//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 - Full-Hearted Generosity // Story: My Little Duel Monsters // by supersaiyanmikito //------------------------------// High in the clouds of Equestria, two golden chariots flew carrying three ponies and a baby dragon. Yugi and Celestia occupied one while Rarity and Spike the other. Yugi looked down upon the ground checking out all the sites. He had seen many places before in his world but this was a completely new experience. Then something came to his mind. “Hey Princess, can I ask you something?” Celestia turned her eyes towards him. “What is it?” “Well, there’s been something that has been bugging me for a while now. Back when we were with Twilight, you mentioned that you had a sister that you once banished. What exactly was that about?” Celestia sighed. “It’s a long story, even further back than our history with Duel Monsters. You see, many years ago, both me and my sister Luna ruled this land together. I ruled over the day and she ruled over the night. She can even walk among the dream world and see the very dreams of ponies, a very powerful ability.” “So, what happened?” “Back in the day, ponies slept through the night and worked during the day. She felt as though nopony cared about her and that nopony knew what actually did for them. She just couldn’t stand being ignored constantly, both by our subjects and me... She just wanted somepony to know she actually existed. That is when she became Nightmare Moon, and tried to plunge Equestria into eternal night. I fought her… And lost… There was only one way to defeat her… The Elements of Harmony… I wasn’t the only one tied to the elements, she was as well and I feel that might have contributed to the why Elements won’t respond to me anymore. I wasn’t there for her when she needed me and now thanks to my mistake, she forever lost 1000 years of her life… Now she lives in an Equestria she doesn’t fully understand and among ponies that don’t understand her…” “I understand perfectly.” Yugi replied. “The Pharaoh is not much different. Something happened 5000 years ago and his spirit sealed within the Millennium Puzzle I carry around my neck. We are still trying to figure out what exactly happened all those years ago.” “About a year ago, Luna finally broke out of the moon and tried sending Equestria into eternal night once again. Unknown to anypony else, I sent my number one student to Ponyville and make some friends. I knew all along that she had the potential to be the Element of Magic and all she had to do was awaken the other five Elements.” Yugi raised his right hoof as like he was counting fingers. “Six Elements… Twilight, Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack... But wait, don’t you need all six of them for them to work? Wouldn’t that mean the Elements can’t be used anymore?” “You’re quite smart Yugi. While it is true the Elements wouldn’t work now that three of the bearers have fallen, the Elements wouldn’t have worked anyway. Whoever is controlling Iseris has access to a kind of magic like I have never seen, normal pony magic doesn’t work against it. The only kind of magic that seems to work against it somehow has a connection to the game of Duel Monsters. “Shadow magic...” “What?” “Shadow magic is what we used in ancient times to call upon the spirits of Duel Monsters to fight for us. Its likely Equestria has some kind of history related to Duel Monsters just like my world and this evil got a hold of it. “It’s very possible; I had to use a rather unorthodox method to create the card I mentioned. I had to use a bit of Iseris’ own magic combined with magic from the Elements. I’m surprised it even worked.” “Shadow magic is not necessarily evil; it’s all based on the one controlling it. Shadow magic can simply be described as opening a portal to another realm where the monsters are real. By making that card, all you did was harness the power of the shadow realm and infuse its power and Elements into a card.” “I guess I still have much to learn about the world of Duel Monsters…” Trixie was slowly sneaking through the inner walls of Canterlot Castle. Just as she turned a corner, she noticed a ground of armored ponies walking her way. She quickly jumped back and hit behind a pillar. She could hear them conversing with each other as they walked by. “So, what happened to Celestia? She ran off without saying where she was going.” “I overheard her talking to her sister that she was going to Ponyville to meet up with some 5000-year-old Pharaoh. They were talking about something called ‘Duel Monsters.’” “There have been several reports of gigantic beasts appearing over Ponyville then disappearing quickly after.” “I heard about that. There were reports of giant blue bipedal beasts, mile-long red dragons and gold-plated dragons. What’s weird is that all reports say they just hover in the sky and then disappear and every time they appear, an unscheduled storm occurs.” “What is going on around here? I’ve been trying to ask Princess Luna but she has been coped up on her room ever since Princess Celestia left.” Suddenly, a new castle guard come running up the hall. “Hey, we have reports of an intruder in the castle.” Trixie started to sweat. “Spread out and search the castle.” All the guards run in multiple and seemingly missed Trixie hiding behind the pillar. “That was close…” Trixie continued down the hall the guards were blocking. Around the corner, she saw a pair of two large doors. As she was about to open the door, she was interrupted. “Halt! Stop right there.” Trixie spun around to see one of the guards that she was eavesdropping on just moments ago. “Nopony is allowed to enter her highness’s room, especially one who snuck into the castle.” Trixie just grinned. “And what do you plan to do to stop me?” The guard simply moved closer