RANK 48: Crystal-Clear Crafting:
RANK 48: Crystal-Clear Crafting:
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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...
As the tournament in Canterlot City is winding down its first round Duels, the cello-playing duelist Octavia Melody was paired up against a new face in the city: a young man named Sol Burner - a part-time Duelist and part-time MMA fighter. Octavia's opponent proved himself to be a tough customer, using his Lunalight Deck of anthropomorphic dancers to combat her Melodious Deck of talented singers. But in the end, it was Octavia who managed to defeat Sol with the help of her unlikely ace monster, Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir. After the Duel the two parted on friendly terms, hoping to meet up for a Duel once more.
And while this is all going on, Mana (a.k.a. the Dark Magician Girl) was on a quest to locate Torunka, the Dark Sage. Unfortunately, her travels weren't exactly easy, especially since she didn't know where to go, and what was waiting around each corner. Thankfully, she met a friend in the form of Elemental HERO Sparkman, who agreed to accompany her on her journey. But now the pair have come to a junkyard that is terrorized by a massive dragon made out of trash. Mana was knocked unconscious, and now the pair have been pulled into a hole underground by a pair of mysterious people...
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"...na... M...na... Hey...! Mana...!"
A soft, yet worried voice rang in the ears of the young Spellcaster Mana, even though she couldn't see anything at the moment. The voice was loud enough for her to hear and stir a little.
"...Mana...! Hey, Mana...!"
"...Urrr..." the young girl groaned as rolled over in her daze. She then finally managed to open her eyes, hoping to see who it was that was talking to her. "Who...who's there...?" she said in a quiet and still tired-sounding voice.
"Oh, good! You're finally awake!" said the owner of the voice: Sparkman, a member of the Elemental HEROs and her current travelling companion.
"S...Sparkman?" asked Mana, sitting up from a bed that she had been lying on. "Is that you...?" Before her question could be answered, the Spellcaster suddenly winced in pain as she put her hand to her head (which currently lacked her hat, now sitting on a table beside her). "Ow...! What happened?? Why does my head hurt?" she then inquired.
"Hey, take it easy there, Mana... You got a bit of a nasty bruise there on your head." the superhero informed her. "I did a bit of first aid, bandaging it and putting some ice on it, but it's probably still gonna sting a little for a while."
"I see..." Mana replied. "I remember now... That dragon we saw in the junkyard... We were fighting it, and then everything went black all of a sudden." Turning over to her companion, she then said to him, "In any case, thanks for pulling me to safety and addressing my wound."
"Oh, well...uh, I may have patched you up, but I wasn't the one who brought us here." admitted Sparkman.
"You weren't? Then who was it?"
"Um...th-that would be us...um, m-ma'am..." squeaked a timid-sounding voice from nearby. Mana looked around, trying to figure out who it was that had just spoken to her. Eventually, she saw a pair of figures step into the room that she had been resting in.
One of them was a short, human-like being that appeared to be mechanical in nature. It wore orange-colored armor - which included a helmet that seemed to originally be a dented cooking pot, a pair of large- round glasses over its eyes, and had what appeared to be an engine of some sort strapped to its back. The short creature's companion was much taller by comparison and also human-like, sporting silver armor that covered the head, shoulders, forearms, chest and legs. Its helmet was crescent-shaped, with a gas mask-like apparatus built onto it. The feet parts of its armor seemed to have wheels built into them, like a pair of roller skates.
"Wh-who are you two?" Mana asked them both.
The short one spoke to her, saying, "Y-you may call me Junky. And my friend goes by 'Speedy'. An-and we'd like to welcome you both to our humble little underground home."
"Underground?" asked the magician girl.
"Yep. These two pulled us to safety through a secret hatch above ground." Sparkman explained. "After that, the three of us quickly got to work, helping you recover."
"Really? Thank you so much, all of you!" Mana responded, grateful for their help.
"Aww...i-it was nothing, really...!" said Junky, rubbing the back of his head. Speedy made no response, simply nodding as a way of saying that he appreciated the thanks.
Looking around the room she was in, she then asked her new friends, "So...did you two say that you live here?"
"Technically, I said it was..." Junky answered. "Speedy doesn't talk a whole lot. H-he's kind of the 'actions-speak-louder-than-words' guy." Clearing his throat, he then added, "But yes, this where we live... All of us."
