“Alright,” Twilight said as she and Spike walked slowly out of Sweet Apple Acres. “We can confirm that the food seems to be progressing smoothly and is likely to be tasty. What’s next on the list?”
Spike looked down at a sheet of paper. “The next thing is… the dueling arena. There’s supposed to be some sort of special dueling arena being set up for the local tournament the night before the solstice. Someone called ‘Rainbow Dash’ is supposed to be handling it.”
“Alright them,” Twilight unfolded her map and examined it briefly. “This arena isn’t supposed to be located that far from here. And standard procedure on these sort of things indicates that it should be mostly or completely done by now.” She looked up and pointed. “It’s this way. Come on, Spike.”
Her pupil following in her wake, Twilight set off for her destination.
“I’m sure we won’t have any problems with this one.”
“What do you MEAN nothing’s been done?!” Twilight half-screamed at a cowering civic volunteer. “Do you people KNOW who’s coming in few days?! Do you know how important a successful tournament is to nationwide reputation of this backwoods town?! Do you know how absolutely critical a well-built dueling arena is to an upscale tournament?! And do you know how long it takes to set up a ring worthy of royalty?!”
“I-I understand that, miss,” the woman attempted to hide behind a clipboard. “But-”
“But what?!” Twilight was all but on top of her. “What could possibly excuse this?!”
“I-It’s not my fault!” she blurted out.
“Alright,” Twilight took a deep breath. “Then kindly explain your motivations for having failed to so much as break ground on this project.”
“Our project head, Ms. D-Dash,” the woman said. “She t-told us not to worry about it, that we would starting in two days’ time. And she’s the one they put in charge.”
“I… see.” Twilight frowned. “If you would, please tell me where I can find this layabout so that I can give her an earful. Oh, and I apologize for yelling at you. If your superior gave you explicit instructions to do nothing then the responsibility lies with her and not you.”
“Um… thank you?”
“It’s just that the princess’ opinion means a lot to me, you see. I don’t take well to the prospect of seeing her disappointed.”
“Alright?”
“Now, those directions, please.”
“Meh,” the rainbow-haired girl waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll get to it.”
“You’ll get to it?!” one could practically see the steam coming out of Twilight’s ears. “Do you know who’s coming to town for this?! Do you know who’ll be handing out the winner’s crown at sunrise?!”
“Yeah. Celestia, wasn’t it?” Rainbow Dash looked nonplussed.
“And so you’re going to wait until the absolute last second before you even start?!”
“Look lady,” Rainbow from the hammock she’d be napping on. “You’re new around here, so I’ll cut you a little slack for not knowing. I’m Rainbow Dash, head of the Ponyville dueling league. I’ve set things like this up for years, and I always pull through. Sure, I don’t follow all the “standard procedures” and “organized timetables”, but I never disappoint. You can believe me when I say that I won’t leave Ponyville hanging. Or your precious princess.”
“What could possibly be more important to you than making certain that this goes off without a hitch?!” Twilight threw her hands up in the air. “Do you know what even the slightest words of approval from Princess Celestia can do for your town?! Impressing her could catapult anyone and anywhere into the big leagues! It’s a once in a lifetime chance and you just plan to procrastinate?! Why?”
“Training, of course,” Dash answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Training?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “For what? The Annual Worldwide Napping Convention?”
“No,” she snorted. “For the Wonderbolts of course! I mean, surely Ms. Bigshot knows that they’re coming too.”
The Wonderbolts, Twilight knew, were a nationally renowned team for their unique combination of stunt flights, extreme sports, acrobatics, and of course, dueling. A number of them were due to show up alongside the princess, it was true. Though she hadn’t heard anything about them recruiting.
“Once they see me in action,” Dash grinned. “They’ll have to invite me to join! I’ve got a whole stunt routine ready and waiting, holograms and everything! They’ll love it!”
Twilight could almost see the stars in her eyes as she stared off into space.
Hmmm… that gives me an idea.
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Sure they will.”
Dash looked back at her. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Twilight idly examined one of her nails. “I mean, what do the Wonderbolts want more than incompetent, lazy girls who neglect visiting royalty to nap and showboat?”
“Who you calling lazy?!” Dash’s hands curled into fists. “And incompetent?! I’m the best in town! I could have that thing built in a day if I wanted to!”
Twilight glanced at her. “Then prove it.”
