//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Eternal Cycle // Story: Dueling is Magic! Many Futures // by Wolfgang //------------------------------// Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Chapter Three The Eternal Cycle /*********************\ “Sun Dragon Inti, attack Twilight Sparkle directly!” ordered Celestia. “Solar Prominence!” A loop grew from the fireball in front of the four-headed dragon, its crest racing towards Twilight. Twilight’s horn lit up as her last Set card revealed itself. “I activate the Trap Card ‘Defense Draw’!” she said. “I take no damage from this battle and I get to draw one card!” Twilight used her magic to take a card from her deck. The fiery crest died away. “Impressive, Twilight,” said Celestia. “I will end my turn with by activating the Continuous Spell ‘Temple of the Sun’. As long as it’s in play, monsters we control that were summoned from the Graveyard gain three hundred Attack Points.” Life Point Count Celestia/Luna: 3150 Twilight: 3400 “My turn!” said Twilight. “But instead of drawing, I’ll activate the effect of Magical Blast to add it to my hand.” Okay, let’s see, thought the unicorn. I have six cards and I think I can use all of them, but I should do it in the right order. But what is the right order? These cards place Spell Counters... ah-ha! “I play the Field Spell ‘Magical Citadel of Endymion’!” As Twilight placed the card in her Duel Disk, the space around the three ponies began to change, flowing like water around them. A massive citadel arose in the distance behind Twilight. “Now I’ll activate Pitch-Black Power Stone’s effect and move one of its Spell Counters to the Citadel.” Another corner of the gold triangle faded from the black orb. A green light shot away from it and began to circle the citadel. “Next I activate ‘Spell Power Grasp’. This places a Spell Counter on one card I control and lets me add another copy of ‘Spell Power Grasp’ from my deck to my hand, but I can only activate one each turn. Plus, when a Spell Card is activated, the Citadel gains a Spell Counter!” Two more green lights appeared and joined the first in circling around the building behind Twilight. “I summon ‘Apprentice Magician’ to the field,” said Twilight. A young man with short, blonde hair appeared, dressed in purple robes. Apprentice Magician ATK/400 LV 2 “When Apprentice Magician is Summoned, he places a Spell Counter on one card that can have Spell Counters,” Twilight said. The young man pointed his staff at the Magical Citadel and a fourth green light appeared around it. “I activate the Quick-Play Spell ‘Magical Dimension’!” said Twilight. “If I control a Spellcaster, I can Release a monster I control and Special Summon a Spellcaster from my hand. I Release Apprentice Magician and Special Summon ‘Endymion, the Master Magician’!” The young man crossed his arms in front of himself. A cube-shaped metal frame with a casket-like object inside appeared. The casket was held in place by eight chains linked to the inner corners of the cube. The casket opened and the Apprentice Magician floated into it. It closed and a bright light shone from around the edges. When the light faded, the casket opened again, a new magician appeared. His outfit was black edged with gold. Embedded in his armor and helmet were purple gems that held gold triangles within. A massive metal ring rested on his back, and his cape flowed through the center. The ring was silver with gold edges. Along the inside of the ring were more of the mystical triangles, alternating directions. Between each one was another purple gem. The man held a black staff in his right hand. At the end was a gold crescent. On the outside were spikes made of the same purple gemstone. Within the crescent was yet another purple orb. The man flew out of the casket and took a position before Twilight. Endymion, the Master Magician ATK/2700 LV 7 “My turn to turn things around!” said Twilight. “Magical Dimension has one last effect! After I summon my monster, I can destroy a monster you control. I’ll destroy Sun Dragon Inti!” The metal frame and casket reappeared, this time around Celestia’s dragon. The casket opened and the dragon was drawn inside. The casket slammed shut, then the entire construct shattered. “Battle! Endymion, direct attack! Dark Magic Mastery!” Twilight said. Endymion aimed his staff at Celestia. A purple beam of energy shot out of the orb. Black electricity danced out of the spikes and swirled around the beam, racing with and around it as it approached Celestia. Hit struck her, pushing her back, but she stood firm. “I’m not done yet, Princess,” said Twilight. “I’ll activate Magical Blast to send two hundred points of damage your way!” Endymion fired another blast at Celestia, pushing her back even further. Life Point Count Celestia/Luna: 250 “Well done, Twilight,” said Celestia. “Are you okay?” asked the unicorn. “I’m alright,” she replied. Twilight realized she’d been holding her breath and let it out. “I end my turn,” she said. Am I scared of hurting the princesses? she thought. No, I don’t think that’s it. Then what- “My turn!” shouted Luna as she drew her card. “The real battle begins here, Twilight Sparkle. I activate the effect of Sun Dragon Inti! On the Standby Phase following its destruction, I am allowed to Special Summon Moon Dragon Quilla from the Graveyard. Revive, Moon Dragon Quilla!” Dark clouds appeared over the duel field and a pale blue moon began to rise from behind them. Quilla’s four dragon heads unfolded from behind it and roared in unison. “No way!” said Twilight. “In addition to this, because it was Special Summoned from the Graveyard,” Luna continued, “Moon Dragon Quilla’s Attack points are increased by three hundred by Temple of the Sun.” Moon Dragon Quilla ATK/2800 LV 6 “Moon Dragon Quilla, attack Endymion, the Master Magician! Lunar Flame!” The four dragon heads launched their attack. The blue fire struck