RANK 17: Sitting in a Tree, D-U-E-L-I-N-G:
RANK 17: Sitting in a Tree, D-U-E-L-I-N-G:
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THE STORY SO FAR...:
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In Canterlot High School, every student is wild over the world's most popular trading card game: Duel Monsters! Every day, players of the card game, known as "Duelists", go head-to-head to see who among them is the best around. Among the Duelists in attendance at CHS, one of the best is a young teenager named Sunset Shimmer, a girl from another world...
Besides playing Duel Monsters, Sunset Shimmer also enjoys doing all sorts of other things with her friends. Among her friends is a young boy named Flash Sentry. A year ago, the two them were dating each other, but broke up the relationship at an unknown point in time. Even so, the two of them are still friends with each other, harboring no bitter feelings towards each other after the break-up.
Since then, though, Sunset has not been in a relationship with anyone else, preferring the company of her friends moreso right now. But she had never once stated that she was through with having another boyfriend after Flash Sentry. Whether she will find true love or not remains a mystery to this very day...
Unless of course, true love finds HER...
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It was a chilly Monday morning at Canterlot High School. All of the students were wearing coats to keep themselves warm in the cold air as they made their way into the building for another day of classes. Among them was Sunset Shimmer, who was actually wearing a larger coat over top her black leather jacket, possibly to keep herself even warmer. Still, she could feel a bit of cold air on her bare legs as she shivered a little. "Brrrr... it sure is cold today..." she said to herself after she finally walked inside the school. Looking at her exposed legs, she then added, "I really need to think about getting long pants sometime; I think I'm starting to get goosebumps on my legs."
Taking off her coat and carrying it in her left arm, she began walking over to her locker, thinking to herself, (I hope Twilight will be able to make it over here alright with Applejack after she decided to spend yesterday night over there. Luckily, I had no trouble keeping an eye on Spike; all I had to do was switch the TV on, and next thing we know, we're watching Family Feud up until 11:00 at night. He's acting kinda the same way I did when I discovered television...) She chuckled to herself at that thought as continued on her way.
But once she got to her locker, she noticed something peculiar: There was a piece of paper attached to the locker door; the paper was held there with a piece of scotch tape. "Huh? A note...?" she asked herself, taking the paper off of her locker. She then unfolded the note and read it to herself: "Dearest Sunset... I can't get you out of my mind; Every time I pass by you in the halls, I can't help but admire just how beautiful you are... Thinking of you... XOXO..." The red and yellow girl stood there for a moment, a bit confused after reading the strange note. She then sighed to herself as she put the note away in her jacket pocket before opening her locker.
As she did, a small figure poked his head past the corner of a nearby wall, watching Sunset as she got what she needed for her first class. The figure was a young boy with silvery-white skin, lime green hair, and yellow eyes. His outfit consisted of a red short-sleeved shirt and black shorts, with a pair of long socks and white tennis shoes. On his shirt was an emblem that looked like a tennis ball getting hit by a tennis racket. As Sunset left to go to her first class for the day, the small boy continued to stand there, blushing red and even sweating a little.
Hours later, at the cafeteria, Sunset sat with some of her friends before settling down to eat lunch. With her were Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. "So what took you so long to get here?" Sunset asked Twilight and Applejack. "Usually you guys get here much sooner..."
"Yeah, Ah apologize 'bout that..." the orange-skinned girl replied. "Truth is, mah truck started givin' me a hard time this mornin'... It's gotta be that darn carburetor again; every time the weather gets even a teensy bit chilly, it just goes n' freezes up!"
"Luckily, we left early enough, so even with the trouble we had earlier, we still made it here before school started." Twilight reassured them all.
Sighing a bit, Rainbow Dash then told her country friend, "AJ, I know I'm probably startin' to sound like a broken record here, but don't ya think it's about time to put that clunker away for good? You even said that your grandmother was talkin' to you about getting a new truck some time ago."
"Ah know they said that, but Ah've had that truck ever since Ah learned t' drive..." Applejack told her. "Ah had her when Ah got my driver's license! An' the old girl's been a huge help in loadin' n' unloadin' our harvests..." Switching to a more serious-sounding tone, she then added, "But it's more than just that; that truck belonged to mah mom and dad back when they were on the farm... And ever since they left the place, it's been one'a the few things of theirs that Ah have left..."
The other girls stayed silent for a while, feeling a little sorry for their friend. Dash rubbed the back of her head, wishing that she didn't say anything about Applejack getting rid of her beloved pickup truck. "I can see that you care about it a whole lot, Applejack..." Twilight told her, breaking the silence, "and I can understand that it can be hard to let go of something that's real special to you..."
"Thanks for understandin' Twi..." the orange girl responded, sighing a little. Trying to push aside her concerns for the moment, she then said, "Anyway, don't y'all worry 'bout me; Ah'll figure somethin' out sooner or later." She then asked Sunset, "So what was it that you were talkin' to me 'bout earlier? Somethin' 'bout a note ya found?"
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." the red and yellow girl replied. She then reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the paper that she had found earlier. "So anyway, I was heading over to my locker to get my things for First Period, but when I got to my locker, I found this taped onto the front of it... I have no idea what it is, or who put it there..."
Twilight took the paper from Sunset and unfolded it. She, along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, read the note to see what it said. After they finished, the three of them giggled a little about it. "Heh heh... you REALLY don't know what this is, Sunset?" asked Rainbow Dash, sporting a sly look on her face.
"Um... no, I don't." the red and yellow girl replied. "That's why I asked all of you... What is it? And... why are you all giggling like that...?"
"Tee hee hee... Sunset," Twilight began to tell her in-between chuckles, "...this is a love note."
"A love note??" asked Shimmer, startled and confused.
"Ya mean t' tell us that you've NEVER gotten a love note from anybody?" asked Applejack, still chuckling.
"Um, no I haven't." the black jacket-clad teen answered. "If you recall, almost everyone at school hated me for a long time."
The three girls immediately stopped their giggling after hearing that. With how well things had been for their friend lately, they had almost forgotten about that. "Oh... yeah, that's right..." Applejack replied, a tad embarrassed. "My bad..."
"I guess that explains why she didn't think it was a love note right away..." Rainbow Dash figured.
Twilight then smiled again and told her inter-dimensional friend, "But still, it's good to know that someone seems to really like you enough to leave a note for you like this."
"Yeah, Twi's right!" Rainbow Dash added. "You should feel really good knowing that somebody's got a crush on ya!"
"Well... uh..." Sunset wasn't really sure what she felt, as no one had ever done something like this for her before. She then said to her cyan friend, "Well, I MIGHT feel good about it... if I knew who it was that put this note on my locker in the first place. The problem is, whoever left this note didn't put their name on it or anything that would help me figure out who it was."
"Oh wow...! A secret admirer!" Twilight happily gasped. "That's so romantic!"
At that moment, the purple teen heard the familiar voice of Utopia in her mind. (A secret admirer...?) he asked her. (I do not understand. Why is this person trying to get the attention of your friend, and yet not reveal their name? I do not see the logic behind it.)
(Well,) Twilight began to explain to him with her thoughts, (if it's anything like the romance novels that I have back at my castle, the reason that he doesn't want her to know his name right now is because he's probably too shy and nervous to admit his feelings for her yet. He's probably afraid that she'd reject him if he did... If so, then I feel a little sorry for him, whoever he is; he must really like Sunset, but he's too scared to go any further...)
Utopia thought about her words for a while before saying to himself, (Observation Number Three: It appears that some humans have a hard time admitting their true feelings towards one another... I shall remember that.)
Taking the note back from Twilight and putting it back into her jacket pocket, Sunset then said to her friends, "Well, I guess there's nothing else I can do but wait and see if this guy ever shows up."
"Sounds like a good idea t' me, Sunset." Applejack agreed with a nod. "Ah suppose there ain't no sense in tryin' to find this secret admirer if y'all don't even know what he looks like."
"I think so too." Twilight chimed in. "Anyway, let's eat our lunches before the next period starts." The others nodded and began to eat their food.
Later on, after the school day had officially ended, Twilight and Sunset were walking out of Canterlot High with rest of their friends, talking with them a bit before they would go to their respective homes. All except for Rainbow Dash; she had a prior engagement with one of the after-school clubs. "Well, I'll see ya guys tomorrow;" she told them all, "I don't wanna be late for the Tennis Club."
"I didn't know you played tennis before, Rainbow..." noted Fluttershy.
"I've been itchin' to try it out for some time," the cyan teen explained, "so when I heard a coupla months ago that they were starting one here, I made sure that my name was the first one on the sign-up sheet." She then suggested to her shy friend, "You oughtta try out for the club too; I'd bet you be really good at it."
"Oh, um... that's okay..." Fluttershy replied. "I-I'd rather not... To tell you the truth, I already tried to practice playing tennis once..." Rubbing her nose, she then added, "I still remember how much my nose hurt when the machine shot that ball at me..."
Pinkie Pie giggled a little. "Get it? It's a reference to one of AgrolChannel's videos...!" she then whispered loudly, seemingly to herself.
"Alright, suit yourself, then." Rainbow Dash said to Fluttershy. She then turned to leave, telling them all, "Anyway, see ya guys later."
"Okay, see you later, then." Sunset responded, waving to her. "Have a good time."
After Dash had left, Rarity then walked over to the red and yellow girl and asked her, with a smile on her face, "So... not to impose or anything, but would you care to tell me more about this secret admirer of yours?"
"Um, do I have to?" asked Sunset, blushing a little out of embarrassment. "To be honest, I don't know any more than I've already told you..." Rarity huffed a little in response, a little frustrated that she wasn't going to hear any more gossip concerning the unknown boy that had taken a liking to her friend. They all continued to talk for a while as they left the school grounds.
Little did they all know that far behind them, hiding behind the school statue, was the same boy that had watched Sunset take the love note from her locker, this time carrying a large duffel bag. He stepped forward and reached his hand out, as if he thought about following the girls, but instead, he stepped back and headed off for somewhere else, sighing sadly as he did so.
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The next day came and went, with Sunset and her friends attending their usual Tuesday classes. But that morning, just like the day before, Sunset found another love note taped to her locker. She then presumed that it had to have been from the same person, since the handwriting was exactly the same as on the first note. However, she still had no idea who was leaving them there for her to pick up. Not knowing what else to do, she pocketed the note and went on her way.
The same was true the following day after that. Sunset had found yet another love note from her secret admirer on her locker that morning. After taking the time to read the note, she blushed a little bit before once more pocketing the note. She then gathered her things together and headed off to her first class, but she took a short moment to glance around the nearby area. Feeling as though the unknown boy was still around the area, the red and yellow girl was hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone that could have possibly been him. However, there was no one else in the hallway or nearby that seemed suspicious, so Sunset once again had to accept the fact that she wouldn't be finding out today either...
On Thursday, after school had closed for the day, Sunset and Twilight walked into the apartment building, heading for the red and yellow girl's home. As they walked into the building, a gruff-sounding voice could be heard: "Ms. Shimmer?" it asked.
The two girls stopped walking and looked behind them to see who it was. "Oh! Manny Roar!" Sunset responded. "What is it?"
The building landlord then picked up a box sitting next to him. "This arrived in the mail for you just now." Manny explained to her. "It has your name on it, but I don't know who sent it; there's no return address."
Sunset and Twilight looked at the strange package closely. It was wrapped up in shiny red wrapping paper and tied with a yellow ribbon. "Are... you sure it's safe to open?" asked the Princess of Friendship, who was understandably cautious. "It seems sort of suspicious..."
"It doesn't seem dangerous to me." Manny Roar answered. "It doesn't feel like there's much in here, anyway."