pointing his spear at her. “Fine, have it your way.” She held up her hoof and extended her duel disk. After that, every resident in the castle could hear a loud scream. All the guards quickly started running towards the scream but Trixie didn’t care. She opened the large door and approached her new target. After a long ride, Yugi and the others had finally reached Canterlot. The chariots came down and landed right at the front gate. The three ponies and baby dragon hopped out and slowly walked up to the drawbridge that was currently up. “Give me a second...” Spoke Celestia. Her horn lit up a bright yellow and the drawbridge came down. When the bridge was finally down, Spike jumped onto to Rarity’s backs and the four of them headed in. “So where exactly is this card, we are looking for Celestia?” Yugi asked. “It’s up in a secret vault alongside the Elements of Harmony.” “You mean that room Discord broke into?” Rarity asked. “Yes, but luckily, he never found the card; it’s hidden within the vault itself. I took extra special precautions with this one.” The main room came into the view. It was a large hall with entrances to both sides. There was also a big stairway in the middle splitting into two more sets of stairs. However, all eyes lay upon a hooded figure standing directly at the bottom of the staircase. He flung off his hood revealing his face. “Hello Aunty Celestia, happy to see me?” “Thrilled...” Blueblood frowned. “Don’t be too enthusiastic. Thou knew I would be here.” “Blueblood, how could you tarnish our family name like this?” “Tarnish our name? PAH! Your stupid sister already did that...” Celestia’s hair burst into flames as the Royal Canterlot voice echoed through the castle. “DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY SISTER LIKE THAT!!!” “Oh, quite a touchy subject... You always were overly protective of that useless sack of garbage.” “SILENCE!!!” “Or what Tia, are you going to send me to the moon?” Blueblood mocked. “You seem to have forgotten that your feeble unicorn magic is useless against me…” “You little...” “Oh, and I wouldn’t worry about Luna. She’s in good hands...” On cue, there was a loud explosion. Celestia’s eyes shot open and she bolted back out the door. She looked up to see the massive image of the Egyptian God, Obelisk the Tormentor hovering over a balcony near the top of the castle.” “That’s my sister’s room! Where are all the guards!?” “Trixie and I took care of them all. Speaking of Trixie, it looks like she is almost finished disposing of the Night Princess.” “Not if we get to her first...” “Ah, but before you go, I have a little score to settle...” Using his hind legs, Blueblood lifted himself up and slammed his hooves down onto the ground sending out a ring across the floor. Spike held on tight to Rarity’s mane as the wave slid right under them and stopped. “This time, your my opponent milady.” Rarity stepped back a bit. “You want to duel me?” She looked back at Spike and gave him a concerned look. “Spike, you better get back…” Rarity held her left hoof high in the air and it started glowing. The light burst into multi-colored sparks and a new duel disk materialize on her hoof. The centerpiece was a large white diamond; connected to the center was a 3-slot golden card tray. The tray extended out and a secondary tray came out from the side making it a full 5-slots. “Alright, this is for Fluttershy; you and me.” Blueblood put a smirk on his face. “You know what? I’ve got a better idea... How about we make this a 2-on-1? After all, your dragon friend is in the barrier too.” Spike stepped back. “But... I don’t have any cards.” “Oh, that’s right, only the Elements of Harmony have a deck in this day. Since your unable to duel, I guess that means it’s the Shadow Realm for you.” A black portal began to open under Spike and he began to sink. “Spike no!” Rarity yelled. Unknown to everyone, Celestia’s horn started glowing. In a flash, a Battle City-like duel disk appeared in front of her. “Hey Spike!” He turned his head back and saw Celestia throw the Duel Disk towards him. He jumped and caught with both hands dispelling the portal underneath. He looked at it for a second before looking back at Celestia. “Princess... How did you?” “Did you really think I would forget about you? I’ve known you since you hatched, I’m not going to lose you like the others.” Spike slid the disk onto his arm and it rotated into place. “Uh, I didn’t see all of Yugi’s explanation about how this game works...” “Don’t worry Spike, I’ll help you out.” Rarity said. “I watched Blueblood duel Fluttershy so I know all of his strategies.” Spike blushed a bit. “Thanks Rarity...” Celestia and Yugi turned to each other. “Princess, we should go and help your sister, and then we can get that card.” Yugi suggested. “I know a way around without using the grand stairs.” Celestia added. Yugi nodded and the two ran out through the left side door of the room. “Now what do you say we put this ruffian in his place?” Rarity asked. “Let bury him into the ground!” Spike added. “Such crude remarks...” Blueblood responded. “Now, since this will be two against one, I think it’s only fair I start the duel with 8000 life points.” “That’s fine with me.” Rarity replied. The two of them stood in a triangle in the middle of the foyer. Rarity and Spike had their sides facing each other. Spike stood to the left of the stairs while Rarity stood on the right. Blueblood stood right in front of the stair activating his Duel Disk. “LET’S DUEL!!!” Rarity < LP: 4000 > Spike < LP: 4000 > Blueblood < LP: 8000 > “Mind if I take the first move milady?” Spike asked. “Of course, you can, dear.” “Alright!” Spike drew his first card. “I’ll start by summoning Armed Dragon LV3!” The monster appeared as a small red and black dragon about twice the size of Spike. Armed Dragon LV3 < Level 