Endymion and he was destroyed. Life Point Count Twilight: 3300 “I Set three cards face-down and end my turn,” said Luna. She narrowed her eyes at Twilight and said, “It is your move now, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight looked at the one card in her hand floating in front of her. Spell Power Grasp, she thought. I still have one left in my deck. The Citadel has six Spell Counters on it, so I can bring back Endymion. And if I used Magical Blast’s effect instead of drawing, I could destroy Moon Dragon Quilla with Endymion’s effect. She looked up at the four-headed dragon. But knowing the princesses, this card has an effect that can resurrect Sun Dragon Inti. I could use Magical Blast to win the duel, but Luna has three Set cards, and one of them could be something that can counter it. I can’t just play offensively here. I also have to play defensively. To do that, I need options. I have to draw a card. “My turn!” said Twilight. She looked at her new card and her eyes widened. This is one of the cards that stranger gave me outside! She read the card quickly and smiled. I know what I should do! “I activate my second Spell Power Grasp and use it to place a Spell Counter on the Magical Citadel, and add the final copy of it from my deck to my hand. And each time a Spell Card is activated, the Citadel gains a Spell Counter on its own.” Two lights appeared above Twilight, then shot off behind her to the Citadel. “I Set one card face-down,” said Twilight. She looked at the last card in her hand. I hope this works, she thought. The card in front of her slid into her Duel Disk. “I activate ‘Card of Sanctity’,” she said. “When it’s activated, both players draw until they’re holding six cards. Um.... I guess only Princess Luna draws.” “That is correct,” said Luna as she took two cards from her deck. Twilight nodded and drew six cards of her own. “I’ll use Endymion’s effect,” Twilight announced after looking at her new cards. “By removing six Spell Counters from the Citadel, Endymion can be Special Summoned from my hand or Graveyard. Come back to me, Endymion, the Master Magician!” Six of the eight lights surrounding the Citadel converged in a vertical line in front of Twilight. A beam of light connected them and expanded around them, forming a wide column. A shadow appeared within the light. When the light vanished, Endymion stood in its place. Endymion, the Master Magician ATK/2700 LV 7 “Endymion’s effect activates!” said Twilight excitedly. “When he’s Special Summoned this way, I can add a Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand! I think I’ll choose Monster Reborn.” “Here she comes, sister,” said Celestia. Luna’s dark stare did not waver. “I activate Endymion’s second effect,” said Twilight. “Once per turn, I can discard a Spell Card to destroy one card on the field. Endymion, destroy the Moon Dragon! Power of Elis!” The eight gems in the ring on Endymion’s back began to glow. They each fired a twisting beam of thin energy. They swirled around each other and struck the moon at the center of the dragon, piercing through its back. The dragon exploded and was destroyed. “A valiant effort, Twilight Sparkle,” said Luna, “but the cycle of the sun and moon is eternal! Moon Dragon Quilla’s effect activates! When it is destroyed, it Special Summons Sun Dragon Inti from our Graveyard!” Bright sunbeams danced across the duel field, shining down from a stone sun as it descended toward the three ponies. The four crimson heads of the dragon unfolded from behind the stone sun and roared. Sun Dragon Inti ATK/3300 LV 8 “Just as I thought,” said Twilight. “I activate Monster Reborn to Special Summon Crusader of Endymion in Defense Mode. Next, I Gemini Summon him and activate his effect, placing a Spell Counter on the Citadel. Finally, I’ll bring those Spell Counters up to five by moving the last Spell Counter from Pitch-Black Power Stone to the Citadel.” The last of the triangle’s corners vanished and a new light appeared over the Citadel. As it did, the black stone shattered and vanished. “When it has no more Spell Counters, the Power Stone is destroyed. I Set one card and end my turn.” “During the End Phase of your turn, I activate the Trap Card ‘Destruct Potion’,” said Luna. “This card destroys one monster on our field, and in exchange increases our Life Points by its Attack Points!” Sun Dragon Inti exploded. The smoke twisted and flew down to Luna in thin tendrils. She spread her wings and inhaled the fumes. Her eyes glowed as a Life Point Counter appeared next to her. Life Point Count Celestia/Luna: 3550 Twilight: 3300 ***** They had come. He knew they would. But it was too late for them to stop him. Their little skirmishes across the city with his soldiers meant nothing in the end. He had an army. Oh, they certainly had dedication, a perseverance that could rival the strength of any military force. If the entire resistance were as strong willed as they were, he would be worried. But they were strong enough on their own. But what did it matter? Even as he lost soldiers, he gained new ones to replace them. He ran the numbers and saw the trend. He was winning new soldiers with many of his battles. He would lose some, sometimes more than he had gained before, but he would always claim more to make up for the loss. The trend was clear: He was gaining ground at a steady pace. The resistance would fall, even with their help. And he knew that the seeds of despair had been planted in them. Eventually, they would be the only ones left, and then he would take them, one by one. TO BE CONTINUED /*********************\ Next time on Dueling is Magic! Many Futures The royal sisters continue to barrage Twilight with attacks from their Sun and Moon Dragons as Twilight struggles to find some way to break the Eternal Cycle combo. But will defeating the princesses mean having to stop the sun and the moon themselves? Chapter 4 To Stop the Sun