It's Time To Duel!

by DagaYemar

Turn 1: Toon Terror vs. The Solar Guard

“Ladies first.” Pegasus offered grandly, fanning out his hand and half-hiding a smile behind it.

“A choice you’ll come to regret.” Celestia replied. She drew her sixth card and added it to her hand, then selected a card and placed it on the table before her. “I summon Solar Guard of the Dawn in attack mode!”

One of the squares in Celestia’s front row burst into a sudden beam of light and a figure rose out of the ground. After a moment the light faded to reveal a knight in golden armor readying a long sword in Pegasus’s direction. The figure floated a couple inches above the ground before settling into a ready position with a grunt.

“Solar Guard of tha Dawn? I’ve never seen that monster before…” Joey said, leaning forward to get a better look at it.

“Of course you haven’t!” Rainbow Dash snorted, crossing her arms and tilting her head back. “We’ve got a whole different crop of cards back home than you have out here.”

“Yeah? Well, that monster looks a little wimpy ta me!” Joey returned.

Rainbow smirked and turned pointedly back to the duel. “Just you wait and see. There’s more to her Solar Guard than first appears…”

“My turn already?” Pegasus asked, drawing a card with a flourish. “Then I will summon Red Archery Girl to the field!”

A burst of light lit Pegasus’s side of the field and a large clam shell rose up from the ground. The shell slowly opened, revealing a mermaid holding a bright red bow.

“Now go attack the Guard of the Dawn!” Pegasus said, waving his monster on. A large arrow materialized in the mermaid’s hand and she set it to the bow and fired in one swift motion. The arrow slammed into the knight right into its upper chest. Multicolored sparks shot out from the point of impart in a great shower.

“Not so fast, my Guard has a special ability.” Celestia picked up her deck and started flipping through it. “By sending one monster from my deck to the graveyard, the Solar Guard of the Dawn can’t be destroyed in battle.”

She selected a card and placed it in the graveyard just above her deck. On the field, the sparks subsided to reveal the knight had his sword up and was straining against the arrow with it. With a surge of effort the knight swung his sword wide, scattering the arrow into the air where it shattered harmlessly.

“I’ll add two cards face down on the field.” Pegasus continued. Two cards appeared floating horizontally on the field behind his Archery Girl. “So what do you say, my dear. Have we finished with the warm-ups? I think it’s time we gave our audience a real show.”

“If you insist.” Celestia said calmly, drawing a card. Her graveyard suddenly started glowing. “My soldiers work best as a team. And when one is standing guard on the field, I’m allowed to summon Solar Guard of the Day from the grave.”

In a burst of light a second knight, this one riding on the back of a white horse, rose out of the ground next to the first. The horse whinnied and reared back while the knight readied his lance.

“And now I’ll sacrifice my two guards to summon this!” Celestia said, calmly placing a card front and center on her podium. Both of her knights disappeared in a brilliant light far brighter than anything they had witnessed from a duel before. Everyone had to turn away and shield their eyes from the glare engulfing the whole field. A dark spot appeared directly in the middle of the light and grew, the blazing light contracting around the creature as it grew in size.

“What is that thing!?” Pegasus asked, squinting around his arm to try and make out the monster. “I’ve never seen it before!”

“You allowed me free reign to create my own cards as I saw fit.” Celestia said coolly, not even bothered by the searing light. “That’s the whole reason I’m here today, isn’t it? Well allow me to introduce you to one of my favorites, The Supremacy Sun! Now watch it in action as it destroys your Red Archery Girl. Flame Pillar!”

The light finally finished gathering itself into a tight ball of radiance at the monster’s back, causing its ebony armor to shine brightly as it rose up into the air far above the battlefield. It uncrossed its arms and raised them above its head, where a ball of fire grew into existence. After a couple of seconds the ball exploded downward in a column of flame which engulfed the mermaid.

The flames raged about the field unchecked, but suddenly started to fade into nothing. A shimmering dome of green energy slowly appeared from within the disappearing flames, completely surrounding Pegasus and his monster, which appeared completely unharmed. One of the face down cards on his field was now vertical, revealing what he had played for everyone to see.

“A good try, but my Draining Shield stops your attack completely. What’s more it adds all that lovely power directly into my life points, so thanks for the boost.”

“I didn’t do it for you.” Celestia said, studying her hand. “I’ll place one card face down and end my turn.”

“I’m impressed with your monster,” Pegasus grinned, as the effects of his trap faded from the field, “But are you sure that’s how you want to play? I was expecting you to bring out your far more impressive cards for our duel.”

Celestia shot a glance at her students and smiled to herself. “Those cards don’t belong to me anymore. Besides, the Supremacy Sun is all I need to win.”

