together as they powered up an energy ball of magic before they fired it at the teen girl as the last bit of her points hit zero (Rarity: 1,550 - 2,500 - 2,700 = 0 LP). WINNER: Isaac New Accomplishment Earned: Survive and Thrive "Last longer than 10 turns and win a duel in Ranked Duel Mode." "The winner of the duel is Isaac. And thus concludes the last of the exhibitions duels. We'll have the results of the who will be moving onto the second round in just a few moments." said Luna through the P.A. system. Rarity was sad as she was on her knees. Soon a shadow came over her as it was Isaac. The boy extended his hand as he was still offering to show compassion to his opponent. The girl accepted it as he helped her up. "Nice duel! You're good." smiled the boy. "You still say that? After I lost?" Rarity asked in disbelief. "I mean, yeah. I had fun battling you. Didn't you?" "I...I...I suppose I did." said Rarity as she was now thinking back as she enjoyed herself. "That's what dueling is all about. Having fun. Well, that's at least the way I've looked at it. Thanks again, Rarity." said Isaac as he began to head towards his side. "Thank you." spoke the fashionista softly as she made her way to her side. Isaac made it to where Crystal Prep was stationed. The others all had impressed looks on their faces. Safe to say, the person they least expected who belonged here, just shut them up with his performance. Principal Cinch approached the boy as her smile was the biggest it'd been. "As I said, you wouldn't disappoint me, Isaac. I knew you would win." said the woman as her fingernails dug into his shoulder. The boy merely shrugged it off as he walked past her. He took a seat next to Twilight as he took out his deck and put them on his side. The woman just kept on smiling as her plan to end Canterlot High was in full effect. "Good game, Rares." said Rainbow. "Thank you, darling. But...I still lost." said the girl. "That Isaac sure is a tough cowboy. Never seen moves like those before," stated AJ. "You see the way he toyed with Rarity, not even sweating?" said Astral Flare. "That's not making me feel better." said the fashionista as she glared at her friend. "Sorry." "Well, they're about to announce who's moving on." said Pinkie as everybody looked forward. Cadence was shown as she had the final results from the first event of the Friendship Games as well as the top six scores from each side to determine which students would be moving on. "With the scores calculated, we now know who will be competing in the second event of the Friendship Games. From Canterlot High, the students moving on will be...Golden Flare, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, and Astral Flare." The ones called out from Team CHS were all happy as they were shown support from their teammates. "And the students that will be moving on from Crystal Prep Academy are as follow...Sour Sweet, Lemon Zest, Sunny Flare, Enix, Twilight Sparkle, and Isaac." With both sides now having their selected warriors for the next event, the battle continued to rage on between the two bitter rivals. Sunset looked at Crystal Prep as she eyed Twilight as she was being congratulated by what appeared to be her family; her mother, father, older and younger brothers, the latter of whom seems to bear a striking resemblance to Spike from Equestria. She couldn't stop thinking about the girl. And how she might have something hidden inside. She then turned to look at Isaac as the girl was getting a different vibe from the boy. Sunset then got Golden Flare's attention. "Hey, Golden. Remember when I said that no one might beat you? I think I might be second-guessing that." said the bacon-haired girl as she looked at Isaac and then at Golden. Golden sighed when he realized what and who she was talking about, "...Me too." Canterlot High School - Soccer Field Enix POV I looked at the soccer field and the changes that were recently made; it seems like the Tri-Duel Relay will begin soon. I look at the deck in my Duel Disk, If she is here...then I must be prepared. I then notice my Duel Runner for the Relay sitting at the starting point, I go to check it out and see it's had some major improvements, "This is impressive! Shinkokuna really outdid herself with this one! Bet this still works, especially after everything it went through..." "Oh, Ah'm sure it's still operational." Surprised, I turned to see Applejack standing behind me, but I'm no fool; this isn't the Applejack of this dimension, this is... "Good to see you again, AJ...or do you prefer your codename: Applejack SUI-871?" I greeted. "Hehehehehe...it sure took ya long enough." the SUI Unit mocked me. "If I'm guessing correctly, you're here to drag me back." "It's either join the ranks, or be killed. And judgin' by yer response, Ah'd say yer jus' gonna up an' leave...jus' like with me and ma family." "I told you: you got it all wrong, I didn't do this!" "Actions speak louder than words, SUGARCUBE." "Rgh...you still won't listen." "Like Ah'd listen to ah murderin' snake like y'all!" "...This is ridiculous. If you won't listen to the truth, then you'll see the truth when I duel Rainbow Dash in the next event." I turned my back on her to continue checking out my Duel Runner. Applejack sighs eerily happily, "...Still won't listen. But maybe this..." Applejack pulls out a handgun and loads a bullet, "...will change yer tune." 5 Days Ago... Canterlot Castle - Alternative Dimension 3rd Person POV Applejack SUI-871 walked to the Mirror Portal, Barian Number in hand and ready to enact slow and painful justice upon the one who ruined her life, until she was stopped by a helmeted figure. "I heard you're off to retrieve the Phantom Swordsman." "Yeah? What of it?" Applejack SUI-871 asked, annoyed that she was stopped. "Food for thought; that sword he used was a cursed divine object. If used too much, the curse will take hold of him. And corrupt his very soul. If you come across him and his weapon..." The helmeted figure tossed her a handgun. "...You are to shoot him. The bullets inside this gun can convert a living being into an SUI Unit like us. But know this; our master wants NO MISTAKES." "...Hmph." Applejack SUI-871 smirks, "If this thing CAN turn him into an SUI Unit, he'll belong to us?" "Provided you can hit him...and avenge your dear, dead family." Present Day Canterlot High School - Soccer Field 3rd Person POV "You said Ah'll see the truth, soooo..." the false Applejack took aim and... BANG! BANG! Blue flames suddenly surrounded Enix's deck and disappeared within the cards as he got on his Duel Runner. "Game on...Enix." Applejack SUI-871 immediately left the scene, unaware that Enix's deck is now fueled with the same power that corrupted the Golden Flare of her dimension...