"All?" asked Sparkman. "Who else lives here??"
He got his answer when a trio of smaller creatures walked into the room. One of them was a small, pink bird with green eyes and a belled collar that matched that green, along with a pair of large, red boots. The second was a brown, hedgehog-like creature with bolts sticking out of its back instead of quills. The third and last creature was a large (for its size) ladybug-like insect with blue eyes and a red exoskeleton with a star decoration on its back.
"Awwww...!" Mana squealed in delight. "They're adorable!!"
"But...what are they?" Sparkman inquired further.
"I-in a way, they're just like the two of us: Individuals that had nowhere else to go." Junky told him. "You see, Speedy and I came to this place a long time ago because, well...w-we didn't exactly 'fit in' with everyone else. I was the typical wimpy nerd that got picked on pretty much on a daily basis, and my short size didn't exactly help. And as for Speedy, he used to be quite the talkative guy, but no one ever cared or listened to whatever he had to say, so he just stopped talking altogether."
"Wow...that sounds so sad..." Mana responded. "It's a shame that no one else understood you; you two seem like nice people. You have to be if you helped me out the way that you did." She then asked, "But...why did you two choose to live in a junkyard of all places?"
"...We were tossed out of our own society, s-so it seemed like the perfect place for us." Junky responded. "It wasn't all that bad, though; there's so many things lying around that I was able to make use of. We even managed to build a home for ourselves... But now, it seems even this junkyard doesn't want us around..."
"You're talking about that dragon, right?" asked Sparkman. "What his deal? Why did it attack us like that? Where did it come from?"
"I-I wish I could answer those questions, Mr. Sparkman..." the glasses-wearing creature told him. "All we know is that it showed up about four months ago. We think it might have come from the nearby factory, but w-we aren't 100% sure about it. As for why it attacked us and you, we don't either. Th-the only thing that is clear is that this...thing wants us and everyone that comes by here gone: One way or another..."
"That's awful..." Mana said, taking pity on Junky and his friends. Growling a bit under her breath, she stood up and spoke loudly, saying, "This can't keep going on! That dragon has no right to bully everyone like that! He has to be stopped!" Just then, she winced a little from her recent injury and sat back down with her hand on the bruised spot.
"Hey, take it easy there, Mana..." Sparkman told her. "You're still not fully recovered yet. Just rest and relax. And don't worry: We'll find a way to put a stop to that trash-covered dragon before we're done here."
Junky then walked over to Mana and handed her something. "H-here, take this ice pack. It might help that bruise."
"Oh, thanks..." the girl replied taking to item. She then looked at the words that were on it: It read, "Trishula Ice Patches: Banish the Pain Away!" Mana giggled a little and placed the pack on the sore spot on her head. She hoped she could recover quickly; she wanted to help Junky and his friends and get back on the road as soon as possible.
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"Ladies and Gentlemen!!" announced Megan Williams, who was the MC of the tournament currently being held in CHS's stadium. "We have now reached the final Duel of the first round! And by process of elimination, we have our two super-tough competitors ready and raring to throw down!" Gesturing her right hand off to one side, she continued, "First, to my right: We have one of the youngest Duelists participating in this tournament! So give it up for your fellow CHS classmate, Sweetie Belle!!"
Everyone cheered for the young girl, especially her older sister Rarity, as well as her friends Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Babs Seed. Sweetie waved to her supporters a bit sheepishly; she seemed a tad bit nervous about the upcoming match.
"And over to my left is Sweetie's opponent!" Megan then declared. "The mysterious owner of Canterlot City's local curio shop and expert on all things ancient...! Give a round of applause to...Zecora!!" The audience cheered for the zebra-striped woman as well. Zecora, still garbed in her tribal-style outfit.
"So now it's Sweetie verses Zecora, huh?" said Spike.
"Yep..." Sunset responded. "Up until this tournament started, I never even knew that Zecora was a Duelist. I wonder how strong she is...? She must have some good skills if she managed to get through the preliminary round, of course."
"I just hope Sweetie Belle won't be too nervous about the whole thing." Twilight chimed in. "After all, this will be her first major Duel in an official tournament."
"She's got nothin' to worry about, Twilight!" Spike told her. "She's just gotta stay cool and calm, and she'll be just fine!"
"Cool and calm, huh?" the purple-skinned girl asked with a slight smirk. "About as cool and calm as you were during the Equestria Games?"