“Getting a little overconfident?” Pegasus asked as he drew his card. He looked at it and broke out into a snide smile. “Well, I think it’s time to debase you of that notion. It’s time to visit Toon World!”

Pegasus slapped the card he’d drawn on the table and a book popped into existence in a pink cloud of smoke. Calliope music started played as the book flipped itself open, coming to a rest somewhere in the middle. Buildings and tombstones popped out of the pages.

“Toon World? What’s that?” Applejack asked.

“A real embarrassment.” Kaiba spat, turning away from the field in disgust.

“My Toon World allows me to summon my favorite little monsters from my hand, such as this one. Behold the Toon Summoned Skull!”

The book floated forward on the field and suddenly slammed closed over the Archery Girl, who barely had time to let out a little cry. The book spun in place several times before bursting open again in another cloud of colorful smoke. A cackling demon popped out of the book like a jack-in-the-box, bouncing like it was made of rubber.

“And why stop there?” Pegasus continued, making a show of selecting another card from his hand. “I’ll use my Ultimate Offering to summon another cuddly toon to the field.”

His other face down card flipped up, but this time remained on the field instead of fading away. A purplish aura glowed around it as it effect was used.

The pages of the book started flipping again, and when they came to a rest a golden ring floated out of it. Like a genie appearing from its lamp a monster shot out of the ring and danced about in the air, chuckling to itself behind overly large gloved hands.

“Introducing the Toon Masked Sorcerer! Isn’t he just precious?”

“He calls those monsters?” Rainbow asked incredulously, unsure how to feel about a duelist of his supposed strength using such lame looking cards.

“Well, there’s more ta those cards than first appears.” Joey returned, copying her tone from earlier. “Nothing we haven’t overcome before, but maybe our cards aren’t all that weak after all, eh?”

Pinkie pushed her way between them for a better view, sparkles popping up in her eyes. “I don’t care how strong they are, they look AWESOME!!!!”

“My toons don’t just look awesome, but they’ve got quite the special ability as well.” Pegasus lectured, picking an imaginary spot of dust off his suit with his free hand. “You see, if they don’t want to fight any of my opponent’s monsters, they don’t have to. They can simply attack directly.”

“No monsters are that powerful!” Twilight shouted.

Pegasus pointed dramatically. “Actions speak louder than words. Toon Sorcerer, how about you show them what I mean!”

The sorcerer snapped its fingers and suddenly started spinning like a top, slowly shrinking in size until it disappeared in a puff of smoke. As Celestia leaned forward to try and see where it had gone, it floated down behind her from nowhere and pulled a large cartoon mallet out of its golden ring. Some sixth sense warned Celestia of its presence and she spun around as it swung the hammer straight down at her head. Right before it landed the hammer burst apart into confetti with the sound of a party cracker.

“Quite the magic show, wasn’t it?” Pegasus laughed gaily, applauding the giggling sorcerer as it danced back to his side of the field. “And now I am sad to say this we bid you adieu, my dear Celestia. So sad, but all good things must come to an end. Toon Summoned Skull, finish her with Lightning Strike!”

The demon whipped its arms about itself and cackled madly, electricity flashing about itself in a wild storm. It suddenly threw itself forward and a great bolt of lightning lashed out from its arms and struck Celestia’s podium dead-on. A giant explosion of dust and debris hid her from view, followed by several more explosions growing bigger and bigger until they had eclipsed even her Supremacy Sun in the cloud. The explosions finally stopped and the smoke slowly started clearing away.

“NOOO!!!” Twilight cried, straining to peer through the smoke for her mentor.

“She can’t have lost that easily!” Applejack said with a grimace.

“Hmm, well, that’s that.” Pegasus said confidently, but then something caught his eye. He leaned forward over his podium and gripped it with both hands. “What’s this? Why hasn’t the duel ended?”

Indeed, Pegasus’s cards were still on the field, giggling madly but otherwise still present. The dust cleared enough for everyone to see Celestia was still standing calmly, though her field was empty.

“What’s going on?” Pegasus demanded. “You should have lost with that attack!”

“I used my trap card, Destruct Potion.” Celestia explained. “All I had to do is destroy my Sun and I gained life points equal to its attack points.”

“Why would she do that? She’s completely defenseless now.” Bakura wondered aloud.

Pegasus tsked and stood up a little straighter. “Well, it doesn’t matter. All you’ve done is buy yourself another turn at most. And since my Toon Sorcerer hit you this turn, I can draw another card.” He picked up the top card of his deck, looked at it, and set it on the field with a smile. “I’ll end my turn there.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate me, Maximillion. I’ve been at this just as long as you have.” Celestia lectured calmly. She drew her card for the turn and barely looked at it before placing it in the graveyard. Instantly the field started shining with a very familiar light.

