Sunset could sense a very dark change in Bakura's aura, like something from another world. But it was very evil indeed.
"Bakura, what have you done?" asked Sunset "And why have you taken us to this... Shadow... Realm?"
The dark boy chuckled. "Bakura? Bakura's no longer here."
"If you're not Bakura, then who are you?" asked Sunset. "Better yet, what are you?"
"I am a thief and a stealer of souls," said the dark being. "And I have done terrible things in my quest to possess the Millennium Items, and other powerful magic. Ever since I came to this world, I have sensed a powerful magic coming from your friends, especially that Twilight Princess of yours."
"You'll never get their magic!" declared Sunset.
"Oh, not only will I get that power," declared Bakura. "But I shall also banish each and every one of you to this dark abyss for eternity! So prepare to lose your soul, along with your friends!"
"I'll never let that happen, whoever you are," said Sunset shuffling her friends' six cards into her duel deck.
"Then let the shadow game begin," said the dark impersonator.
Bakura LP 4000
Sunset LP 4000
"The first move is yours," announced Dark Bakura.
Turn 1: Sunset
"Fine. Then I'll summon Pinkie's favorite in defense mode," said Sunset. "The Madolche Baaple." A white sparkling light shone from the card, then Pinkie Pie appeared on a pancake covered with maple syrup, while wearing a whipped cream and frosting outfit. "Pinkie?"
"Alright! Another candy-coated dream," cheered Pinkie. Then she looked up. "What the?! Sunset Shimmer?! What are you doin' in my dream? And why are ya so... big!"
“Bakura must have trapped Pinkie's soul inside her favorite card with his dark magic,” assumed Sunset.
Turn 2: Bakura
The dark boy chuckled. "Your little friend looks sweet. Sweet enough for my Headless Knight." A suit of armor with no head appeared on Bakura's side of the dueling field.
"What?! Bakura's here too?" asked Pinkie. "Is this a giant party?"
"Next I'll play Stop Defense to switch your little cream puff into ATK mode," said Bakura.
“Oh no," Sunset realized. "She doesn't have a single ATK point.”
"Now attack!" commanded Bakura.
"Hey! What's going on?" asked Pinkie as the knight charged toward her. She cringed in fear.
"NO!!!!!" yelled Sunset, but it was too late. The headless warrior sliced right into Pinkie's candy costume causing her fade and vanish. "Pinkie!"
Bakura LP 4000
Sunset LP 2550
"Too bad, for your friend," said Bakura with a grin.
"Where is Pinkie? What have you done with her?!" demanded Sunset.
"Your friend has been sent away to the discard pile, or the graveyard as we call it in Duel Monsters," replied Bakura.
"No," said Sunset. "She can't be... gone."
Pinkie was now walking around an old cemetery. "Hey! What happened to my giant candy dream?" asked Pinkie. "Oh well, at least I still have my sweet costume." Pinkie began eating away at her candy-coated suit.
Sunset gritted her teeth in frustration while Bakura only laughed. "When you duel in the Shadow Realm, the stakes are always higher!" said Bakura. "If you don't start dueling more fiercely, you and the rest of your friends will join each other in a real graveyard! Now, which one of friends will you sacrifice next?"
Turn 3: Sunset
“I'd avoid using the cards that have my friends trapped in them if I could," said Sunset to herself. "But to save my friends, I have to win, and right now I only have one card that can destroy his Headless Knight.” "I summon Rarity's favorite, Alexandrite Dragon in attack Mode." The card started shining and out popped a small jewel-covered dragon with a smaller lady on his back wearing a gem-encrusted dress.
"Oh my, wherever I am, it is way too creepy," said Rarity. "Oh my! This outfit is gorgeous! So many jewels..... Wait a minute. Alexandrite Dragon? Is that you?" The dragon lowered its head and nuzzled his owner. "Ooooooh, you're such a good boy. Oh, hello Sunset. SUNNNNNSEEEEETT?????!!!!!!!! Good heavens!! You're a giant! I'm been working too hard. I need a summer vacation!"
