Turn 33: Glimmer in the Midst of Chaos
The two Runners continued down the forest path, gradually nearing the base of the mountain ahead.
“‘The ritual will soon begin’? What does he mean by that?” Yusei wondered. “Wait…”
“Did you say ‘Synchro Summon’?” Yusei asked. “And there was a ‘ritual’?”
“Y-yes…” Fluttershy shuddered. “I was so scared… I don’t remember what happened after that…”
“But that would mean… this unicorn who I believe introduced himself as Steel Heart… does Rudith plan to use him for the ritual? That can’t be right.”
“Elements of Harmony… I’ve heard that term used a number of times,” said Yusei.
“Well, they’re some of the most powerful magical objects in Equestria,” Fluttershy explained.
“Right, Twilight did say as much when she explained it,” Yusei recalled. “She also said something about one of them being hers.”
“She means that the she and the rest of our closest friends each represent an Element of Harmony,” Fluttershy said. “Pinkie Pie’s is laughter, Rainbow Dash’s is loyalty, Rarity’s is generosity, Applejack’s is honesty, Twilight’s is magic, and mine is kindness.”
“So there are four more of you…” Yusei paused for a moment. “I’m sorry to ask again, but when you mentioned the ritual, you said your friends were there, too?”
“Y-yes…”
“And these friends… are they the same friends that each represent an Element of Harmony?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Steel Heart wasn’t one of the names Fluttershy mentioned,” Yusei thought. “So then… what’s going on here?”
His opponent glanced back at him.
“I don’t know what he’s planning, but I’ll stop him here!” Yusei grabbed two of the remaining three cards in his hand. “I’ll Set two cards face-down and end my turn!”
“Are ya sure headin’ towards that big dragon’s a good idea?” Applejack asked. “How do you know it’s with the guy yer lookin’ for?”
“Because I’ve seen him summon it with my own eyes. It can’t be anyone else,” Twilight answered, as they galloped into a clearing. She looked up and saw Shooting Star Dragon in the distance approaching, its flight path curving.
“If he’s headed for us, why is that dragon turnin’ like that?”
“Probably because it isn’t a straight path to Canterlot unless you’re taking the train, which they obviously didn’t do.”
“Why can’t he just fly on the back o’ that thing?”
“Most likely he’s riding his Runner.”
“Runner?”
“It’s… going to take too long to explain. Let’s keep—”
An explosion occurred in front of them.
“What in tarnation?!” exclaimed Applejack.
“That’s as far as you go,” said a male unicorn, emerging from the smoke. The stallion and four other unicorn mares appeared around them, wearing an identical black hood.
“You?!”
“You know him?” asked Twilight.
“He’s one of the stallions who we saw in that dungeon me and the others were trapped in. He’s also the one who dragged us all to watch… Pinkie Pie and Rarity…”
The princess turned toward the stallion. “Who are you?”
“Stone Wall,” he introduced himself, removing his hood to reveal his pitch-black mane and dark blue coat. “I’m taking you both with me.”
“Applejack,” Twilight whispered.
“Twi?” the cowpony responded.
“Go. I’ll distract them and keep them off of you.”
“Are ya crazy?! Ya can’t take all of ‘em!” Applejack barely kept her reaction from above a whisper.
“I’ll catch up with you. I promise.”
Stone Wall raised his eyebrow as the alicorn glared at him, the latter’s horn beginning to glow. “Cute, but you shall not pass me.”
A burst of magical energy fired from her horn. Stone Wall followed suit. The collision of magic created yet another explosion.
“It’s my turn!” Rudith drew a card.
Yusei
LP: 1300
SPC: 4 + 1 = 5
Rudith
LP: 3700
SPC: 4 + 1 = 5
Shooting Star Dragon
LV: 10
ATK: 3300
“Since you control a monster and I don’t, I can Special Summon Runefish from my hand!”
A large fish decorated with stones and glyphs appeared next to Rudith.
Runefish
LV: 5
DEF: 2000
“At this moment, I activate the Continuous Trap Summon Tax!” Yusei interrupted. “When a player Normal Summons or Special Summons a monster, they take damage equal to half its ATK! However, on my second Standby Phase from now, this card is destroyed.”
