//------------------------------// // Series 2: Elements of Vice - Arc 5: Equestrian Odyssey - Chapter 56: Assassins // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! Equus // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// _________________________________________________________________________________________ Friday, June 29th, Canterlot, Equestria, Night _________________________________________________________________________________________ The night was quiet and still in the streets of Canterlot. Many ponies were nestled inside their homes, sleeping and awaiting the sun to bring them the next morning. The only lights that shone in the city were the street lights that lined the edge of the sidewalks, and the magnificent Canterlot castle where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna made their home. Inside the castle walls, the royal guard, consisting of white stallions with blue manes and tails while wearing gold armor, maintained the hallways, keeping an expert eye on any intruders or creatures that had ill intent upon the castle or its inhabitants. Despite the peacefulness of the night and the unlikely possibility that something wrong would happen, the guards still kept watch over the palace as if they were expecting it to come at any second. Two guards in particular, both unicorns, stood at the entrance to Princess Celestia's throne room, talking amongst one another. “Where did the princess say she was going?” asked one of the stallions. He was quite young and sounded inexperienced. The older, more experienced stallion answered him gruffly. “I told you,” he said, “that Celestia is taking a secret trip to Manehattan. She'll be back earlier tomorrow morning.” “Alright! Jeez.” The guards stood back in attention, but their commotion roused the presence of another pony: Trixie, Celestia's advisor. “How art thou doing this evening?” asked Trixie. “Very good, ma'am,” spoke the older stallion. “It's just that this stallion,” he said pointing his hoof to his partner, “is scared without Princess Celestia to protect him.” “Hey!” the younger stallion retorted. “That's enough!” demanded Trixie. “Your shift is over and you may retire for the night. Two more guards shall replace you. That is all!” “Yes, ma'am!” responded the two guards, giving Trixie a salute. The two guards began walking down the hall as Trixie stood post until the next round of guards arrived. However, with the night as quiet as it was, she slipped into the doorway into the large, spacious room. Trixie, using her magic, set fire inside the torches that lined the ivory pillars, putting the room in a warm, orange glow. As Trixie walked down to the throne at the back of the room, she was completely unaware of the presence that lurked in the shadows of the corner of the room. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Ponyville, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Twilight Sparkle, by the light of a single candle, wrote a report for her teacher on a scroll. On a stand to the right of the table, was her trusted pet owl, Owlowiscious. The brown bird glanced down at Twilight's paper, recording every word that it wrote with its eyes. In the bedroom on the other side of the treehouse/library where she lived, Spike was quietly sleeping in his basket, his daytime servitude to Twilight finished. As Twilight continued to write, a sudden chilly breeze blew into the room. With a shivering hoot from Owlowiscious, the bird shuddered as it hugged its wings to itself in an attempt to keep warm. “Owlowiscious!” exclaimed Twilight. “Are you alright?” Twilight then looked at the side door that lead to her balcony. The door was open, the wind blowing it open and closed, only for the metal hook-lock on the door to keep it open. “Ugh,” she groaned. “Not again.” Putting her quill down, Twilight walked over to the door and used her magic to close the door and place the latch into the hole, locking the door shut. “There,” she cooed, “is that better?” “Hoo,” hooted the owl contently. Twilight got back to her desk to resume writing her report. With the light as minimal as it was, the shadows of the room perfectly hid the cloaked figure that stood in the back of Twilight's bedroom. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Manehattan, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Zelda Buchanan was applying the last few turns of a wrench inside one of the turbines of her gilder. As one working in her profession would normally experience, her plain t-shirt and jeans were covered in oil and grime. Feeling content with her work, she scooted from under her machine and stood up, stretching her stiff arms and legs. She was inside of a small hanger that contained a couple of aircraft: a decently-sized, red, propellered plane and her glider. The walls were also lined with various automotive equipment, such as engines, motors, wheels, and such. Off to one wall however, there were several toolboxes, drawers, and various other heavy-duty tools. As Zelda walked over to the nearest toolbox where she left a clean towel, a large, slender pegasus hopped out of the seat of the plane and followed her. She had a cream-colored coat, lime-green eyes, and an straight orange mane and tail that swooped up at the ends. Her mane was styled so that two extensions draped in front of her ears. The most noticeable feature about her was that her left wing was missing, instead being replaced by a large, gaping scar that went from the side of her mid back to over the shoulder, just reaching the chest. “Hanging it up for the night, Zelda?” asked the pegasus. “You bet, Spirit,” she responded as she wiped her dirty face and arms with her towel. “In fact, I'm going to take a fun little night-flight before I hit the hay. Want to join?” “I'd love to, but I'm really just looking forward to a nice warm bed right now.” “I heard that. Well, good-night, Spirit.” “Night, pal.” Zelda threw the towel back onto the toolbox and walked towards her glider. On a table next to it, where she kept her goggles safe and sound, she picked them up and placed them over her eyes. In two big hops, Zelda climbed aboard her glider, stepping on two pads in the center that lit up as soon as her boots firmly stood upon them, causing the engine to come to life. With merely a thought, soft, green lights around the goggles' lenses lit up and the glider began to levitate off the ground. The garage door nearest her began to open up. Zelda looked to her left to see Spirit pushing the red button on a box nailed to the wall, giving her the wink that answered who opened the door for her friend and co-worker. Zelda gave Spirit a farewell nod that allowed her to fly out of the garage and into the sky, going forwards towards her home. As Zelda climbed higher and higher into the clouds, a pegasus, shrouded by the darkness of night, flew close enough behind Zelda to track her, but far enough to keep her from noticing him. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Caverns, Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Queen Chrysalis sat on her throne, tending to and observing her changeling legion as they worked about the cave. With the ponies' acceptance of them at last, their disposition could not be better. Years of thievery and trickery were finally at an end. The changelings finally had an untainted supply of love with which they could feed from. As she looked over her creatures, a flash of light became visible at the end of the cavern. The flashes became brighter and the luminance spread out more with each new flash. Queen Chrysalis couldn't quite make it out, but she thought she could see the carapaces of changelings flying in the air as a new flash formed. _________________________________________________________________________________________ About One Mile from Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Gilda, having had an eventful day as the Canterlot mail-courier, was returning from Cloudsdale to make a special delivery that Celestia wanted filled by that night. With it all taken care of, Gilda could not wait to crash onto her bed and catch some much needed Z's. “Jeez,” yawned Gilda, “I'm so tired, I could just fall asleep mid-flight.” With her creeping sleepiness clouding her attention, a pegasus mare began to fly close behind her, squinting as she found her target. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Appleloosa, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Grant had trouble sleeping in his bed. While even the most run down motels and bed-and-breakfasts in the United States on Earth had tolerable beds, the mattress he slept on was stiff and felt like it was lined with a thick, solid sheet of styrofoam. No matter which way he tossed or turned, it seemed that sleep was going to be impossible for Grant under his conditions. Giving up trying, he stood out of bed and looked out to his window to see a building with its lights still on. Grant looked at the building, not surprised that the building was none other than The Salt Lick, the local saloon. Grant began to muse to himself how helpful a pint of hard cider could be for his insomnia when he heard a forceful kick at the door, forcing him to turn around. “Who's there?” he barked back. There was no answer. Only more hard kicks to the door came one after the other, the hinges close to flying off. Grant was given no choice and little time to react to this sudden assault. Grant unlocked and slid the door of the window up as far as he could, allowing him enough room to escape. Grant rolled around on the roof of the inn before he fell off and to the ground. From upstairs, Grant could hear the door finally give way to whatever was striking it. Grant fled to the western side