Sunset then grabbed the box and understood what he meant by that. "You're right...!" she replied. "It's actually pretty light." She then shook it a couple of times, hearing a soft thudding sound coming from whatever was inside. She then told her landlord, "If there's anything weird about it, I'll make sure to let you know." Manny nodded in response and left to go do his work.
The two girls walked into Sunset's apartment after the red and yellow girl unlocked the door. Turning on the lights and setting their bags down, the two of them immediately turned their focus on the strange package that Manny had given them, carrying it to the dining room table. Spike, perking his head up from the couch, walked over to the table where the box was sitting. "What's this thing?" he asked, curious.
"Not sure to be honest." Sunset answered the dragon-turned-puppy. "But whatever it is, it's pretty light."
Twilight looked at the tag where Sunset's name was written and saw something familiar about it. "This tag here..." she began to say, "the hoofwri- er, I mean the HANDwriting, looks like something I've seen before..."
"Really? Let me see..." The red and yellow girl then took the name tag and looked closely at it. She gasped a little after realizing something about it. "No way...! The writing on this tag looks exactly like the writing on those notes I've getting all week!"
"Then... you mean that this might have been sent from that secret admirer, too?" asked Twilight, figuring it all out herself.
"Most likely." the red and yellow girl replied. She then looked at the box and added, "Well, at least now we know whatever's in this box can't be anything hazardous, so that's something I suppose." Deciding that it was safe, Sunset began to open the box, tearing away at the wrapping paper and lifting the box flaps. When she pulled out its contents, the two girls were staring at a yellow teddy bear with red paws and underbelly, wearing a black jacket and a purple shirt underneath it.
"Is... that a stuffed animal?" asked Spike.
"Looks like one of those teddy bears that you can get custom-made at the mall..." Sunset replied.
"And it looks kinda like you, Sunset..." Twilight chimed in. Giggling a little, the young Princess then added, "Whoever this admirer is, it's obvious he's head-over-hooves for you."
"Yeah, seems like it..." the red and yellow girl responded, still not really sure what to make of all of this. Still she couldn't deny the fact that she was a bit flattered by the gift she received. But without any knowledge as to who it was that sent it to her, there wasn't much else she could do but wait for the next note or present.
The sun was just barely rising on Friday, as it was still very early in the morning. There weren't many people outside this early, but among those few was Rainbow Dash, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she walked down the sidewalk. Letting out a particularly long and loud yawn, she then asked herself, "Maaaaan... just my luck... Why did I get selected to do the Tennis Club's morning supply inventory TODAY?? You hafta get up soooo early, and besides, taking inventory is stuff for eggheady nerds anyway..." Letting out a long, loud groan, she then asked herself, "You just HAD t' pick the short one when the club drew straws for the job, huh?"
As the cyan-skinned girl did her best to stay awake, she suddenly noticed something that took her mind off of being tired: She saw someone walking around the school grounds. Normally, this wouldn't be unusual, except for the fact that this other person was the only one on the campus. "Huh? Who's that...?" she asked herself. "Is that the Tennis Club President waiting for me?" After taking another look at the mysterious figure, she then noticed something that made her rethink that. "Nah, that can't be Ace Point... that guy over there's too short to be him." Rainbow Dash continued to watched from a distance as the figure glanced around the area around him. After making sure that no one else was nearby (at least as far as he knew), the figure opened the school's front doors and walked inside.
Rainbow Dash was now more than a little curious as to what was going on. "I don't get it... Who is this guy, and why is he going into the school THIS early??" Smirking a little bit, she then said to herself, "Looks like this is a job for Detective Rainbow Dash...!" She then carefully and quietly made her over to the front doors and made her way inside.
After getting into the school, the athletic teen stayed out of sight as she continued to watch what the figure was doing. Although she wasn't sure what he was up to, she was now close enough to see who it was. As it turned out, it was that same silvery white-skinned boy, only this time someone was watching him in secret instead of the other way around.
"Wait a sec... I know that guy...!" Rainbow Dash said quietly to herself. "That's Wilson...! He's in the Tennis Club, too...! Was he called to do work for the club, just like I was...?" The rainbow-haired girl recalled everything she had heard yesterday, but didn't remember hearing anything about this boy having to do any work for the Tennis Club. After ruling out that possibility in her head, Rainbow Dash then asked herself, "Okay... so if he isn't here to do any work, why IS he snooping around the school?"
Not long after she asked that question, she then saw the boy - named Wilson - running into one of the locker-filled hallways. (Hey, wait a sec... NOW where is he going??) she pondered. (That's not the hallway that leads to his locker...) The cyan teen then followed him, moving quickly, but silently. She had a feeling that she would discover what Wilson was up to very soon.
Sure enough, after following him for a little while, Rainbow Dash finally found Wilson standing still and facing one of the lockers in the hallway. The athletic girl was more stumped than ever when she realized an important fact about which locker he was looking at. (What's that kid doin' in front of Sunset's locker?) she asked herself.
It wasn't long before she would get that answer. Wilson then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He then held it out in front of him and stared at it for a while. He then blushed and giggled a little as he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a scotch tape dispenser.
"A paper...? A piece of tape...?" Rainbow Dash asked herself. For some reason, she got that funny feeling that she had heard something like this before. And it didn't take her long to realize what was going on. Smiling and chuckling a little to herself, she then said, "Ohhhhh... NOW I get it... This oughtta be interesting..." She then quietly snuck towards the boy while he was distracted with what he doing.
Wilson didn't even notice the cyan girl as he took the paper that he was holding and taped it onto the front of Sunset's locker. He then stared at the paper again for a few seconds after doing so, seemingly thinking about something. When he decided that it was time for him to leave, he began to turn around to his left, when all of a sudden...
"Hey, Wilson! What'cha up to?!" asked Rainbow Dash in a loud voice. This startled the boy, causing him to shriek and lose his balance. He tumbled onto the linoleum tile floor, landing on his rear end.
"R-R-R-Rainbow Dash??" Wilson asked, shaking a bit. "Wh-what are y-you doing here...?"
"That's what I should be asking YOU, kid." the cyan teen rebutted. "What were ya doin' on my friend Sunset's locker just now?" she then asked him rhetorically.
Fearing that Dash might have discovered what he was doing, he then nervously asked her, "Um... how... how long were you standing there??"
"Oh, I've been followin' ya since you got into the school." the rainbow-haired girl replied. "Right up to the point where you seemed to have posted a little note on my friend's locker. Aaaaaaaand if I'm not mistaken... that's no ordinary note is it? It's a LOVE note, right?"
Wilson was startled a little, knowing that Rainbow Dash had found him out. Deciding that it was pointless to lie about it, the boy sighed and told her, "...Yeah... it is..."
Chuckling a little, Rainbow then exclaimed, "I knew it! I just knew it!!" Smirking a little, she then added, "So Wilson, my buddy from Tennis Club, is Sunset's secret admirer? I never would've believed it if I didn't see it for myself!"
Clasping his hands in a praying gesture, Wilson panicked and begged the athletic teen, "Please! Don't tell Sunset what I've been doing!! I didn't mean any harm, honest!! I'm sorry!!"
"Woah, woah woah... slow down, Wilson..." she asked of him. "Who ever said that I was gonna tell anybody? I ain't here to rat you out."
"Y-you're not?"
"Of course not." Dash answered him. Helping the boy up onto his feet, she put her arm around his shoulder and told him, "After all, it pretty obvious that you're crazy about Sunset. And besides, I think she's stayed off of the dating scene for long enough now... I mean, she hasn't been seein' anyone since she and Flash broke up."
"Yeah I know..." Wilson replied, trembling a little. "I really like Sunset a lot, Rainbow... Even though she went crazy last year and turned into that big monster." He then paused for a moment before putting on a nervous smile. "To tell you the truth... she kinda looked pretty cool when she did that..." he then added, sweating and chuckling from the embarrassment of saying how he felt just now.
That comment caught Rainbow off-guard for a moment: She never would have thought that ANYONE would have thought that her friend's she-demon form was attractive until now. "Ooooookaaaaaay... not really sure how to respond to that..." she stated.
The young boy then sighed a little and said in solemn tone, "But let's face it: Why should I even bother anymore...? I mean after all, if she stopped dating Flash after a while, what chance do I have...?"
"Woah, woah, woah... don't even START thinkin' that way, Will!" Rainbow Dash told him. "You'll never get what you want with THAT kinda attitude! You gotta go right up to Sunset, look her straight in the eye, and tell her how you really feel about her!"
"But... I don't know if I can..." Wilson replied, still scared of the very thought. "I couldn't do that by myself..."
"In that case," the cyan teen responded, "I'll tell ya what: I'll help you do it!"
"You... you'll help me?" asked the boy with a renewed sense of hope. "Really?"
"Yeah, I'll be your official wingman, Will!" she answered him. "Which kinda feels appropriate for me for some reason."
"Wow... thanks, Rainbow! That's so nice of you!!" he told her happily. He then asked her, "But... how are we gonna do it? How can I impress her enough? I'm no Flash Sentry, after all..."
"Don't try and compare yourself to Flash or anybody else." Rainbow Dash told him. "If you wanna impress someone like Sunset Shimmer, it's gotta come from inside. You gotta show her just how great YOU are, and you gotta do it in a way that'll show her that she'd be a fool NOT to hook up with ya!"
"But how?"
The athletic girl thought about it for a little while, wondering just what Wilson could do that could help him win over Sunset. She then smiled after coming up with a good idea. "I've got it!" she exclaimed. "Without thinking, what's the one thing Sunset loves doing more than anything else?"
"Uh, well... I know she likes to play music with you guys..." he answered. "But playing music isn't something I'm really good at, so I'm afraid that's out of the question."
"That's okay. That wasn't the answer I was thinkin' of anyway." Rainbow replied. "What I was thinking of was that she loves Duel Monsters!"
"Duel Monsters?" asked the boy, wondering where she was going with this.
"Exactly." the rainbow-haired girl confirmed. "The way I see it, the only way you'll be able to impress a girl like Sunset is to challenge her to a Duel and beat her."
"Me? Beat Sunset??" asked the boy, startled by what his friend had told him. "But she's the best Duelist in the whole school!!"
"Exactly." Rainbow explained. "All that means is that if you beat her and become the school's best Duelist, then she'd HAVE to see that you're the right one for her! Get it?"
"I... guess so..." Wilson replied, understanding the plan. He then said to her, still feeling a bit nervous about it all, "But Sunset's really good at this game! I'd have to bring up my level a whole LOT just to keep up with her!"
"Exactly, so we'd better not waste any more time." Rainbow Dash then took the love note that Wilson was going to post on Sunset's locker and crumbled it up before tossing it out. She then took out some of her sticky notes, handed them over to the boy and told him, "I want you to write this down exactly as I tell you..." She then whispered something into Wilson's ear, stating exactly what she wanted him to write. Wilson nodded and jotted everything down, word for word. Once he was done, he then placed the note on Sunset's locker.
"Alright," Rainbow said, "all that's left now is to train you up for your Duel with Sunset." Taking another of her sticky notes, she then wrote down her home address and handed it over to him. "Meet me at my house after Tennis Club, and I'll help you as much as I can."
"Gee, thanks Rainbow Dash! This means a whole lot to me." Wilson told her gratefully. "I wish there was a way I could repay you for all of this..."
"Hmmmmm... well... there is ONE thing you could do for me..." the cyan girl responded, thinking a bit.
"Anything you want! Just tell me!"
Looking over at him, Rainbow Dash then asked him, "Well, since you're here early like I am... You think you could help me go over the Tennis Club's supplies? It's not a job I really like doing, especially by myself..."
