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// RANK 54: Power of the Prodigies: 
// Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Numerous 
// by Monty Eggman 
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RANK 54: Power of the Prodigies:
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THE STORY SO FAR...:
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In Canterlot High School, every student is wild over the world's most popular trading card game: Duel Monsters! Every day, players of the card game, known as "Duelists", go head-to-head to see who among them is the best around. Among the Duelists in attendance at CHS, one of the best is a young teenager named Sunset Shimmer, a girl from another world...

The last round of the WCQ Qualification Tournament was underway, pitting Canterlot High students Octavia Melody and Sweetie Belle against each other. Octavia wielded her Melodious Deck well against Sweetie's Crystal Beasts, and at first, it seemed as though Rarity's younger sister would not be able to overcome her opponent's musical monsters. However, She fought bravely to the end, and using the skills that Sunset Shimmer taught her - along with a special gift from her friend Button Mash, she managed to win the Duel by Summoning Rainbow Overdragon, allowing her to move on to the Semifinals.

Sunset was happy for Sweetie of course, but she was greatly concerned because this meant that her next Duel would be up against Sonata Dusk of the Dazzlings. Her concern stemmed from the belief that Sonata had cheated during her Duel with Bright Mind. To figure out if this was so, she had sent Bright, along with her friend Twilight Sparkle, to see Mr. Jay Dunstan, the representative of Industrial Illusions that was managing the tournament. Twilight and Bright hit a bit of a snag when three thugs posing as security guards tried to keep them from seeing Mr. Dunstan. But thanks to three Duelists - Sol Burner and Slid Diamond, competitors in the tournament, and a feisty girl named Flare Flutter, Twilight and Bright managed to reach Mr. Dunstan's office, and the false guards were dealt with.

Now, as the first Semifinal Duel - the Duel involving dueling prodigies Gilda and Ember - approaches, the secrets behind the scenes of the tournament are about to be discovered at last...

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"Well, here we are... Mr. Dunstan's office..." said Twilight Sparkle, staring at a metallic, lilac-purple door. She, along with Spike and the young Duelist Bright Mind were here to see Mr. Jay Dunstan - the representative sent by Industrial Illusions to manage the WCQ Qualification Tournament that was going on now. They wanted to seem them because - according to Sunset's belief - Sonata Dusk had cheated in her Duel against Bright by stacking her Deck with cards to beat Bright with that were not originally in her Deck. "Now we can hopefully get what we need in order to stop the Dazzlings from ruining this tournament for everypo- er, everyBODY."

"I'm still wondering what was up with those security guys that tried to stop us from getting here..." wondered Spike. "They were pretty weird... And scary, of course."

"Well, that doesn't matter now." Bright told him. "Thanks to our Good Samaritans, we were able to come here without a single scratch. Now, according to Ms. Sunset, we have to access the data concerning the Tournament Entrant Data Files."

"What are those?" Twilight inquired him.

"As your friend had told us," he responded, "those files supposedly contain all of the data revolving around every single person who entered the tournament. And she had said that they would provide more than sufficient evidence as to whether or not my opponent had been cheating."

"Let's hope that we can dig up some dirt on those Dazzlings once and for all!" said a determined Spike, ready to stop the trio from causing any more trouble.

"...Let's go. The sooner we can find that data, the better off everyone here will be." Twilight told her companions. They walked up to the door, and after calming herself a little with a nice deep breath, Twilight knocked on the door. For a while, they waited, not hearing anything.

Then, the door opened, and out walked Mr. Dunstan in his black suit and red tie. "Hello?" he asked upon stepping out. Looking at Twilight, he then said to her, "Oh! Ms. Sparkle! Here you are at last! Ms. Shimmer informed me that you would be here." He then glanced over at Bright Mind and asked, "And I see you've brought someone with you?"

"Yes, sir." Twilight responded. "Is it okay if he's here with me?"

"I suppose there's no harm in it." Mr. Dunstan replied. "Come in, both of you."

"Thank you, sir." Bright said to him as they all walked into the office together, with Spike making sure not to say anything while they were meeting with Mr. Dunstan (since he was not aware of Spike being capable of speaking). The room was quite simple, containing a metal work desk, a computer with a flat-screen monitor, some chairs, and a TV that was currently showing the tournament as it progressed.

"Take a seat, both of you." Mr. Dunstan recommended. Twilight and Bright did so, moving the chairs in the room so that they could sit in front of the desk. "Now then," the man began to ask them, "what brings you two here? Ms. Shimmer informed me that you would be coming here, but did not discuss the details. Could you inform me of why she would have to come and see me?"

"Yes, sir." Twilight began. "You see...the reason she sent us to see you is because she believes that one of the competing Duelists in the tournament is cheating."

"Cheating...?" said a mildly-startled Mr. Dunstan. "Are you sure of that?"

"Sunset seems to think so." the young Princess answered. "That's probably why she didn't mention it to you; she probably doesn't want it to leak out until we can get proof of it."

"I see... Now I understand." the man replied. He then asked, "So, just who is it that Ms. Shimmer believes is cheating? And what made her think so?"

"Sonata Dusk." Bright spoke up. "Sunset thinks that she might have illegally put cards from her personal collection into her Deck just to defeat me."

"Ah yes, I was watching that Duel..." Mr. Dunstan said. "I will admit, it did seem strange that Ms. Dusk seemed to have the best possible counter for your Deck." He then faced both of them and told them. "Well if this is the case, then you'll need to access the Tournament Entrant Data Files. Those will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt as to whether or not Ms. Dusk was breaking the tournament rules."

"That's what Sunset told us." Twilight said to him. "But what are these data files exactly?"

"They have all sorts of information regarding every Duelist that entered the tournament." Mr. Dunstan explained to them. "It even includes the Duelists that entered the Preliminary Rounds, but couldn't pass them. It lists everything: Their name, their past tournament records if they have any, their current rank as a Duelist, and the most important thing of all: Their Deck, along with every single card in it. Main Deck, Extra Deck, even the Side Deck."

"I-it lists their whole DECK?!" asked Twilight, surprised. "Every single card in it?! That's incredible!" She then asked, 'But...how did you get all of this information? The only thing that everyone in the Preliminary Rounds listed was their name..."

"That's correct." said Mr. Dunstan. "However, we at Industrial Illusions have ways of getting any and all necessary information, and we have the technology to do just that." He then asked the two of them, "Do the two of you recall how the Preliminary Round of the tournament worked?"

"If I recall," Bright Mind began to answer, "we were set up against A.I. Duelists and played against them on a Duel Terminal Cabinet. The sixteen Duelists that preformed the best were allowed into the tournament. But what does that have to do with this conversation?"

"Quite a bit, actually." Mr. Dunstan responded. "Those cabinets served as more than simply being a tough opponent for you and the other contestants to overcome. Those machines also scanned and recorded every single card in the players' Decks, which was then sent to the Industrial Illusions/Kaiba Corp. Duelist Database."

"So that's how..." said Twilight. "Those cabinets were how you have information on a Duelist's Deck and every card in it!"

"Exactly." the man told her. "This was to ensure that no Duelist could modify their Decks before or during the tournament, thereby making it a fair fight." Humming a bit as he looked over at Bright Mind, he then added, "Unfortunately it seems that our measures weren't as perfect as we had hoped, as someone has still committed such an act. For that Mr. Bright, I apologize. But I can promise you that - if Ms. Dusk is cheating - she will be punished for it. We at Industrial Illusions have a zero-tolerance policy for cheaters that we take very seriously, as our Duel Terminal machines' scanning equipment has shown."

"So will you let us look at these data files to find out if Sonata was cheating or not?" asked Twilight.

"Absolutely, Ms. Sparkle." said Mr. Dunstan. "I insist. Come around behind the desk, both of you. I will enter the passwords that will allow you both access the Tournament Entrant Data Files. If you need any help, just let me know."

"Thank you very much, sir." Bright said politely. He then turned to Twilight and told her, "We had better get to work, then."

"Okay." the purple girl responded. "I'll just let Sunset know that we're here first." She then tapped her Duel Gazer in order to contact her friend and let her know what they were doing.

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Back in the main stadium, Megan Williams - the MC for the tournament - was ready to begin her next announcement to the competitors and spectators. "Alllllright, ladies and gentlemen!" she said with ecstatic vigor. "With Sweetie Belle's victory over Octavia Melody, we have now reached the end of the Quarterfinal Round! Now our four remaining Duelists - Ember, Gilda, Sonata, and Sweetie - will compete in the Semifinals, and in the end, only TWO Duelists will move on to face each other in the Final Duel! The first Semifinal Duel will begin in just a few minutes, so make sure you don't miss it!"

At that moment, Sunset Shimmer - the Tournament Judge - looked around herself for a second; once again, she saw that the Dazzlings were a no-show once more, which only deepened her suspicions of them. Just then, Sunset heard a beeping sound coming from her Duel Gazer. "Huh?" she spoke upon hearing it. She quickly tapped the button on the side of the Gazer and said into it, "Hello?"

"Sunset? It's Twilight." spoke the voice on the other end. "Bright, Spike and I have just gotten to Mr. Dunstan's office. We're just waiting on him to give us access to the Tournament Entrant Data Files."

"That's great!" said Sunset. Pausing to think for a moment, she then asked, "Wait, you only just got there...? Not to sound insensitive or anything, but I would've thought you'd have gotten there already..."

"Well, about that..." Twilight began to tell her, "we were on our way over there when these three large people posing as security tried to keep us from getting to Mr. Dunstan. We might not have gotten past them if it weren't for some very helpful people keeping them busy."

"Hmmm...I see." Sunset said, figuring that - based on the circumstances, she figured the fake guards were hired by the Dazzlings so that no one would discover their secret. She then asked out of concern, "Those fake guards didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Don't worry; we're all just fine." the young Princess assured her friend. "Anyway, I'll contact you again as soon as we find anything out."