3 / ATK: 1200 > “Next, I’ll set one card face down. I’ll pass on to Rarity now...” “Now I draw and I summon Gem-Knight Sapphire in defense mode.” Rarity’s monster was a large man-like creature made completely of sapphire. Gem-Knight Sapphire < Level 4 / DEF: 2100 > “That’s it for me. Take your best shot Blueblood.” “I intend to...” Blueblood drew his card. “Let me show you how a real Unicorn duels. You may think you know my deck but you’re wrong. My Ally of Justice monsters may be powerful but they pale in comparison to these beauties. When you have a monster on the field and I have none, I’m allowed to special summon this monster from my hand without sacrificing. Say hello to Cyber Dragon!” Blueblood’s first monster appeared as a large silver dragon towering them in size. It had no hands or legs, just a simple body like a snake. Cyber Dragon < Level 5 / ATK: 2100 > “Since that was a special summon, I’m still allowed to normal summon this turn. I’ll call out my Cyber Valley!” This second monster highly resembled his original dragon but appeared more organic. Cyber Valley < Level 1 / ATK: 0 > “Now I am going to show the power of Cyber Dragon. Destroy Armed Dragon with your Strident Blast!” Cyber Dragon held back it head and small lights began flowing from the wires coming from its neck. “Hold on Blueblood!” Spike yelled. “I activate my face-down card, Threatening Roar!” “What?” “This card stops your machine’s attack dead in its tracks.” The card released a pulse across the field and Cyber Dragon slowly let up and dropped it head back down. “Fine, you’re safe for now. I’ll end my turn with a face-down.” “Alright, I guess it’s my turn again...” Before Spike could make his move, his dragon started glowing white. “Woh! What’s happening?” The white glow began to change. It grew in size a spawned a few new body parts. The white silhouette dissipated and revealed an evolved monster. “Dude! What was that?” Armed Dragon LV5 < Level 5 / ATK: 2400 > “I think your monster just got stronger.” Rarity replied. “It did? Awesome!” Spike shot a glare at Blueblood. “Now my Armed Dragon is stronger than your Cyber Dragon but first I summon Spear Dragon!” The monster appeared as a mid-sized blue dragon with nose like a sword fish. Spear Dragon < Level 4 / ATK: 1900 > “First I’ll attack with Armed Dragon!” Spike’s dragon opened it mouth and several shockwaves fired out, Cyber Dragon to burst to pieces. The shards of metal from the dragon rained down from the air and Blueblood covered his head. Blueblood < LP: 8000 → 7700 > “How dare you inflict damage upon me!” Blueblood yelled. “Don’t think it’s over just yet. My Spear Dragon has yet to attack and since your Cyber Valley has no attack points, this is going to do a lot of damage.” Spear Dragon then lunged toward Blueblood’s monster. “Cyclone Blast!” “Wait Spike!” Rarity called. “Hah! You just triggered my monster’s effect!” Cyber Valley started to glow and exploded into a light stopping Spike’s monster. “What?” “When Cyber Valley is attacked, his effect activates allowing me to remove him from play to end the battle phase immediately before you can do any damage.” The glowing light then shot up into the air swirled downward into Blueblood’s duel disk. “I’m also allowed to draw one card.” Blueblood took his card. “Thank you kindly...” “I walked right into that one…” Spike looked down at his hand. “Since I can’t do anything else, I’ll just put a card face-down.” Once Spike’s turned ended, his dragon started glowing. “Armed Dragon is evolving again!” His dragon grew to an unspeakable size. It let out a roar that shook the ground. Armed Dragon LV7 < Level 7 / ATK: 2800 > “My turn again.” Rarity said drawing her card. Her face beamed. “Ooooh, this will definitely help. I play the spell card Gem-Knight Fusion!” Rarity took the card, and over dramatically slid the card into a spell slot. “This let’s my combine my Gem-Knights into a new fusion monster.” Taking a card in her hand, Rarity placed a new monster down. “I combined Gem-Knight Sapphire with the Gem-Knight Amber in my hand.” The two monsters swirled together into a vortex, completely swallowing them up. “Now I summon, Gem Knight Aquamarine!” Rarity’s new monster was definitely bulkier than the previous two. It wore thick blue armor and a cape. Gem-Knight Aquamarine < Level 6 / ATK: 1400 > “Now since Spike was such a dear and cleared your field, you’re wide open for an attack.” “Uh oh...” Blueblood muttered. “Gem-Knight Aquamarine...” Rarity thrusted her right hoof right at Blueblood “Attack Blueblood’s life points directly!” Aquamarine lunged forward with a shield-like weapon with a blade, stabbing the prince is the chest. Blueblood grabbed his chest and let out a quite growl. Blueblood < LP: 7700 → 6300 > “After my monster attacks, it goes into defense to protect my life points. Luckily, he has quite a bit of defense.” Rarity’s Gem-Knight took a defensive stance. Gem-Knight Aquamarine < ATK: 1400 → DEF: 2600 > “That’s all for me. It’s your move...” Blueblood was still holding his chest from the previous attack. “I’ll make you pay for injuring me...” He drew his card and a sinister smile appeared on his face. “OH YES! I couldn’t have asked for a better draw!” Blueblood slammed his card onto his disk. It let out a bunch of red light covering the field. A figure began to appear in the light. Then a sound came. A humming sound... Rarity’s eyes widened at the familiar sound. “Oh no...” A pair of legs followed. Once again, Rarity shivered. “I summon Ally of Justice Core Destroyer!” The light finally cleared. The monster held a huge similarity to Ally of Justice Catastor from Fluttershy’s duel but it was quite smaller. Ally of Justice Core Destroyer < Level 3 / ATK: 1200 > “Core Destroyer may not be as strong as Catastor but his ability is just as deadly. Whenever he battles