“I will, you’ll see.” Dash folded her arms. “There’s no way I’ll let Ponyville down. But I’ll do my way, Ms. Prissy, not yours. And that means when I decide to do it.”
“All I hear is a lot of talk. Where’s the action?”
Rainbow stood up, locking gazes with Twilight. “You’re really starting to bug me, newbie.”
“As they say, the truth hurts,” Twilight put her hands on her hips. “But if you think Wonderbolts will want you, you must fancy yourself something of a duelist. Right?”
“Like I said,” she jabbed both thumbs at herself. “The best in town.”
“Then what say you to a little wager. We’ll duel, and if I win, you’ll get started on your job today. How’s that sound?”
“When I win, you’ll go away and leave me to do my thing in peace.” Dash declared. “Those are the terms. Take ‘em or leave ‘em.”
“Deal,” Twilight said.
The two girls briefly shook hands to seal it before backing up a few paces. Spike parked himself in Rainbow’s comfy hammock to watch, while both duel disks flared to life. Decks were shuffled, life point counters rose, and opening hands were drawn.
“Let’s duel!” they shouted.
“I’ll start this show!” Rainbow declared, drawing a card. “I lay one card face-down and summon my Black Metal Dragon in defense mode!”
A card appeared flat at the girl’s feet. A few feet in front of that, a shiny silver-black robotic dragon appeared, head bent down and wings folded back.
“That’s all for me.”
Behind her hand, Twilight smiled as she drew.
I know what’s she up to, she looked down at her cards. And it won’t work.
“I place two cards face-down!” Twilight said. “And then I’ll play my Maiden of Macabre, in attack mode!”
The cards appeared at Twilight’s feet, while the deathly visage of her monster graced the world once again. The maiden spun her scythe experimentally, smirking.
Rainbow Dash drew a card, frowned at it, and placed it in her hand. She picked another card out and set it on her disk.
“I summon one monster face-down in defense mode. And that’s all.”
“Fine by me,” Twilight drew her card and looked down at it. She grinned. “Just what I needed! I’ll activate my Stop Defense, which allows me to switch either of your monsters into attack mode! And I’ll choose your Black Metal Dragon!”
Rainbow gritted her teeth as the dragon rose to its full height and glared across the field at Twilight’s creature.
“Alright, my Maiden will cut your dragon down to size! Attack!”
The woman raised her scythe with a morbid grin and seemed to soar across the field.
“But wait, there’s more!” Twilight smiled. “Whenever a Spellcaster attacks, I can trigger my trap, Magician’s Circle! This lets both of us summon one Spellcaster monster from our decks with 2000 attack points or less! And if I’ve read you right, then you don’t have any.”
“I don’t,” Rainbow Dash admitted.
“I, on the other hand, will be summoning my Skilled White Magician in attack mode!” Twilight fished through her deck to retrieve the card, which she slapped onto her disk before reshuffling. A tall man in white robes appeared on her side of the field. In his hands he carried a long white staff with a blue jewel at the end. Three identical jewels adorned his chest and shoulders.
“Was there a point to all of that?” Dash asked irritably.
“Well for starters, my Maiden is going to destroy your dragon and a considerable chunk of your life points!” Twilight grinned again.
The pale woman rose high above the dragon, looking almost weightless. The robotic beast roared up at her with all its might, but she simply smiled and brought her scythe down. The blade cleaved the dragon’s neck from its shoulders with one mighty swing. Both halves mercifully exploded a second later.
Rainbow Dash
2900
“Oh, yeah? Well, when my dragon goes to the Graveyard I can search my own deck for a monster and add it to my hand!” Dash said, doing exactly that before shuffling the deck again.
“I’m aware. But did you know that my monster is a reaper of sorts?” Twilight asked, arms folded.
“I guessed,” Dash rolled her eyes.
The Maiden flew back across the field, now sporting an open smile displaying an uncomfortable amount of teeth. Her tongue swiped along the edge of her weapon.
“Whenever she destroys a monster by battle, Maiden of Macabre gains a Spell Counter, which gives her an additional 200 attack points,” Twilight nodded at her. “Scared yet?”
“Yeah right,” Rainbow crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Are you just going to stand there blabbing at me, or are you going to duel?”
“Patience is a virtue,” Twilight said, fingering another card from her hand. “In any case, I think I’ll have my White Magician attack your face-down monster!”
The man spun his staff easily in his hands, then leveled it across the field. A lance of bright white magic obliterated the only monster left on Dash’s side of the field.