"Rarity, listen," began Sunset. "Your soul has been sealed inside your favorite card."
"Say what?!" blurted Rarity.
"If I don't win this duel, I can't restore you to normal," said Sunset. "If you're defeated, you'll be carried off to the graveyard just like Pinkie was."
"Graveyard?" asked Rarity.
"In order for me to win this duel and us all out of here, I need your help," said Sunset.
"Well, I'm always ready to lend a hand, so, alright!" replied Rarity. "So, who are we taking down this time.........? Bakura?! Now he's a giant! I definitely need a summer break!"
"That's not really Bakura," said Sunset. "An evil spirit is using him to get Twilight's Rainbow Power."
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" declared Rarity. "Alexandrite Dragon, attack that tacky suit of armor." The dragon obeyed and fired a ball of inferno at the empty suit, shattering it to pieces.
Bakura LP 3450
Sunset LP 2550
"Great job, Rarity!" said Sunset.
"Oh, it was nothing," replied Rarity. "Good boy, Alexander." The dragon purred like a kitten. "Now what, darling?"
"I place two cards face down and end my turn," said Sunset. "Now, it's his turn."
Turn 4: Bakura
Dark Bakura grunted in anger. "Your little friend got lucky last time, Sunset," said Bakura "But not this time! I play the magic card Dark Core! Now by discarding one card, I can remove your meddlesome dragon from play."
"What?!" cried Rarity.
"Don't worry!" replied Sunset. "I activate a trap! Interdimensional Matter Transporter! This card removes my friend from play until the end phase."
Rarity raised an eyebrow.
"So now you get to come back at the end of my turn," said Sunset.
"Oh, thank goodness. Well then, see you later, I guess," said Rarity as she vanished from the field.
"Well, that was rather foolish," said Bakura. "Now I can attack you directly with my Opticlops." Bakura laid the card down and a little Cyclops appeared. "Attack her directly, now!" The monster struck Sunset's gut and she let out a small grunt of pain as eighteen hundred of her life points were deducted from her score.
Sunset grasped her heart in pain. "That attack was real, how?" Sunset wondered.
Bakura LP 3450
Sunset LP 750
Sunset then smirked.
"What are you happy about?" asked Bakura.
"An apple a day keeps the damage away," replied Sunset. "I activate the trap, The Golden Apples. This trap lets me regain the points I just lost and summon a token with that many ATK points."
"What?" asked Bakura.
A small girl in a ponytail was summoned to the field wearing a bright, golden dress as Sunset's life points were restored.
Bakura LP 3450
Sunset LP 2550
"Applejack?" asked Sunset.
"Wow, I guess Rarity made me a new dress...........Holy mackerel!!!" cried Applejack. "Sunset, how'd you get so big?"
"I didn't," Sunset looked up at Bakura. "He sucked you into your favorite card and now you, me and the rest of the girls have to beat him to get everything back to normal."
Applejack stared at the giant dark enemy trying to process everything.
"Well, if you're finished speaking," said Bakura. "Allow me to finish my turn by activating the Dark Door magic card. Now, we can only attack with one monster each."
As soon as Bakura stop talking, Rarity and her dragon returned to the field. "Applejack?" asked the dragon tamer.
"Rarity?" echoed the farm girl. "You too?"
"I'm afraid so," admitted Rarity. "But don't worry, Sunset has the whole thing under control. Right, dear?"
"I hope so," answered Sunset.
Rarity and Applejack frowned.
Turn 5: Sunset
"Now it's my turn," said Sunset. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Madolche Baaple in defense mode." Pinkie was summoned back to the field in her cream puff costume.
"Pinkie?" asked both Rarity and AJ in unison.
"Hey, Sunset! You're giant again," said Pinkie. "Ooooooh, nice dresses, girls, and what's with the dragon?"
The two girls pulled Pinkie aside and explained the situation.
"What?!" cried Pinkie.
The other girls nodded.