a monster who is Light attribute, that monster is immediately destroyed before the battle even begins.” Rarity looked at him with confusion. “But we don’t use Light monsters...” Then her eyes shifted to Blueblood’s face-down. “No... Your face-down card!” “Ah, so you remember? I reveal the permanent trap card DNA Transplant!” “What does that do?” Spike ask nervously. “DNA Transplant is a powerful card that lets him change the attribute of every monster on the field to an attribute of his choosing.” Rarity replied. “His Ally of Justice monsters gain special abilities power when faced against light monsters. That’s how he beat Fluttershy...” “Exactly!” Blueblood yelled. “Ally Core Destroyer, attack Spike’s Armed Dragon!” Core Destroyer built up its energy within it eye, making it glow a bright red. Then fire a laser directly at Spike’s monster disintegrating it and created a massive cloud of smoke. “Lucky for you, like Catastor, Core Destroyer can’t inflict damage when it destroys a monster by its effect...” Then, something started to stir from the cloud. “Huh?” Suddenly, out of the smoke cloud floated a bunch of pink color thorned spheres that charged towards Blueblood. “What’s going on?” “It’s simple Blueblood...” Spike replied. “By destroying my dragon, you unleashed a trap I had set last turn.” As the spheres hit Blueblood’s duel disk, it started to spark and Core Destroyer exploded. “What happened to my monster?” Blueblood’s duel disk suddenly started spewing out cards from the deck zone and into the graveyard. “When you destroyed my Armed Dragon, you unleashed my powerful Deck Devastation Virus trap card! This virus infects your hand, deck and field destroying every monster that has 1500 Attack or less.” Blueblood groaned and looked down at his deck. It was significantly smaller than before. “I place two cards face-down. Make your move.” Spike drew his card. “Alright... I think I’ll have my Spear Dragon attack your life points!” “Spike!” Rarity yelled. “I activate my Draining Shield trap card!” A small rainbow barrier formed around Blueblood just as the Spear Dragon made contact. “This trap blocks your attack and all the attack points of your monster get added to my life points.” Blueblood < LP: 6300 → 8200 > “Your little virus stunt may have put a dent in my deck by life points are back to full power.” “Aw man, I can’t believe I screwed up again...” Spike moaned. “I should have seen it coming.” “Don’t worry, it happens to us all.” Rarity replied. “Yeah but-” “Just let me take over from here...” Rarity drew her card. “Hmm... I’ll just place two cards face-down and end my turn.” “That’s it!? What a joke!” Blueblood chuckled. “You failed to beat me and now you are going to pay the price!” He swiftly drew his card and turned his eyes to it. He slowly began to chuckle before breaking into a full crazed laughter. “Oh, how ironic fate can be… You left me for some… Beast… And now he has doomed you to an end filled with nothing but pain and suffering!” “What do mean?” Spike asked nervously. “Thanks to your virus, you’ve set the stage for the most lethal monster in my whole deck… I play Overload Fusion!” The ground slowly below them started shaking and several cracks began to form in the tiled floor. “This destructive card allows me to remove any number of machine type monsters in my graveyard from the game as long as at least one of them is named ‘Cyber Dragon.’” One by one, cards ejected from Bluebloods graveyard. “I remove twelve of the machine type monsters in my graveyard from play!” The floor tiles began overturned and a large machine arose from beneath the castle. It was nothing like they had ever seen. It had a head and tail that looked exactly like Blueblood’s Cyber Dragon but it had this extremely bulky centerpiece in the center of the body with several holes. Suddenly, several extra heads started to form from the holes, all of which just like Cyber Dragon. “What is that thing?” Rarity asked. Channeling the Royal Canterlot Voice… “BEHOLD THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE MACHINE IN MY ENTIRE ARSENAL, CHIMERATECH OVERDRAGON!” As the beast’s twelfth head formed, it unleashed an ear-splitting roar, shattering every window within view. “Prepare to meet your doom!” Yugi and Celestia were running through the hall when they were stopped by a sudden earthquake and a roar so loud, they couldn’t even move. “What is that terrible sound!?” Yugi asked. It was no good, the roar was completely blocking out their voices. Suddenly, the stained-glass windows around them started to shatter and fall to the ground. The two continued to hold their heads down until the sound finally stopped. Celestia stood back up. Her mane had gone frizzy from the sound. She simply shook her head and put it back in place. “I’m not sure what just happened but I fear it has something to do with Blueblood.” “Me too...” “We’re really close to Luna’s room. It should be just down that hall.” Celestia pointed to a pathway a little down the hall. “Then let’s go.” Yugi bolted down the hall turning around the corner. At the end was a large pair of doors. He pulled at the door but they wouldn’t open. “It’s locked...” He turned back to see Celestia viciously running at the door. Yugi jumped out of the way at the last second as Celestia reared up and smashed the door right down. They rushed in to see Luna barely standing. Her body was covered in scratches and bruises. Her opponent hadn’t put up a barrier. “Thou have not beaten us yet vile fiend...” Luna whispered. She had an unusual monster on the field, a large white and golden dragon. It had a single yellow sphere orbiting around it. Standing before her was a familiar blue unicorn. Her eyes glowed red and she had Iseris’ black scars on her head. “You fail to see that Trixie has you beat already. This next attack is going