"Sure! I'd love to!" Wilson replied, happy to return the favor. The two of them headed off for the school's tennis courts to do their jobs.
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Hours later, after the school day had ended, Sunset and most of her friends were talking to each other as they left the building. Only Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were currently absent from the group. "So anyway," the red and yellow girl began, "you girls are NOT gonna believe what I found this morn-"
But her thought was interrupted when the loud, cheery voice of Pinkie Pie could be heard from a fair distance away. "Girls! GIRLS!!!" she shouted, running up to them. After reaching the rest of her friends, the pink girl then said to them, "Whew! Am I super-glad to find you all here!"
"Why's that?" asked Fluttershy.
Pinkie giggled a little and reached into her poofy pink hair, pulling out six envelopes, each one a light pink color and held down with a cute, colorful cupcake sticker. "I wanted to give you all these!" she told them all. "They're invitations to the party I'm throwing tomorrow night at my house!"
"A party, you say?" asked Rarity, taking one of the invitations, as did everyone else. "What is the occasion?"
"Well, tomorrow will be my little sister Marble's birthday, and I insisted on throwing her a party to celebrate it!" Pinkie answered her. "Thing is, she's kinda shy around other people, so it took a while to convince her that it was a good idea."
"Yeah, I didn't think that the birthday party would have been HER idea." Applejack noted. "She tends t' avoid most everybody in school, even when they're tryin' t' be nice to her..."
"I know how she must feel..." Fluttershy noted. "I used to avoid people all the time until Rainbow Dash and all of you helped me to open up a bit more..." Looking at the invitation, she then added, "Maybe I could try to talk to her and see if I can help her out... If that's okay with you, Pinkie."
"Of course it is!" the pink teenager replied with a smile. "That's kinda the reason that I'm doing this for her. I want to help her try and make friends, like we all have." Sighing a bit, she added, "She's been shy around others ever since we were little, and it always makes me feel so sad to see her all alone and stuff... But as a big sister, I'll do whatever it takes to help her! And that's a Pinkie Promise that you can take to the bank!"
"Well, it's nice to see that you're willing to go the extra mile for your little sister like that." Sunset told her. "I hope things go well for her tomorrow when we go see her."
Changing the subject, Twilight then asked her red and yellow friend, "So, back on topic: What was it you were going to tell us before Pinkie came over just now?"
At first, Sunset wasn't sure what she was talking about, but then let out a slight gasp once she remembered the previous topic. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot...!" She then reached into her purse and pulled out a small note, telling her friends, "So, this morning, I found this on my locker."
"Is it from that secret admirer again?" asked Rarity, who had been curious about the identity of the person who had been leaving the love notes for Sunset.
"I'm pretty sure it is; it's in the same handwriting." the jacket-clad teen confirmed. "But it's what he wrote that's really got my attention."
"What does it say...?" asked Fluttershy. "If... you don't mind me asking..."
Sunset unfolded the note and read it out-loud: "Dear Sunset Shimmer... I have admired you from afar this entire week, in awe of your incredible beauty and caring personality. And now... I feel as though I have kept my distance for far too long. Noon tomorrow, in the city park, I want us to meet at long last, so that I can tell you how I really feel about you, face-to-face... Please come, for I cannot hold these feelings inside me any longer... From your secret admirer..."
"Oh my...! How romantic!" Rarity said. "He finally wants to meet up with you!"
"Now we'll finally find out who this person is." noted Applejack. "I have t' be honest; it's been bugging the heck outta me, tryin' to figure out who this guy is..."
"So, are you going to meet up with this person?" asked Twilight. "Not to suggest that you do anything beyond that; that's up to you..."
"Hmmmm... I guess I should at least see this guy, whoever they are..." the red and yellow girl replied, still unsure about the whole thing. "But after that... I don't really know what to do."
"What do you mean?" asked Pinkie.
"Well, to be honest," Sunset began, "I'm really not that interested in dating or finding a new boyfriend right now... But with the way this guy has been crushing on me, it'll be really hard to tell him no. I don't know if he'll be able to handle that kind of rejection... Not only that, but he might turn out to be a good guy after all, and I might even consider it..." Sighing a little to herself, she then told her friends, "I'm just not sure what to do..."
Seeing that her friend was struggling to figure out what the right thing to do was, Twilight put her hand on Sunset's shoulder and told her, "Decisions like these aren't always easy... But when the time comes, you'll know what to do. Just be honest with yourself, and you won't need to worry about the choices you make." The red and yellow girl nodded to say that she understood.
"So it's agreed:" Applejack began. "Tomorrow, we'll all meet up at the city park by 12 noon." Turning over to Pinkie Pie, she then asked her, "That won't conflict with the party you're throwin', will it?"
"Nope! Not at all!" the pink girl assured her. "Marble's party doesn't begin until 6 p.m.; I decided to make it one of those nighttime backyard parties! Y'know, with a barbecue, those tall bamboo torch thingies, that sorta thing!"
"Alright good..." the farm girl said to herself, confident that this meeting wouldn't go for that long. Glancing around a bit, Applejack then noticed something peculiar. "Hey... where in the heck is Rainbow Dash?" she asked everyone else. "She's usually done with Tennis Club by now..."
"I haven't seen her all day, other than in class..." Rarity noted. Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Sunset all shook their heads to say that they didn't know where their athletic friend was.
"Wait, isn't that her over there?" asked Twilight, pointing her finger towards the school's front doors. Everyone turned to look, seeing that it was indeed Rainbow Dash, who had just walked out of the building.
"Oh goody! That means I can give her an invitation to Marble's birthday party too!!" cheered Pinkie Pie.
The silly pink girl then zipped over towards her rainbow-haired friend in what seemed like a split-second. Dash was a bit startled; both from not expecting to Pinkie right now, as well as the fact that she seemed to have her mind on other things right now. "Pinkie?? What is it?" she asked. "I'm afraid I ain't got a lotta time to talk right now..."
"Oh, don't worry: it's REALLY short!" the party-loving teen told her. Presenting her with an envelope, she then told Dash, "Just wanted to invite you to my sister Marble's birthday party tomorrow!"
"Uh, okay." Rainbow Dash replied, taking the envelope. "Thanks. Now if you'll just excuse me-"
"Hold on!" Pinkie told her. "At least let me tell ya about what Sunset found on her locker today! You're NOT gonna believe it!!"
"Uh, I'd love t' hear about it," the cyan girl informed Pinkie, "but I've gotta meet someo- I mean, there's somewhere I gotta be right now, so... uh, you can tell me later! Okay, bye!" Rainbow then sped off without any further words.
The other six girls just stood there, not sure what to make of what had just happened. "Ooooookaaaaaay... that was... unusual, to say the least." Rarity said. "Usually, Rainbow loves to hear about gossip almost as much as I do..."
"I'll admit," Applejack chimed in, "she sure seemed t' act pretty weird just now..."
"I'm just wondering where she was going that she didn't have time to talk to any of us..." Fluttershy told them. "That's not like her to just pass us by without saying anything... I hope she's okay..."
"I'm sure it's nothing we need to worry about, at least for now." Twilight assured them. "We can ask her about it tomorrow."
"I was thinking the same thing." agreed Sunset. "When she's in the mood to talk about it, we'll ask her." The red and yellow girl then asked Pinkie Pie, "So, what's the theme of the party that you're putting together?"
"Well, I decided to go with a Hawaiian luau theme!" the pink girl told them. "That's the theme Marble and I finally agreed on."
"A luau?" asked Rarity. "Wasn't that one of the ideas that you had when we put on that performance at the gym last year?" Folding her arms, she then muttered to herself, "I still think we should have gone with the masquerade ball..."
"Well, I didn't want all that stuff to go to waste..." Pinkie replied, twiddling her thumbs. "Besides, do you have ANY idea how much I spent on those private hula dancing classes?" The others just gave her a befuddled look in response, not sure what to say about that.
The very next day was bright and sunny, and luckily enough, the weather report said that the temperature would be warmer compared to the rest of the week. This was good because no one would have to worry about getting too cold while attending the birthday party that Pinkie Pie was throwing for her sister Marble. Right now, though, the party wasn't what was on the minds of Sunset, Twilight, and all of their friends as they sat on or near a bench in Canterlot City's park.
Turning over to Pinkie Pie, Applejack asked her, "Say, Pinkie... what time is it right now?"
"Uh, hold on a sec..." the pink girl responded, pulling up a sleeve on the lightweight coat that she was wearing. Underneath it were several watches, each one displaying a different time "Let's see..." she said to herself, looking at each of her watches one by one. "That one's for Atlantic time... that's Eastern... Central... Hmmm, where is it...?" Just then, she then let out a happy gasp and shouted, "Oh yeah! I remember!!" She then pulled the coat sleeve back down, took out her cell phone from her purse and clicked it out of Sleep Mode to see the time on it. "It's 11:58, AJ." the pink girl finally answered.
"Hmmm... that's two minutes until noon..." Twilight pointed out, "That's when this person is supposed to show up, according to the note he left yesterday..."
"Oooooo... I can hardly wait any longer!" Rarity said, getting excited over the whole thing. "I MUST know who it is that has fallen in love with my friend Sunset! I'm on pins and needles just THINKING about it!"
"Well just imagine how Sunset feels about it..." Fluttershy noted. "I can only imagine what she must be feeling right now, knowing that she'll finally know who this person is, but not know what to expect when he gets here... If I were in her shoes, I don't know if could work up courage to see them for myself..."
Sunset had not said a word since they all met up at the park, as she was still wondering what she should do once this secret admirer showed up. (I don't know what I should do...) she thought, (I'm not sure I want to have another relationship this soon... but I don't want to hurt their feelings either...) The jacket-clad teen had no idea what was going to say or do, and that was bugging her more than figuring out the identity of the guy who had fallen for her... That and the fact that Rainbow Dash was a no-show as well. In fact, she hadn't talked to anyone else since yesterday, and any attempts to reach her on her cell phone only resulted in the call going straight to her voicemail.
The six of them sat there, waiting for something to happen. Then, all of a sudden, they heard a voice call over to them. "S-Sunset Shimmer...!"
The girls perked up when they heard the loud, kind of awkward-sounding voice. Looking behind them, they could see a young boy standing next to a large bush by a tree. It was none other than Wilson.
"Who's that?" asked Sunset, not familiar with the boy at all.
"Ah think that's Wilson..." Applejack answered. "He's in the Tennis Club with Dash. But what's he doing here?"
Of course, it didn't take long for Twilight to figure it all out. "Call it a hunch," she began, "but based on the fact that's it's close to noon, and that he asked for Sunset specifically... I'd guess that HE'S her secret admirer."
"Wait, are you absolutely sure?!" asked Rarity. "He's the one that has been leaving those notes behind?"
"Well, it DOES make sense..." Fluttershy stated. "Wilson is very shy, especially around girls... Rainbow Dash said that it even took him a long time to say anything around her when they met up in the Tennis Club..."
"On that note," Applejack chimed in, "where'd Rainbow Dash disappear to THIS time?"
"Oh, she's a LOT closer than ya think..." said a very familiar voice.
"Wait, that voice...!" Twilight began to say. "It sounds like-"
"Rainbow Dash, in the flesh!" said the cyan teenager, coming out of her hiding spot behind the bush that Wilson was standing next to.
"Dash, what's going on here??" asked Sunset, wanting some sort of explanation.
"Oh, it's all really simple:" Rainbow answered her. "As you all probably guessed, Wilson is, in fact, the guy that's been leavin' those love notes for ya. He was too nervous to talk to ya directly, so he wrote the notes so that he could tell ya how he really felt and stuff."