“It can’t be!” Pegasus cried as The Supremacy Sun rose up from the ground once more.

“No matter what you do, the sun will always rise!” Celestia said grandly, gesturing with her free hand. “And by simply discarding a card at the start of my turn, my monster resurrects. But that’s not the only one returning from the grave. My Solar Guard of the Dusk also comes back!”

There was another flash of light and now a knight in green was on her field, kneeling in defense mode with its sword out before it defensively.

“You never change, Maximillion, and that’s your greatest weakness.” Celestia said as she picked a card from her hand and played it. “I know your toon monsters well, and how they can’t be destroyed by normal attacks. That is where this card I created comes in, Royal Privilege!”

The continuous spell card appeared on the field and at the same time her Solar Guard of the Dusk shattered into fragments with a yell of surprise.

“It costs me all of my level four or lower monsters, but it grants my Supremacy Sun the ability to wipe any monster from the field with ease. And now it will use this new power against your Toon Summoned Skull!”

The Sun raised its hands again and formed another pillar of fire, launching it at the targeted monster. The Summoned Skull cowered next to the book with tears in its eyes, chewing madly on its finger claws in terror.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but my toon’s not going anywhere. I activate my trap, Toon Defense!” Pegasus cried, revealing his face down. “That redirects your attack to me instead!”

The pillar of flames tilted slightly, just barely missing the Summoned Skull, which sighed in relief. The blast struck Pegasus and surged around him, but other than a brief twinge the game designer made no outward show. His Toon Defense trap remained on the field rather than fade away.

“What a duel!” Yugi said.

“Indeed.” Bakura nodded. “They’re both taking blows that would floor a normal duelist without even flinching. They’re in a class above the rest of us!”

“Speak for yourself, darling.” Rarity sniffed.

“Sorry about that, my dear Celestia, but I couldn’t allow my precious toon to be destroyed like that.” The Summoned Skull waved its arms in embarrassment at Pegasus’s words and blushed.

“I still can’t allow it to remain on the field.” Celestia said, playing another card from her hand. “I activate the spell card Share the Pain! Now a monster on each of our fields is destroyed. And I bet you can guess which ones I’m choosing!”

A brief flare beneath the Supremacy Sun and Toon Summon Skull was the only warning the monsters had before they detonated. Duel shards floating away from the dust clouds were all that was left of the two monsters.

“How could you do that to an innocent toon?!” Pegasus demanded; truly upset for the first time this game. “And to your own monster as well!”

“With you toon’s ability to attack directly, it’s not like the Sun could protect me anyway.” Celestia replied, meeting his anger with a calm demeanor. “And besides, my monster will be back next turn, unlike yours.”

“We’ll see about that!” Pegasus shouted, drawing his card for the turn and studying it. Hmm, I have no monsters in my hand. But that’s not really a problem with my Toon Masked Sorcerer out…

“Alright, Masked Sorcerer! Attack her with Magical Hammer!”

The sorcerer clapped its hands together and drew out from some hidden space a trio of wooden mallets. It started to juggle them, wavering back and forth so as not to lose one, before somehow tripping over and sending the hammers in all directions. One headed straight towards Celestia, who held up her arm to block it as it ghosted right through her.

“And that allows me to draw a new card.” Pegasus said, doing so and smiling at what it was. “And now let me introduce Toon Alligator to the field!”

Toon World spun on its axis again, flipping through its pages before settling on one seemingly at random. A small, grinning alligator clutching a hatchet popped out of the book and settled on the field in defense mode.

“And I think I’ll set another card face down to keep it company.” Pegasus continued, setting the card in the spell and trap zone. “And that will do it for me, my dear. I’ll give the turn to you. Give it your best shot!”

“Just remember you asked for it.” Celestia replied, drawing a card and smiling. Ah, finally! “First, I’ll discard a card from my hand to resurrect the Supremacy Sun!”

The now familiar burst of light surrounded the field as the Sun revived once more. It crossed its arms and glared down at Pegasus, as if mocking him for ever thinking that it would be gone for very long.

“And now, I think I’ll do something about your bothersome traps.” Celestia said, and her graveyard started glowing. “I’ll activate the effect of the Solar Guard of the Dark Hours I just discarded. By removing itself and two other Solar Guards from the game, I can play a trap card straight from my deck. And I know just the one I need!”

The ghost of an evil looking knight briefly appeared on the field, flanked on either side by the guards of Dawn and Dusk, before they disappeared in a flash of light. The light dimmed to reveal a trap card in their place. Immediately a violet aura surrounded Pegasus’s Ulitmate Offering and Toon Defense, and their faces faded away until they were completely blank. A similar aura surrounded his face down card, holding it fast to the ground.