"Okay, but hurry..." Sunset informed her. "The Semifinals are about to begin, and we need to get that information before Sweetie has to Duel Sonata. Once the Duel begins, it'll be too late to stop it. Thankfully, they're not facing each other just yet, so you have at least a little time, but it won't be much."

"I'll do my best, Sunset." Twilight told her. "I'll talk to you later."

Sunset tapped her D-gazer button to end her call with Twilight before thinking to herself, (I sure hope they can figure this whole thing out before Sonata does to Sweetie what she did to that Bright guy... If Sweetie were to lose to Sonata in the same way, it would probably crush her, especially if she found out it was because her opponent cheated...) She then shook her head and said to herself, "No... That won't happen. Sweetie's tougher than that, and besides that, those Dazzlings aren't going to get the chance to cheat her...! I know Twilight won't let me down; she's hasn't done that yet, and I'm sure she has no intention of failing now either. I just have to believe that things will work out well in the end..."

Sunset was in such deep thought over the whole matter, that she didn't notice a hand coming up from behind her...until it touched her shoulder. "Eeyahh!!" the girl yelped in surprise. She quickly turned around, assuming a defensive stance, when she saw that it was Fluttershy standing behind her. "Huh? Fluttershy? Was that you just now?" she asked her.

"O-oh my...!" gasped the shy girl. "Did I startle you just now...? I-I'm sorry...! I didn't mean to..."

"I-it's okay. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all... No harm done." Sunset responded, putting her friend at ease. Looking at her, she then said, "So, you're feeling alright again, Fluttershy?"

"Yes. Very much so." the pale yellow-skinned teen answered. "Gilda stayed with me since the end of our Duel together to make sure I'd be okay..."

"You're welcome, by the way." said another voice - this one coming from Gilda herself, who had been standing behind Fluttershy the whole time. "I just wanted to make sure she'd be fine to walk after she fainted like that. Other than a little shakiness when she stood up, she's perfectly fine."

"Thanks Gilda, I really appreciate it." Sunset thanked her. She then informed the kindly roughneck, "Anyway, you two are just in time: The Semifinals are about to start, and the first match will be you versus Ember."

"I didn't forget." Gilda simply responded. "I've been watching the tournament on the TV in the Infirmary with Flutters, so I was ready to head out with her once my next Duel was ready t' start." She then turned to Fluttershy and told her, "Why don't ya go and sit down with your friends in the audience? I want you to get a good look at me when I win this Duel!"

"I will. Thank you, Gilda." Fluttershy quietly replied. "And you can be sure that I'll be rooting for you...even if my cheers are too quiet for you to hear them."

"Glad t' hear it." Gilda told her. Though she wouldn't say it out loud, she was pleased to know that her friend/rival was backing her up.

Back in the stadium locker rooms, Ember was sitting by herself, taking some deep breaths to calm herself before her next Duel. "Alright now..." she said to herself. "Just two more Duels to go... Once I win this tournament, I know I can finally fulfill my promise - to Sunset, to my dad, and to myself. I'm going to become a Pro Duelist one day, and I want to be able to hold my head up high and feel like I am one."

"A good attitude to have, Ember." said a gruff voice from behind her.

Recognizing the voice, Ember looked behind her and saw her father Torch, who had just walked into the room. "Huh? Dad? What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought you were in the audience..."

"I met up with an old acquaintance of mine after your first Duel." Torch answered. "After that, I had a small matter that needed my attention. I overheard you in here and decided to stop by to see you."

"I see..." Ember replied. She then asked, "So what's up? I'd assume you were here to give me some pep talk, except that I know you aren't the type to give pep talk."

"True." Torch confirmed. Looking at the tournament bracket on his D-Pad, he then told her, "Your Semifinal opponent is Gilda, I see... Granddaughter of Gruff, the principal of Griffonstone High School, and more importantly, a former Pro Duelist like myself."

"Yeah, I know about that." Ember replied. "Believe me, I'm not taking any chances around her; I'm sure she was trained by him to get as good as she is, so I'm not planning to let her off easy on this one."

"Indeed you shouldn't." her father told her. "That being said, it's also important not to lose sight of yourself. While you should come at your opponent with all that you have, one should always remember that it's equally as important to enjoy yourself as you do. Taking things too seriously can cause you to develop tunnel vision, and cause you to make critical errors. And of course, there's no real point in winning if you can't bring yourself to enjoy your victories. Not only that, but losing a single Duel with a mind set on caring only about winning and nothing else can cause your emotions to flare out of control, causing you to do things that you may regret in the future..." Taking a deep, sad-sounding sigh, he continued, saying, "That's what caused the end of my Dueling career... The way I see it now, to become a true Pro, one has to establish a balance between fighting their hardest in a Duel...AND staying true to themself and be able to enjoy themselves at the same time. Do not forget that, Ember."

Ember was a bit surprised to hear all of that come out of her father; it seemed like it wasn't too long ago that he had given up on dueling forever. But now he was barely recognizable from the depressed shell of a man that he had once been. Managing a smile, she told him, "I won't forget any of that. I promise." Standing up and feeling refreshed, she then said, "I'll do my best in my next Duel...and the one after that as well. I'll make sure to make you proud of me, Dad."

Managing a small (yet still scary-looking) smile himself, Torch told her, "Just worry about feeling proud of yourself, Ember. And give those fans something to cheer about." Ember nodded as they both left the locker room together.

Minutes later, the short intermission following the last Quarterfinal Duel had ended, and Megan prepped her mic to begin her announcement. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen!" she said to the audience. "We're now ready to begin the Semifinals of the WCQ Qualification Tournament! You guys ready for some MAJOR dueling action?!"

The audience cheered loudly in response, eager to see the next Duel.

"I'll take THAT as a 'yes'!" Megan replied with a wink. "In that case, let's start our first Semifinal Duel! And this one's gonna be an EXCITING one! That's 'cause our two competing Duelists are natural-born dueling prodigies, each one coming from a family of skilled Duelists!" Turning over to her left, she then said excitedly, "First off, we have Ember, the daughter of former Pro Duelist Torch, hailing from the city of Bloodstone! Ember has so far shown her skills with her mighty Dragon Deck, winning her first two Duels in spectacular fashion!"

Ember walked onto the dueling field hearing the cheering crowds as she made her way to the center of the arena. Though she had a serious look on her face, inside she was happy to be here and was ready to face one of the strongest opponents she had faced yet. Sunset could tell just from looking at her that Ember was here to win this Duel and have a good time doing it. Torch, who was sitting up in the stands with Celestia and Luna could see that as well, and he was pleased to see her taking his advice.

Turning around, Megan then gestured to her right, announcing, "Aaaaaand on the other side, we have Gilda from Griffonstone High School! Her grandfather Gruff - who is currently the GHS principal - was ALSO a former Pro Duelist, as well as a top graduate at his Duel Academy! And Gilda has shown so far that her talents are every bit as strong - possibly stronger - as he was!"

Gilda proudly marched onto the field with a smirk on her face, ready to beat anyone standing in her way. As she did, she could hear the crowds - as well as her school friends Gabby and Martin - cheering her on. Fluttershy had since joined her school friends further up in the stands, and Gilda's grandfather was still at home, watching the tournament on his computer. However, the Griffonstone girl knew that both of them were giving her their support as well.

Entering the center of the arena, Ember and Gilda both shuffled each other's Decks, staring at each other as they did so. They may have been here for fun, but they were also here to win. And it was clear that neither side was willing to back down. After their Decks were returned to each other, Sunset tossed a coin to determine who get the choice to go first or second. The coin toss result determined that Ember would make the choice, and she opted to go first. With that settled, the two of them walked over to their respective sides of the dueling field, ready to begin their Duel.

"Alright, everyone!" said Megan, eager to get things started. "The Decks are shuffled, the turn order has been determined, and now we're ready to start!"

Looking at both competitors, Sunset then raised her hand high in the air before swiftly bringing it down. "Now, begin the Duel!"

Both Ember and Gilda drew their opening hands and shouted to each other, "Let's DUEL!!" (Ember: LP 4,000) (Gilda: LP 4,000)

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Up in the audience, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie - now joined by their friend Fluttershy - were anxious to see what a Duel between two very strong and serious Duelists would look like. Turning over to her shy friend, Applejack asked her, "So Fluttershy; who do y'all think's gonna win this Duel?"

"Um...well, I do hope that Gilda will win..." the pale yellow girl answered. "But...well, Ember is a very strong Duelist too, so I'm honestly not sure how this Duel win end..."

"I wholeheartedly agree..." Rarity chimed in. "Both of them are especially strong players in their own right. Both of them come from Pro Dueling families and were trained by their families to become who they are now. The only thing we CAN be certain of is that this will be quite the spectacle for everyone in attendance."

"Yeah, well I don't care HOW tough Ember is! Gilda's gonna win this one, hands down!" Rainbow boldly declared, always supportive of her old friend. "Right Pinkie?"

"You bet, Dashie!" the pink girl replied. "That is, unless the writer decides to throw us a plot twist at the end! But what're the chances of that?"

"Uh...yeah, sure." the athletic teen responded, not understanding what Pinkie meant. She and the others returned their attention back to the Duel in progress.

Staring down her opponent, Gilda thought to herself, (So...Ember... I'm finally fightin' her in a Duel. From what I've seen of her so far, she's not the type to pull any punches. She managed to beat two pretty tough opponents in this tournament: First that girl with the Amazoness Deck that managed to pull of the only OTK in the Preliminaries, and then that Steel Shadows guy that got asked to join the Wonderbolts... Despite how tough they were, she still managed to beat 'em... I hate to admit it, but...for the first time in a long time...I'm actually a little nervous...)

Ember was, likewise, watching her opponent in the Duel and analyzing her thoroughly. (Gilda...) she thought. (Just like me, she's a Duelist that was trained by a member of her family that was once a Pro. She's also supposedly the toughest Duelist at her school, like how Sunset is the strongest in HER school. And from what I've seen so far of her work, I can see how she got that title. Both of her previous opponents fought hard against her, such as that weird guy that thought that he had her beat even before the Duel began... Even that shy chick put up an extremely good fight against her as well. No doubt in my mind: This ain't gonna be an easy one...)