A bolt of lightning shot out of the Trap Card image and struck Rudith.
1000 / 2 = 500
Rudith
LP: 3700 – 500 = 3200
SPC: 5
“This should make him consider his moves more carefully,” Yusei thought.
“I Normal Summon the Tuner Monster Runesprite!” Rudith continued.
“What?”
Runesprite
LV: 2
ATK: 400
400 / 2 = 200
Rudith
LP: 3200 – 200 = 3000
SPC: 5
“Tuner Monster? Is he performing the ritual now?!” Yusei wondered.
“I tune Level 2 Runesprite with Level 5 Runefish!” Rudith stated.
2 + 5 = 7
“Become the last line of defense as the enemy draws near! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Runeguardian!”
A large golem descended between the two Runners, entering in a defensive stance.
Runeguardian
LV: 7
DEF: 3000
Another bolt of lightning struck Rudith.
1600 / 2 = 800
Rudith
LP: 3000 – 800 = 2200
SPC: 5
Rudith grabbed the remaining card in his hand. “Runeguardian’s effect: once per turn, it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. I Set one card face-down! I end my turn!”
“He went right into a Synchro Summon without using a pony. My mark doesn’t seem to be reacting to that monster, either. I guess that means there’s no one inside it,” Yusei concluded. “Does that mean there are conditions he has to meet to perform the ritual? If that’s the case, I still have time!”
Twilight quickly flew, evading the blasts shooting out of Stone Wall’s horn. She then turned towards him and launched her own burst of magic. The alicorn halted while the smoke from the explosion began to clear, only to be surprised by another magic blast.
“It will take more than that to defeat me, Your Highness,” he taunted.
Twilight groaned as she fired another blast, only for him to quickly step out of the way.
Applejack sprinted for the woods, ducking and jumping over the other mares’ magic attacks before looking ahead to see one of them before her. She quickly turned but found herself forcefully stopped. Looking behind her, she saw the unicorn she just passed pulling her closer by her tail.
“You’re not going anywhere,” the mare said, having yanked Applejack in front of her.
“You ain’t gonna stop me!” the cowpony retorted before kicking the mare in the head. The unicorn fell to the dirt unconscious, while Applejack began running once more.
The cowpony stopped once again as all the remaining three unicorns surrounded her.
“Give up now,” demanded one of the unicorns.
“Forget it!” Applejack replied. She scanned the area and noticed several small boulders almost clumped together. She then began sprinting again.
The unicorn before her fired a blast of magic, which Applejack swiftly leapt over. The cowpony ceased her sprint amid the pile of rocks and began kicking them towards the hooded unicorns.
The flying boulders quickly caught two of the mares off-guard, knocking them out cold, while the remaining unicorn began to catch them.
“Uh-oh,” said Applejack, running past Twilight and Stone Wall as the stones came flying back.
“Not bad, princess,” commented Stone Wall.
“Why are you after us? And why are you working with those humans?” questioned Twilight.
“Having to explain that is a waste of my breath. None of you will live to see the end of it, anyway.”
Twilight launched another burst of magic. Stone Wall quickly raised a magic shield to deflect the blast. He then sneered as he used his magic to materialize a stone mallet.
“What the?” the alicorn gasped. “I’ve never seen anypony use their magic to summon a weapon for combat except…”
Celestia and the armored alicorn rose from the smoke as the Duel Lane below them crumbled. She turned her head to see Yusei and Twilight moving into the distance. She prepared to fly after them only to be stopped by the black alicorn as it intercepted her path. Its horn gave off a black aura as a sword materialized in front of it. Hesitant, Celestia summoned her own sword.
“How is it that you know that spell?” asked Twilight, ducking underneath Stone Wall’s swing.
“And to think you were her prized pupil…” replied Stone Wall.
“What does that have to do with—”
“You ask far too many questions, including those you should know the answer to!” The unicorn performed a downward swing and slammed his mallet into the ground where Twilight stood. He then lifted the mallet and saw no trace of the alicorn before was struck from the side with a blast of magic. He glimpsed upwards to see Twilight glaring at him. “Right… teleportation.”