"So you knew that he was her secret admirer all along?" asked Rarity. "And you didn't think about telling us about it??"
"Hey, don't get mad at me, Rarity!" the athletic teen responded, a bit miffed. "I didn't find all this out until yesterday. That morning, I saw Wilson pasting another note on Sunset's locker and confronted him. But since all he wants to show her how much he really likes her, I decided t' help him out. And once he n' I are done here, you two'll be an item before the end of the day! No thanks are necessary..."
The other girls were shocked by this turn of events. "A-a-a-an item...??" asked Sunset, blushing out of embarrassment.
"What ya heck are ya sayin', Rainbow?!" shouted Applejack. "Just whose side are ya on anyway?!"
"Well, to be fair, Dashie's not REALLY doing anything wrong." Pinkie pointed out.
"What d'ya mean?" asked the farm girl.
"All she's doing is helping Wilson with his problem." the pink teen answered her. "She saw that he liked Sunset, and that he was too afraid to ask her. So she decided to help him get over his shyness and meet up with her today! I'd totally do the same thing!"
"Well, when ya put it that way, I guess you do have a point." Applejack stated, rubbing the back of her head.
"I think that's very nice of her to do that for him..." Fluttershy noted. "Rainbow Dash does have a way of helping someone get over their cold feet... I should know."
Sunset didn't say anything out-loud, but did think that it was very nice of Rainbow to lend Wilson a hand. Turning to face them both, she then asked, "So Wilson... is what Rainbow Dash said true? Are you really the one that's been leaving all these notes and presents?"
"Mhmm... it's true." the young boy confirmed. "I-I-I've really liked you for a long time, but... but I never had the guts to come here and tell you. But Rainbow convinced me that... that I should try and m-meet you face-to-face..." Trying his best to look confident, he then told her, "And now that I'm here, I-I'm going to show you just how much I like you... So I'm ch-challenging you to a Duel!!"
"HUH?!?" exclaimed the others.
"What did you say??" asked Sunset.
"You heard him." Rainbow Dash told her friend. "He wants to duel you. I told him that since you were such a good Duelist, the only way that he could show just how strong his feelings for you are was to beat you in a Duel!"
"You can't be serious..." Sunset replied, trying her best not to believe what she was just hearing.
"I-I-I've never been more serious about anything else...!" Wilson told her. "I want to show you just how much I care about you! And if it means that I have to beat you in a Duel, then I'll do it...!"
The others weren't sure what was going to happen next. In fact, they were still trying to figure out what was going on in the first place. Twilight then broke the awkward silence and asked her friend, "Sunset? What are you going to do now?"
The red and yellow girl thought about it for a moment... and made her decision. Facing Wilson, she told him, "Very well, then... I accept your challenge!"
"Oh dear...! You're really going through with this, Sunset darling?" asked Rarity, a bit surprised.
"I am." the jacket-clad teen replied. "As a Duelist, I can't back down from a challenge." Pulling out her Duel Pad and Deck, she continued, saying, "Besides... I'm still not sure what to do concerning whether or not I should take up Wilson's offer and hook up with him... It sounds a bit crazy, but I think I can use this Duel to help figure just what I should do, as well as see just what kind of person he is deep inside. After all, we Duelists tend to say more with our cards than with our words..."
"I think I kinda get it..." Twilight replied. "I'm still relatively new to this whole dueling thing, but I think I understand the gist of what you're saying." Putting on a smile, she then told her inter-dimensional friend, "If this is what you want to do, then give it your best out there!"
Sunset smiled back, telling the young Princess, "I'll be sure to." Turning back to face Wilson, she then told him, "Okay, so just so that I'm clear on everything... If you manage to beat me, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"
Wilson shook his head no and told her, "No... i-it'd be wrong of me to force you to do that, even if we both agreed to it... If... if I do win this... all I ask is that we got out on a date just once... and after that, it's up to you if you want to continue seeing me..."
"Oh... I see." the red and yellow girl responded, not expecting that kind of answer. But she was pleased to know that he wasn't trying to force her to do anything that could possibly make her uncomfortable. "I... I guess I can agree to that, then." Strapping on her Duel Pad, she then told him, "In that case, let's get started!" The two of them then activated their Duel Pads and Gazers. All of the spectators put on their Gazers so that they could watch.
"LET'S DUEL!!" shouted both Sunset and Wilson (Wilson: LP 4,000) (Sunset Shimmer: LP 4,000).
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As Sunset and Wilson drew their opening hands, Twilight felt something rustling in her backpack, which had its zipper opened slightly. Just then, a purple paw then unzipped it the rest of the way. The paw belonged to Spike, the dragon-turned-puppy, who yawned as he poked his head out. "Yaaaaaaaawwwwwnnn... Good morning..." he said groggily.
"Spike, it's the afternoon." the Princess of Friendship informed him. "You overslept again."
Letting out another yawn, he then asked, "It is...? Must've lost track of time last night..."
"Well, that's what happens when you watch TV with Sunset all night..." Twilight told him sternly.
"I can't help it..." Spike replied, rubbing his eyes. "It's not my fault that the funny show with the gong comes on so late at night..." Looking ahead, he then asked, "Anyway, what's going on here?"
"Well, Sunset's dueling that guy who's been leavin' notes for her this past week." Applejack answered.
"So HE'S the guy you've been talking about?" asked Spike, pointing at Wilson. "But why are they dueling? I don't get it."
"It's... sort of complicated, Spike..." Rarity told him. "In fact, I'm having a hard time trying to sort through it myself." Turning back to watch the Duel, she added, "All we can do for now is watch and see how it plays out..." The others nodded in agreement.
"Alright, Wilson," Sunset told her opponent, "you can go ahead and move first."
"O-okay then..." the boy replied, still a bit nervous.
"Don't worry about it, Will." Rainbow Dash told him, trying to help him feel better. "You're already halfway through this. Now all ya gotta do is win this, and you're good to go!"
"R-really...?" he asked. When Dash nodded yes, he nodded back and told her, "In that case, I'll... I'll do my best!" Looking over his cards, he then said, "For my first move, I activate the Spell Card Polymerization...!"
The others gasped. "Oh my...!" said Fluttershy. "He's going to Fusion Summon already...?!"
Taking out two cards in his hand, he presented them and told Sunset, "From my hand, I use Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater as Fusion Materials!" The two monsters then appeared on the field: One was a female human in a lilac-and-purple bodysuit, equipped with a pair of armblades and ice skates. The other was another female human with red hair, wearing a red-and-light blue bodysuit, and having long, white ribbons twirled around her arms. But they didn't stick around for long as they were drawn into a swirling portal made up of red and blue clouds.
"Gorgeous dancer with ribbons! Graceful dancer on the ice! Combine yourselves and create the true personification of power and beauty!" Wilson chanted. "Fusion Summon!! A lovely sight, Cyber Blader!!" He then played his Fusion Monster onto his Duel Pad. In an instant, a ball of bright light - colored in a light violet hue - appeared on his side of the field. The light then took on a humanoid form, transforming into a female human with long, navy-blue hair. She wore a red-and-lilac bodysuit, purple gloves and ice skates, as well as a red-tinted visor over her face (Cyber Blader: Level 7 / ATK 2100 / DEF 800).
"Oh my goodness...!" Rarity said with a gasp. "She's absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!"
"Cyber Blader...?" asked Applejack. "Ah gotta say, Ah've never seen anybody that owns that card, let alone use it in a Duel."
"I know what'cha mean!" Pinkie chimed in. "That card's been out for a really long time, but it's never been reprinted. It's a pretty rare card... not to mention just simply pretty!"
Taking one more card out of his hand, Wilson placed into the Spell & Trap Zone slot of his Duel Pad and told Sunset, "I'll set one card face-down and put Cyber Blader in Defense Mode." Facing his opponent as best as he could, he then said, "I-i-i't's your move..."
Before Sunset began her turn, she took a moment to survey the field. Looking at Wilson's Fusion Monster, she thought to herself, (I've heard of Cyber Blader before, but this is the first time I've ever seen anyone use it. I didn't think anyone had a copy of it, so I didn't have much motivation to look up what it could do... And wouldn't you know it? Someone finally shows up with one...)
"It's my turn! I draw!" The red and yellow girl drew her first card of the Duel and looked at it. (Not a bad start, if I do say so myself.) Placing the card in her hand for the moment, Sunset took out a different card and said, "First, since you're the only one that has any cards out, I get to Special Summon my Chronomaly Moai Carrier in Defense Mode!" After playing her card, her large, blue head statue monster rose up from the ground in front of her (Chronomaly Moai Carrier: Level 5 / ATK 900 / DEF 1800).
"Next, I activate the Spell Card known as Palenque Sarcophagus!" Sunset then declared. "Since I control a Chronomaly monster, I get to draw two additional cards!" She then did so, and saw that one of them was her Fire Ant Ascator. After deciding what to do first, she then played next card, shouting, "Now I Normal Summon the Tuner Monster, Supay!!" Her next monster then appeared, appearing as a creepy-looking Mayan-like mask (Supay: Level 1 / ATK 300 / DEF 100).
"A Tuner?" asked Twilight. "Does that mean she's going to do that Synchro-thing?"
"You bet she is!" Applejack confirmed. "Go for it, Sunset!"
Thrusting her hand forward, the black jacket-clad teen shouted, "I tune Supay, Level 1, to Moai Carrier, Level 5!" The mask monster then transformed into a tiny light that shot up into the air, returning as a single, green ring that surrounded Sunset's other monster. Moai Carrier then transformed itself into five small lights within the ring (Level 1 + Level 5 = Level 6) "Dragon deity of the Moon, calm the chaos! Give rest to the weary with your soothing night breeze!" Sunset chanted. "Synchro Summon! Show yourself! Level 6! Moon Dragon Quilla!"
With the chant complete, the ring and lights were engulfed by a column of pure, white light. Once the light faded away, it was replaced with a blue-faced stone with four blue dragon heads coming out of it (Moon Dragon Quilla: Level 6 / ATK 2500 / DEF 2000).
"Woah! Look at that dragon!!" said an impressed Spike. "That thing'll put Sunset in the lead for sure!"
"I'm not really so sure, to be honest..." Fluttershy stated.
"Whatever do you mean, darling?" asked Rarity.
"Well... think about it: Cyber Blader's attack power is much, MUCH higher than its defense..." the shy yellow girl noted. "But Wilson still put her in Defense Mode anyway..."
"You're right...!" Pinkie responded, understanding where Fluttershy was coming from. "That must mean Wilson has something planned, or he never would have done that!"
"Maybe so," Twilight chimed in. "But Sunset should still try to attack her at least... At worst, she may force Wilson to reveal his strategy with Cyber Blader."
The red and yellow girl felt the same way. "Moon Dragon Quilla! Attack Cyber Blader with your Shadow Streams!!" she ordered, pointing straight at the Fusion Monster. The mighty beast then roared loudly and fired beams of dark-purple energy towards Wilson's monster, striking it hard.
"Did it... work...?" asked Applejack, trying to see through the haze of clouds that appeared after the dragon's attack struck. But when they finally cleared away, it was revealed... that absolutely nothing had happened: Cyber Blader was still on the field, and no damage had been done to Wilson at all.
"She's... still there!" Twilight softly exclaimed.
"But how?!?" asked Spike, not believing what he was seeing. "That attack should've fried her!!"
"How did your monster survive?" Sunset asked her opponent.
"Because true love and beauty - like yours - can never, EVER die!" Wilson responded.
(Wh-wha...?) thought the red and yellow girl, blushing and stepping back a bit.