“There goes my Decoy Dragon,” Rainbow mumbled.
"Next I’ll play my Pot of Greed to draw twice, which also gives my White Magician one Spell Counter of his own.”
One of the three gems on the monster’s body lit up.
“And next,” Twilight looked at her freshly-drawn cards. “I’ll equip him with Mist Body, preventing him from being destroyed in battle and giving him another Spell Counter.”
The White Magician’s body took on an ethereal, opaque appearance at the same time as another of his stones started to glow.
“And now I think I’ll turn it over to you,” Twilight finished.
“You’re about to regret that! Because here comes my comeback!” Rainbow slapped one card roughly from her hand onto her disk. “I summon my Red-Eyes Black Chick, in attack mode!”
A small red egg appeared on her side of the field. Cracks formed rapidly, an in just a moment a tiny, scaled black reptile head poked its way out.
“And get this! I can sacrifice him immediately to summon my good buddy, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”
The egg burst into demonic-looking red flames, the chick inside consumed before it ever had the chance to cry out. The fire spread rapidly across the ground, grower wider and wider even as the flames reached ever-higher. Finally the fires rose high enough to take a more solid shape, and then disappeared entirely. In their place a monstrous black dragon stomped onto the field and let out an earth-shattering roar.
Twilight felt a drop of sweat roll down the back of her neck. She had guessed this was coming since turn one, but thinking about a monster and actually coming face-to-face with the legendary beast were two entirely different things.
“Alright, Red-Eyes!” Rainbow extended an arm. “Attack that creepy ghost lady! Inferno Fire Blast!”
The dragon opened its fanged maw, its signature red eyes seeming to ignite. A ball of the demonic fire took shape inside its mouth. Red-Eyes whipped its long neck around and hurled the fireball across the field into Twilight’s Maiden. She wailed hideously in the instant before she was incinerated utterly.
Twilight
3500
“Now I think I’ll end my turn with one more card face-down,” Rainbow sounded cocky. “Your move.”
“Thanks,” Twilight drew her card, her lips twitching.
“Hey, what are you smiling about? You’re up against one of the most feared creatures in the game.”
“Oh, nothing,” Twilight added the card to her hand. “It’s just that I knew that you would do that.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Since you summoned your first monster I realized your goal. And I am quite prepared to deal with it. So first up is my Defender, the Magic Knight in defense mode!”
A blue-armored knight appeared before her, kneeling behind his massive shield. A stone on his armor lit up.
“Next I reveal my face-down card, Pitch-Black Power Stone! This card gives me three Spell Counters, one of which I can move every turn! I’ll move one of them right away, to my Skilled White Magician!”
The third and final jewel on the mage’s armor began to glow.
“So? What’s that do?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Twilight put her hands on her hips. “You see, when my White Magician has three counters on him, I can sacrifice him immediately to summon one very special monster from my deck! So come forth, Buster Blader!”
Skilled White Magician’s staff shone as he held it over his head, and the monster vanished in a column of white light. When the light faded a few moments later, a heavyset, purple-armored warrior hefting a massive blade stood in its place.
Rainbow took a step back, eyes wide. “That thing has 2600 attack points, while Red-Eyes only has 2400!”
“But I’m afraid it gets worse, Rainbow. You see, Buster Blader is a warrior built from his youth to be the ultimate dragon killer. He gains 500 attack points for every dragon on your side of the field or in your Graveyard. And by my count that’s four!”
“T-That puts him at 4600” she gasped.
“Exactly,” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Now Buster Blader, swing your mighty sword and slay her dragon!”
Her monster hefted his blade and charged fearlessly at the towering dragon. Red-Eyes’ fiery breath flowed off of his armor, and he cut the beast in half with one swing. The dragon’s carcass wobbled, crumpled, and burst into pieces.
Rainbow Dash
700
“Now do you give up?” Twilight folded her arms confidently as her monster returned to her side of the field. “I’ve crushed your best monster. I have a beast with more than 4000 attack points. And you’re down to your last little sliver of life points.”
For a moment, Twilight stared across the field at her opponent. Rainbow Dash was slumped over forwards, knees bent and hair concealing her face. She was… chuckling?
“Ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Dash threw back her head and laughed. “Give up? Me?! Hah! That’s a good one, newbie, you almost had me going for a moment there!”