"Alright, it's time to begin this Semifinal Duel!" Megan announced. "And it will start with Ember's first move!"

The Bloodstone girl nodded and looked over her opening hand. (I think I should do this...and then wait and see what she does in response.) she thought. Taking two cards from her hand, she told Gilda, "I'll start this game with a simple T-Set before passin' it to you." She then placed a face-down card on each of her front and back rows on the field before ending her turn.

"A what Set?" asked Gabby, not familiar with the lexicon Ember used.

"T-Set." explained Martin. "It's when a Duelist places a monster face-down in Defense Position, and then sets a card in the Spell & Trap Zone directly behind it, forming a T-shape. A rather passive move; peculiar for someone of Ember's caliber..."

Gilda wondered the same thing herself as she drew her first card. "What's she up to...?" she asked as she looked over her hand. (I've got a pretty good hand, but something about that chick's move doesn't seem right... Like she's tempting me to attack her.) the roughneck continued to think. (I guess should play it safe and not go all-out just yet... But I'll still try and put some pressure on her!) Taking a card from her hand and playing it, Gilda declared, "I'll summon Raidraptor - Sharp Lanius in Attack Mode!" Gilda's red and silver-armored bird creature took to the sky, ready to unleash it power (Raidraptor - Sharp Lanius: Level 4 / ATK 1700 / DEF 1000).

"Alright! One of her best cards, right off the bat!" said Rainbow Dash, excited to see Gilda taking the lead.

Pointing forward, the Griffonstone Duelist shouted, "Get ready, Ember...! I'm attackin' with Sharp Lanius! Take out her Defense monster!" Her monster rushed forward towards the face-down monster, which revealed itself as a tiny salmon-colored dragon with cute, green eyes and small wings (Kidmodo Dragon: Level 3 / ATK 100 / DEF 200). Not surprisingly, Sharp Lanius easily defeated it with one stroke of its wings, hitting it with a razor-sharp slash of wind. "Ha! Take that!" said Gilda. "See that? It pays t' be aggressive!"

"Maybe, but it's also not a bad idea to wait and see what your opponent does first." Ember rebutted.

"What's that mean?"

Taking the defeated monster from her Duel Pad, the blue-skinned girl told her opponent, "The monster you destroyed - Kidmodo Dragon - activates its effect after it gets sent to the Graveyard. That lets me replace it with any Dragon monster from my hand!"

"Wait, WHAT?! Any Dragon??" asked Gilda.

"Exactly." Ember confirmed. "So I'll play this: My Level 8 Darkstorm Dragon in Attack Mode!" After saying that, a vicious twister of black-colored wind shot up from the ground in front of her, and out of it emerged a massive, frightening dragon with black scales and red vein-like marks all over itself (Darkstorm Dragon: Level 8 / ATK 2700 / DEF 2500).

"Incredible!" said Flash Sentry, sitting next to Sunset on the side bench. "She just got a high-level monster out on Gilda's turn!"

"I expected as much." said Sunset, knowing what sorts of strategies Ember was capable of.

"Hmmm...you let me defeat that monster on purpose, huh?" asked Gilda.

"That's right." Ember said, smiling confidently. "And that's just the start of what I have planned for you."

Looking over her hand, Gilda then tried to figure out her next move. (I didn't expect her to bring out a tough monster like that so soon... That sorta derails my plan...) she thought. (I was gonna play my Fuzzy Lanius next, then combine 'em to Xyz Summon Force Strix before the end of the turn... But then I'll be left with just one monster on the field that can't stand up to her Dragon. Now I think I'd better hold off on any big moves until I have a better idea of what to do next.)

Taking a card from her hand, she then said, "On my Main Phase 2, I'll Special Summon my Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius in Defense Mode, since I control another Raidraptor." Her monster then appeared on the field, sporting its blue and violet-colored armor (Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius: Level 4 / ATK 500 / DEF 1500). "Then," she continued, "I'll play Raidraptor - Nest and use it to get Raidraptor - Strangle Lanius from my Deck." After taking the card from her Deck, she then placed another card into her D-Pad and told her opponent, "Last but not least, I'll set a card face-down."

"That's odd..." Applejack pointed out. "Gilda seems to be playin' a lot more cautiously in this match-up, ain't she?"

"That's not surprising, considering her opponent is a very formidable one that's at least as strong as she is." Rarity told her.

"Oh my..." said Fluttershy, a bit worried for her friendly rival.

"Alright Ember," Gilda began to tell her, "I'm endin' my turn right now!"

"Actually, that's not quite true." Ember responded. "Before your turn ends, I have another move to make first." Tapping her D-Pad's screen, she shouted, "I activate my Trap Card, Call of the Haunted!"

"You're activating your face-down card now?" asked Gilda.

"That's right!" Ember answered. "And I'll use it to summon a monster from my Graveyard; the ONLY monster in my Graveyard, that is. So I'll bring back Kidmodo Dragon!" And just as she had declared, the tiny little dragon reappeared on her field in Attack Position.

"Why's she doin' that?" asked Rainbow Dash. "That thing's nothing compared to Gilda's monsters!"

"Don't forget, Rainbow..." Fluttershy warned her, "she used that monster to summon that bigger Dragon earlier. She must be trying for it again..."

Gilda thought the same thing herself. "If you think I'll attack that thing and fall for its effect a second time, then you'd better think again!" she informed her opponent. "You can't get with that trick twice!"

"I'm sure I can't." said Ember, drawing her next card and smiling a little. "But then," she continued, "I don't NEED your help for that anyway." As Gilda was left wondering what that meant, Ember placed the card she drew in her hand for the moment before declaring, "Now, I'll Gemini Summon Darkstorm Dragon on my field!" After saying that, her mighty Dragon began to radiate white light all around itself.

"Huh? Gemini Summon?" asked Gilda.

"By giving up my Normal Summon for this turn," stated Ember, "I can turn my Darkstorm Dragon into an Effect Monster, and allow it to have access to its effect! An effect that I'll use immediately!"

"What kind of effect do you think she's gonna use, Martin?" asked Gabby.

"For Ember to give up a Normal Summon this turn, it must be a strong one." her smart friend replied.

"Now," Ember continued, "by sending one Spell or Trap Card on my field to the Graveyard, Darkstorm can use its effect to destroy all of the other Spells and Traps on the field!" Sending her Call of the Haunted card as cost, she then shouted, "Go, Darkstorm Dragon! take out both of Gilda's back row cards! Shadow Twisters!" The gigantic beast then unleashed its power, sending a pair of vicious, shadowy tornadoes towards Gilda's field, destroying both her Raidraptor - Nest and face-down card.

(No...!) thought the Griffonstone Duelist. (She got my Nest! And my Raptor's Gust too!)

After the dust settled from the destruction of those cards, Ember's Kidmodo Dragon then vanished into a violet-colored vortex as well. "Since I sent Call of the Haunted to my Graveyard to activate Darkstorm's effect, Kidmodo Dragon - that monster that was summoned from it - has to go to the Graveyard. But because of that, I can use his effect a second time!" Taking a card from her hand, she played it on her D-Pad and shouted, "So now I'll bring out one of my best cards! Go, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!" And with that, Ember's brilliant and powerful Dragon - one could say the crown jewel of her Deck - appeared in all of its luminous glory (Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand: Level 8 / ATK 2800 / DEF 2800).

"Ya gotta be kidding me!!" said Gilda, shocked at having to face another powerful Dragon.

"That was amazing!" stated Flash. "She got out another high-level monster, and it's only the third turn!"

"I have to say, it was a brilliant move; using the cost of her Darkstorm Dragon to her advantage like that." stated Sunset. "No one's taken any damage in this Duel yet, but Gilda's the one at a disadvantage right now..."

For the first time in a long time, Gilda was sweating bullets. She had never been backed up against the wall THIS quickly in a Duel before, and she wasn't sure what to do. "You can calm down a little, Gilda..." Ember told her. "I don't get a Battle Phase on the turn Kidmodo Dragon uses his effect. At least for this turn, you and your monsters are safe."

(A little reassuring, but not by much...) thought the kindly roughneck. (I still gotta face two high-level monsters on my next turn... I think I might have a way to do it, but it all depends on what that chick does next.)

Taking another card from her hand, Ember then said, "Even though I can't attack this turn, that doesn't mean I'm finished making any other moves. So I'll play the Spell Card Foolish Burial, to send my Keeper of the Shrine from my Deck to the Graveyard." After doing so, the blue-skinned girl then thought to herself, (Now that I've got Keeper of the Shrine in my Graveyard, I'll be ready to use his effect just in case Gilda manages to take down any of my Dragons on the field...) Taking the card she drew for her turn, she then stated, "Finally, I'll activate my Ruins of the Divine Dragon Lords before passing it off to you." After playing the card, a crumbling building rose out from behind her, along with a large statue of a dragon that seemed to be in a similar state of disrepair.

Torch - sitting with Celestia and Luna - recognized the card as on that she had played when he had dueled her a week or so prior to today. He smirked a little, pleased at how well his daughter was doing so far. "See that, Luna?" he asked the CHS Vice Principal. "My daughter's gotten herself quite an advantage in this Duel so far."

"Indeed..." Luna replied. "Though at the moment, it still seems as though both of them are just feeling each other out."

"That appears to have been Ember's style so far..." noted Celestia. "She spends the first few turns learning about what kind of opponent she is facing, and then developing the best plan to fight them, based on what she's observed."

"It's not just during the Duel that she gets a read on her opponent." Torch pointed out. "She also knows to start doing that even BEFORE she faces her next opponent. That way, she has the best possible plan going into the Duel. I taught her everything I knew on the subject, but I cannot deny that she has developed considerable skill on her own as well."

"Well, I must say, you have crafted your daughter into quite a formidable Duelist, Torch." Luna admitted. "There is no doubt she have quite the dueling career ahead of her." The three of them returned their attention to the Duel in progress.