"You see, my Cyber Blader has a very powerful special ability:" the boy began to explain. "An ability that changes depending on how many monsters you control on your field. Since you have just your Synchro Monster, her ability protects her from being destroyed in battle!"
"ReMARKable!!" Rarity said with a gasp. "I never would have thought that she would have such a powerful effect!"
Humming a bit, Sunset then said to herself, (I get it... that's why he put her in Defense Mode. He figured I wouldn't have more than one monster out on my first turn, so he felt safe putting her in Defense, even though her points are so low... He also did it in order to lull me into a false sense of security and make me believe that I could defeat it easily...Not bad, Wilson, not bad at all...) Taking one more card out of her hand, she then told him, "In that case, I'll set a card and end my turn."
Wilson then asked Rainbow Dash, "So... am I doing good so far?"
"You're doing great, kid!" the cyan teenager assured him. "You keep this up, and you'll have a girlfriend in no time!"
Applejack huffed a bit and told her friends, "While Ah am happy that Rainbow's doin' such a nice thing for Wilson over there, I still think it was a bit underhanded of her to go behind our backs like this and not tell us what she was up to..."
"Perhaps, Applejack." Twilight responded. "But at least she's not actually doing anything bad by helping him."
"It's... it's my turn now! I draw!!" Wilson shouted, drawing his next card. Once he looked at it, he smiled and said, "Alright! I got a great draw!!"
"Ya sure did, Will!" praised Rainbow Dash. "Now put it on the field!"
Wilson nodded and activated his newly-drawn card. "I play the Quick-Play Spell, Graceful Retrieval!"
"Graceful Retrieval?" asked Sunset. "What does that do?"
"Well, um... here's how it goes:" the boy began to say. "I can only activate this card if you drew cards outside of your Draw Phase. And it had to have happened either during the turn I play this card, or the turn after that. In other words, since you used your Palenque Sarcophagus card to draw two cards LAST turn, my Spell Card lets me draw the same number of cards, plus one more!"
"That means he gets three cards from his Deck...!" said Fluttershy
After drawing his cards, Wilson then declared, "Next, I play my Trap Card, Foolish Revival!" His face-down card then flipped face-up.
"That's peculiar..." Rarity stated. "All that card does is allow Sunset to Special Summon a monster from her Graveyard back to HER field. Sure, he is allowed to choose which monster she gets, but other than that, he doesn't get anything out of it..."
"Actually, I think he WILL." Twilight rebutted. "Remember when he explained his Cyber Blader's effect? He told us that her power changes depending on how many monsters Sunset has out on the field..."
Gasping, Applejack then exclaimed, "Of course! Now it makes sense! He's tryin' to change her effect to somethin' else!" She then asked, "But is it worth it?"
"It must be if he's letting Sunnie get back one of her monsters..." Pinkie replied, getting a bit worried.
Thinking about it for a while, Wilson then made his decision. "Alright, I think I'll let you bring back Chronomaly Moai Carrier!" And after he said that, Sunset watched as a dark-purple portal opened up on her side of the field. Out of it came her head statue monster, which she had sent to the Graveyard to Summon her Synchro Monster.
"Not bad, I suppose..." Sunset told him, having also figured out what his plan was. "Still though," she then said to him, "you just let me get back one of my monsters to use on you later."
"Maybe... but it's like Rainbow Dash told me:" Wilson explained. "Love is... all about taking a risk or two... Besides, you can, um... think of it as another gift from me to you..." Blushing a bit, he then continued his turn and said, "Now I switch my Cyber Blader to Attack Mode!" Once he did, he then told his opponent/crush, "And now that you have two monsters on the field, her special ability doubles her attack power!"
"DOUBLES?!?" exclaimed the others, watching as the Fusion Monster became much more powerful (Cyber Blader: ATK 2100 x 2 = 4200).
"Oh my...! Sunset will take a lot of damage this turn if he attacks her dragon!" Fluttershy cried out.
"Uuugh! I can't look!!" whimpered Spike, covering his eyes with his paws.
"Now go, Cyber Blader!! Attack Moon Dragon with your Cyber Blade Kick!!" shouted Wilson, now brimming with power just like his monster. The Fusion Monster then skated her way towards Sunset's Synchro Monster. Once she got there, Cyber Blader slashed at the beast with her razor-sharp skate. "Alright!! I did it!!" cheered Wilson, feeling more confident. "I've just taken out almost half her Life Points!!"
But Sunset smirked and told him, "I'm afraid you won't get at my Life Points THAT easily, Wilson!"
"Huh?? What are you saying??" the boy then asked.
"Because my Moon Dragon has a special ability as well!" she answered him. "When she's attacked, she absorbs half the attack of the monster attacking her, and gives it to me in the form of Life Points!"
"Oh no!" shouted Wilson, surprised to hear that.
"Oh yes! And since you doubled Cyber Blader's attack power with her special ability," the black jacket-wearing teen told him, "it means that I'll recover 2,100 Life Points before your attack destroys my dragon!" (Sunset Shimmer: LP 4,000 + 2,100 = 6,100)
Wilson was a little frustrated, but that didn't shake his spirit any. "Okay then... but my Cyber Blader will still take down your monster!" And upon saying that, Sunset's Synchro Monster was destroyed, and the red and yellow girl took some damage (Sunset Shimmer: LP 6,100 - 1,700 = 4,400).
"Whew... that was a close one." Applejack stated.
"Not only did Sunset avoid losing a lot of Life Points," Fluttershy stated, "but after the battle was over, she actually came out with MORE Life Points than when she started...!"
Rainbow Dash grumbled a bit. "Darn it..." she groaned. "I forgot her Moon Dragon could do that. Sorry, kid."
"Um, that's okay..." Wilson replied. "At least her dragon's gone. Maybe this won't be so bad after all. I think I might still be able to pull this off..." Sunset and Rainbow Dash couldn't help but notice a slight change in Wilson's speaking manner; he seemed a little less nervous about the Duel or just simply being in Sunset's presence than when they started. The boy then looked at Sunset and declared the end of his turn.
"My turn! I draw!" shouted the otherworldly girl. Already knowing what to do this turn, she quickly put the new card in her hand and took out a different one. "Since I now have a Chronomaly monster back on my field," she began, "I can discard my Chronomaly Crystal Skull in order to retrieve Chronomaly Gordian Knot from my Deck." After doing that, she then placed another card onto her Duel Pad's tray, shouting, "I now Summon another Tuner Monster!! Fire Ant Ascator!!" Her next monster, a giant reddish-brown ant, appeared on her side of the field (Fire Ant Ascator: Level 3 / ATK 700 / DEF 1300).
"A Tuner??" asked Wilson. "You mean-?!"
"You've got it!" Sunset Shimmer told him. "I'm just making sure that the gift you gave to me last turn will be put to good use." Thrusting her hand forward, she then shouted, "I'm tuning my Fire Ant Ascator, Level 3, to my Moai Carrier, Level 5, for ANOTHER Synchro Summon!!" The ant monster then engulfed itself in an intense flame, transforming into three fireballs which, in turn, transformed into balls of light energy. They flew up into the air and came back down as a trio of green rings that surrounded Moai Carrier and turned it into a set of five light spheres (Level 3 + Level 5 = Level 8).
"Dragon deity of the Sun, illuminate all the darkness!" Sunset chanted. "Brighten the day with your benevolent light! Synchro Summon! Show yourself! Level 8! Sun Dragon Inti!" Her monster then emerged from out of a pillar of light that had shot down from the sky above, emerging as a bright yellow sun-shaped rock with four red dragon heads protruding out of it (Sun Dragon Inti: Level 8 / ATK 3000 / DEF 2800).
"Amazing!!" cheered Pinkie Pie. "Sunnie Summoned her OTHER Synchro Monster!! Yay!! Yay!! YAY!!!!"
"This... might not end pretty..." Rainbow Dash warned Wilson. The boy simply gulped a bit, knowing that Sunset was planning an attack.
"Now, go!!" the red and yellow girl shouted. "Sun Dragon Inti!! Attack Cyber Blader!! Solar Breath!!!" The four-headed dragon roared loudly and fired a barrage of fireballs from each of its mouths. Each one struck Cyber Blader, who did her best to weather the onslaught.
"Urrrrgh...!" grunted Wilson. "Don't forget...! Cyber Blader's effect protects her from being destroyed, since you just have one monster out!"
"Maybe so, but you'll still take the damage!" Sunset reminded him (Wilson: LP 4,000 - 900 = 3,100).
"You okay, Will?" asked Rainbow Dash, a little concerned.
Panting a little, the boy told her, "I'll... I'll be just fine. Don't worry about me." He then stared straight at Sunset, with a determined look on his face. High-school crush or not, he wasn't planning on losing this Duel to her.
Looking back at him, Sunset could tell that a sudden change had come over him as the Duel progressed. (This Wilson guy... he's not acting the way he was when we began this Duel...) she thought to herself. (Could this be his true self?)
"Did anyone notice something strange about that boy just now...?" asked Rarity.
"What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy.
"His voice... his mannerisms..." the fashionista explained. "Earlier on, he seemed to struggle with just standing within five feet of Sunset... But now he appears to be a lot more confident in himself."
"I noticed that too..." Twilight remarked. "It's almost like how I was when I was playing my very first Duel. At first, I wasn't too sure of myself, but as the game continued, I started to become more confident and forgot all about how nervous I was. And I think that Wilson is having that same experience."
"Y'know... maybe THAT's why Sunset is Duelin' him." Applejack figured. "She must want to help him get over his scared feelings, just like Rainbow Dash is doin'. Or at least... that's what Ah believe."
"Awwww, that's so super-nice of Sunnie to do that for him!" complimented Pinkie Pie.
Back at the Duel, Wilson was ready to make his next move when Rainbow Dash asked him, "So... what's the plan now? Sunset's got an even stronger monster on the field... And even if you destroy it in battle, you'll just lose your monster and take a ton of damage!"
"It's okay, Rainbow Dash." Wilson told her with a smile. "I already know what to do about that. So don't worry about it!"
(Wait, hold on a sec...) the athletic girl pondered, (I thought that I was trying to help HIM be more confident...)
"It's my turn! I draw!!" the boy shouted as he drew his next card, placing it into his hand. Taking out a different card, he then said, "I play a Field Spell!! Ritual Sanctuary!!" After playing the card, the entire field turned pure white for a moment. When the light faded, everyone was surprised to see that the area around them looked just like a church. And it seemed to have been decorated for a wedding.
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Ritual Sanctuary:
(Field Spell Card)
You can discard 1 Spell Card; add 1 LIGHT Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. You can shuffle any number of Spell Cards from your Graveyard into the Deck, then target 1 LIGHT Fairy-Type monster in your Graveyard whose Level equals the number of cards you shuffled into the Deck; Special Summon it. You can only use each effect of "Ritual Sanctuary" once per turn.
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"You've gotta be kidding me..." Sunset muttered to herself. "He's turned this Duel into a wedding?!"
Wilson giggled a bit with a smile on his face. "Since this Duel is all about me confessing my love to you, what better setting than in a church?"
"I have to admit: that's actually a nice touch." Pinkie said with a nod.
Taking a card out of his hand, Wilson then stated, "Now I activate the effect of my Ritual Sanctuary Field Spell! By discarding one Spell Card from my hand, I can add either a LIGHT Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell from my Deck to my hand!"
"A what monster?" asked Twilight.
"A Ritual Monster." Applejack told her. They're a type of monster y'all can have in your Main Deck. You Summon one by playin' its Ritual Spell Card, and then releasin' the right number of monsters from your hand or your field, equal to its Level."
"It sounds like a lot of trouble just for one monster..." Spike noted.