“I didn’t mean it as a joke,” Twilight frowned. “Honorable surrender is a perfectly valid way to the end the current-”
“I haven’t lost until my last life point is gone!” Rainbow pumped her fist. “And I’m not giving up! Not now, not ever! So look out!” she drew her card. “I reveal one of my face-down cards, Silver’s Cry! This lets me summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon back from the Graveyard!”
Her dragon reappeared in its own column of white light, roaring angrily across the field at Buster Blader. It clawed at the ground, gnashing its teeth at the dragon slayer.
“So? I’ve already beaten it once, and it’s still no match for Buster Blader!”
“That’s where my other face-down comes in! Go, Metalmorph!”
Her card rose up, coating the dragon in a silvery sheen. When it faded, Red-Eyes’ scales had become fused and metallic, giving it the appearance of some sort of robot.
“Metalmorph gives Red-Eyes an additional 300 attack points, but that’s just the start! Whenever he attacks a monster while that card is equipped to him, he gains half of its attack points for the duration of the battle! So when he attacks your Buster Blader…”
“He’ll do so with 5000 attack points!” Twilight finished.
“Red-Eyes, it’s payback time!” Rainbow’s fist clenched. “Show that puny swordsman who’s boss! Inferno Fire Blast!”
Her dragon opened its jaw again, hurling another flaming orb across the field. Buster Blader exploded on contact, leaving Red-Eyes to roar triumphantly at Twilight.
Twilight
3100
“And next I’ll play Monster Reborn! I think I’ll bring back a card from your Graveyard. Buster Blader, come over to my side!”
The dragon slayer reappeared out of a blue-white sphere, stepping in beside Rainbow’s Red-Eyes. The two glared at one another, the dragon openly clawing at the earth and gnashing its teeth.
“Hey, cut it out you two! You’re playing for the same team now, so work together! Anyway, I think I’ll end my turn there.”
Well this… could be better, Twilight thought as she drew a card. I can’t get to my Buster Blader, and nothing else in my hand right now is strong enough to defeat that Red-Eyes. I do have something that could help me, but it’s not quite enough yet.
“I’ll place one card face-down on my side of the field and summon my Hannibal Necromancer in defense mode!”
A monstrous-looking dark blue creature took shape on Twilight’s field on one knee, arms cross over its chest.
“That’s all.”
“Then it’s my go!” Rainbow drew. “Don’t think I can’t see what you’re doing, Twilight. You can’t hide your life points behind weak monsters. Not while Red-Eyes is on the field! I play Inferno Fire Blast!”
Her dragon began forming another flaming orb in its mouth.
“Sure, Red-Eyes may not be able to attack the turn I use this, but in exchange he can do damage to your life points equal to his original attack strength of 2400! So fire away, buddy!”
Red-Eyes whipped his head around and threw the fireball. Twilight braced herself, but was still bowled over into the dirt by the overwhelming force of it. She could dimly hear it roaring yet again.
Twilight
700
“Now we’re even!” Rainbow gloated. “But not for long! Buster Blader, attack her Defender!”
The swordman leaped across the field, blade held high.
“Not quite!” Twilight yelled. “By sacrificing one Spell Counter anywhere on my field, Defender can use his special ability to prevent the destruction of one Spellcaster monster! Like himself!”
The glow on her knight’s jewel faded away as he brought his massive shield to bear against the massive sword. The two crashed into one another with a loud clang of metal on metal, and for just a moment the two were locked in a contest of strength. Then Defender managed to throw off Buster Blader, hurling him back to Rainbow’s side of the field.
“You can’t stall forever! I’ll place one card face-down and summon my Alexandrite Dragon in defense mode!”
A gem-studded dragon appeared on her side of the field, head bent low and wings folded in front of its body.
“My draw!” Twilight looked down at the card and grimaced.
I need something stronger. Or at least a way to draw more cards. Defending won’t work much longer.
“I set one monster in face-down defense mode! And then I play my Arcane Barrier!”
“That it?” Rainbow smirked, drawing a card. “I reveal my face-down Dragon’s Rebirth, which lets me trade in my Alexandrite Dragon for a second copy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”
Her dragon exploded in a pillar of flames, which rapidly coalesced into another of the fearsome black dragon.
“You have two copies of that card?!” Twilight’s jaw hung limply.
“You bet!” Rainbow grinned. “And they’re about to crush your entire line-up! Red-Eyes, attack her face-down monster!”
The second dragon launched a fireball that easily disintegrated Twilight’s monster.