Back at the Duel, Gilda prepared to begin her next turn, but wasn't exactly sure about what Ember's last Spell Card was for. All she could figure was that it was a key part of her opponent's strategy. "It's my turn... I draw!" she said, pulling her next card and looking at it. Placing it in her hand, she then decided, (Okay... she's already got two Level 8 monsters on the field... But she didn't use them to Xyz Summon... It's possible that she doesn't have any Rank 8 monsters...or is it? I've seen her previous two Duels in the tournament, and she's managed to win both times without ever going into her Extra Deck; all of her best cards so far have come from the Main Deck. Darnit... She's gotta be hiding something from me about her Deck, but I can't figure out what it is...!)

Ember glanced at her opponent and smiled a bit. She could tell that Gilda was trying her best to figure out what her strategy was, but couldn't come up with anything. (There's a reason you haven't figured me or my Deck out yet.) she mentally told her. (It's because I haven't fully revealed every card in it yet! As tough as my last two opponents were, I haven't had to bring out my Deck's full power... Let's see if she might be able to do that in her next move, or if my read on her is accurate.)

After thinking about it for a while, Gilda then made a decision. (Alright...) she thought, (I think the best thing I can do is to try and go on the offensive. At the very least, I might be able to figure out what her plan is.) Taking a card from her hand, she then stated, "First, I'll activate the effect of Raidraptor - Strangle Lanius in my hand! Since I've got a DARK monster out, I can Special Summon him right to the field!" She then brought out yet another bird-like creature, which wore silver armor and its jets were emitting bright blue flames (Raidraptor - Strangle Lanius: Level 4 / ATK 1600 / DEF 1100).

After Gilda summoned her monster, Martin (and only Martin) noticed a peculiar green light radiating off of Strangle Lanius. Before he could question it, the light vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving him wondering about its significance.

"Now she's got three monsters on the field!" said Rainbow Dash. "I'm smelling an Xyz Summon!"

"No, that would be from the Triple Caliente Hot Sauce I just put on the foot-longs I got from the food court!" Pinkie told her. She then took a bite out of one of the searing-hot snacks, causing puffs of steam to somehow shoot from her ears. Giggling, she added, "Heehee! I love it when that happens!"

"Those dragons of yours may be tough," Gilda told her opponent, "but my Deck's got ways of dealing with them! Now I overlay my Strangle Lanius, Sharp Lanius, and Fuzzy Lanius - all Level 4 - to build the Overlay Network!!" her three monsters then transformed into beams of purple light that flew into a red vortex in the center of the field. "Obscured falcon!" she then chanted. "Raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Raidraptor - Rise Falcon!" And with an explosion of light, Gilda's Rise Falcon appeared, sporting its green-and-blue armor (Raidraptor - Rise Falcon: Rank 4 / ATK 100 / DEF 2000 / OLU 3).

"YAAAAAAAY!!!" cheered Gabby. "She got an Xyz Monster out!! YAAAY!!!"

Martin looked over at Gilda's monster...and saw that same green light from before appear around it for a split second. (What...? There it is again...) he thought to himself, now a little concerned.

Smirking, Gilda told her opponent, "Sorry 'bout this, but I'm gonna activate Rise Falcon's effect! By removing an Overlay Unit, I can have him absorb the attack power of any of your Special Summoned monsters! And since you summoned both of those Dragons with Kidmodo Dragon's effect, either one of 'em's fair game!"

"Yeah! That'll give Gilda a huge advantage!" said Flash. But Sunset wasn't so sure about that, having a slightly concerned look on her face.

Gilda's Xyz Monster then drew in one of the three purple spheres that orbited it (Raidraptor - Rise Falcon: OLU 3 - 1 = 2) and grasped it in its talons. "Now, Rise Falcon!" the Griffonstone girl ordered. "Target her Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!" The large armored bird screeched as it threw the sphere at Ember's shining Dragon monster. However, just as it neared the creature, a green aura surrounded the sphere and shrunk it out of existence. "Huh?! What happened?!" asked Gilda, surprised. Everyone else in the audience watching was also shocked (except for Sunset and Torch, who both seemed to know that would happen).

"The...the orb just disappeared...! And Gilda's monster didn't increase its attack points!" stated Flash. "That can't be right, can it?"

"Unfortunately, it is..." Sunset informed her friend.

"Uh...what's going on?" asked Gilda, unsure as to what just happened. "Why didn't Rise Falcon's effect work?"

"Because the effect of my Ruins of the Divine Dragon Lords IS working." answered Ember. "As long as I control both it and a Level 7 or 8 Dragon on my field, it can negate the effects of any monster that was Special Summoned to the field for the entire turn. The only monsters that it doesn't work on are those that came from the Graveyard. But since Rise Falcon was Special Summoned from your Extra Deck, its effects got nullified, meaning it doesn't get any stronger than it already is!"

"What?!?" exclaimed Gilda, not aware of that. Grumbling a little, she then asked, "I get it... Is that why you kept your Dragons out without going for an Xyz Summon?"

"One of the reasons." the Bloddstone girl told her. "But that's just the beginning of what I've got in store for you, Gilda. I've got a dream of mine to fulfill, and you're not gonna stop me from achieving it!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, back in Mr. Dunstan's office...

"Okay..." said the man in question as he typed in a few more characters on the keyboard, entering a password that would allow Twilight, Spike, and Bright Mind to see the Tournament Entrant Data Files. After successfully entering in the password, he then told the group, "Alright then! We now have access to the Data Files!"

"That...took quite a lengthy amount of time, sir..." noted Bright. "It seemed that you had to input a total of ten passwords in order to gain access to the files."

"Exactly." said Mr. Dunstan. "When you're handing data such as these, you can't be too careful. But this security system has proven effective so far; no hacker or bot has managed to crack our code, let alone all ten of them. And we change the passwords on a weekly basis just to make sure of it."

"Sounds pretty effective to me." noted Twilight. "But right now, we have important work to; we need to look up Sonata's Deck Profile and see if she was cheating the way Sunset said she was."

"Well, all of the Duelists that participated in the Preliminary Round are listed on here, along with the Deck that they had used at the time." Dunstan explained. "As you recall, we had a rule in place that stated that no Duelist was allowed to change any of the cards in their Main, Extra, or Side Deck from what they used during the Preliminaries. Therefore, if Ms. Dusk did illegally include cards from her personal collection just before her Duel in the Quarterfinal Round, the cards in question will not be listed in her Deck Profile."

"That makes sense to me." said Bright Mind.

"But we first need to find Sonata's information!" Twilight pointed out. "How are we going to find it fast enough? Over two hundred people entered the Preliminaries, which means we have a lot of data to sort through!"

"Not to worry, Ms. Sparkle." Mr. Dunstan told her. "The Duelists are arranged in alphabetical order by their last name. So you shouldn't have any trouble locating the file you need."

Sighing, Twilight responded, saying, "Good... That's a relief." Humming as she looked at the names of the Duelists on the computer screen, she said, "Let's see...Dusk is Sonata's last name, so it will be under 'D', towards the end..." With Bright's help, Twilight was able to use the computer to search through the numerous files in front of her. Finally, after about a few seconds of looking, she exclaimed, "Aha! I found it!" Once more, with Bright's help, Twilight opened the file on Sonata and scrolled down to where her Deck Profile was. Once she got there, she then asked the boy, "Bright, tell me again: What were the cards that Sonata used on you?"

"They were Gozen Match, Counter Cleaner, and...De-Synchro." Bright answered. "Two Spell Cards and one Trap."

"Okay...Let's see here..." Twilight said to herself as she looked over the list of cards in Sonata's Deck. She skipped the monster section as well as the Extra Deck, since none of the cards mentioned were Monster Cards, and went straight to the Spells and Traps; both in the Main Deck and the Side Deck. After looking for a while, she then said to them, "Well...Gozen Match WAS in her Side Deck, according to this..." She then looked a bit more and gasped before adding, "...but the other two cards AREN'T! The list doesn't mention Counter Cleaner or De-Synchro at all!"

"So it's true! Sonata WAS cheating!" Spike blurted out, forgetting that he was supposed to stay quiet. He then quickly covered his mouth, realizing that he said something.

"Um...Ms. Sparkle...?" Mr. Dunstan began to ask. "Did that dog...?"

"Oh don't worry: It's a highly-sophisticated robotic replica of a dog, according to her." Bright stated. "That's how it's able to speak."

"Th-that's absolutely correct!" said Twilight, keeping up the charade. "Took me YEARS to get it right, but completely worth it! ANYway..." She then returned her attention to the screen and told them both, "this information proves once and for all that Sonata was breaking the rules! The two Spell Cards she used against Bright in her previous Duel were not part of her original Deck; she included them to give herself an unfair advantage!"

"And I have the entire Duel recorded on my Duel Pad!" added Bright Mind. "That way she can't say we're lying!"

"Well, I suppose that's all I needed to hear." said Mr. Dunstan. "I'll make a few necessary copies of Sonata's Data File so that you can present it to Ms. Shimmer. Since she is the Official Judge for the tournament, it is up to her to decide what to do from this point."

Twilight and Bright nodded in agreement. But when she took another glance at Sonata's Deck Profile, she saw something else peculiar. "Hm? What's this?" she asked.

"What's wrong?" asked Spike.

Pointing to the part of the Deck Profile that showed the contents of the Extra Deck, the young Princess pointed to the screen and said, "Down here...there are three spaces in the Extra Deck section that are listed as 'unidentified'... What does that mean?"

"I saw that earlier," Mr. Dunstan answered. "However, I was unable to determine what it meant. The scan from the Duel Terminal showed that those three spaces were cards in Ms. Dusk's Extra Deck, but the names of the cards didn't show up on her profile; apparently, the Industrial Illusions/Kaiba Corporation Card Database couldn't identify them, so - naturally - they went listed as unidentified."

"Perhaps there was a slight glitch?" asked Bright Mind. "It is a possibility..."