"Okay, Sunset," said Pinkie. "Let's get 'em!"
"You got it," replied Sunset. “Alexandrite Dragon attack his Opticlops!"
"You heard her, Alexander!" commanded Rarity. The dragon released another ball of fire at the one-eyed monster, destroying it.
Bakura LP 3250
Sunset LP 2550
"Now it's my turn," said Applejack cracking her knuckles.
"Sorry, Applejack," said Sunset. "His Dark Door card only lets us attack once per turn."
"Darn!" yelled the farmer.
"It's alright, darling," said Rarity. "You can attack him next turn."
"What about me?" asked Pinkie.
"Pinkie, your monster has no ATK points," reminded Rarity.
"Oh, yeah," said the pink teenager.
Turn 6: Bakura
"Let's see how you deal with this," growled Bakura as he set a monster face down.
Turn 7: Sunset
"Why did he play that face-down?" wondered Sunset.
"Cause he's afraid of what I'll do to it," answered Applejack as she charged at the face-down card.
"Applejack, wait!" called out Sunset, but it was too late. Applejack jumped and landed her hardest kick down on the card. The card briefly showed a one-eyed monster in a jar and then vanished.
"There," said Applejack full of confidence.
"What a fool," said Bakura.
"It was a Morphing Jar!" said Sunset.
"Huh? Did I mess up?" asked Applejack.
"When a Morphing Jar is attacked, all cards in both players’ hands go to the graveyard," explained Sunset. "Just be glad the other girl's weren't in my hand."
"Darn, I'm real sorry," said Applejack.
"It's okay, AJ," replied Sunset. "After discarding, both players draw five new cards. So it's not all bad."
"Glad to hear it," said Rarity."
"Me too," added Pinkie.
Bakura chuckled. "With a new hand, comes a whole new perspective. The game, ever shifting. New dangers around every turn."
"He's trying to freak me out," thought Sunset as she drew her next card. “Dark Magician Girl?! That's Twilight's favorite! I hope I'm making the right decision by playing it. I play Cost Down," announced Sunset. "Now by discarding one card I can down-grade all the monsters in my hand by two stars. So now I can summon, Dark Magician Girl."
Twilight popped up wearing a pink and blue mage costume. "Huh? What the? Why am I dressed like the Dark..........................Sunset Shimmer?!"
"Come on over, Twilight," hinted Applejack. "We'll fill ya in." and the three girls briefed Twilight on their current dilemma.
"You're kidding," said Twilight.
"I wish we were, Twi," replied AJ.
"All we have to do is win, and with you on our team, there's no way we can lose," said Rarity. "After all, we have a Princess on our side."
"Alright then," said Twilight. "Let's do this!"
"That's the spirit!" cried Pinkie.
Turn 8: Bakura
"I wouldn't be so confident," said Bakura as he set another monster. "You don't know what I'm laying here, so you might be putting your friends in danger. While you decide, I'll lay this card face-down and end my turn."
Turn 9: Sunset
Sunset gasped as she drew her card. "No, the “Inaba White Rabbit!"
"Mmmmm?" said Bakura. "Isn't that Fluttershy's favorite card? Do you suppose her mortal soul is trapped within it? Maybe you should play it and find out."
"Fluttershy's soul card is not safe in my hand," thought Sunset. "Guess I should just play it. Besides her ability gives me a good advantage. I'll place a monster face-down."
A bright light shown under the card and out popped a little white rabbit, soon after a girl wearing a strapless white dress followed. "Angel! Come here, now!" The rabbit hopped into his owner's arms. "You're just too cute." said Fluttershy as she nuzzled the rabbit.
"Fool!" shouted Bakura. "That's what I was waiting for. Now I activate Just Desserts. This takes away five hundred life points for each monster you have. Since you have five friends on the field, you lose 2500 points."
Bakura LP 3250
Sunset LP 50
Sunset grasped her heart in agony.
"Sunset!" cried Pinkie.
"Are you alright?" asked Twilight.