"Hey, I got over that issue, didn't I?" the puppy said with a slight pout, even though he knew Twilight was just playfully teasing him and not being mean.
(...Oh boy... Oh geez...) thought Sweetie Belle as she nervously looked around at all of the fans in the seating area. (I-I didn't know there would be so many p-people here... I-I don't know if I can really do this...) Just then, she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder from behind, which made her shriek. "YEEEEEK!!!" But she calmed down a little when she saw who it was behind her. "Oh, it's you, Zecora... Sorry about that little scram... I guess I'm still a little on edge, dueling in front of such a big audience..."
The zebra-striped woman simply chuckled and said to her, "You have nothing to fear from the crowds, Sweetie Belle. Just relax and stay calm, and I know you'll do well."
"You...you really think so?"
Zecora nodded. "I know so. So let's go!"
Feeling at least a little bit better, the young girl smiled and said, "Okay, I'll try my best. But once we get this Duel started, you might wish that you hadn't given me that advice..." The tribal-dressed woman chuckled warmly again as the two of them made their way to their respective spots on the Dueling Field.
"So...Zecora's a Duelist too, huh?" said Rainbow Dash, who was munching on a small bag of tortilla chips. "Never would've thought she'd be into Duel Monsters too."
"Dashie, this is a Yu-Gi-Oh! story." Pinkie told her. "Each character in it is a Duelist nine times out of ten." Of course, no one had any clue what she was talking about.
"I'm certainly quite interested to see just what skills Zecora possesses as a Duelist..." Rarity spoke up. "To make it this far, she must have considerable talent."
"Personally, Ah'm just curious if Zecora can keep up with all'o that rhymin' she does while she's duelin'." Applejack chimed in.
"Yeah," Pinkie responded, "that's gonna be quiiiiite a challenge for the author of this series."
Yeah, tell me about it Pink-... Er, I mean... Once both Sweetie Belle and Zecora got into their proper positions on the field, the Duel was ready to begin. "This is it, ladies and gentlemen!" announced Megan. "This Duel will end the first round and determine who will continue on to the Quarterfinals!"
Sunset Shimmer stepped out onto the field and asked both the competitors, "Are both Duelists ready?"
"Ready!" said Sweetie Belle, doing her best to stay confident in herself in front of the crowd. Zecora simply nodded to say that she was ready as well.
"In that case," Sunset then said, "begin the Duel!!" And with that announcement, the game had started (Sweetie Belle: LP 4,000) (Zecora: LP 4,000).
"I'll make the first move!" Sweetie said as she looked over her hand and taking a card from out of it. "And I'll begin with my Field Spell Card, Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins!" After playing the card, the entire arena transformed into a Greco-Roman style arena with a rainbow forming overhead.
"She opened the Duel with her Field Card this time around..." noted Rarity, recalling the last time she had seen her sister Duel.
Taking another card from her hand, Sweetie Belle then declared, "Next, I'll Summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus in Attack Mode!" In an instant, her winged equine monster appeared on the field in all its glory (Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus: Level 4 / ATK 1800 / DEF 1200).
"Good move, opening with Sapphire Pegasus." Sunset said to herself.
"But uh...since it has a horn, doesn't that make it an Alicorn instead?" asked Spike.
"Maybe that term doesn't exist in this world or something." Twilight guessed.
Continuing with her move, Sweetie Belle then said, "Now I'll use Sapphire Pegasus's effect! After he's Summoned, I can put Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle from my Deck in my back row as a Continuous Spell Card!" After saying that, a large, red jewel then appeared on the field behind her monster. "The last thing I'll do is set a card face-down. It's your move."
(Not a bad opening move.) thought Sunset. (Playing her Field Spell and then using Sapphire Pegasus's effect to put another Crystal Beast in her back row... Because of that, her Field Spell is now safe from being destroyed. Now we'll see if Zecora can come up with a counter-strategy...)
Drawing her card for the turn, the tribal-dressed woman said to Sweetie Belle, "Even from your first move, you are dueling quite hard. But now we'll see if you can best MY first card!" Taking a card from her hand, she then added, "My first move will cause quite a sensation, for I shall activate Witchcrafter Creation!"
"What's that?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Witchcrafter Creation." Rarity answered. "It's the key searching card in a Witchcrafter Deck. With it, Zecora can move any Witchcrafter monster from her Deck to her hand."