"Yes, that's why most Duelists don't use them..." Rarity told the puppy. "But as we've seen so far, Wilson doesn't seem to be like most Duelists..."
After paying the Field Spell's cost, Wilson then chose to take a Ritual Monster out of his Deck. Placing it in his hand for the moment, he then played his next monster to the field. "I Summon my Cyber Petit Angel in Attack Mode!" His next monster was a small robotic sprite with a pink, metal body, shiny silver wings, and a small halo over its head (Cyber Petit Angel: Level 2 / ATK 300 / DEF 200). "And when it's Summoned," the boy continued, "I can now take this Spell Card from my Deck!! And I'll play it right now!! Go, Machine Angel Ritual!!"
Everyone watched as a large, flaming cauldron, hooked up to several metal pipes, manifested itself before Wilson. "What's that thing gonna do?!" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Whatever it is..." Fluttershy began, "it means Sunset's in trouble...!"
Taking his Fusion Monster off of his Duel Pad, the young boy then said, "I release Cyber Blader, Level 7, using my Ritual Spell Card. And now I'll Summon the monster that I got using my Field Spell!! I Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Benten, Level 6!!"
In an instant, Cyber Blader transformed into pure energy and flew into the fiery cauldron. Afterward, it then shot out a blast of bright white energy into the sky, smashing through the roof of the church. Everyone stared as they saw a woman-shaped figure emerging from the light. She had long, black hair done up into an extremely long ponytail, wore an intricate gold helmet on her head, wore a black and blue-colored bodysuit that seemed to be very ninja-like in appearance, and carried a large, red fan, which she held up in front of her face (Cyber Angel Benten: Level 6 / ATK 1800 / DEF 1500).
"No way... he actually did it...!" Applejack exclaimed. "He Summoned a Ritual Monster!"
"And she's just as beautiful as that Cyber Blader...!" complimented Rarity. "It's so refreshing to see a Deck in which all the monsters aren't so large and grotesque!"
Sunset was pretty impressed, but then pointed out to her opponent, "You may have managed to get a Ritual Monster onto the field, but it's not strong enough to defeat my Sun Dragon."
Wilson chuckled a little and said to her, "But I'm not done just yet, Sunset. Summoning Benten was a good move, but not my best one! Now watch this!!" Playing a card from his hand, he then shouted, "I activate ANOTHER Machine Angel Ritual!!"
"ANOTHER ONE?!?" exclaimed everyone, including Rainbow Dash.
"I now release Benten, Level 6, and Summon a new Cyber Angel!" the boy declared as his monster vanished into another flaming cauldron. "And now I Ritual Summon... Cyber Angel Idaten, Level 6!!"
Wilson's new Ritual Monster was another partially-robotic human woman. This one was wearing an outfit that was mostly pink with bits of black here and there. She also wore a long cowl that looked almost like a dragon (Cyber Angel Idaten: Level 6 / ATK 1600 / DEF 2000).
"I don't get it..." Twilight spoke up. "He went through all of that to Summon one monster, and then he gets rid of it to Summon another... Why didn't he just Summon Idaten right at the start?"
"It's simple:" Wilson began. "I did that so that I could activate the effects of both Idaten AND Benten!"
"What kinds of effects?" asked Sunset.
"First, after Cyber Angel Idaten is Ritual Summoned, I can retrieve any Ritual Spell Card from my Graveyard and put it in my hand." After the boy took one of the Machine Angel Ritual cards in his Graveyard, he then added, "Next, since I released Benten to Summon Idaten, Benten's power allows me to take any LIGHT Fairy monster from my Deck!" After making his choice, he revealed his card, telling them, "And I choose the Level 8 monster, Cyber Angel Dakini!"
"So that was your plan... You wanted to get her onto the field, am I right?" asked Sunset Shimmer.
"Mhmm!" Wilson said with a smile. "And since I got my Machine Angel Ritual card back into my hand, I can Summon her right now!! Once more, I play Machine Angel Ritual!!" After the fiery cauldron appeared for the third time in a row, the boy then told his opponent, "I release both Cyber Angel Idaten, Level 6, and Cyber Petit Angel, Level 2!!" Once both of his monsters vanished into the cauldron, he then played his third Ritual Monster to the field. "And now... I Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini, Level 8!!!"
Everyone watched as the pillar of light gave form to a new creature: a half-robotic human woman with a blue body and dark red hair. She wore a golden helmet on her head, a shiny, orange chestplate, and a long pair of skin-tight pants, colored blue and yellow. The woman had two pairs of arms; two were holding onto a long staff and the other two were holding swords, one short and long (Cyber Angel Dakini: Level 8 / ATK 2700 / DEF 2400).
"Woah... that monster..." said a thoroughly stunned (but impressed) Twilight. "It's... it's..."
"Powerful..." said Applejack.
"Gorgeous..." added Rarity.
"Intimidating..." chimed in Fluttershy.
"I can't think of another adjective..." Pinkie Pie responded.
Sunset was also stunned by how easily Wilson seemed to bring out his best card. (This guy...) she thought to herself. (He works Deck so well... Every move he makes is so precise, like a well-written formula... And judging by how shocked Rainbow Dash is right now, I can honestly say that she didn't help him learn how to do that... It's pretty clear: Wilson here seems to have a knack for Dueling deep inside that was just waiting to come out...)
Just as Sunset had pointed out to herself, Rainbow's facial expression suggested that she had no idea just how good her little friend was. "Well... I certainly didn't see that one coming..." she told herself as calmly as possible. Turning back to Wilson, she asked him, "Are... you feelin' okay?"
The boy smiled and answered her, saying, "I feel great, Rainbow Dash; better than I've ever felt in my life! For some reason, I feel like I can do anything! And it feels great!!" It was pretty clear to everyone that Wilson wasn't the same scared boy he used to be. He was now a totally different person that felt that he could do anything he set his mind to. Turning back over to Sunset, he then told her, "And now that I have my Dakini out on the field, I'll win this Duel AND your heart!"
"Don't get TOO sure of yourself, Wilson..." Sunset told him, "we've still got a lot left do before this Duel's over!" She then told him, "Go ahead with the rest of your turn, then."
Smiling and nodding, Wilson then declared, "I now use the effect of Cyber Angel Dakini! After she's Ritual Summoned, her power forces you to send one of your monsters to the Graveyard!"
"Oh no...!" the red and yellow girl said with a gasp.
"Since your Sun Dragon is the only monster you have out," the boy told her, "he'll be the one that has to go!" Dakini then fanned out her four arms and released a wave of light that struck Sun Dragon Inti, causing it to fade away completely.
"He just took out her dragon like it was nothing!!" Spike exclaimed. Hiding back in Twilight's backpack, he then told her, "T-T-Twilight... promise you'll warn me if we ever see someone like her back in Equestria..."
"I doubt you'll have to worry about that," the Princess of Friendship told him, "but okay; I promise."
Wilson then continued his move, telling the red and yellow girl, "Next, since I released Idaten, she gives all of my Ritual Monsters 1,000 more attack and defense points! So my Cyber Angel Dakini is even MORE powerful!" (Cyber Angel Dakini: ATK 2700 + 1000 = 3700 / DEF 2400 + 1000 = 3400).
"Three thousand and seven hundred attack points?!?" exclaimed a surprised Sunset Shimmer.
Sighing sadly a little, Wilson then told his opponent, "Sorry, Sunset... but I gotta attack you directly with my Cyber Angel Dakini!" And with that order, the half-robotic angel struck the jacket-clad teenager repeatedly.
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGH!!!" grunted Sunset after taking such incredible damage (Sunset Shimmer: LP 4,400 - 3,700 = 700). She then thought to herself, (Good thing I got all those Life Points a few turns ago... Or I would have lost right now.)
"Sunset's still in this game..." Applejack noted, "but now she's only got 700 points left!"
"And Wilson still has over 3,000 of his...!" Fluttershy pointed.
"Maybe it looks bad..." Pinkie began, "but she can get of this! She can!!"
"You're right, Pinkie!" Rarity chimed in. "We have to believe that Sunset can still win this! It's not over until the last card is drawn!"
"You can do it, Sunset!!" shouted Twilight. "We're all here for you!"
The red and yellow girl smiled at her friends and gave a thumbs-up, telling them, "Thanks girls! I won't quit just yet! My Deck still has some tricks left to pull, and I plan to use them!" Drawing her next card, she gasped happily when she saw that it was something she could use. "YES!! I activate the Spell Card, Raigeki!!" After playing it, the skies above began to darken, as if a thunderstorm was approaching.
"Aw man!!" said Rainbow Dash as Sunset played her newly drawn card. "After all that trouble you went through to Summon her, now she's gonna get wrecked by that Spell Card!"
But Wilson wasn't afraid. "Don't worry about me, Rainbow... I have a plan." He then shouted, "I activate the second effect of Machine Angel Ritual in my Graveyard!"
Sunset's smile quickly faded upon hearing that. "Second effect??" she asked.
"Second effect?" Rainbow repeated.
Taking the card out of his Graveyard, the boy then explained, "If any of my LIGHT-Attribute monsters are about to be destroyed, I can simply banish the Ritual card from my Graveyard. As a result, my monsters are now completely safe!"
The red and yellow girl gasped, but she could only watched as the lightning bolts from her Raigeki card fizzled out moments before they struck Dakini. (Well... so much for that...) she thought, feeling a bit frustrated.
"Woah, that was awesome, Will!" cheered Rainbow Dash. "I gotta admit, I was scared for a moment there."
"Oh no... She drew the one card that could have saved her, but Wilson prevented it from working!" Rarity said in distress.
"Maybe so, but this Duel's still on!" Pinkie reassured her friend. "And I know she won't give up!"
Sunset felt the same way as she began to come up with a new plan. (Okay... I've got think of something else now... but what?) After looking over her hand, as well the field, she managed to think of something that could do think the trick. "Okay... this is a gamble, but it's my only chance of winning..." Taking out a card from her hand she then declared, "I Summon my Chronomaly Nebra Disk in Attack Mode!" In an instant, her green, disk-shaped monster appeared in front of her (Chronomaly Nebra Disk: Level 4 / ATK 1800 / DEF 1500). "And when he's Normal Summoned," she continued, "I'm allowed to take any Chronomaly card from my deck, such as my Chronomaly Tula Guardian!" And she did just that.
(What's she up to this time...?) thought Rainbow Dash. She knew as well as any of her friends that Sunset always seemed to have a backup plan in case things got rough.
"Next," Sunset added, "I activate the Spell Card Chronomaly Technology. I banish Chronomaly Crystal Skull from my Graveyard to look at two cards on the top of my Deck. Then, I select one to place into my hand." Sunset then looked at her top two cards and chose to place Chronomaly Winged Sphinx into her hand, as well as sending her Temple of the Sun to the Graveyard. "And with that, I'll end my turn."
"My turn! I draw!" said Wilson as he drew his next card. "I now use the other effect of Ritual Sanctuary! By shuffling any number of Spell Cards from my Graveyard back into my Deck, I can bring back a LIGHT Fairy monster whose Level is equal to the number of cards I shuffled!" He then took two cards out of his Graveyard and revealed them to Sunset and the others.
(Preparation of Rites...) Sunset said to herself, reading the card names, (and the other one is... Machine Angel Ritual?)
"I'll return these Spell Cards to my Deck to Summon a Level 2 Fairy from my Graveyard!" Wilson stated. "Cyber Petit Angel!! Return to the field!" The tiny robot sprite then returned to the field in Attack Position. And thanks to his effect, I can add another Machine Angel Ritual from my Deck to my hand!" Smiling a bit more, he then told Rainbow Dash, "This is it! I can't believe it! One more attack, and I'll win the Duel AND a date with Sunset!!"