to finish you off.” She turned to look at the intruders. “Well, what have we here? Come to save your weakling of a sister, Princess?” “LET HER GO!” Celestia roared. “You’re too late! Iseris, attack the Princess’s monster and end this duel once and for all!” Iseris pulled its two wings together and formed a large black sphere of lightning between them before firing it at Luna’s monster. Luna just stood there as her monster was vaporized. “LUNA!” Celestia jumped forward to grab Luna before she hit the ground. She looked down at her fallen sister. “No Luna, please. I’ve already lost you once…” “Its… Too late for me… Goodbye sister…” The dark portal forms beneath Luna and she dissolved until there was nothing left. She was gone. Then Celestia turned back to Trixie. “You’ll pay for this…” “Sorry, but I have to go and tell my master the news. Though I will have to thank your sister for the duel, it was very… Interesting…” Trixie let out a maniacal laugh. “It’s time Trixie made herself scarce.” Trixie threw down a smoke bomb and vanished. Celestia continued to sit in her position where she held Luna. Yugi trotted up and put his hoof on Celestia’s back. “Princess, stop worrying about her, she will be fine.” “Yugi...” “If what you say about her being banished for a thousand years is true, she can handle herself, but it’s your duty to get her out.” “Those thousand years... Nightmare Moon... I wanted nothing more than to save Luna...” “Then do it! Stop worrying and save her! What would Twilight think if she saw you right now?” Celestia stopped. She looked up at a photo frame of Twilight sitting on her dresser. “Twilight...” Finally, Celestia stood back up. “Your right Yugi. I can’t sit here mopping all day. Twilight would never forgive me...” Yugi simply smiled at the Princess. “That’s the spirit!” The Princess went over and opened the door. “Let’s go. We need to hurry and get that card.” Yugi nodded. “Right!” Chimeratech Overdragon < Level 9 / ATK: 9600 > “Neither of you stand a chance against my Overdragon.” Blueblood looked his ‘victims’ with confidence. “Before I attack, I will summon my Doomcaliber Knight, just for some extra insurance.” Blueblood’s monster appeared as a black horse rider with a shield and sword. [ATK:1900] Doomcaliber Knight < Level 4 / ATK: 1900 > “Now the time has come… Overdragon, attack Spike’s monsters and wipe out the rest of his life points!” Overdragon started charging energy within one of its twelve heads. Spike pupils shrunk, looking into the face of death. “Evolution… Result… BURST!!!” The dragon fired a large white electrical laser towards Spike’s dragon. The shot exploded into sparks covering the entire field. Blueblood could not help but break into a maniacal laugh during the whole scene. As the smoke cleared, a battered and bruised Spike could be seen. He was still standing on both legs. “I’m… Not done yet…” Spike < LP: 1100 > Blueblood was stunned. “How are you still alive!?” He looked up at his dragon. I was much smaller than it was before the attack and it seem to be letting out sparks. Chimeratech Overdragon < ATK: 4800 > “What happened to my dragon’s attack points!?” “Hmm...” A voice came from the smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal Rarity with a smirk on her face. There was a new spell card next to her. It had a picture of a goblin within a magnifying glass. “You like it? It’s a nifty card known as Shrink. I activated it right before your attack hit, cutting your dragon’s attack in half!” “I had him squirming in fear at my dragon and you MESSED IT UP!” Blueblood pointed at Rarity. “Overdragon, attack her Knight with your Evolution Result Burst!” One of the dragon’s other heads started to charge up. “What are you doing Blueblood? Your monster already attacked this turn!” “Ah, that’s the wonder of Chimeratech Overdragon. For every monster removed to summon him, he can attack. Since I removed twelve monsters, he has the ability to attack twelve times!” “What kind of sadist uses a monster that can attack twelve times!?” “That is why Overdragon is my favorite monster. There is no kill like overkill and Overdragon does just that.” Overdragon finally released its charge and vaporized Rarity’s monster. When the smoke cleared again, light blue shards could be seen floating around Rarity. “Ha, by destroying my Gem-Knight, you triggered its special effect. When Gem-Knight Aquamarine is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can choose one monster you control and return it to your hand.” The shards launched themselves towards Blueblood’s Overdragon. Suddenly, Blueblood’s Knight jumped in the way, blowing up on contact. “Wah... What happened?” “When you activated the effect of your monster you triggered the effect of my Doomcaliber Knight. By sacrificing himself, he can stop your effect.” Rarity let out a small growl. “You’re the same as you were at the Gala. Letting someone else take the blunt of anything thrown at you… You spoiled mongrel…” Blueblood snickered. “While the master doesn’t exactly approve of my methods, they get the job done. Now luckily for you, Overdragon can’t use its multiple attacks to attack directly so the two of you are safe this turn. And since my turn is over, Overdragon regains its power.” Chimeratech Overdragon < ATK: 4800 → 9600 > So, it’s my turn then...” Spike drew his card and frown appeared on his face. “I set a monster face-down on the field and end my turn.” “It’s my turn now.” Rarity drew her card and then turned to Spike. He was sweating and looking at his cards. ’Poor Spike, he doesn’t seem to be drawing anything he can use and he keeps blaming himself for all the traps Blueblood has been using.’ She looked down at her cards. ’I’m not getting anything good either… Wait a minute, that’s it!’ ”I activate Card Destruction! This forces us to discard our entire hand and draw a new hand.” The three of them dumped their hands into the graveyard and drew new hands. Rarity looked over her cards. ’Ok, much better.’ She then turned to Spike. He was no longer sweating and had a large grin on his face. ’Looks like Spike also got a good draw.’ Rarity looked through her cards again. “Ok, first I’ll summon Gem-Knight Emerald.” Gem-Knight Emerald < Level 4 / ATK: 1800 > “But he won’t stay around long because I activate my face-down card; Gem Enhancement. This card lets me trade in my current Gem-Knight for a stronger one.” Emerald vanished and a new monster appeared in its place, a large knight with full white armor and large crystals on his shoulders. “I summon Gem-Knight Crystal!” Gem-Knight Crystal < Level 7 / ATK: 1950 > “I’ll end my turn with a face down… Do your worst Blueblood…” “I will...” Blueblood put his hoof down to draw his card, but the second he touched his duel disk a small black spark went up his leg. Blueblood simply smirked then the top card started to let off a black glow. With all his might, Blueblood drew the card and left a black trail behind it as he drew. “I’ll start this turn by activating the card Monster Reborn!” “No…” Then Rarity’s fear turned to confusion. “Hold it; you removed all your monsters to summon your Dragon... You don’t have anything left to summon.” “Not quite… While it’s true that I removed my monsters to summon my Overdragon, he only requires that I remove machines to summon him. That means that anything that is not a machine is still in play, just like this next monster. I’m sure you remember it from out last encounter Rarity.” A giant staff rose up behind Blueblood and started glowing red. The sky turned dark and lightning could be heard. “Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry. Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight. Envelop the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe. Unlock your powers from deep within so that together we may win. Appear in this Shadow Game as I call out your name, Winged Dragon of Ra!” The sky exploded with light as the Dragon of the Sun appeared. Its roar was could be heard for miles. The Winged Dragon of Ra < Level 10 / ATK: 0 > “Sadly, he won’t be staying long... I have something much worse in store for you.” Blueblood took a card from his hand and held it up in the air. It was shrouded in a dark aura. “I sacrifice Chimeratech Overdragon and The Winged Dragon of Ra!” Ra dissolved into the black mist while Overdragon melted into a black sludge and swirled into the air, coming back down as a black lightning bolt striking Blueblood. Blueblood stood up on his hind legs as the familiar scars appeared on his head. “HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!” His shadow then came up of the ground into a familiar form but he was different. Iseris has twelve heads protruding from different parts of his body, just like Chimeratech Overdragon. In a booming Royal Canterlot Voice, Blueblood spoke again. “YOUR FINISHED RARITY! I’LL DESTROY YOU, YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR PRESIOUS LITTLE DRAGON!” Iseris, Destroyer of Harmony < Level 10 / ATK: 10100 > “Iseris, attack Miss Rarity’s Gem-Knight Crystal!” Iseris’ multiple heads started charging a black electrical blast similar to Overdragon. “Hold on!” Rarity yelled. “I reveal my face-down card; Waboku. Until the end of this turn, we can’t take any damage and neither of our monsters can be destroyed in battle.” Iseris fired its attack and a barrier appeared over Rarity that reflected the attack. Blueblood looked at her with displeasure. “ENOUGH OF YOUR PATHETIC STALLING! YOU CAN ONLY HOLD OUT FOR SO LONG BEFORE YOU EVENTUALLY FALL!” Yugi and Celestia had reached the final stretch. A long hallway surrounded with stained glass windows. To Yugi’s surprise, none of them had been broken by the event earlier. Celestia ran up to a door adorning a sun. “I need to minute to unlock the seal.” Celestia aimed her horn forward a thrusted it into a small hole in the door. Yugi took this time to look at the windows. The designs made him a little curious. He first took notice to the mural of a black alicorn flying over six ponies. The spirit of the Pharaoh appeared next to him. “Hey Yugi, what does this remind you of?” He inspected the mural closely. “Those six ponies along the bottom look a lot like Twilight and her friends and the black one looks kind of like Princess Luna.” “Not Luna, Nightmare Moon...” “Luna’s evil alter ego?” “Yes, I think this may be some kind be a mural to those events Celestia mentioned.” “Just like how your past was engraved on the stone tablets.” Yugi turned and trotted to another mural. It had a dragon holding puppet strings attached to three ponies. The Pharaoh noticed and followed him. “What is it about that dragon that makes me feel uncomfortable?” “I can sense some kind of weird energy. It’s not shadow magic, it’s something else…” “That’s not all. Look at his body! That’s not a normal dragon.” “I think you’re right, it looks like he adorns parts of a whole bunch of different animals, like a Chimera.” “I don’t know what that thing is but it gives me the creeps.” Yugi stopped when a bright light came from the door Celestia was opening. “It’s open.” The Pharaoh vanished as Yugi trotted over to the open door. Inside the room was a small box sitting on a pedestal. Celestia lifted the box and handed it to Yugi. “Is the card inside this box?” “No, that box holds the Elements of Harmony. The same Elements Twilight and her friends used to save my sister.” “If it isn’t here, then where is it?” “Here...” Celestia put her hoof on top of the pedestal and pushed it down. The pedestal slowly sunk into the ground until it was completely gone. Once it was gone, a small compartment opened in the wall behind it. A single strip