"Sounds good t' me, but Ah've never heard of Witchcrafters before." Applejack spoke up. "What kinda strategy do they use?"
"Their effects mostly revolve around their archetypical Spell Cards," the violet-haired girl explained to them, "using them as fuel for greater overall effects. And their Spells can also be retrieved from the Graveyard during the player's End Phase, but only if their other effect had not been activated in the same turn."
"Yeeeeeeesh... Sounds pretty tricky to me..." stated Pinkie Pie.
"I know... I only know the gist of their playing style at best." Rarity told her. "I just pray that my sister can overcome such a complicated Deck on her own..." The others hoped that Sweetie Belle would be able to pull through as well.
Zecora used her card's effect to add Witchcrafter Genni to her hand before saying, "Now that Spell's effect is out of the way, here comes the first of the monsters I'll play! Now watch and see: I Summon Witchcrafter Pittore!" The zebra-striped woman's first monster was of a pale-pink haired girl with an oversized ponytail (on which the end of it resembled a paintbrush, based on the fact that it looked like it was dipped in orange paint). she had emerald-green eyes, a pea-green, apron-like outfit, and carried a curved staff that also resembled a paintbrush (Witchcrafter Pittore: Level 3 / ATK 1000 / DEF 1500).
"But don't be too attached to the beauty of my Witchcrafter," Zecora started again, "for I now Tribute her for what I'm REALLY after!" And with that, her monster immediately vanished from the field as quickly as it appeared.
"Huh? Why'd she do that??" asked Spike.
"Because Witchcrafter Pittore has a special effect." Sunset replied. "By releasing it, and then discarding a Spell from her hand, Zecora is now free to Summon any other Witchcrafter monster she wants from her Deck."
"A-any monster?!" the dragon-turned-puppy exclaimed. "But that means she can bring out a really powerful one like it was nothing!"
After paying the necessary cost, the zebra-striped woman then took a card from her Deck and played it immediately. "Monsters that are a match for it, there are quite few..." she spoke in rhyme. "Now prepare to face the power of Witchcrafter Golem Aruru!!" Her next, more powerful monster to take the field looked like a female human in appearance, but it also seemed to have been created by someone (or perhaps several someones). It had a witch-like appearance, complete with light purple hat, and a cloak that was similar in color with bits of white in some places. In its hands were a pair of wand-like items in its left hand and a mallet-like weapon in her right, along with a large pair of scissors attached to her hip (Witchcrafter Golem Aruru: Level 8 / ATK 2800 / DEF 0).
"You've gotta be kidding me!!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "It's only the second turn and she's already brought out a Level 8 monster?!?"
"Dat's nuts!" said Babs Seed, sitting with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in the audience. "Dis Zecora chick's not messin' around if she's already bustin' out a card that tough."
"Yeah, well Sweetie Belle can beat it!" said a high-spirited Scootaloo. "I know she can!"
"Yeah, same here!" Apple Bloom chimed in.
Everyone else watched as Zecora continued her move saying, "Now that I'm on a roll, I shall play Witchcrafter Scroll." Her card then appeared on the field after she inserted it into her D-Pad.
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Witchcrafter Scroll:
(Continuous Spell Card)
Once per turn, when your Spellcaster monster destroys a monster by battle: You can draw 1 card. You can only use 1 of the following effects of "Witchcrafter Scroll" per turn, and only once that turn.
* If a "Witchcrafter" monster you control would discard to activate an effect, you can send this card from your field to the GY instead.
* During your End Phase, if you control a "Witchcrafter" monster, while this card is in your GY: You can place this card face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone.
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"I play to win, and that is a fact," the zebra-striped woman said to her opponent, "So prepare yourself as I unleash my attack!" She then directed her powerful monster to attack Sweetie Belle's Sapphire Pegasus. Golem Aruru's mallet began to glow as it struck the horse-like creature and eliminated it.
"Urrrgh...!" Sweetie grunted after taking the attack (Sweetie Belle: LP 4,000 - 1,000 = 3,000). "I use Sapphire Pegasus's effect! When he's destroyed, I place him in my back row as a Spell Card!" she then said as a large, blue jewel appeared in front of her.
"I see... I can tell you will not be easy to fell." said Zecora. "But now I can draw a new card, thanks to my Scroll Spell."