Twilight launched another burst of magic, which Stone Wall deflected with his mallet. She ceased her fire to see only the mallet where the stallion once stood. “Where did he—WOAH!” she felt herself being yanked onto the ground by her tail.
She struggled to rise to her hooves until she suddenly felt herself forced onto the ground by magic. Twilight then noticed the mallet float next to her. “And you had just used that trick on me. Not exactly used to combat, are you?”
Twilight’s horn began to glow but was shut down by Stone Wall’s magic. “…A disabling spell?” She grunted as she tried to force magic out of her horn, only for a few sparks to fly out.
Applejack quickly approached the remaining hooded mare, who had failed to notice that she had just run out of stones to fling, and struck her with her back hooves. Just like her allies before, the unicorn fell to the ground unconscious.
“Whew,” Applejack wiped her forehead, before noticing the pinned alicorn.
“It’s become quite troublesome to take you alive, so I’ll simply end it for you here. Less baggage for me,” Stone Wall stated, raising his mallet above the alicorn’s head.
Twilight’s eyes widened, tearing up, as she stared at the weapon about to come down on her. “This can’t be…” she panicked.
“Pardon me,” a voice said.
Stone Wall turned to face the voice behind him, having felt a tap on his shoulder. “What—”
He was quickly silenced by a blow from Applejack’s back hooves. His mallet dropped just beside Twilight, who rose up after being freed from the stallion’s magic.
“That sure was a close one,” the cowpony said. She was then quickly hugged by the alicorn.
“Thank you so much…” Twilight whimpered.
“Anytime, Twi.”
“You’ll pay for that,” Stone Wall grumbled. The two friends, ending their embrace, glared at him as he stood up. His covered his mouth with his right hoof. Blood trickled down from his mouth.
Twilight and Applejack began to turn.
“I won’t let you leave, especially since I have them,” he said, picking up his mallet with his magic and pointing it towards the trees. The two friends turned their heads.
“Fluttershy? Spike? Girls?!” exclaimed Twilight. Four additional hooded stallions had brought her friends to the clearing.
“What are y’all doin’ here?!” added Applejack.
“Twilight!” yelled Spike.
“Sis!” Apple Bloom shouted.
Twilight and Applejack began running to their friends until they found themselves forcefully stopped and brought to the ground. They looked behind them to see Stone Wall, eyes filled with rage as he raised his mallet.
“For that little stunt, you will be the first to go,” said Stone Wall. He swung his mallet into Applejack’s stomach, sending her flying.
She began writhing in pain as she hit the ground, her hat floating down in front of her.
“Applejack!” Twilight and her friends shrieked. The alicorn struggled to get her horn to glow but, just as before, only a few sparks flew out. “STOP!” Twilight cried out as she saw Stone Wall approaching her friend. “STOOOOOOP!”
He raised the mallet once more. Applejack, her eyes barely open, glimpsed at the unicorn before her. “I’m sorry, Twi… Apple Bloom…”
Silence.
Twilight and her friends looked up to see Stone Wall encased in crystal.
“Sir!” the hooded stallions called out before they were also encased.
“Looks like I’m just in time,” said a female voice.
“That voice!” Twilight said, rising up to see a unicorn with a pale coat but with aquamarine streaks in her purple mane.
“Starlight!” the alicorns and her friends sans Applejack exclaimed, excitedly dashing to her.
“Let’s get out of here,” Starlight suggested, her horn lighting up.
The crystal prisons shattered.
Stone Wall breathed heavily with frustration, as Twilight and her friends were nowhere to be found. The other eight unicorns regained their composure as they approached him. “Find them!”
“But sir! Your injury!” said a mare.
“Forget that! You will find them and bring them to me!”
“With all due respect, sir, I think it would be wise to regroup and have your condition treated,” suggested a stallion.
He quickly found himself sprawling on the ground.
“Anyone else?” Stone Wall glared, his mallet suspended in the air ready to be swung. He groaned loudly as he turned towards the mountain. “We’ll retreat for now.”
The other unicorns began following. One of them lit up their horn to carry the downed stallion.
“Leave him,” Stone Wall commanded.
“Sir?”