of stone emerged from the wall with a single card standing upright. Celestia then used her magic and revealed it to Yugi. “Here it is. This card has the power to destroy Iseris.” “So, what do we do first?” “First we need to help Spike and Rarity defeat Blueblood...” Celestia held the card up and pointed her horn at it. The card swirled around in the air and was engulfed in a green flame. “I just hope we were fast enough...” “WHY ARE YOU WAITING!? TAKE YOUR TURN ALREADY SO I CAN DESTROY YOU!” Rarity turned to Spike. “Spike, this is it. Make this turn count…” Spike looked down at his deck and gulped. He slowly lowered his fingers onto his deck. This was it; Spike only had one chance to win. The duel depended on his next draw. He placed his fingers on his duel disk and prepared to draw. “Wait...” He clenched his hand over his stomach. Something was coming up. Suddenly, he let out a loud belch and covered his duel dusk in flames. Rarity recoiled back. “Spike, manners!” “Sorry Rarity...” ’That was weird. It felt like the Princess was sending me something but nothing came out...’ Spike shook his head. “Alright, my draw...” Spike placed his fingers down again and drew his card. As the card came out of the deck slot, a bright light started overtaking him. He slowly pulled the card out holding out as far to his right as possible. Once he saw the card, his mood completely changed. “I’ll start off by playing my own Monster Reborn and I use this effect to bring back my Armed Dragon LV7.” Armed Dragon LV7 < Level 7 / ATK: 2800 > “Like that is going to help you.” Blueblood added. “I’m not done, now I play Level Up! This allows me to upgrade my dragon even without destroying any monsters. Armed Dragon, evolve from Level 7 to Level 10!” Spike’s Armed Dragon started to grow even bigger, its new size rivaled that of Blueblood’s Overdragon. Armed Dragon LV10 < Level 10 / ATK: 3000 > Finally, he looked down at the card he had just drawn. ’Alright, let’s see what this card can do…’ “I activate-” The absolute second Blueblood saw the card, all the color drained from his body. “HARMONY FUSION!” Suddenly, a small multicolored vortex appeared up above Spike’s head. Spike’s Armed Dragon LV10 and Rarity’s Gem-Knight Crystal then transformed into two glowing stars and shot upwards and flew into the vortex. The vortex slowly condensed before erupting into a six-point star shaped pink explosion. The explosion released a massive shockwave with a deafening screech. The shockwave could be seen for miles. Celestia let a single tear escape from her eye as she saw the blast radiate over Equestria. “He did it, Spike played the card…” Back at Ponyville, Twilight pulled her head up to window barely catching a glimpse of the familiar shaped wave. “It’s… So beautiful…” Kaiba also opened the door to the library to see the blast. “What in the world is that!?” As the explosion dissipated, all that remained was a large new creature completely covered in light. It was a dragon, but no ordinary dragon. It was large white dragon cover in diamonds and crystals. Its scales were a light blue and it bore large semi-transparent diamond armor. Spike looked upon his new beast with pride. Rarity’s eyes were glued to the monster, its beauty pulled her in. Blueblood looked in terror of the monster. Finally Spike spoke up. “Through the strength of the bond between me and Rarity, we have created a new monster. Be born, Translucence Diamond Dragon!” Its enchanting roar echoed through the sky. Translucence Diamond Dragon < Level 10 / ATK: 3000 > Blueblood face changed from fear to glee. “Hahaha! Sorry good buddy but your monster only has 3000 attack points. Good try though....” “We are not finished yet…” The boys turned to Rarity as she pressed a button on her disk, flipping up her final face-down card. It was a large ring surrounded by fireballs. “I activate the trap card, Ring of Destruction, and put it on Iseris.” The ring disappeared and reappeared around the neck of Iseris. “Just what are you trying to accomplish? Iseris is unaffected by trap cards. Your trap is useless…” “Don’t be so sure Blueblood.” Spike replied. “All I have to do is discard one card from my hand and my Dragon can negate the effect of any monster on the field.” Blueblood recoiled in terror. “Face it, you lost, we won!” Spike was giggling like child then he turned to Rarity. “Can you believe it, we actually him beat!” Rarity had her eyes close and her head was tilted to the ground. She almost looked sad. “Rarity?” “Spike… I’m afraid you’re only half right. Blueblood HAS lost but…” “But?” “When Ring of Destruction destroys a monster, it does damage to ‘both’ players, not just him.” Rarity opened her eyes and turned to Spike. “Once that bomb goes off, Iseris will be destroyed, taking both me and Blueblood with it.” “ARE YOU INSANE!?” Blueblood yelled. “Do you really plan to destroy yourself just to save this… Beast?” “But Rarity, my dragon has the ability to prevent us from taking any effect damage.” Spike replied. “Spike…” Rarity replied. “Translucence Diamond Dragon only prevents the controller from taking damage. You control the Dragon, not me… And… I wouldn’t want it any other way…” “What are you talking about? I will gladly give you control of my drag-” “Spike!” The baby dragon recoiled at Rarity’s sudden anger. “There is nothing you can do. This is my choice to make! I couldn’t live with myself if I let anything happen to you.” “But I... I can’t... I won’t... I’ll find another way to defeat Blueblood” Suddenly, Rarity was in front of Spike and was holding him in the air with her front hooves. Spike had shut his eyes. “SPIKE! LISTEN TO ME! What is more important? Me or Equestria?” “I...I...” “If you truly love me, you’d this for me...” Spike’s heart stopped. Did she really just say that? This was the hardest choice he has ever had