"But before you do that, I'll play my Trap Card, Crystal Conclave!" said the younger girl. "This Trap Card activates whenever one of my Crystal Beasts is destroyed! Now I get to Summon a new one straight from my Deck! And I'll pick my Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth!" Her next monster was a large, slate-blue mammoth with an orange jewel on its forehead and two sets of long tusks (Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth: Level 4 / ATK 1700 / DEF 1600).
Zecora then drew a card from her Deck with her Continuous Spell's effect and said, "I'll Set two cards and proceed to my End Phase. But my turn isn't done; I still have a few plays."
"What kind of plays?" asked Sweetie.
"When I used Pittore's effect, I disposed of a Spell Card." the tribal-dressed woman explained. "But now I can get it back, and it's not even that hard." She then took out a Spell Card from her Graveyard and showed it to everyone before placing it in her hand.
"Huh? Can she really do that, Sunset?" asked Sweetie.
"Yeah, she can." said the red-and-yellow teen. "The card she returned to her hand was Witchcrafter Collaboration. She discarded it for Pittore's cost earlier in her turn, so its effect allows her to retrieve it during the End Phase, since she didn't use its other effect."
"Great... More to worry about..." Rarity's younger sister grumbled to herself. At the moment, it seemed that Sweetie Belle's first experience at a major tournament would be short lived. But the girl wasn't ready to give up yet. And speaking of girls not ready to give up...
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Back in the Duel Spirit World, in a cavern underneath a massive junkyard, Mana had just about fully recovered from her earlier injury and was pretty much back to her old self. She was busy sipping from a glass of ice-cold water, still taking it easy at the request of her friend Sparkman, as well as the two junkyard residents that nursed her back to health: Junky and Speedy. She set the glass down on a makeshift table next to her, which was also where her hat was sitting.
Sighing a little, she said to herself, "I'm glad that Sparkman and those other two guys helped me out... If it weren't for them, I don't know what would have happened with me and that huge dragon... I let my guard down for a only a second, and that's all it took for me get hit on the head." Sighing sadly again, she then added, "Am I really the right person for this job...? How can I find this Torunka guy if I can't even avoid getting attacked by that...that thing? Did my master make a mistake sending me to do this...?"
But as soon as she said that, she shook her head and shouted, "No! That's not right! Master Mahad would never send me to do this if he didn't think I could! So what if I had a minor setback? I'm not gonna let some trashy dragon keep me from carrying out my master's wishes!"
"Good to hear..." said Sparkman's voice from the neighboring room. "I was afraid at first that this little mishap might've hurt your confidence, but I can see that's not the case."
"Oh, Sparkman..." said Mana after noticing him walking into the room she was in. "I guess Junky finished things up with your Spark Blaster."
"Yep, he recharged it back to full power." he replied, showing her the weapon. "The little guy's got quite a big brain on him."
Chuckling a little the magician girl then asked him, "I guess you were listening to me talking to myself, huh?"
"Pretty much." Sparkman answered, putting his blaster away for the moment. Sitting down next to her, he then told her, "You still want to carry out this mission of yours, right?"
"I do."
"And you still wanna help these guys get their home back from that dragon creature, right?"
"Of course!" Mana exclaimed. "I don't know how, though... That thing's enormously powerful. But I don't want to leave them here to fend for themselves. I just hope I don't completely fail the second time we go up against that thing..."
"Fail? What're you talking about, Mana?" the superhero asked her. "So you got conked on the head a little. That doesn't mean you lost for good."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that now that you've seen that dragon and how it attacks," he explained to her, "you know what he's capable of and how strong he is. Which means that now we can come up with a strategy to fight it instead of going in totally blind. After all, if you're able to get yourself back in the fight, then never really failed to begin with, you see what I'm saying?"
Mana thought about what he said for a little while and realized that he had a good point. "You're right, Sparkman." she told him. "Instead of getting bummed out about the whole thing, I should be using what I learned so that I can succeed the next time. My master would've probably told me the same thing."
"Now that's more like it!" the superhero replied. "Now let's go and meet up with Junky and Speedy so that we can come up with a plan, what do you say?" Mana nodded yes, stood up from her bed, and followed Sparkman into the adjacent room.