"Wait...hold on a sec..." Rainbow Dash said to him. "It can't be this easy... Sunset would never leave one of her weaker monsters in Attack Mode and risk losing the Duel like this... What about her face-down card?"
"She's had that out ever since her first turn, but never played it." noted Wilson. "If that card activated in response to an attack, she would have used it by now. I don't think I need to worry about it." Rainbow Dash, however, wasn't as sure as he was; she suspected that her red and yellow friend had something planned. But Wilson wasn't worried one bit as he shouted, "Go! Cyber Angel Dakini!! Attack Nebra Disk and end this Duel!!!" The powerful Ritual Monster prepared to use her weapons to slice Nebra Disk apart.
But Sunset smirked and shouted, "Hold it! I activate my Trap Card!! Thunder Pot!!"
"WHAT?!?" exclaimed the boy, completely surprised by the sudden play.
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Thunder Pot:
(Normal Trap Card)
When a "Chronomaly" monster you control is targeted for an attack: Negate that attack, then end the Battle Phase. The activation of this card cannot be negated.
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After the card was activated, a large urn appeared in the center of the battlefield. Before a word could be said, the urn began firing bolts of lightning all across the field, preventing Dakini from getting close to Sunset's monster and ending any possibility that she could attack. "Up until now, you never attacked any of my Chronomaly monsters." Sunset Shimmer noted. "But now that you tried to attack Nebra Disk, you allowed me to use this card to end your Battle Phase automatically. Just because a card has been sitting on the field for a while doesn't make it any less dangerous than any other card."
Wilson was visibly frustrated that his attack had been foiled. "In that case, I'll set one card face-down and end my turn." The boy then looked at the card and thought to himself, (The card I just set face-down is a Trap Card called Doble Passe...)
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Doble Passe:
(Normal Trap Card)
When an opponent's monster declares an attack on a face-up Attack Position monster you control: Make your opponent's attack a direct attack instead and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of the attack target you control. Also, that monster you control can attack your opponent directly during your next turn.
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(If she tries to attack Cyber Petit Angel next turn,) Wilson continued to think, (I'll use this and foil her attack... Then I'll be able to win next turn!)
"Hey, Wilson..." said Sunset's voice.
"Huh?!" the boy, lost in thought at the time, was suddenly startled by the girl's voice. Looking over at her he asked, "What is it, Sunset?"
"I just wanted to tell you, you've played a great Duel so far." she complimented him.
"I-I have?"
Sunset nodded and told him, "You've got a real talent for this game, Wilson. And you run your Deck like a well-oiled machine. I haven't met a lot of Duelists that fight as hard as you do."
"Um... thanks." Wilson replied, blushing. "That means a lot coming from you."
Closing her eyes, the jacket-clad teen then said to him, "You certainly have a lot passion for Dueling, and I think it's safe to assume that the same can be said for everything else you do. You just need to remember to apply that to everything else in your life, and there will be nothing that you can't excel at."
"Wh-what are you talking about?" asked the boy, not sure what she meant.
"You'll see what I mean. But first, I think we have a Duel to finish... and it's my turn." Opening her eyes again, she then drew her next card. After placing it into her hand, she then told her opponent, "First, I'll Normal Summon Chronomaly Gordian Knot in Attack Mode!" Her monster then appeared on the field, presenting itself as a confusing, jumbled collection of cubes (Chronomaly Gordian Knot: Level 3 / ATK 300 / DEF 900). "And when he's Normal Summoned, I can bring out any other Chronomaly monster in my hand, then Gordian Knot matches the new monster's Level!" Taking one more card out of her hand, she then declared, "With Gordian Knot's effect, I Special Summon Chronomaly Winged Sphinx in Attack Mode!!"
Everyone watched as Sunset's flying sphinx monster dove down and rested upon the field (Chronomaly Winged Sphinx: Level 5 / ATK 1600 / DEF 1900). Then, due to the effect of Gordian Knot, its Level matched that of Winged Sphinx (Chronomaly Gordian Knot: Level 3 > 5).
"Now she has enough monsters for an Xyz Summon..." noted Twilight.
"But... besides her Number cards, she doesn't have any other Rank 5 monsters!" Applejack pointed out. "And she already said that she wouldn't use Numbers against someone that didn't have any!"
"Oh, I'm not gonna Summon a Number, AJ." Sunset informed her. "I have a much better idea, anyway." Taking one more card out of her hand, she then declared, "For my next move, I Special Summon the Level 5 Chronomaly Tula Guardian from my hand, since there's an active Field Spell in play!" And with that, Sunset Summoned her third monster, which appeared as a towering blue rock giant (Chronomaly Tula Guardian: Level 5 / ATK 1800 / DEF 900).
"She played THREE Level 5 monsters in one turn..." Rarity stated, almost in disbelief.
"Does that mean that..." stuttered Fluttershy, "that she has..."
"Yep..." confirmed Sunset, as if to suggest that she already knew what her shy friend had to say. "In my Extra Deck is one of the most devastating Xyz Monsters printed for Duel Monsters. So powerful, that it requires THREE Level 5 monsters to Summon it!"
"Uh oh... this doesn't sound good..." said Wilson, getting worried for the first time in a while since the Duel began.
"I now overlay Gordian Knot, Winged Sphinx, and Tula Guardian, all Level 5 and create the Overlay Network!!" shouted Sunset as each of her three monsters transformed into a small, orange light. The three lights were then sucked into a red summoning portal, which then formed into a gigantic ball of white light. "Activate now, mighty machine! Grind your gears! Move the earth! Bury my opponent and leave no stone unturned!" The red and yellow girl chanted. "Xyz Summon!! Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry!!"
Everyone watched in awe as Sunset unleashed what was probably one of her most devastating monsters yet. The monster was actually some sort of gigantic digging machine; more specifically, it was called a Bucket-wheel excavator, used primarily for open-pit mining. It had two large wheels way out in front of it, a third wheel on the back of it, and the main unit was orange in color. On the bottom of it were several tire treads that would allow the behemoth to move, and two towers were built on the top of it, one imprinted with the letter "D" and the other, the letter "Z" (Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry: Rank 5 / ATK 3200 / DEF 2000 / OLU: 3).
"Oh my GOODNESS!!!" shrieked Rarity. "That thing is absoLUTEly enormous!!"
"Since when did Sunset have a card like that in her Deck??" asked Applejack.
Looking at the card on her Duel Pad, Sunset answered her saying, "I've actually had this card in my Deck for a little while, but I never got a chance to use it until now..." Looking ahead, she then added, "I figured that, with all of those Number cards out there, I needed something in my Deck that can help me defeat them more easily. I wasn't expecting my first use of Digvorzhak to be in a Duel like this, to be honest... But now that he's here, I'm ready to see what I can do with it!"
Wilson started getting nervous again as he asked Rainbow Dash, "What's with this card? What does it do?"
"Don't ask me... I didn't even know Sunset HAD a card like that." the cyan teen admitted.
"Well, in that case," Sunset began to tell them, "allow me to fill you both in." Taking one of the cards out from underneath her Xyz Monster (Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry: OLU 3 - 1 = 2), she then declared, "I activate Digvorzhak's effect! By removing one Overlay Unit from it, I can send the top three cards from your Deck straight to the Graveyard!"
"That... doesn't sound so bad..." the boy responded.
"But that's not all:" the jacket-wearing teen informed him. "If any of those three cards are monsters, I get to destroy up to that many cards on your side of the field!" Wilson gasped a bit upon hearing that.
"So that means if she can send just two monsters from his Deck to the Graveyard..." Fluttershy began to say.
"Then Wilson won't have any monsters left on the field!" Pinkie Pie finished.
"It all comes down to luck now..." Twilight chimed in. "Everyone cross your... um, uh..."
"Fingers." Applejack told her.
"Right! Those things." the purple girl said. "Thanks, AJ."
The gigantic Machine-Type monster began to come to life, spurting smoke into the air above as its giant wheels began to turn. Sunset then pointed to Wilson and told him, "Alright! Time for you to send those three cards from your Deck to the Graveyard!"
"Um... o-okay..." Wilson replied, slowly picking up the top cards of his Deck. When he got a look at them, his heart sank. "Oh no...!" he said in despair, seeing that two of the three cards were Cyber Gymnast and Gyakutenno Megami; both Monster Cards.
"That's too bad, Wilson..." Sunset told him. "But that means that Digvorzhak can destroy both of your monsters!" Thrusting her hand out, she then ordered her monster, "Go!! Destroy his Cyber Angel Dakini and his Cyber Petit Angel!!"
The machine then really started to get to work, its wheels spinning and digging up the ground even harder. As it did, it began to create fissures in the ground that crept their way up towards both of Wilson's monsters. Before he knew it, the cracks split open, creating a hole that both Dakini and Cyber Petit Angel fell down into. "No... I lost both my monsters..." he said to himself. "And since my Trap Card only works if I have a monster out, I can't even use it...!"
Sunset, sensing the boy's sadness, asked him, "Are... you okay, Wilson?"
The young boy sniffled, but did his best to remain in good spirits. Smiling, he said to his opponent, "I'll be okay... just go ahead and do what you have to do."
For a brief moment, Sunset actually thought about not doing anything else. But she knew that it wouldn't be fair for either of them for her to throw the Duel just to make him feel better. "Digvorzhak!" she shouted. "Attack Wilson directly and end this Duel!!" The giant machine then reconfigured the beams holding its giant wheels, forming them into a gigantic arm that swung itself at the boy, taking out his remaining Life Points (Wilson: LP 3,100 - 3,200 = 0) (WINNER: Sunset Shimmer).
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Once the Duel was over, everyone was still stunned by the result. Sunset's friends were happy that she had won the game, but they, including Sunset herself, felt sorry for Wilson for losing. The red and yellow girl walked over to the young boy and said to him, "...Sorry about that just now, Wilson."
Wilson sniffled a bit, but he didn't harbor any ill feelings towards the red and yellow girl for defeating him. "It's okay, Sunset... You don't have to apologize. You did great out there, and you deserved to win."
"You weren't so bad yourself, either." Sunset complimented. "I actually thought I was gonna lose that one once you did all of those Ritual Summons."
"Thanks." Wilson replied. "I just wish that I wasn't so quick to put that Machine Angel Ritual card back into my Deck. If I had just kept it in the Graveyard last turn, I might've won... But that was my fault, not yours."
"Just try to remember that for next time, and I doubt you'll have any trouble." she informed him.
Sighing, the boy then told her, "But still... I guess this means I don't get a date with you anytime soon, huh? Sorry for wasting your time and mine..."
"Actually, this whole thing wasn't a complete waste..." the red and yellow girl told him.
"It wasn't...?" Wilson asked her.
"Sunnie's right!" Pinkie told him. "Sure, you may not be getting a date with her, but just look at you! You're talking to her just like anybody else!!"
"Quite a bit of a change from before, when you couldn't even be in the same room as her without becoming nervous." Rarity pointed out.
Wilson gasped, as he had not even noticed that himself before they all told him. "You're... you're right! I didn't even know it until now! I can hardly believe it!" He then asked Sunset, "But... how is it that I can talk to you now when I could barely do so before?"
"A good question." the jacket-wearing teen told him. "And it's actually the main reason I took your challenge. What I really wanted for you was to help you get over your cold feet, just like Rainbow Dash was doing. I figured, if you got into playing the Duel so much, you'd get over your shyness without even thinking about it." She then asked him, "So... how do you feel? Do you still feel nervous or scared at all?"