“When my Magical Plant Mandragola is flipped, including by an attack, I can place one Spell Counter on every card on my field that can have one! That’s one for Defender, and one for Arcane Barrier! Plus, my barrier gets one for Mandragola’s destruction!”
“That’ll only delay the inevitable! Buster Blader, destroy Hannibal Necromancer!”
The swordsman darted across the field and carved up Twilight’s kneeling creature with consummate ease.
“Another Spell Counter for my Barrier!”
“Doesn’t matter! Red-Eyes, destroy her Defender!”
“I’ll use his special ability to sacrifice his Spell Counter and save him!”
The fireball exploded against the knight’s shield, which weathered the assault.
“That’ll be it, for now,” Rainbow smirked. “Do you wanna give up?”
“Not a chance!” Twilight drew her card. “I sacrifice my Barrier and Defender to draw a card for every counter that the Barrier held! That makes three!”
When she looked at her cards, Twilight’s eyes widened. And then she smiled.
“It’s been fun, Rainbow Dash, but it’s time for me to end this duel.”
“Just words, Twilight. Just words.”
“We’ll see! I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Defender!”
Her knight stepped out of another blue-white orb.
“So you destroyed your monster to draw some cards, then used one to bring it back. Am I supposed to be impressed?”
“Let’s see how you like this! I sacrifice one Spellcaster monster to summon my Blizzard Princess!”
Icy winds whipped across the field, rapidly consuming Twilight’s knight. They coalesced themselves into a blue-haired young woman wielding a grossly outsized ice flail.
“I reveal my final face-down card, Malevolent Nuzzler. This boosts my Princess’ attack by 700, all the way to 3500! Now Blizzard Princess, attack! Destroy her second Red-Eyes and end this duel!
The white-dressed woman spun around, hoisting a flail almost as large as she was with unnatural ease. She brought the boulder-sized end down on top of Rainbow Dash’s dark dragon, freezing it solid and shattering it into little specks.
Rainbow Dash
0
“Aw man…” the rainbow-haired girl sank to her knees as the holograms faded away. “I lost.”
“You did,” Twilight nodded, hands on hips. “And we had an agreement.”
"I... lost..." Rainbow gritted her teeth. "I can't believe I lost! I'm Rainbow Dash, the best duelist in this town! How could I lose?!"
"I'd say that-"
"What did I do wrong?!" Rainbow's fists tore grass from the ground. "How did I fail?! How can I ever hope to impress the Wonderbolts if some snooty bureaucrat can trounce me and Red-Eyes like that?!"
"It... wasn't exactly a trouncing," Twilight offered, a little hesitantly. "You had me on the ropes for a little while there."
"Yeah, so?" Dash looked away and snorted. "You're just some out-of-town nobody that showed up to badger us about Celestia! Defeating you would just have been another day for me. But how could I possibly lose to you? How can I call myself a great duelist now?" her head hung. "This is the worst."
"You know that you're talking to Celestia's personal student, right?" Spike asked from the sidelines. "The one she's personally trained for years? Twilight isn't some run-of-the-mill bureaucrat with a checklist and an attitude. She's a royally-educated bureaucrat with a checklist and an attitude!"
"Spike!" Twilight glared over at him.
"Wait... what?" Dash looked up at Twilight. "You're Celestia's personal student? As in, Celestia the Princess of Games, and Duel Monsters World Champion?"
"Well, yes," Twilight admitted.
"Huh," Rainbow went silent for a minute. "Then... I guess it's not so bad that I lost, is it? I mean, you have a pretty big advantage built right in."
Twilight's brow furrowed. "I... suppose not."
"Then maybe I still have a shot at the Wonderbolts after all. Though I'll definitely need some more practice before they arrive. And less napping."
"That's all well and good, but as you'll recall we did have a bet."
“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow sighed. “A deal’s a deal, and I don't go back on my word. I’ll get to work on that arena today.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Twilight said, walking over to Rainbow and offering a hand. “I’m sure you’ll thank me when the princess gets here.”
“Uh…” Rainbow took her hand, and Twilight hoisted her to her feet. “Yeah, we’ll see about that. Anyway, good duel. I see I’ll have to up my game for the tournament.”
“Good duel indeed,” Twilight nodded.
“Anyways, I guess I’ll see you around,” Rainbow turned, beginning to walk off. “Oh yeah, and one other thing.”
“Yes?” Twilight asked.
“Even if you are almost as prissy as Rarity, I think you’re alright.”
“…Thanks?”