“I should give you a taste of my mallet for speaking up as well.”
The mare gulped, releasing the stallion from her grip. “Doesn’t mean you should hit others,” she mumbled.
“Care to repeat that?” Stone Wall turned towards her.
“I didn’t say anything!”
“Good. For your sake, I don’t want to see you come back, either.”
The mare almost spoke, only to see the mallet still suspended above Stone Wall’s head. She looked on as her leader and the other six followers headed for the mountain.
“Thank goodness you’ve come!” Twilight said, embracing Starlight.
“Hey, I’m just glad I was in the right place at the right time,” Starlight replied. “I just wish… I came sooner.”
Twilight and Starlight glanced at Applejack, still reeling in pain. Fluttershy, Spike, and their young friends, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, all stood around her.
Fluttershy sat on her hind legs, her hooves covering her mouth. Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo surrounded Apple Bloom who was clutching her older sister’s hat, trying to console her as she sobbed.
“We need to get her to the hospital,” Starlight stated.
“Then you should take her to Ponyville,” Twilight replied.
“You’re not coming?”
“I need to go to Canterlot and rescue my other friends.”
“You’re not seriously leaving us.”
“See that dragon?” Twilight pointed to the white dragon above the trees in the distance.
“D-d-dragon?!” Fluttershy instantly began cowering.
“A human I’ve been working with up until now summoned that creature. He’ll be able to help you, as soon as he rescues a stallion that another has captured,” assured the alicorn.
“I don’t think you should be going to Canterlot alone,” warned Starlight. “Have you seen what that stallion did to your friend? What if something happens to you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“What if they disable your horn again? You might not have me to remove that spell.”
“I’ll be fine!” Twilight suddenly felt something tug at her foreleg. “Spike?”
“I’m begging you… don’t go. If something happened to you… I don’t know what I’d do!” Spike pleaded. “At least… not without us.”
Twilight glanced from pony to pony, then back to Spike. “All right.”
Spike then embraced the alicorn. She returned the pressure.
Starlight smiled, carefully lifting Applejack onto her back. “Towards the dragon, right?” she asked.
Twilight nodded, putting on the saddlebag Applejack had been carrying.
“It’s my turn!” Yusei declared.
Yusei
LP: 1300
SPC: 5 + 1 = 6
Rudith
LP: 2200
SPC: 5 + 1 = 6
“Defensive Measures? This won’t do much in this situation…” he thought, glancing at his drawn card. He then grabbed the other card in his hand. “I Summon Speed Warrior!”
Speed Warrior
LV: 2
ATK: 900
The image of Yusei’s Summon Tax reappeared, striking him with a bolt of lightning.
900 / 2 = 450
Yusei:
LP: 1300 – 450 = 850
SPC: 6
“Shooting Star Dragon’s effect activates!” Yusei continued. “Once per turn, I can excavate the top five cards of my Deck! Then this turn, Shooting Star Dragon can attack up to the number of Tuners revealed!”
Rudith glimpsed back at Yusei, patiently.
“I’ve revealed two Tuners: Turbo Synchron and Hyper Synchron!” Yusei returned the five cards to his Deck, which was then shuffled by the auto-shuffle feature. “With this, Shooting Star Dragon can attack two times! Go! Stardust Mirage!”
His Shooting Star Dragon rose higher into the sky and split into two, one of which charged at Rudith’s golem.
Runeguardian
LV: 7
DEF: 3000
“Runeguardian’s effect!” Rudith stated. “Once per turn, it’s not destroyed!”
“That’s why I’m activating the Trap Card Meteor Wave!” Yusei countered. “This turn, one Synchro Monster gains 300 ATK!”
Shooting Star Dragon
LV: 10
ATK: 3300 + 300 = 3600
“In addition, if it battles a monster in Defense Position, it inflicts piercing damage!”
“What?!” exclaimed Rudith.
One of the two duplicate dragons crashed into the golem before vanishing.
3600 – 3000 = 600
Rudith
LP: 2200 – 600 = 1600
SPC: 6
“The second battle!” Yusei stated. His dragon pierced through the golem’s body, destroying it.