In that room, Junky was tinkering with a device that he had laid out on a desk in front of him: It was the engine that he had been carrying around. Speedy stood next to him, helping out however and whenever he could. After finishing with the tool he was using, Junky turned to his friend and said, "Okay...now I need my spanner wrench. Could you get that for me." Speedy nodded yes and handed him the tool in question.
Mana and Sparkman walked in just as Junky started working on the engine again. Noticing that he was busy, the girl then asked, "Oh...i-is that is a bad time, Junky?"
"N-no, it's okay. You two can come in if y-you want." he told them as he used his spanner to tighten a nut on the device he was working on. "I-I'm just trying to see if I can get this engine working."
Curious, Sparkman looked over Junky's shoulder and got a better look at the engine that he was talking about. "Hmmm... I recognize some of these parts... Aren't they from a DFMR-Class Morphtronic Engine?"
"Y-yes they are." the short mechanic confirmed. "I-I must say, it's quite impressive that you managed to recognize it from just a glance."
"Part of being a superhero is knowing all your tools...and other tools while you're at it." the blue-clad man told him.
Continuing his work, Junky then said to his guests, "I found these parts some time after Speedy and I came here. I-I've been trying to modify the engine to make it more powerful..." After working with the wrench he was using, he put it down and took a step back to get a better look at his device. "Hmmm...i-it looks good so far, and the new parts I've added seem to be synching well with engine... I-I just wish I had a chance to test the new modifications..."
"What are you hoping to do with it?" asked Mana, interested in the machine.
"Well, i-if I can get it working," Junky answered her, "this could produce a-a lot of power: Power that might even be able to help us stand a chance against that dragon. U-unfortunately, I haven't gotten it to work yet...and I've been working on it almost since the day w-we came here..." Sighing, he then added, "I'm beginning to wonder if it's all just a waste of time..."
"What are you talking about?" the magician girl then asked. "Of course it's not a waste of time! Don't go giving up just because you haven't succeeded yet! I'm positive you can get this working just fine!"
"H-how do you know?" asked the pint-sized mechanic.
"Well, um... There's nothing to it, really..." Mana then said to him. "I just have faith in you that's all."
"I don't see how you can be so confident..." Junky responded, still not too sure about it all. "I haven't gotten it to work at all during the first few test runs..."
"Maybe so..." the girl told him, "but it's like what Sparkman was just talking to me about earlier concerning that dragon outside: Just because you haven't gotten it to work yet doesn't mean you'll never be able to. You shouldn't look at those first tests as failures; think of them more as stepping stones to your eventual success. After seeing how things DIDN'T work out, you can use that knowledge and fix it so that it WON'T go wrong the next time."
"Yeah, it's all just a matter of trial and error, y'know?" Sparkman added. "Just keep at it, and sooner or later, you'll figure it out."
"Hmmmm... I guess that makes sense." Junky admitted. "You both r-really think I could do it?"
"We know you can!" Mana said in an uplifting tone. "And while you're working on that, we can also work on a plan to fight Scrap Dragon!"
"Huh? 'Scrap Dragon'?" asked Junky.
"Well, we have to call it by something other than 'that dragon' all the time, right?" she responded. "Now come on! If we all put our heads together, we might be able to come with something!"
Looking over at his still-unfinished engine, then at his guests, and then over to his friend Speedy, who was nodding yes to assure him that everything would work out, Junky regained his confidence and said, "Yes...I-I think that's very much possible. If we work together and synchronize our efforts, w-we can most certainly overcome that dragon!"
"Now that's more like it!" said Sparkman. "So what're we waiting for? Let's give that Scrap Dragon more than he can handle!" And with that declaration, the four of them began work on their plan to hopefully defeat Scrap Dragon. All the while, the three other residents of the underground home were fast asleep in a nearby corner, though the pink bird lifted its head up, overhearing the conversation...
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Back at the stadium, Sweetie Belle was sweating a little staring down Zecora's powerful Witchcrafter monster during their Duel in the Qualifier Tournament. (Oh geez... What am I gonna do...?) she thought to herself, not sure what her next move was going to be.
"Jus' stay calm, Sweetie Belle!" shouted Babs Seed in the audience. "Yous haven't lost this game yet!"
Sweetie was still a bit nervous, but knew that Babs was right. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she slowly reached for her Deck and said, "I-it's my turn! I draw!"