in his life and quite possible hardest he ever will make. A choice between possibly dooming Equestria or letting the love of his life be lost, maybe forever... Then he felt something... Something warm... He opened his eyes. He saw Rarity. Her eyes were closed and right in front of his face. She had kissed him... Right on the lips no less. After a few seconds, she stopped and pulled and away. Her eyes stared right into Spike. “Rarity... I’ve made my decision...” Rarity reached over and grabbed Spike’s right claw. Slowly, she dragged it over his duel disk. “I discard one card from my hand to activate the effect of Translucence Diamond Dragon, disabling your monster’s ability...” Those words hurt him more than anything in the world but it what Rarity wanted and that’s all that mattered. “Thank you Spike...” At that moment, the collar around Iseris started blinking. “Ten seconds…” On the other side of the room, Blueblood had gone into a full panic. “No, please!” He looked down at the cards in his hand. “There must be something I can do!?” “You have exposed yourself for the spoiled brat you are. Nine… This sacrifice is my final act of generosity. I don’t care if I am forced to give up my own life, as long as I can take you down with me and protect my friends! Eight…” “No, I refuse to go down with ‘you’ you filthy peasant!” “Seven…” Blueblood swiveled around and charged energy in his horn before firing a blast at the barrier. The beam just bounced off the barrier, not even making a dent. “Six… Five…” “You pathetic little worm. I knew you would fail me eventually…” Blueblood’s ears perked up. “Master, is that you? Please help me!” A small stream of black sparks started flowing outside the barrier and a new pony flashed into view leaving a still smoking scorch mark on the ground. She was wearing a robe like Blueblood but the hood seemed a bit more jagged. “You sicken me Blueblood. Your nothing but a coward who lets others take the fall for his shortcomings. Your scum who doesn’t understand a thing about what we stand for.” Blueblood shuttered. “What do you mean? I’m your best duelist!” The mysterious pony broke into laughter. “You’re really are pathetic. You actually thought I had even a shred of respect for somepony as selfish and spoiled as you.” “WHAT!? No, please, I’m sorry!” “Goodbye Blueblood...” The pony sparked a couple times before teleporting away in a flash. Blueblood turned back to see nearly all the lights on the ring had gone out. “Two…” Rarity counted closing her eyes. “Goodbye Spike… Stay safe…” Finally, the ring stopped blinking before exploding. Blueblood screamed as the explosion engulfed his entire body. Spike crouched down covering himself from the explosion as a barrier formed up around him blocking the explosion. Spike only barely opened his eyes enough to catch Rarity get suddenly blasted by the flames. The entire explosion was contained within the barrier creating a dome of flames. Eventually the fire dissipated leaving the two ponies lying on the ground with a black smoking hole forming underneath the two of them. Blueblood < LP: 8200 → 0 > Rarity < LP: 4000 → 0 > Spike quickly ran over to Rarity and grabbed her hoof. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. “Spike… I just want you to know that I will never forget you…” Spike clenched onto her hoof tighter. “I won’t forget you either.” Rarity closed her eyes one last time before bursting into a cloud of black particles that were pulled into the black hole, leaving behind the usual scorch mark and Rarity’s Duel Disk. Spike looked over where Blueblood was. He was already gone leaving nothing but a mark and his Duel Disk. He saw one of Blueblood’s cards that were scattered on the ground was covered in a black fire. As he approached it, he noticed it was Iseris’ card. The fire quickly burned the card until it was completely gone leaving nothing but burned paper. He barely turned his head when another card caught his eye. He bent down and picked it up. “The Winged Dragon of Ra…” “Congratulations young dragon.” Spike spun around to see the strange hooded pony from before again. “Keep that Egyptian God card, think of it as a reward. Without Blueblood the card is useless to us anyway.” There were a few more sparks and the pony was gone again. Just then, Celestia and Yugi arrived from the east hall. Celestia stopped for a moment to look over the damage. “What happened here?” “Princess Celestia, your back!” Spike jumped up and started hugging Celestia’s leg. Yugi looked around for a second. “Where’s Rarity?” Spike’s mood suddenly changed, and then Yugi noticed the two marks on the field. Yugi took the hint and simply turned away. “It was her choice; she sacrificed herself so I could go on.” Spike held up Harmony Fusion. “Translucence Diamond Dragon… A monster made from the bond between Rarity and me…” Celestia trotted up to Spike and held out her hoof. “If I may?” Spike held up the card and Celestia levitated it up. “800 years... I had hoped to never use this card again...” “They will not get away with this…” Yugi replied. “I won’t allow Rarity’s sacrifice be in vain. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and now Rarity… I promise I will find a way to bring you back.” He turned back to the Alicorn and dragon. “I may not be from this world but you greeted me and open arms and claimed me as you’re friend. This world is like a second home to me now and I refuse to let it fall into darkness. It’s up to us to protect Equestria. It’s up to us to protect our home! “Sorry Yugi… But I can’t help…” Both the boys turned to the Princess. “I’ve done enough damage as it is. It’s best I don’t get involved. It’s all up to you Yugi; you and the others are Equestria’s last lines of defense.” Celestia began to trot up the main staircase when she stopped. “Tell Twilight I am sorry…”