“What did you do?!” Pegasus demanded.

“Just used the effect of my Royal Decree.” Celesia explained. “With this card on the field, all other trap cards are useless. So there’s no way you’re worming out of this attack! Supremacy Sun, get that Toon Masked Sorcerer off the field, won’t you?!”

The Sun roared as it launched another jet of fire down at the tiny monster below. The sorcerer looked around frantically for someplace to hide, but couldn’t find anything as the attack grew closer. It slipped itself back down into its golden ring, leaving just one large cartoon eye out to stare in terror as it was engulfed in flames. It shattered with a scream.

“Curse you…” Pegasus growled, flinching away from the flames before they faded away.

“I’m not done yet!” Celestia said, playing the card she’d draw this turn. “I equip my Supremacy Sun with the Ring of Magnetism! Sure, it may drop its attack by five hundred points, but now you can’t attack anyone but it! That means no more direct attacks.”

“Looks like Pegasus is worried.” Rainbow grinned, crossing her arms and rocking back on her heels. “This game is as good as over!”

Yugi shook his head. “I wouldn’t count him out just yet. Pegasus’s deck is tricky, and he has a knack for turning a situation around really quickly…”

Indeed, when Pegasus drew his card he broke out into a confident grin before grabbing the other card in his hand. “It sure has been fun, my dear, but I think it’s time to end this. I’ve been saving this little card for a special time, and I think I’ll use it now. It’s the spell card Doppelganger!”

The Toon World card slammed closed, opened again to a new page. Out of the book came a long black cat-like cartoon creature, which stretched around the field and stared shuffling through Celestia’s graveyard.

“What is this thing?!” Celestia demanded, swiping at it. The doppelganger avoided the blow, bending back over itself to Pegasus’s side of the field with a card clutched in its paws.

“This is my delightful toon Doppelganger, of course.” Pegasus cooed, scratching the cat under its jaw affectionately. “It’s so very good at impressions, you see. It can copy any spell card you played this duel. And it looks like the one its picked is Share the Pain! I’m so sorry, Toon Alligator, but it’s your time to go.”

The alligator looked back at him with fat crocodile tears in its eyes, but there was nothing it could do. The doppelganger lifted up the card it had stolen and swallowed it, whereupon its body glowed brilliant white and vanished. Instantly a pair of explosions destroyed the only two monsters left in play.

“No!!!” Celestia cried as the shards of her Supremacy Sun fell all around her.

“And with your Ring of Magnetism gone, there’s nothing left to protect you from my Toon Goblin Attack Force!” Pegasus shouted, playing the last card in his hand. “And now I’ll finish this!”

Toon World flipped through the air one last time, turning itself upside down and shaking itself like it was dislodging dust from its bindings. Four cartoonish goblins tumbled out of the book and landed in a pile on the field, their clubs falling down after them and bopping them each on the head.

The goblins bounced to their feet, alternating between accidentally hitting each other with their clubs or stepping on each other’s feet, but they eventually all turned their attention to Celestia. They swarmed her in a mob and she disappeared into a cloud of cartoon smoke, disturbed by flying clubs and cartoon stars.

The duel finally over, the illusion projectors shut down and wiped all the cards from the field. The girls rushed over to Celestia to make sure she was alright, but she waved them off and turned to regard her opponent.

“Looks like you can compete in the tournament after all.” She said, slightly out of breath from the duel. “That was just like old times, though I think your focus has grown even better than the last time we dueled.”

Pegasus waved off her praise with mock modesty. “Think nothing of it! You pulled a couple moves that surprised even me, so it was all well worth it. We really need to get together more often.”

“Alright, that’s enough of the hugging and stuff!” Rainbow cried, spinning in place and pointing dramatically at the rest of the spectators. “I came here to duel and I’m tired of just waiting around! I’m starting this thing off, so send the best you’ve got out here to face me!”

“The best you say?” Yugi said in an odd tone of voice, and Rainbow had to squint as the puzzle around his neck seemed to catch the light somehow. When she blinked the tears out of her eyes, Yugi seemed to be… different. He was standing straighter and she could have sworn that he’d grown a couple inches.

Yugi stepped up onto the arena and activated his wrist mounted duel disk, speaking with more confidence in his voice than had been there previously. “If you are looking for the best, then I suppose you should get it. I’ll go first for my side.”

“You sure you can handle him?” Applejack asked, eyeing the King of Games up and down.

Rainbow answered by activating her own disk and falling into a ready stance. “Can I? I’ve been waiting for a chance at the title my whole life!”

“Alright, we’ll trust you to it. Take him down.” Celestia said, patting her once on the shoulder. She ushered the rest of the girls off the stage and the two duelists turned to each other and places their hands on their decks

“DUEL!”