3600 – 3000 = 600
Rudith
LP: 1600 – 600 = 1000
SPC: 6
“Speed Warrior, direct attack!” The small, metallic warrior dashed towards Yusei’s opponent. “During the Battle Phase of the turn Speed Warrior is Normal Summoned, its ATK is doubled!”
Speed Warrior
LV: 2
ATK: 900 * 2 = 1800
“Sonic Edge!” Speed Warrior began a handstand and twirled as it approached Rudith.
“I activate a Trap! Rune Resurrection!” Rudith declared. “This Special Summons a “Rune” monster that was destroyed this turn! Revive, Runeguardian!”
Runeguardian
LV: 7
DEF: 3000
Yusei’s Speed Warrior ceased its attack and retreated to his side.
Another bolt of lightning struck Rudith.
1600 / 2 = 800
Rudith
LP: 1000 – 800 = 200
SPC: 6
“That was close,” commented Rudith.
Speed Warrior
LV: 2
ATK: 1800 / 2 = 900
“However, you’re still past the safety line!” Yusei replied, revealing the only card in his hand. “I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing 4 Speed Counters, for every Speed Spell in my hand, you take 800 damage!”
Yusei
LP: 850
SPC: 6 – 4 = 2
“It’s over!” A bolt of lightning shot out from Yusei’s headlights towards Rudith.
“From my Graveyard, I banish Runesprite to activate its effect!” Rudith stated. An image of his fairy-like creature emerged and absorbed the lightning bolt. “Once, I can take no damage from a card effect!”
Yusei scoffed. “I activate the Speed Spell – Defensive Measures! Since I have at least 2 Speed Counters, I can switch Speed Warrior to Defense Position!”
Speed Warrior
LV: 2
DEF: 400
“And then, until the end of your turn, it cannot be destroyed by battle! That ends my turn,” Yusei concluded.
Shooting Star Dragon
LV: 10
ATK: 3600 – 300 = 3300
“Then it’s my move,” Rudith declared.
Yusei
LP: 850
SPC: 2 + 1 = 3
Rudith
LP: 200
SPC: 6 + 1 = 7
“I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing 7 Speed Counters, I can draw one card!”
Rudith
LP: 200
SPC: 7 – 7 = 0
Rudith smiled, glancing at his two drawn cards.
“Even with two cards in his hand, he can’t afford to act recklessly,” Yusei thought. “If he Summons a monster with at least 400 ATK, he’ll lose due to the effect of Summon Tax.”
“I Summon the Tuner Monster Disharmony Wyvern!” Rudith continued.
Disharmony Wyvern
LV: 1
ATK: 600
“What?!” Yusei exclaimed. “He didn’t even hesitate!”
The image of his Trap Card fired another lightning bolt at Rudith.
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but it ends here! Due to Summon Tax, you’ll take half of your Disharmony Wyvern’s ATK as damage!” said Yusei.
“We’ll see about that,” Rudith sneered.
“What?”
“From my hand, I activate the monster effect of Disharmony Flame! By sending it the Graveyard, this turn, all effect damage dealt to me is halved!” The image of a ball of flame appeared and absorbed the lightning bolt.
600 / 2 = 300 / 2 = 150
Rudith
LP: 200 – 150 = 50
SPC: 0
“Even with that, you still can’t afford to Summon a monster with 200 ATK or higher this turn!” explained Yusei. “Give it up!”
Rudith chuckled. “It’s time.”
Yusei looked on in curiosity.
Rudith reached beneath his shirt and pulled out his necklace, which had a small round purple stone attached to it. Etched into it was a crescent shape. His hand then went into his pocket and pulled out a star-shaped stone. Lightning struck from the gray clouds above.
“Is that…?” Yusei noticed.
Yusei rode his Duel Runner close behind Dobocle’s, his eyes drawn to the creature that was tied to the back. The creature was clearly four-legged but its coat was almost purple. “A horse… no… it’s got wings and a horn…” he observed. He then felt a pulse in his arm. Glancing at it, he saw the mark on his arm glowing then looked up at the object now fastened to Dobocle’s waist. The emblem, glowing brightly, was shaped like a star and was identical to the symbol on the creature’s rear end. “That crown… Is that what my mark is reacting to…?”