"Maybe, unlikely as it sounds..." Mr. Dunstan replied. "Our tech experts on both sides work round-the-clock to ensure that our system remain glitch-free. I suppose one could have snuck through, but the odds are very low..."

Twilight stared at the information in front of her, looking at the three empty spaces in the Extra Deck. "Hmmm..." she hummed, deep in thought. Utopia also appeared beside her in spirit form, looking at the data himself and wondering about it.

"Well, whatever the case," Mr. Dunstan spoke, "we have all the evidence we need to confront Ms. Dusk and her accomplices. I'll just go right ahead and print out what you and Ms. Shimmer will need right away." Twilight, Spike, and Bright nodded to say they understood. As Mr. Dunstan did his work, there rest of the group were left wondering about the oddity of the three unregistered cards on Sonata's Deck Profile...

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the Duel, Gilda was in a tough situation: She attempted to use her Rise Falcon to over come the power of Ember's two powerful Dragons - Darkstorm Dragon and Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand. Unfortunately, Ember was able to use her Ruins of the Divine Dragon Lords to prevent that from happening. (This is nuts...!) the Griffonstone student said in her mind. (I had the perfect idea to beat her, but she somehow managed to prevent me from using it!)

"...I've watched your previous Duels, Gilda." Ember told her. "I know that your Deck heavily relies on Special Summoning Xyz Monsters from the Extra Deck. Unfortunately, my Deck doesn't use the Extra Deck as much as most others do, which allows me to make the most out of cards like my Ruins Spell. It's 'cause of that fact that my Deck might be the worst possible one for your Deck to fight against."

"Oh yeah? Well don't get TOO cocky, lady." Gilda responded. "This Duel ain't over yet, and I've still got some tricks left in me!"

"Ember is right about one thing..." Martin said from the audience stands, "Gilda's Deck isn't exactly prepared to deal with one that can effectively shut down her Extra Deck monsters like that. Now that Rise Falcon's effect has been stopped, its attack power remains at only 100, meaning that she's certain to sustain a lot of damage on Ember's next turn..."

"That doesn't matter one bit!" said Gabby confidently. "Gilda can still win this anyway! I know it!!"

Further up in the seating area, Fluttershy was still hoping for her friend's victory in what seemed to be her toughest fight. (Just stay calm, Gilda... I know you can get through this...!) she thought.

Dismayed, but certainly not willing to give in yet, Gilda told her opponent, "Well even though I can't use Rise Falcon's effect, I can still use the effect of the Fuzzy Lanius I detached from him! Since I sent it to my Graveyard, I can get another copy of it from my Deck!" After she did that, she looked over her hand and saw the card she had drawn for the turn. (...This one might be my last chance at a comeback,) she thought, (and it darn well better work! Or I'm a goner!) Taking the card, she then declared, "I'll set a card face-down on the field, and then summon my Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius in Attack Mode!"

Gilda's next monster then appeared on the field, clad in armor of various colors; mostly green and blue, but also having bits of yellow, orange and silver in some parts (Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius: Level 4 / ATK 1300 / DEF 1600).

"And since I Normal Summoned Vanishing Lanius," Gilda reminded her opponent, "I can use his effect, which lets me Special Summon my Fuzzy Lanius in Defense Mode!" Her second Fuzzy Lanius then appeared on the field, using its wings as a shield. It was covered in a green glow for a split second, just like with Gilda's other monsters (presumably because of Ember's Continuous Spell). "And now I overlay both Vanishing Lanius and Fuzzy Lanius - both Level 4 - and build the Overlay Network!" she shouted, transforming her monsters in purple-colored energy and sending them into a red vortex.

"Another Xyz Summon...?" asked Ember.

"Avian hunter of the afterlife," the Griffonstone girl chanted, "seek the truth with your dark eyes, and grasp glory with your sharp talons! Xyz Summon! Take flight! Rank 4! Raidraptor - Force Strix!" After finishing the chant, her owl-like monster clad in blue and tan-colored armor flew onto the field and placed itself in Defense Position (Raidraptor - Force Strix: Rank 4 / ATK 100 / DEF 2000 / OLU 2).

"Did you already forget about my Spell Card?" asked Ember. "My Ruins Spell will negate Force Strix's effects for the turn. Which means it won't get a stat boost, AND you can't use it to move any more Raidraptors from your Deck to your hand." Just like before, her Spell surrounded Gilda's new monster, suppressing its abilities.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that." Gilda told her, not seeming to care about that fact at all. "But since I'm ending my turn right now, that means both my monsters get their abilities back!" And as she said that, both of her monster returned to their normal states once again (Raidraptor - Force Strix: ATK 100 + 500 = 600 / DEF 2000 + 500 = 2500).

"Too bad it won't matter once I'm done with my turn." Ember stated, drawing her next card. (Hmmm...Felgrand Dragon.) she thought, looking at the card she drew for the turn. Looking over at Gilda's field, she then pondered, (Now let's see...her Rise Falcon has only 100 attack points, so either of my two Dragons can destroy it and do a ton of damage... But then there's that face-down card she set last turn. I could use Darkstorm Dragon to get rid of it with his effect, but then I'd lose my Ruins Spell, because I have to send a Spell or Trap to the Graveyard to activate it. Even though I can use its other effect to retrieve it, I kinda want to keep the monsters I have on the field and in my hand where they are... Besides, worst case scenario, I have tons of cards that bring my monsters back to the field should Gilda manage to destroy them. So I think I'm safe taking my chances here...)

Gilda watched her opponent, wondering what she was going to do this turn. Doing her best to hide her nervousness, she kept a brave face, even as a small drop of sweat rolled down her cheek.

"You ready for this?" asked Ember. Pointing forward, she shouted, "Go, Lord Felgrand! Attack her Rise Falcon!!" Her monster roared loudly, firing a massive stream of light energy, blasting Gilda's Xyz Monster out of existence.

"URRRRRGHH!!!" the roughneck grunted as she took a heavy amount of damage from the attack (Gilda: LP 4,000 - 2,700 = 1,300).

"G-Gilda!!" Fluttershy cried out, concerned for her friend. "I-is she okay...??"

"For now, she is..." said Applejack. "But one more hit like that, an' she's toast!"

Standing up, Rainbow Dash shouted, "C'mon, Gilda! You can still do this! I know you can!"

Pinkie did the same same thing, but all that came out of her mouth was, "Mmmff!! mmfv'e mof miff ilfaa!!"

"Umm... Pinkie dear?" Rarity spoke. "Perhaps it would be best to remove the hot dog from your mouth BEFORE trying to cheer on Gilda?" The pink teen realized that and did as her friend suggested, letting out a little giggle at her silly mistake.

Gilda was a bit shaken, but wasn't ready to admit defeat. "Huh, that all ya got, chick?!" she shouted at her.

"You've got some serious guts for someone that just lost over half of their Life Points after a single attack." said Ember. "In that case..." She then pointed to Gilda's remaining monster, Force Strix - which lost some of its power after Rise Falcon was destroyed (Raidraptor - Force Strix: ATK 600 - 500 = 100 / DEF 2500 - 500 = 2000). "Darkstorm Dragon, take out her last monster!!" Her Dragon did as she ordered, using its mighty wings to whip up a tornado that sent Force Strix flying straight into the Graveyard.

"Aw no..." said Gabby. "She beat two of Gilda's best Xyz Monsters just like that...! Now what's she gonna do??"

Martin said nothing, but noticed that Gilda wasn't too bummed out about having both of her monsters destroyed so easily. (Hmmm...could she be...?) he wondered to himself.

"Well, I'd say that about wraps this Duel up." said Ember confidently. "After all, there's not a monster you can bring out that can stand up to my two Dragons AND my Ruins Spell Card."

"...Heh...I wouldn't be too sure about that, lady." said Gilda.

"Huh?" Ember responded, unsure what she meant by that.

Tapping her D-Pad, the Griffonstone girl shouted, "I activate my face-down card!! Go, Rank-Up-Magic Doom Double Force!!" Ember gasped in shock at seeing the Spell Card in front of her.

"Aha!! I knew it!" said Martin. "That's what Gilda had planned to do!"

But Ember - unfamiliar with Gilda's Spell Card - asked her, "But how can you play a Rank-Up card? You need to use an Xyz Monster to gain the full effect of one of those Spells!"

"That's right." Gilda confirmed. "So I guess that it's a good thing that my Doom Double Force brings back a Raidraptor Xyz Monster from my Graveyard first. So I'll bring back my Rise Falcon!" And with that, her first Xyz Monster of the Duel returned to the field in Defense Position.

"Oh no...!" Ember said, realizing what was happening.

"And now that he's back," the roughneck continued, "I can use my Doom Double Force and my Rise Falcon to Xyz Summon a monster with DOUBLE his Rank!"

"DOUBLE?!" exclaimed everyone.

"Uhh, let's see... Rise Falcon's Rank is 4..." said Rainbow Dash. "So double that is, um..." she then used her fingers to try and figure out the math in her head.

Sighing, Rarity told her, "Double of four is EIGHT, Rainbow..."

"I-I knew that!!" shouted the rainbow-haired girl. "I would've figured it out myself!"

Ember, of course, knew that as well, and also that she might be in some trouble now. "This isn't good..." she told herself.

Everyone watched as Rise Falcon transformed into a ray of purple light that flew into a red portal in the center of the field, which also displayed the Raidraptor's insignia over top of it. "Dauntless falcon! Hoist up the flames of anger, become the flash of light that burns the land to ashes!" Gilda proudly chanted. "Rank-Up Xyz Evolution!! Soar! Rank 8! Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon!!"

In an instant, a massive bird-like creature clad in brilliant white armor with red and gold trims, along with several green "jewels" decorating it all over appeared from out of the portal. It hovered high in the air, ready to strike down Gilda's opponent at a moment's notice (Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon: Rank 8 / ATK 3000 / DEF 2000 / OLU 1).

"Alright! She managed to bring out another powerful monster!" cheered Gabby. "And it's the one she used to beat the principal with!"