Wilson thought about it for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "No... I don't feel scared anymore at all. I... I think I can talk girls just fine now! I don't feel any reason to be nervous at all anymore! It's... almost unbelievable; I never knew I could be like that."
"That's how I thought at first." Fluttershy told him. "I used to so shy around others, that I didn't think I could be friends with anyone... But now I realize that there's no reason for me to be afraid around other people. In reality, it was me that was preventing myself from making friends, not other people. And thanks to my friends, I've opened up a lot more around others... Though, I do admit: I'm still working on it..."
"From your notes, I could tell that you were a very nice person." Sunset told him. "So I wanted to help you be more confident in yourself by taking you on in this Duel. I wanted to bring your true self up to the surface. And now you're ready to stand on your own two feet and open up to others."
Wilson teared up a bit, but kept smiling, happy to know that Sunset wanted to help him get over his shyness. Wiping the tear from his eye, he thanked her, saying, "That's very nice of you, Sunset... I'll never forget what you've done for me." He then asked her, "So, just to be clear: The date I asked for; that's off the table, right?"
"I'm afraid so... sorry." the red and yellow girl answered him. "When this whole thing started with the notes and everything, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get into another relationship so soon. But I think it might be for the best that I wait for now... I still need to learn about how to be a better friend before I try to learn to be a better girlfriend." Smiling, she then told Wilson, "But I think any girl would be very lucky to have you."
The boy smiled and said to her, "Thanks, Sunset. I really appreciate it. And next time I see you, I'll be able to talk to you face-to-face. I'm looking forward to it."
"Me too." the red and yellow girl replied. "In fact, I'd love to have a rematch with you sometime.'
"Weeeeeeelllllll... perhaps you two could talk more even sooner than you think!" Pinkie Pie told them.
"What do you mean?" asked the boy. Sunset was also curious to see where this was going.
Reaching back into her poofy hair, Pinkie Pie pulled out another invitation and presented it to Wilson, telling him, "If you really wanna start opening up to other people and talking to them, you can meet a LOTTA different people at my sister Marble's birthday party! Whadya say?"
"Um, sure! I'd love to come!" Wilson happily replied, taking the envelope.
"Not only that," the pink teen continued to tell him, "but I'm sure Marble would love to meet you, even if she doesn't think so. See, she's kinda shy just like you were, you know?"
"I think I understand..." the boy replied, now understanding the reason why Pinkie had invited him. "Thanks again. I'll see you all there!"
"Bye Wilson!" Twilight called to him, waving goodbye.
"Y'all take care now!" Applejack added.
After the boy left, Rarity then said to everyone, "Well, I must say, that was quite an interesting turn of events."
"I'll say." Sunset agreed. "But it beats having to deal with some crazed Duelist bent on causing trouble for everypo- er, everybody."
At that moment, Rainbow Dash then awkwardly approached the rest of her friends and asked them, "Sooooo... um, are you guys mad at me for... well, kinda siding with Wilson and trying to help him beat Sunset in a Duel...?"
"I'm not angry at all, Rainbow." Sunset told her. "I know your intentions were good, and you just wanted to help him out. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing that."
"Heh, thanks guys..." the cyan teen said, rubbing the back of her head.
"But next time, maybe you oughtta let us know 'bout somethin' like this in the future." Applejack suggested to her.
"Uh, yeah... I promise." Dash replied.
"So I guess, now that all of that's out of the way," Twilight began to say, "all that's left now is to get ready for Marble's birthday party." Spike was happy to hear that; he'd been excited to go since the young Princess told him about it.
"You've got it, Twilight!" Pinkie replied. "I've got some dance practice before tonight, so I'll see you over at my place!" The other six girls nodded to say that they'd be there.
Later that night, at Pinkie Pie's home, the backyard was already buzzing with activity. The garden, the tables, everything was decorated with typical Hawaiian flair, and some soft island music was playing in the background. The tall bamboo torches were lit, creating a calm ambiance that helped put all the guests at ease. Since it was still relatively warm, all the guests wore lighter clothing, such as floral-print shirts, shorts, and sarongs.
Sunset, Twilight, and their friends, which also included Flash Sentry and their new friend Wilson, were all there enjoying themselves, wearing similar light outfits like everyone else. Pinkie, on the other hand, was dressed in stereotypical hula attire, right down to the lei and grass skirt. "Oh wow! This is so great!" the pink girl cheered. "Everyone I invited showed up!"
"Yeah, and everyone looks like they're having a great time!" Rainbow Dash noted, taking a bite out of the birthday cake slice she was holding.
"Well, this IS a Pinkie Pie party, after all." Flash stated. "It's kinda hard NOT to enjoy yourself when she throws one."
"Awwwww, thanks!" Pinkie replied. "I'm no Cheese Sandwich, but I know my way around balloons and streamers... or even wooden tiki heads in this case."
Looking around, Wilson then noticed a grey girl with long hair sitting by herself and sipping some juice from a paper cup that she was holding. It was Marble Pie, one of Pinkie's sisters, and for whom the birthday party was for. However, she seemed a bit scared and didn't seem like she was happy to be there. The boy then asked, "Um... is that your sister, Pinkie?"
"Mhmm. That's Marble, alright." the pink teenager confirmed. Sighing, she added, "She seems so sad... I wish I could help her, but I don't know what else to do..."
Wilson said nothing back. Instead, he put on a brave face and decided to walk over to her. "Um, Wilson...?" Sunset began to ask.
"What's he doin'?" inquired Applejack.
"It... looks like he's going over to see Marble..." Fluttershy guessed. "But why?"
"Hmmmm... I think I might know." Twilight pondered. "Let's see if I'm right..."
Wilson made his way over to the table where Marble was sitting and sat down next to her at a safe distance so as not to scare her too much. "Um... hi." he said to her. "You must be Marble Pie, right?"
The timid girl looked down at her drink for a moment before nodding yes. "...Mhmm..." she replied.
Sensing her uneasiness, Wilson then asked her, "You... you seem like you're afraid to be here, with all these people...Are you?"
"...Mhmm..."
"...I know how you must feel." the boy told her, understanding what she was going through. "I used to feel the same way around other people, especially girls..." He then smiled and told her, "But... there's actually nothing you need to be afraid of."
Marble perked her head up a bit and looked over at him. "Hm...?"
"I know it SEEMS scary having all these people around you," he told her, "but they're only here because they care about you and want to get know you better."
Marble continued to listen to him, not saying anything in response.
"Of course, they won't get to know the real you if you stay here all by yourself all night." Wilson told her. "And you won't be able to have any fun yourself, either... Deep down, I bet you'd really want to talk other people and be friends with them, huh?"
Marble just sat there for a moment, not sure what to say at first. In the end, though, she knew that he was right. Nodding her head, she replied with a simple, "...Mhmm."
Smiling again, Wilson then asked her, "So what do you say? How about you get up out of that seat and enjoy yourself, just like everyone else is... and don't worry: I'll be right there with you the whole time. All you need to do... is to have the courage to take that first step."
Marble sat there for a moment, thinking about what he told her. At first, she never even thought about mingling with other people, let alone getting up from her safe little corner of the yard. But it was clear that what Wilson had said to her was helping her feel better. Then, all of a sudden, the grey girl smiled brightly and stood up, nodding her head and saying, "...Mhmm!" Wilson, happy to see her come out of her shell, took her hand and the two of them headed off into the middle of the festivities together.
Sunset and her friends were surprised to see what had just happened, especially Pinkie Pie. "I don't believe it...! He managed to get her out of that seat and into the party!"
"I guess that Duel really did help Wilson become more confident in himself." Rainbow Dash replied. "Especially since it helped him help Marble get over her shyness, too."
Sunset smiled a bit, but let out a slightly sad-sounding sigh. Twilight, noticing her, asked her friend, "Are you okay, Sunset?"
"Yeah... even though I didn't agree to go out with him like he had hoped," she told Twilight, "I have to admit: I'm a little depressed that he got over me that quickly... But it's okay. As long as he's happy, I'll be happy to."
"So... do you think you'll ever date anyone again, Sunset dear?" Rarity asked her.
"I wish I could answer that, Rarity..." the red and yellow girl replied. "I don't know if I will or not, and if I do, who it'll be with... to be honest, it could be anyone for all I know."
"Anyone, huh...?" asked Flash Sentry. He thought about what his ex-girlfriend had just said, but decided to mull over it another time.
Looking at her watch (well, one of the ones she had on right now), Pinkie gasped and shouted, "Omigosh! It's almost time for my dance performance!! C'mon girls!! We can't miss this!!"
"No problem, Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash told her. "You'll do great out there!" Picking up her guitar, she then added, "And we'll be the best backup band we can!"
Pinkie Pie giggled a bit, happy to know her friends were willing to play music for her performance. She then asked Sunset, "Sunnie, you think you can cover the drums for me?"
"I'll do my best." the red and yellow girl responded as they all made their way to the stage set up for them.
That night was one to remember for everyone at the party. Pinkie Pie's hula dance was picture perfect, and her friends did well playing the music for her performance. Everyone there had a great time, especially Wilson and Marble. The rest of the Pie family had never seen the normally-shy girl so happy, but were pleased to see that she was beginning to open up. And it seemed as though Wilson would be there to help her the whole way.
-- To Be Continued...
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That was a great chapter! Excellent duel from start to finish and nice character interactions!
The GX nostalgia is strong with this one.
8383327
One thing I did like about GX is that many of the episodes, mostly the first season, had a lot of these 1 episode-long Duels that weren't meant to be heavily serious or dramatic. Many of them were more "feel-good" episodes, usually following a more serious episode. This was basically a nod to those early GX episodes, and it won't be the only one.
That and the fact that Wilson's Deck has a lot of Alexis' cards.
8383318
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
8383442
Some of my favorite episodes from the first season of GX were when Jayden had to duel the Legendary Decks. Legendary Decks referring to Yugi Moto's from The Copycat Duelist, Seto Kaiba's from when he dueled Kaibaman, and I also lump the first duel against Nightshroud in there as well, since his deck contained Red-Eyes monsters. I wonder how Sunset would stack up against Yugi's deck? Or, better yet, Yusei's non-Turbo Duel deck, since she has both Sun Dragon Inti and Moon Dragon Quila in hers. Ooh, ooh! A tag duel with Sunset and Twilight against a duo who have both Yusei Fudo's and Jack Atlas' decks!
This was a fun chapter. :) I was honestly expecting Wilson to pick up a Number. That would've been really interesting to see. The Cyber Angels were a surprise, too. I always wanted a Cyber Angel deck. They're cool.
8383670
Well, they say they're going to be very useful now that Link Format is a thing. That's why I built mine. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the episode.
8383806
I can imagine they will be useful. Can't wait for future episodes. :) How's Indigo coming along?
Cyber Angels, now those take me back. I remember I shipped Jaden and Alexis so much when I was a kid watching GX. Looks like Sunset is still single, but at least Wilson is happy.
1. This was adorable, and a great episode.
2.
Would that show be Japanizi going going gong?
8384761
I'm actually referring to The Gong Show, since it got revived not too long ago. Personally, I love it, and the fact that the host is Mike My- excuse me, Tommy Maitland was just icing on the cake.
8416443
Ah. I've heard of that show.
8416443
I really loved this chapter. But I have to ask, are all the numbers in your story the same ones as the real life version? Or are a few of them originals? Because if some are originals, I would really like to make one for your fic.
8442710
They are the real-life ones (though sometimes I may slightly alter the effects from time to time, though I try not to do it as much as possible).
8449999
Nuts. I really wanted to make one. On a side note, did you really have to make users of number 82 be cowards? I see him as going straight to the problem source. And the toy like nature showing that their is still a kid inside the duelist.