“Why… why is that here?” wondered Yusei.
Rudith held the star-shaped stone above his head. “I tune Level 1 Disharmony Wyvern with Level 7 Runeguardian!”
“What?!”
A bright glow emitted from the stone on Rudith’s necklace as the magenta stone became surrounded by a black aura. His Disharmony Wyvern transformed into a black ring that positioned itself horizontally above him. His Runeguardian transformed into seven black orbs.
“Is he trying to perform the ritual?” thought Yusei, his Signer mark beginning to glow. “But he doesn’t have—”
His thoughts were interrupted as a black aura surrounded the unconscious Steel Heart, lifting him.
“But how?!”
“Wh-what’s that?” Fluttershy gasped.
The others looked up into the sky to see seven black stars aligned vertically through a black ring. They then noticed a pony being lifted into the ring.
“What in Equestria?!” exclaimed Starlight.
“Twilight!” Spike shouted.
They all turned to the alicorn, who found herself choking. The small dragon quickly clasped her hoof.
“This can’t be good,” said Scootaloo.
“What’s happening to her?” Sweetie Belle asked frantically.
“Twi?” Apple Bloom spoke.
“Twilight! Say something!” Spike begged.
1 + 7 = 8
“Let your heart sink into the chaos, dispelling all of harmony!” Rudith chanted.
“STOP!” shouted Yusei, clutching his right forearm which was throbbing in pain.
Lightning struck once more. A pitch-black pillar engulfed the ring and orbs, along with Steel Heart.
“Synchro Summon! Be born, Disharmony – Wyvern of Disunion!” Rudith continued. Bright red eyes peered through the pillar of darkness. A large, black dragon-like creature burst out of the pillar. An intense glow in the shape of a crescent, identical to the one on Rudith’s necklace, was burned onto the creature’s chest. The monster let out a mighty roar.
Disharmony – Wyvern of Disunion
LV: 8
ATK: 3000
"That crescent..." Yusei observed.
The star-shaped jewel in Rudith’s hand turned gray, having the texture of a simple stone despite maintaining its shape. The glow from Rudith’s necklace ceased.
Twilight’s friends could only watch as she fainted.
“Twilight!” they called out to her.
She remained motionless on the ground.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Yusei glimpsed at the newly summoned dragon. “He's not a pony who represents an Element of Harmony like Twilight or Fluttershy mentioned. Can he do this with just anyone? Or is there more to it?” He then noticed his Trap Card appearing before him and beginning to glow.
“Yusei Fudo,” Rudith spoke. “Due to the effect of your Continuous Trap Summon Tax, this Duel will end in my loss… but that doesn’t matter. The ritual is complete and my mission is finished!”
“This can’t be…” A bolt of lightning shot out from Yusei’s Trap Card towards his opponent. “NO!”
3000 / 2 = 1500 / 2 = 750
Rudith
LP: 50 – 750 = 0
SPC: 0
Steam flew out of Rudith’s Duel Runner before it crashed into a tree and exploded.
Yusei gasped in horror as he caught up to the wreckage. As the monsters vanished, he pulled his Duel Runner to a stop. The smoke cleared, with a darkness appearing beneath Rudith and his Runner.
“Wait!” he exclaimed, leaping off his Runner and sprinting towards Rudith. The blackness forced Yusei away as it smothered his defeated opponent before vanishing completely. “No…”
He fell to his hands and knees, feeling the sharp sting of failure. He glimpsed up as something caught his eye. He picked up the star-shaped rock before him, clutching it hard in the palm of his hand.
“Twilight… I’m sorry.”
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Oh this is getting worse. Awesome chapter.
Poor Yuesi, but it could've been even worse, it could've been one of Twilight's friends.
Awesome chapter, no lie.
Damn... just, damn...
Well, ain't that something. When one side get some good luck, the other get the opposite. Poor Yusei and Twilight.
C&C:
The flying boulders quickly caught two of the mares off-guard, knocking them out could...
> Correction: ‘cold’.
7046541 Fixed.
7046735 next chapter please
7082716 I will post new chapters when they're good and ready.