"She certainly did, Gabby..." said Martin. "And if I'm correct, that monster should help her overcome Ember's strategy perfectly!"

As Gilda then retrieved her third copy of Fuzzy Lanius from her Deck (since the second one had been sent to the Graveyard after Force Strix was destroyed), Ember then told her, "I gotta say, I didn't expect you to do something like that and get out a powerful monster on MY turn... But once again, you forgot about my Ruins Spell! So your new monster's loses its effects this turn!" Her Spell Card then began to glow green, preparing to use its effect on Satellite Cannon Falcon.

"Heh, that ain't gonna work this time!" Gilda told her. "Before your effect works, Satellite Cannon Falcon gets HIS effect! That lets him pop all of your Spell and Trap Cards!" Ember let out a gasp as Gilda's Xyz Monster let out a powerful screech that shattered the Continuous Spell, ending its effect before it could affect Satellite Cannon Falcon. As a result, the ruins behind her were reduced to mere rubble.

"Wait...hold on; how'd that happen?" asked Flash. "Aren't the effects of those two cards Spell Speed 1? How come Gilda's card got its effect and Ember's didn't?"

"A good question, but there is an answer to it." said Sunset. "While you are correct that the effects of Ruins of the Divine Dragon Lords and Satellite Cannon Falcon are Spell Speed 1 effects, both effects are activating at the exact same time - in this case, on Satellite Cannon Falcon's summoning. Because of that, a special Chain is used to determine how the effects will work, if they do: According to the rules, the Turn Player - in this case, Ember - starts the Chain with her Spell Card's effect. Then, the opposing player - Gilda - can chain with Satellite Cannon Falcon's effect. Since the Chain stopped building after that, it then resolves in reverse, like usual. So Satellite Cannon Falcon is able to destroy Ruins with its effect. Then after that, Ruins would resolve its effect, except now it's no longer on the field, so nothing else happens. Yeah, it's a tricky rule, but that's how it works."

"Calling it 'tricky' is certainly an accurate way of describing it, I guess." Flash replied, believing Sunset's words, though still was confused a little after hearing it.

Ember scowled a little, cursing herself for not trying to eliminate Gilda's face-down card earlier. (Darnit...if I had only used Darkstorm's effect earlier...) Sighing to herself, she then told herself, (Well, nothing I can do about that now... Best to just try and stay in the fight for as long as I can... and hopefully, I can find a way to overcome that Satellite Cannon Falcon. But first, I need to get my Spell Card back into my hand...) She then looked at the Felgrand Dragon that she drew on her turn and added, (Guess I won't be able to play this card for the rest of the Duel...)

Smirking a little, Gilda then told Ember, "Well, it looks like your Ruins Spell...just got ruined."

Chuckling a little, Ember replied, saying, "Okay, I'll admit: That was pretty clever. But my Spell Card's not going to stay gone forever!" She then took a card from her hand and told her opponent, "I activate the other effect of my Ruins of the Divine Dragon Lords in the Graveyard: I send my Felgrand Dragon from my hand to the Graveyard to put my Spell Card back into my hand. Then, I'll reactivate my Ruins before ending my turn."

Gilda grumbled a bit as she saw the ruins restore itself behind the Bloodstone girl. However, she wasn't too worried right now. (Have it your way, chick...) she said in her mind as she looked at her hand. (Once I make my next move, this Duel's as good as finished!)

Looking at the massive creature on Gilda's side of the field, Fluttershy said to her friends, "Oh my... And here I thought I had seen the best cards in her Deck from our last Duel together..."

"That's Gilda for ya." Rainbow Dash told her. "Never fails to impress. And I'll bet she's got a whole buncha other kick-butt cards ready t' go!"

Hearing her old friend up in the stands as she drew her card for the turn, Gilda chuckled a bit and said, "Heh, you don't know the half of it, Dash... Guess I'd better give my old friend what she came here to see." Facing her opponent, she told her, "I activate Satellite Cannon Falcon's effect! By removing an Overlay Unit, I can target one monster you've got and drop its attack points by 800  times the number of Raidraptor monsters I have in the Graveyard!"

Gasping, Ember responded saying, "Oh no...!" She knew that she was in major trouble.

"So...how many of those Raidraptors does Gilda have in her Graveyard right now?" asked Flash.

"I've been keeping count," Sunset replied, "and I believe that right now, she has a total of seven. That means no matter which monster Gilda picks, Satellite Cannon Falcon's effect will take away all of its attack points!"

Gilda removed the card underneath her Satellite Cannon Falcon card, activating its effect and causing the single purple orb flying around the massive creature to be absorbed into it (Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon: OLU 1 - 1 = 0). "Alright then..." the roughneck continued, "I think the unlucky monster for my Satellite Cannon Falcon to weaken will be...your Divine Dragon Lord!"

Ember scowled a bit as she could only watch as her favorite card lost every last bit of its offensive power (Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand: ATK 2800 - 5600 = 0); it wasn't even able to stay hovering in the air afterwards, falling straight to the ground. "No...! Felgrand!" she said in distress, both for her Dragon and for herself.

"Sorry, chick. But I'm afraid it's gonna get a heckuva lot worse than that...!" Gilda warned her. "As tough as my Satellite Cannon Falcon is, it's not the BEST card my Deck can bring out..."

"Wait, hold up; THAT'S not her best card?!?" exclaimed Gabby. "Then what is?!"

Gasping, Martin replied, saying, "Oh dear...! I think I know what she's planning to do next...assuming she has that legendary card!"

"Legendary card?" asked Gabby, curious. "What d'ya mean, Martin?"

But Gilda would provide the answer to the question at that moment. Playing a card from her hand, she shouted, "Now I'll activate this! Rank-Up-Magic Skip Force!!"

"What?! ANOTHER Rank-Up-Magic Spell?!?" exclaimed Ember, caught totally off-guard.

"You got it! With this card, I can use my Satellite Cannon Falcon to Xyz Summon an even STRONGER one!" Gilda explained, feeling pretty good about her move. "And this guy'll be a whole two Ranks higher than Satellite Cannon Falcon! In case you haven't figured it out, since Satellite Cannon Falcon is Rank 8, I can now bring out a Rank 10 Xyz Monster!!"

"T-T-TEN?!?" shouted Flash in surprise. Even Sunset was shocked upon hearing that, as was the entire audience.

Satellite Cannon Falcon then transformed into a purple beam of energy, sending itself into yet another red portal that beard the mark of the Raidraptor clan. "Get ready, Ember..." Gilda told her with a smirk, "you're about to see the card that's gonna win this whole thing for me!" She then began the Summoning Chant, saying, "Supreme falcon, carry on the wishes of your fallen friends, and fly off into the skies of victory! Witness the next evolutionary step in my aerial arsenal that can wipe out any target! Go, Rank-Up Xyz Evolution!"

Everyone watched as a massive black storm cloud appeared in the skies above the stadium. Then, from out of the red portal, a violent tornado shot out of it whipping fierce winds all over the battlefield. Even though it was just an AR image, it still felt pretty real to everyone in attendance. Finally, as the tornado subsided, it revealed a massive bird creature that was even bigger than Satellite Cannon Falcon was. Bearing shining armor that was colored gold and sapphire blue, with several red jewels decorating it in certain spots, the monster was as beautiful as it was powerful.

"Soar forth, Rank 10! Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon!!" said Gilda, completing the chant.

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Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon:
(Xyz-Effect Monster/Winged Beast/DARK/Rank 10/ATK 3500/DEF 2000)

3 Level 10 Winged Beast monsters
Unaffected by other cards' effects. You can detach 1 material from this card; for the rest of this turn, all monsters your opponent controls lose 1000 ATK, also your opponent cannot activate cards or effects. If this card has a "Raidraptor" monster as material, it gains this effect.
* Once per turn, during the End Phase: You can make all monsters your opponent controls lose 1000 ATK, also if your opponent controls no face-up monsters, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

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"Oh my goodness...!" said an awestruck Rarity. "That is probably one of the most brilliant and beautiful monsters that Gilda has ever used...! I've GOT to have one just for my personal collection!"

"Ah ain't never even heard of a card like that one..." said Applejack. "But the one thing Ah can say; it's definitely got a lotta power t' throw around!"

"No joke..." said Rainbow Dash. "I was expectin' Gilda to use some kick-butt cards, but I had no idea she had somethin' like THAT in her Deck!" Fluttershy nodded in agreement, also just as surprised to see such a powerful card in this Duel. Even Pinkie wasn't expecting to see something like that, her jaw almost dropping in awe at the sight of Gilda's new monster (but if she did that, the snack she was currently chewing would fall out of her mouth, and that would be pretty disgusting.)

"You said it, Mr. Author!" Pinkie said, after swallowing what she had in mouth.

Ember stared directly into Gilda's new monster, sweating for the very first time since the Duel began. "Look at that thing...!" she said to herself. "It has 3,500 attack points...! That's almost enough to wipe out all of my Life Points in one attack!"

Sensing Ember's fear, Torch mentally said to her, (Don't you dare give up, Ember! Do NOT run away like I did so long ago...! If you do, you'll never be able to achieve your dream and be the Duelist you were meant to be. Even if the odds are against you right now, you still have a chance; don't pass that chance up!)

Though she couldn't hear her father's thoughts, Ember could "feel" them somehow. "Don't worry, Dad..." she said. "I'm not gonna run away now. Not when I've gotten this far, and not when I'm this close to getting what I came here for! Win or lose, I WILL become stronger from this Duel, but only if I see it through to the end!" Feeling her confidence return, she told Gilda, "I'm still in this Duel, so bring it on!"

The Griffonstone girl was surprised - but delighted - to see her opponent remaining brave despite the odds against her. Laughing a bit, she told her, "I gotta admit, you're a pretty tough chick to stare down one of my best monsters without even flinching. I've gotta respect ya for that." She then told her, "But you're gonna need more than that to defeat my Ultimate Falcon!"