of town as fast as he could, not once looking back. Before his assailant could find him running down the street, he turned left into a nearby alley and hid behind the wall of a building. Keeping his exhausted breathing quieted to prevent it from betraying his position, he peered his head around the building to see how close his attacker was, if at all. Grant shot his head back to the wall upon seeing a cloaked equine figure briskly walking down the street, no doubt looking for him. As he tried to sneak away from the alley to find a better hiding spot, his first footstep disturbed a mouse who had been standing nearby, causing it to squeak loudly and run away. Grant began to feel an icy chill down his spine as he heard the hoofsteps come closer in quicker succession. He ignored his feeling and tried to make it to the end of the alley where he could hang a turn and escape. Before he could realize his freedom, he felt a sharp pain hit him in the back of the knee, causing his body to buckle mid-stride and crumple to the ground. Grant, knowing that further running was futile, picked up the weapon from the ground next to him that was used to trip him: a copy of a Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max card. “My card back, sir,” spoke the male voice of a tenor southern accent. Grant, realizing his situation would inevitably resort in a duel, stood up and faced his attacker: the cloaked pony that he saw on the streets. His features were hidden inside the cloak and hood, but from what Grant could tell, he was neither a unicorn or a pegasus, having neither a horn holding his hood up or wings either poking from or blanketed under the cloak. With an exaggerated flick of his wrist, Grant tossed the card back. A light-gold hoof raised from the ground, blocking the card's path as it landed onto the hoof. Examining his card, the pony inserted the card into the wrist dealer of a golden pod that was fixed upon his left forearm. “You know,” spoke Grant, “if you wanted to duel me, you could have waited until tomorrow. I'm free all da–” “Quiet, you!” bellowed the stallion. “What I intend to do with you can not be seen by pony eyes... yet.” “I'll just scream,” said Grant, beginning to take an inhale. The pony, with the likeness of a quick-drawer, stood on his hind legs, revealing the underside of of his gold-colored coat and aiming his golden brace at Grant, which began to glow a slight black. “I'll just kill you,” he said. Although his face was hidden by the hood, Grant could tell from the tone of his voice that he was smiling; he wasn't bluffing. Grant exhaled, forced into complying to a duel with this pony. The pony put his right hoof down on the ground while keeping his brace aimed at Grant. “You allied yourself with Rae Sulfa Tun,” called out Braeburn, “you're among the first who needs to be taught our lessons.” “Lessons?” queried Grant, “Rae Sulfa Tun no longer exists. Not to mention, I was forced into joining her.” “Whatever the reason, you and your kind shall pay!” The pony held his brace like a duel disk, ready to fight. “You aren't going to do a thing!” shouted Grant. Grant held out his left arm as a halo formed around his elbow. The halo scanned down his arm, revealing his red-and-gold gauntlet D-Pad with his deck already in it. The pony then held his D-Pad up, which now began to glow white. “What is this?” asked Grant. An aura then shot out of the D-Pad, covering the area to both ends of the alley. “I see,” spoke Grant. “Magic holograms or something. Let's waste no further time. I'm ready!” The two drew five cards from their decks. “DUEL!” they shouted. _________________________________________________________________________________________ About One Mile from Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Gilda could just faintly see the lights of Canterlot in the distance, putting her mind in further ease. Just as she was about to imagine her warm bed and possibly a cold, stiff drink, she felt someone collide into her back, eliciting a shrill eagle's cry from her. “Watch it, dummy!” she spoke. The griffon looked behind her to see the cloaked pegasus behind her. Its hooves and wings were a greyish-blue and its hood was equipped with a mask to prevent the hood from flying off the head in the wind. “You know,” said the slightly-nasally, treble voice, “it isn't polite to call somepony names.” “Wait,” spoke Gilda. Using her keen eyesight, she began to observe the eyes that poked through the holes in the mask. Both were aiming in opposite directions. Gilda gasped at the realization. “You're the mailpony of Ponyville!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing at Canterlot?” “That's not important,” spoke the pegasus. “What's important is that you pay for what you almost did to us ponies!” The pegasus landed another blow at Gilda, causing another scream along with her flight wavering again. Gilda could see a D-Pad similar to the stallion's in Appleloosa upon the pegasus' left wrist. “You want to mess with me, kid?” she asked angrily. “Fine then! I'll come right at you!” A halo appeared around Gilda's left elbow as the light scanned her arm, producing her blue-and-gold gauntlet D-Pad. The pegasus' D-Pad shot out a similar aura to the one from the stallion in Appleloosa, covering a large portion of the area. Gilda was too determined to avenge herself to care about the aura, leading the both of them to draw five cards from their decks. “DUEL!” they both yelled. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Caverns, Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Whoever was attacking Chrysalis' changelings was moving closer. Without any further hesitation, she leaped off her throne and made her way further up. “Stand aside!” she bellowed, causing her fellow changelings to part and make a path. “There!” she cried to the intruder. “Now face me and leave my changelings alone.” At first nothing happened, but the sound of echoed clopping broke the newly formed silence. As the clopping got louder, the intruder showed itself as a cocoa-coated stallion, whose squarer muzzle was visible in the shadows of his cloak. He too was an Earth pony. “What do you think you're doing coming into my lair and harming my subjects?” seethed Chrysalis. “You mean the same subjects that nearly destroyed Canterlot?” he rebutted with a slight English accent. “We have made our amends! We have changed now.” “Change? Hmph. The only change you're capable of is your appearance! Now, you must pay for the crimes you've committed to ponykind.” The pony held his left arm in front of him, revealing his golden D-Pad. “You think you can stand up to the likes of me?” chuckled Chrysalis. “I may no longer be the vicious tyrant of days past, but if you dare threaten my subjects, I will sure fight like days of past.” “And you'll lose all the same,” muttered the pony under his breath. Chrysalis made her wrist dealer/graveyard appear on her wrist as two pairs of wings sprouted out of her back. The pony's D-Pad glowed brightly before it shot out an aura around the area of the cave. The changelings watching backed as far as they could to the wall, knowing that the fight would become very dirty. The brown stallion and Chrysalis drew five cards from their decks. “DUEL!” they yelled. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Manehattan, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ As Zelda reached the clouds, she brushed her fingers alongside them, feeling their moist softness pass in between them. As she peacefully continued on with her journey home, a ping was coming from her glasses. Upon looking through the radar built into them, she noticed a light dot incoming towards her glider. Using as much swiftness as she could allow, she rotated the glider 180° to see a cloaked pony approaching. With her having noticed it, the pony stopped and stared her down. Zelda could barely tell the features of the pegasus in the moonlight, but she could tell that it was a stallion with a light cornflower-blue coat. “Who are you?” questioned Zelda. “Why are you following me?” “My voice will probably give it away,” he said in a raspy tenor voice. “Wait, aren't you So–” “And second of all, you should know exactly why I'm following you.” “I didn't know that they had an aerial division in the fuzz, but I assure you I was going the speed limit.” “Yes, very funny Zelda Buchanan. But it is who you allied yourself with in your past that has dug your grave!” 'Allied in the past? What are you–” “Enough talk!” shouted the stallion. “We're on a tight schedule and our master does not like any screw-ups in his plan.” The pegasus then lunged towards Zelda, only for her to lower the altitude of her glider, forcing him to fly above her. With him going in the opposite direction now, she boosted her glider to high speeds to evade her assailant. The pony, undaunted, performed a downwards half loop and continued to chase Zelda using the momentum he had in him, getting on her tail easily. Zelda then noticed the brace-like D-Pad on his left wrist. “You want to play then?” she said, her silver, feathered D-Pad appearing on her arm. “Alright. Let's play! Holo-imager sequence! Activate!” Multicolored lights shined below the wings of the glider, shooting out an aura that covered their area. They both drew five cards from their decks. “DUEL!” they shouted. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Ponyville, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ As Twilight continued writing, the cloaked figure crept closer to the lavender unicorn. It crept past Spike's bed, careful not to disturb his sleep. By the time she was just at the point where Twilight's candlelight became shadows that she could still hide behind, she began charging her horn. Owlowiscious noticed the green aura around the horn and began hooting madly, alerting Twilight. As she turned around, she saw a spell launched straight at her. With great speed and reflexes, she casted a shielding spell that bounced the spell away from her and towards the wall. The noise awoke Spike, but before he could scream at the appearance of the intruder, Owlowiscious turned to Spike and put its wing to its beak, as if saying, “Shhh.” The owl then flew towards Spike and lifted the baby dragon by his shoulders with his talons off the ground and to the balcony exit, flipping the lock and flying Spike and himself out, all without the attacker or Twilight noticing. Twilight stared the cloaked pony down, awaiting another strike. Twilight could see the mint-green hooves and horn protruding through the cloak. “What are you doing in my home?” Twilight asked, boiling with anger. “You pose a great threat to our plan,” the mare answered in a higher alto voice, “and as such, you must be eliminated, Twilight Sparkle.” “Threat? What are you talking about?” “That won't matter to you anymore. Because you'll be dead after I'm through with you.” “Like that will ever happen!” Twilight launched a spell at the unicorn, only for the mare to hold her gold D-Pad up to her face, the spell merely disappearing upon contact. “I think you now know where this is going,” the cloaked pony said. “Your magic cannot penetrate my D-Pad, and my magic is too weak against somepony like you.” “If you're looking for a duel,” responded Twilight, pulling out her own D-Pad, “you still won't stand a chance!” Twilight placed her wrist dealer/graveyard upon her left wrist and put the tablet on top, causing the zones to unsheathe out of it. With the blasting of a white aura from her D-Pad, the assailant was ready to go. She and Twilight drew five cards from their decks. “DUEL!” they both cried. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ As Trixie walked into the back of Celestia's throne room, the cloaked figure swooped down from the corner of the ceiling using her wings, catching Trixie unaware as she was tackled and knocked unconcious. The pegasus pony quickly produced an iron bar from within her cloak and slipped it inside the door handles, preventing access from the outside. As the pegasus noticed Trixie stirring and awakening, she bounded towards the unicorn and pinned her to the ground. A mustard-yellow hoof muffled her mouth. “Don't say anything until I ask you,” the pegasus-mare warned in a raspy voice, “or I'll make sure you never say anything ever again, got it?” Trixie tearfully nodded, signaling her compliance. “Now,” she continued, “where is the journal?” “What journal?” Trixie answered. “I have no idea what you're talking about.” As much as the pegasus wanted to believe that the pony was lying, her fright and her words were too genuine to be feigned. “Darn it,” she hissed. “It's probably gone by now.” Trixie was unsure of what her attacker was talking about, but she did not let up as she continued to press her hoof into Trixie's face. “Get up,” the pegasus ordered, relinquishing her vice. “And don't scream; my promise still stands.” “What do you even want?” asked Trixie. “What is this journal?” “Never mind. However, I still have you to take care of.” “Me? What do I have to do in all this?” “You know what you've done in the past, and I'm going to correct it.” “Correct it? I threw away that life; I'm through with that Trixie now.” “I'll be the judge of that!” she spoke, holding her golden D-Pad up. Trixie, angry at her accusations, stood offensively. “Very well,” Trixie declared, “I'll have to find some way to stall before the guards come here.” “You won't last long enough.” “We'll see about that!” Trixie's cutie mark began to glow, causing a star and crescent to fly from it, growing about triple its size as they both flew for Trixie's left wrist. Upon colliding, her white, curved-bladed D-Pad appeared on her arm. The pegasus' D-Pad shot out an aura that covered the entire room. With everything in place, Trixie and the pegasus drew five cards from their decks. “DUEL!” they both shouted. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Appleloosa, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Grant fearfully stood and looked up at a large monster that literally looked like a train from hell, bearing a striking resemblance to the train on the artwork of the Am I Evil CD from Diamond Head. The assailant he faced felt no remorse as he made his final attack. “GO!” he declared. “Proud Locomotive! Thundering Plow!” With a fiery eruption from its smokestack, the train sped towards Grant. Cont. from Grant vs. Unknown Cont. from Unknown's Turn: Unknown attacks Onyx Cerberus (ATK: 3300 DEF: 2900) with Element of Vice – Proud Locomotive. Grant's Life Points: 200 -> 0 Unknown wins. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Grant was launched backwards into the deserted streets, rendered unconscious before he hit the ground. Several cards from his D-Pad, including his Onyx Cerberus card, flew to the ground. The cloaked pony stepped out onto the street with diligence, scanning the ground for the card that he was looking for. He soon found Onyx Cerberus, picking it up in his hooves. “Let's hope the others are having as good of luck as I am,” he spoke, putting the card in his cloak. Before any pony could catch wind of the act that he accomplished, he headed back into the alley to hide himself in the shadows. _________________________________________________________________________________________ About One Mile from Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Gilda was severely weakened as she tried to fly away from her attacker, who controlled a red, serpintine dragon with two pairs of purple wings and two bladed appendages on its waist. “Just...” stammered Gilda in fear, “...just what are you?” “Somepony who'll save my world from the evil of another,” she explained. “Now go, Lust Dragon! Attack Meklord Emperor Wisel with Gales of Desire!” The dragon emitted a purple burst of air from its mouth towards Gilda's monster. Cont. from Gilda vs. Unknown Cont. from Unknown's Turn: Unknown attacks Meklord Emperor Wisel (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2500) with Element of Vice – Lust Dragon. Gilda's Life Points: 100 -> 0 Unknown wins. _________________________________________________________________________________________ The cloaked pegasus watched as Gilda plummeted towards the Earth, completely unconcious from the blow of the attack. Lust Dragon then disappeared, the duel having ended. “Too bad she had no Stones of Equus on her,” she mused. With Canterlot in view, she then looked to the tower of the Canterlot palace where the mustard-yellow pegasus was taking care of Trixie. “I'm sure my other friends are having better luck.” She flew into the opposite direction of Canterlot, hoping to avoid any and all suspicion before they found Gilda's body. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Caverns, Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Queen Chrysalis was on her back, desperately crawling away from a demonic looking fox-like creature with black, oily fur, a gaping, fanged smile, and one large, purple eye. With one last attack she would be finished, and her fright was enough of an indicator that she wasn't ready. “No!” she wailed, backing up into the bottom of the stairs that led to her throne. “Stop! Please! I beg you!” “You can beg to the devil once I send you and your kind to Hell!” responded the cloaked pony. “Attack, Fox of Sloth! Devour Turquoise Windigo with Jaws of Acedia!” The black creature opened its mouth wide and bit down upon Chrysalis' monster, causing it to burst into golden sparks. Cont. from Queen Chrysalis vs. Unknown Cont. from Unknown's Turn: Unknown attacks Turquoise Windigo (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1600) with Element of Vice – Fox of Sloth. Chrysalis' Life Points: 600 -> 0 Unknown wins. _________________________________________________________________________________________ The changelings around her squealed and squeaked with fright and worry for the well being of their queen as the damage inflicted to her left her lying still on the ground, her eyes shut. Fox of Sloth did not disappear, however. Instead, it looked among all of the changelings inside the cavern while licking his lips with its long tongue. “Fox of Sloth,” spoke the cloaked pony with pride, “dinnertime.” Upon the uttering of the last word, the changelings shrieked and scattered about the cave, their queen unable to do anything as they were killed or eaten one by one by the creature that her attacker controlled. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Manehattan, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Zelda knew she did not have much longer. With the vicious, bat-like worm chasing her, still able to attack, along with her field being completely empty, she made one last action before her attacker could finish her off. “Auto-pilot to my house!” she yelled. “Auto-pilot on,” declared a robotic voice from her glider. “Destination: Zelda's house.” “There's no use running!” declared the pegasus. “Now finish her off Gluttonous Worm! Attack Zelda directly with Hungry Bile!” The monster vomited a stream of brown liquid aimed straight at Zelda. Cont. from Zelda vs. Unknown Cont. from Unknown's Turn: Unknown attacks Zelda directly with Element of Vice – Gluttonous Worm. Zelda' Life Points: 1100 -> 0 Unknown wins. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Zelda fought the pain as hard as she could as the bile from the pegasus' monster covered her. Once it was done, she sunk to her knees and gripped on to the front of her glider for dear life. The glider began to sink into the clouds, but with her finished off as she was, she was no longer chased by her attacker. The glider began to fall further down until it reached a modest house on the top of a small hill surrounded by many trees. The glider began to hover above the ground before it gently landed and shut off. Zelda finally let go of her glider, sliding off and falling limply to the ground. Zelda began to hyperventilate and hug herself for warmth, scared not only from the monster that nearly killed her, but the fact that her past life had come back to haunt her. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Canterlot, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Trixie was horrified. The monster she faced was too strong for her, allowing its owner to destroy every counter strategy that Trixie could have accomplished. Her fear was only intensified as she heard the guards outside trying to break into the barred door. The monster that stood before here looked like a giant, symmetrical, golden monument of what looked to be the carapace of some insect. “It's no use,” spoke the attacker, “by the time the guards break the door down, I'll be gone, and so shall you. Now, Relic of Greed, attack Cobalt Ursa Minor with Avarice Rays!” The golden monster glowed before it concentrated its light on the hole in its combined torso/abdomen, shooting a bright beam from it at Trixie's monster. Cont. from Trixie vs. Unknown Cont. from Unknown's Turn: Unknown attacks Cobalt Ursa Minor (ATK: 3000 DEF: 3000). with Element of Vice – Relic of Greed. Trixie's Life Points: 100 -> 0 Unknown wins. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Trixie was blasted backwards into the barred door behind her, the force being enough to push the calvalry of guards trying to break in backwards from the other side. The golden monster disappeared upon the duel ending. Using the confusion she caused to her advantage, the cloaked pegasus scanned the floor of Trixie's cards that were scattered from her duel disk upon the final attack. “There you are,” she exclaimed, picking up both Trixie's Cobalt Ursa Minor and Garnet Ursa Major cards. The doors began banging again, leaving her to place the cards into her cloak, and then turn and run. However, she looked back to see that Trixie would be in the way of the door's path. Before she could leave, she rushed back to push Trixie to the left of the door so that it wouldn't fly into her already damaged body when it would eventually gave way. The wood of the door, which had held up until now, began to break, forcing the pegasus to gallop to the back of the room and leap out of the stained glass window, flying away as fast as her wings could carry her. She gave one last glance at the Canterlot castle before she continued to fly further away. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Ponyville, Equestria _________________________________________________________________________________________ Cont. from Twilight Sparkle vs. Unknown Cont. from Unknown's Turn: Unknown attacks Magi Magi Magician Girl (ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000) with Thought Ruler Archfiend (ATK: 2700 DEF: 2300). Twilight's Life Points: 500 -> 200 _________________________________________________________________________________________ Twilight was thrown to the floor as the attacker's Thought Ruler Archfiend destroyed her monster. However, another monster that the assailant controlled was still waiting to attack. It appeared to be a white-and-red demon that somewhat resembled the other archfiend monster that she controlled. Twilight shielded her head with her arms as the attacker was about to end her. Before the cloaked pony could declare her attack, the six voices of Twilight's friends rung out, coming closer to the treehouse. The attacker recognized the voices instantly: Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Spike. The attacker grunted in anger. “This isn't over Twilight Sparkle,” she exclaimed. “Not by a long shot.” The door to the library flung open just as a bright flash where the attacker had stood appeared, vanishing along with the pony. Without missing a beat, all of Twilight's friends ran up the stairs to see Twilight huddled alone on the floor. “What happened?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Who was that?” “Settle down, Rainbow,” called Applejack, crouching down and petting Twilight's side. “One thing at a time. Now, Twilight, what just happened?” Twilight could only elicit frightened whimpers, still too overcome with shock after being just inches from death. “She really doesn't look too good,” spoke Fluttershy. “Whoever did this to her,” spoke Spike, “must have really did a number on her.” Twilight continued to whimper and whine as her friends did all that they could to comfort and console the hysterical mare.