"...And I plan to use more!" Ember told her. She then told her, "But first, since your monster was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, my Ruins Spell Card stops its effect for the rest of the turn!''

"Heh, you really think it'll be THAT easy?" Gilda asked. "Sorry, but Ultimate Falcon is immune to ANY other card effect! So your Ruins can't do anything against it!" And to emphasize that point, Ultimate Falcon let out a screech that suppressed the energy coming from her Spell Card, canceling out its effect.

Ember hummed a bit and said, "I had a feeling that it wouldn't work, given that you knew about my Spell Card and summoned your monster despite that. But that doesn't mean I'm defeated yet!"

"We'll see about that in a sec once I do this!" Gilda then took the card she drew for the turn and added, "Just t' make sure you don't try anything else funny with your Ruins, I'll play this: My Mystical Space Typhoon! And I'll use it to destroy your Ruins once again!" Her Spell Card then wiped out Ember's Continuous Spell and removed its effect again. 'But that ain't all! Now it's time to show everyone here the full power of my Ultimate Falcon!"

"Full power...?" asked Ember, curious to see what it was, as was everyone watching.

Taking the card out from underneath her Xyz Monster (Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon: OLU 1 - 1 = 0), the roughneck then declared, "I now use the effect of Ultimate Falcon! By removing an Overlay Unit, I can shave off 1,000 attack points off of all of your monsters for the rest of the turn! And in addition, you can't activate any cards or effects this turn either!"

(Urrgh...!) Ember said in her mind. (That means the Keeper of the Shrine that I sent to my Graveyard earlier can't come back to my hand when Gilda destroys one of my monsters this turn... Which also means I can't get my Ruins Spell Card either; not that it'll do me much good now...) Even so, Ember kept a brave face, even as Ultimate Falcon let out a screech that temporarily weakened her Darkstorm Dragon and shut down her ability use her cards' effects (Darkstorm Dragon: ATK 2700 - 1000 = 1700).

"Now that that's all out of the way," Gilda began, "it's time to battle! Ultimate Falcon! Attack her Divine Dragon Lord! Final Glorious Barrage!!" Her monster screeched again, firing out several missile-like projectiles that flew straight towards Ember's heavily-weakened Dragon. Not surprisingly, the Dragon was obliterated by the attack rather easily.

"RRRRGGHH...!!!" grunted Ember, taking an extremely heavy hit to her Life Points, but was still able to remaining standing, if only barely (Ember: LP 4,000 - 3,500 = 500).

"Nice!! That blew away almost all of that chick's Life points!" cheered Rainbow Dash. "One more hit like that, and this Duel's over!" Fluttershy was also happy to see her friendly rival regain control of the game.

"Alright!!! YEAH!!!" Gabby cheered loudly. "Gilda's gonna win! Gilda's gonna WIN!!"

"It sure seems like it." said Martin. "With Ultimate Falcon on her field, Gilda's in a very good position! Since it's immune to card effects, the only way to defeat it is by destroying it in battle. But with its attack power as high as it is, that doesn't seem too likely."

"Wow...now that was a comeback if I ever saw one." said Flash. "Guess that means Gilda's moving onto the Finals after all."

"...I wouldn't be too sure about that just yet, Flash." Sunset told him.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"...If I know Ember as well as I do, we can't really count her out until her last Life Point's gone." she responded. "She still has one more turn to try and get back in this. Either way, she's not the type to give up this easily." She glanced over to the audience - specifically where Steel Shadows was sitting with Wonderbolt members Spitfire and Soarin. She could tell that Steel - after having battled Ember before - felt exactly the same way, that Ember still had a small chance to get the win despite Gilda's overwhelming presence.

Gilda, however, was quite sure she'd win the Duel now, since she managed to bring out one of her most powerful monsters to the field. "Alright, Ember..." she told her, "my turn's done, which means Ultimate Falcon's effect on your side of the field wears off." Just as she had said that, Ember's remaining monster had its attack power restored to normal (Darkstorm Dragon: ATK 1700 + 1000 = 2700). "Ya got one turn left, lady..." the Griffonstone student told her. "Just one turn left to beat me... But you ain't getting past my Ultimate Falcon in the shape you're in."

Looking at her Deck, Ember thought to herself, (She's right about one thing: This next turn will probably be my last one... But if she thinks I'm giving up now, she'd better think again...! I want to win this to begin my Pro Dueling career...and even more importantly, get my rematch with Sunset and give her the Duel I should have given her when we first met! But in order to do that...I need to get past this Duel first!) Placing her fingers on her Deck's top card, Ember kept all those dreams and goals in her mind, willing with all her heart that she would - despite the odds - claim her sought-after victory. She then pulled the top card of her Deck, officially beginning her turn.

(So she's going to keep fighting...) thought Gilda. (I figured as much. But there's nothing she can draw now that'll save her from gettin' beat.)

Ember then looked at her card, took a deep breath...and said, "I activate the card that I drew: Pot of Desires!"

"Urk...!" grunted the roughneck, not expecting that. "You're serious...? You ACTUALLY got Pot of Desires now?! That's unbelievable!"

"You're kidding me!" said Rainbow Dash, sounding a little frustrated. "What're the odds THAT would happen?!"

"...Well, this IS a Yu-Gi-Oh! story, so...I'd say the odds were pretty good, actually." Pinkie Pie responded.

After Ember banished the top ten cards of her Deck and drew two more, she looked at the cards in her hand and said to herself, "Okay...this is all I've got left. I'll put everything on this last move...!" Taking one of the cards she drew, she then declared, "First, I'm going to activate the effect of a monster in my hand! To do so, I first have to Tribute my Darkstorm Dragon!"

"Huh? You're gettin' rid of it?" asked Gilda. "Why?"

"To give myself one last chance to win this Duel, of course!" Smiling, Ember then played the card she was holding. "Now come forth! I Summon...Kaiser Glider - Golden Burst!!"

Suddenly, a small light began to twinkle from deep within the dark storm clouds that were generated by Gilda's Ultimate Falcon. That light grew larger and brighter with each passing second before it swallowed up all of the clouds completely. Everyone shielded their eyes as the light energy began to coalesce into a single spot, forming a large sphere in the sky. When the sphere vanished, a glowing golden dragon was left in its place. A fiery orange aura surrounded it as it let out a powerful roar (Kaiser Glider - Golden Burst: Level 6 / ATK 2400 / DEF 2200).

"That's your big move??" asked Gilda. "But that guy's not even close to Ultimate Falcon's attack points... And even if it has an effect, it won't work on my monster at all."

Smirking a little, Ember then said, "Both of those statements aren't quite true, Gilda... Just watch! I activate Kaiser Glider's second effect, and I will target your Ultimate Falcon with it!" Her monster then let out another roar as its energy aura began to grow bigger and flow over towards Gilda's Xyz Monster. To Gilda's surprise, the aura seemed to be doing something, indicated by the slight flinch her monster made.

"No way...! What's going on??" she wanted to know. "Your effect shouldn't have done anything to Ultimate Falcon!"

"Well, that's 'cause it DOESN'T do anything to your monster." Ember informed her.

"What're ya talking about...?"

"After it's Normal or Special Summoned," the Bloodstone girl explained, "Kaiser Glider can match the attack power of any monster you control for one turn. In other words, this power affects MY monster, not yours. That's the reason it worked, despite that your Ultimate Falcon had that defensive effect. I only need to target one of your monsters to calculate how much Kaiser Glider's attack changes." At that moment, Ember's new monster had just finish powering itself up (Kaiser Glider - Golden Burst: ATK 2400 > 3500).

"Urrgh...!" grunted Gilda, now realizing what she was saying.

"That was pretty clever of her to do that." said Sunset. "Now both their monsters have the same attack points, which means Ember will be able to destroy Ultimate Falcon."

(Darnit...!) Gilda thought. (I didn't expect something like that to happen...! I had no idea she could do something like that to get around Ultimate Falcon's defenses!) She then stopped her panicking, took a deep breath and said to herself, (Calm down...it might not be as bad as it seems. Sure, she'll be able to destroy my monster, but she'll lose hers, too! As long as she doesn't have a monster with 1,300 or more attack points in her hand to summon, I'm safe. Then next turn, I can summon my last Fuzzy Lanius, hit her for 500 damage, and I'll win the Duel!) She then steeled herself, hoping and praying that she would survive the turn...

Looking at her hand, Ember thought to herself, (Okay...it's all or nothing...) She then shouted, "Alright! I'm moving on to my Battle Phase!! Kaiser Glider, attack Ultimate Falcon now!" Her monster then began charging up its attack, creating a glowing energy ball in its mouth.

(Yes...!!) thought Gilda. (She didn't summon another monster! That means I can win this on my next turn!) She then ordered, "Ultimate Falcon, take that Dragon down!!" Her monster then readied its missiles for another barrage of explosive blasts.

Everyone watching the Duel leaned forward, waiting with anticipation to see what the result would be. At the level these two Duelists were playing at, they felt that ANYTHING could happen at this point.

Ultimate Falcon then fired its missiles as Kaiser Glider fired a ray from its maw, both attacks racing towards one another. "If my Ultimate Falcon has to go," Gilda began to say, "it's gonna take your Dragon down with it!"

"...Guess again." Ember simply replied, taking another card from her hand.

"Huh?"

"I activate ANOTHER monster effect from my hand during the Damage Step!" the blue-skinned teen then said. "I send Honest from my hand to the Graveyard!"

"Aw NO!!!" exclaimed Gilda, knowing exactly what that meant.

"By sending this to the Graveyard while any of my LIGHT-Attribute monsters are battling," Ember told her, "I can have my monster absorb the attack points of its target and get even stronger! Which means my Kaiser Glider more than powerful enough to destroy both your Ultimate Falcon AND the rest of your Life Points!"

"And because Honest's effect is just like Kaiser Glider's, in the sense that it doesn't directly affect Ultimate Falcon," Sunset began to say, "that means it'll get around the protection effect, too!" Indeed, Ember's monster was now more powerful than ever, thanks to both its own effect and Honest's (Kaiser Glider - Golden Burst: ATK 3500 + 3500 = 7000).

"Now Kaiser Glider!! End this Duel!!" Ember shouted. "Honest Golden Burst!!" Her Dragon then unleashed its attack at full power, further strengthened by the effect of Honest. The stream of energy that it fired easily snuffed out Ultimate Falcon's missiles before vaporizing Ultimate Falcon itself. The massive explosion generated a massive burst of light that persisted for several seconds before it faded away.

Gilda fell down to her knees in disbelief. "No way..." she said, shocked by what had happened. "I...I lost..." (Gilda: LP 1,300 - 3,500 = 0) (WINNER: Ember).

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The result of the Duel shocked everyone that knew Gilda well, though Sunset was also not surprised to see that Ember won the Duel, knowing just how determined she was to achieve her goal of becoming a Pro Duelist. "No way...!" said Rainbow Dash with an astonished look on her face. "Gilda lost...? I don't believe it..."

"I have to agree...it looked like she had it all won..." Rarity stated. "But that Ember person managed to turn it all around on just a single turn... As unbelievable as it sounds, I suppose these things do tend to happen every now and then."

"...Gilda..." said Fluttershy, feeling sorry for her friendly rival.

"Awwwwww...! Gilda lost...!" whimpered Gabby. "I thought she had it after bringing out that Ultimate Falcon guy!"

(Hmmm...she may have lost that Duel...) thought Martin, (but I have this funny feeling that Gilda isn't too depressed about it.)

Still sitting on her knees, Gilda was still processing everything in her mind. (I can't believe it...but it's true: I lost...) she thought. (I actually lost that Duel... I suppose this would be the time that I'd start getting salty and bitter about getting beat...) She then looked up and displayed a satisfied smile on her face, thinking, (But that's what the old me would've probably done, and I ain't her anymore! So what if I lost that one? I played my best game out there, and that's what matters. Besides, I did everything I wanted to do in this tournament, so I'll suck it up and be satisfied with that.)

Standing up on her feet, Gilda walked over towards Ember and said while offering a handshake, "That was an incredible comeback you made there. I didn't see it coming. You've got some skills, girl, and I gotta respect that."

Accepting the handshake, the Bloodstone teen replied, saying, "You're pretty good too, Gilda. Honestly, you probably would've won that one had that Pot of Desires not gone my way. That Ultimate Falcon of yours was quite a tough boss monster to beat. I have to say, you might have what it takes to go Pro yourself."

"Heh, maybe." the kind roughneck responded. "But for now, I'm happy just duelin' for kicks." She then smirked a little and added, "But know this, Ember: Next time we meet, it's on again. And I ain't gonna lose that time!"

"I'm looking forward to seeing what you bring with you next time, Gilda." Ember told her.

The Griffonstone girl nodded and then said to her opponent, "In the meantime, you've got a tournament to win, and I'm countin' on you to go all the way! So don't you dare lose to anyone else before I get another shot at ya!" Ember nodded to say that she had every intention of keeping that promise.

Happy to see them getting along and praising each other for a great Duel, Fluttershy smiled and stood up, clapping her hands for the both of them. She was soon joined by Rainbow Dash and the rest of her friends, and soon after, everyone in the stadium gave the two prodigies a roaring round of applause. Ember and Gilda smiled and nodded to each before raising their fists into the air triumphantly.

"That was an amazing Duel!!" announced Megan. "Ember and Gilda have both shown off that they're every bit as - if not MORE - skilled, compared to their Pro Dueling families! I think I can speak for all of us when I say that the future of dueling is looking brighter than ever with Duelists such as these two in the mix!"

"Well, it looks like Ember's moving on to the Finals." said Flash.

"Sure seems like it." replied Sunset. But then she put on a concerned look and thought, (But that's not what's on my mind right now... Because the next match is Sonata...and Sweetie Belle. And if my hunch about the Dazzlings is right, Sweetie is going to be in for a rough time with them... And I still haven't heard anything from Twi-)

And it was at that very moment that Sunset Duel Gazer began to beep. "Oop...! Spoke too soon..." she said to herself, tapping her Gazer. Speaking into it, she asked, "Hello? Is that you, Twilight?"

"Yeah, Sunset. It's me." said the young Princess's voice on the other end. "Sorry we took so long; we were printing something, and we had a bit of a paper jam. But it's all fixed now."

"So what's up?" asked Sunset. "Did you guys find anything out?"

"...Yeah, we sure did." Twilight answered. "And you need to come and see it for yourself. Can you get over to the office as soon as possible? Don't worry; I don't think you'll have as much trouble getting as we did."

"I can be there right away. I'll talk to you then." the jacket-wearing teen told her before clicking her Gazer off. She then said to Flash, "Can you go and tell Megan to call for a thirty-minute intermission before the next Duel?"

"Huh?? A whole half-hour?" asked a surprised Flash. "Why that long? Does it have to do with anything about what you asked Twilight and Bright to do?"

Sunset nodded yes, telling him, "Depending on what she tells me, I'll need the extra time to look it over and figure out what to do. So just let Megan know right away; I have to go and see Twilight immediately."

"You can count on me, Sunset." the boy told her, getting up and running over to Megan just as Sunset took her leave, heading into the stadium halls.

Meanwhile, in the stadium locker rooms, the Dazzlings had just finished watching the Duel between Ember and Gilda on their D-Pad and put it aside for now (which means they didn't see Sunset suddenly leaving the arena and weren't aware of what she was doing). "Finally, that Duel's over! I thought it would never finish!" Aria said impatiently.

"Patience is a virtue, Aria." Adagio told her. "And it's also much quieter than complaining."

"Pffft...whatever." Aria huffed. She then asked, "So, we ready to go or what?"

"Again...patience..." Adagio replied, looking over their Deck. After inspecting every card inside, she nodded and said, "I think this will do just nicely..." Inserting the Deck into the Duel Pad and giving it to Sonata, she told her, "Here; this should be more than enough to ensure a swift and embarrassing defeat for that little girl you're about to Duel. There's no way she'll be able to fight back. Just play the strategy exactly as we told you, and you can't lose."

Sonata smirked a little as she strapped the device onto her left arm, saying, "Got it, Dagi. I won't let ya down!"

"You'd better not." Aria warned her. "Or you'll never hear the end of it from me." Sonata simply just stuck her tongue out at her in response.

Tapping her chin, Adagio hummed a little to herself. "Hmmm...that's odd..." she thought out-loud. "I haven't heard anything from those guys we hired..."

"Ya mean the ones that we told to block the path leading to that Dunstan guy's office?" asked Aria. "So that even wouldn't be able to rat us out if he managed to find out what we've been up to? What about it?"

"...Well, considering that we promised them a major reward for doing as we asked, you'd think they would have called us to ask for the money." Adagio noted. "Not that we were going to keep our word anyway. But still...it's odd that we haven't heard from them since we met them."

"Eh, who cares?" said Aria. "We've almost got this tournament in the bag. We win the whole thing, give our client the info she needs, and we get big reward for it all. It's smooth sailing at this point."

"...I suppose I may be worrying about nothing after all." Adagio responded, deciding that it wasn't worth looking into.

Little did any of them know that Sunset was already onto them, and that the thugs the Dazzlings hired had already been dealt with thanks to three very helpful Duelists. Because of that, Sunset had no trouble reaching Mr. Dunstan's office, where Twilight, Spike, and Bright Mind were all waiting for her. "Hey! Here comes Sunset!" the dragon-turned-puppy said, pointing over at her, prompting Twilight and Bright to look over in that direction.

Upon reaching them, Sunset said to them, "Okay, I'm here... So what's up?"

"Well," Twilight began to say to her, "we looked up Sonata's information on the Tournament Entrant Data Files, just like you asked..."

"And?"

Sighing, the Princess of Friendship handed her friend some papers and told her, "...You were right. Sonata DID cheat in her last Duel, in the exact way you thought she did. And these papers - compared to the footage of the Duel that Bright had recorded - prove it."

Taking the papers - which listed Sonata's Deck List from when she participated in the Preliminary Round, Sunset looked over them while recalling the Duel Sonata had with Bright in her head. Sunset then sighed and said, "To be honest, this was ONE time I hoped I was wrong about her... I really hoped that those three would have learned their lesson after the last time, or at least tried to make an honest living now that they didn't have their magic anymore... But I guess they have changed a bit, even after all this time..." She then clenched her hands, causing the papers to wrinkle a bit.

Feeling her friend's slight frustration, Twilight asked, "Sunset...? Are you alright...?"

"...I'll be fine Twilight." the red-and-yellow girl told her, easing up a little. "You did what I asked, and I'm grateful to all of you for it.  What matters now is figuring out what to do about it. You three should head back to the stadium, but stay out of sight of the Dazzlings; I don't want them to know that we're onto them, since I'm sure those guys that blocked your way were hired by them. If they don't see you, they might assume that you weren't able to get past them."

"Understandable." Bright Mind replied, agreeing with her. "And what will you be doing in the meantime?"

"I'll talk with Mr. Dunstan and figure out what to do next." Sunset answered. "For now, I'll handle things from here."

"Good luck, Sunset." Twilight told her. "I know things will work out in the end."

"Yeah, don't get so bummed out!" Spike told her. "I know you were hoping those three would change, but it's not your fault that they didn't learn anything from last time."

(Maybe so...) thought Sunset, (but maybe this time I can see if I can try and get through to them...somehow...) She then smiled and said to Spike, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind, Spike. For now, you and the others should head on back." The others nodded and left for the arena. Sunset then looked at the papers again and said, (Whatever the case,) she then thought to herself, (I need to do what needs to be done... I don't know what kind of game you're playing, Dazzlings...but I'm not about to let you ruin THIS game for anyone else!)

-- To Be Continued...

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TOURNAMENT RESULTS (Round 3):

1. Ember vs. Gilda [WINNER: Ember]
2. Sonata Dusk vs. Sweetie Belle [WINNER: ???]

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