But soon after she drew her card, Zecora then declared, "But after your draw, I'm afraid I must interrupt; for now I flip my face-down card face-up!" And after she said that, her Set card on the field did just that.
Reading the name of the card, Sweetie then asked, "Witchcrafter Masterpiece? What does that do?"
"After I activate it, I choose one Spell in the Graveyard." the tribal-dressed woman explained in rhyme. "And then from my Deck, I can add a similar-named card!" Looking through her own Graveyard pile, she then said, "I think I shall choose another Witchcrafter Creation: So that way, on my next turn, I can choose to play it again."
(Great... Now she can search her Deck for another Witchcrafter card...) thought Sweetie Belle.
After taking her card, Zecora then said to her opponent, "Do not yet frown, Sweetie; you are in good luck. For my Golem Aruru can no longer run amok." Before Rarity's sister could ask her what that meant, she and everyone else saw the mysterious woman's powerful monster vanish from the field completely.
"Huh?? It's gone??" asked Sweetie Belle. "What happened?"
"Uhhhh... how did that happen?" asked Spike, confused by what just occurred.
"Golem Aruru's effect only allows her to stay on the field until the opponent's next turn." explained Sunset. "After that, she returns to the player's hand."
"Well that's good." Twilight noted. "Now Sweetie has a chance to strike back and regain control of the Duel!"
"It does seem that way..." Sunset responded, though she had a feeling that Zecora wasn't as defenseless as she was making herself seem.
Sweetie Belle overheard what Sunset had said about Golem Aruru and breathed a sigh of relief. (Thank goodness...) she said to herself. (I didn't have anything in my hand to fight it with... Now I just have to end this Duel before she can use it again!) Looking over her hand, she took a card from it and said, "First, I'll Summon Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise in Attack Mode!" Her new monster was a large, bluish-green tortoise with a dark blue shell with several green crystals jutting out from the back (Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise: Level 3 / ATK 600 / DEF 2000).
"Next," she continued, "I'll play my Rare Value Spell Card. Now you have to pick one of the Crystal Beasts in my back row and send it to the Graveyard. After that, I draw two more cards. So which one do you choose?"
"Hmmmm..." Zecora pondered, thinking of which card to choose. "Between Carbuncle and Pegasus, if I had to take a pick... I'll remove Carbuncle to stop its Special Summoning trick."
Sweetie Belle then sent Ruby Carbuncle to her Graveyard and drew two more cards from her Deck. Taking one of the cards she drew, she played and said, "Now I activate Crystal Blessing! This card lets me take Ruby Carbuncle from my Graveyard and return it to the field as a Continuous Spell!" She then put back the monster that Zecora had previously disposed of before playing her next card. "And now that I have two Crystal Beasts in my back row again, I can now play Crystal Beacon! This lets me Summon another Crystal Beast monster straight from my Deck! And I'll choose another Sapphire Pegasus!" And with that, a second winged horse appeared on Sweetie's field.
"Alright!" cheered Rarity. "Now she can search her Deck for another Crystal Beast!"
But before Sweetie had the chance to resolve her new monster's effect, Zecora suddenly told her, "I do apologize; it's not personal, I vow... But your Pegasus's effect is something I cannot allow!" She then sent a card from her hand to her Graveyard at that moment.
Sweetie Belle was confused as to what her opponent was doing now, but her mind was quickly taken off of that thought when she saw a white light radiating from her monster, causing it to whinny in distress. "Huh?! What's going on??" she asked.
"By sending my Effect Veiler from the hand to the Graveyard," the zebra-striped woman explained, "I can negate the effects of any Effect Monster card!" Sweetie gasped upon hearing that.
"That's not good for Sweetie Belle..." Sunset said to herself. "Now she can't get Sapphire Pegasus's search effect."
Rarity also seemed a bit dismayed by her sister's move getting stopped so easily. "Oh dear...that's quite distressing..." she said to herself.
"Don't you fret none, Rare." Applejack told her. "Your sis still has the upper hand in this Duel. She can still attack Zecora this turn n' do a ton'a damage to her."
"Yeah, it'll be just fine, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash chimed in. "Your sister's got this one in the bag!"
(Oh, I do hope so...) thought the fashionista, still a bit worried about Sweetie Belle.
As for her sister, she groaned a little at that fact that Zecora managed to stop her Sapphire Pegasus from using its effect. But she took another deep breath and told herself, (Okay, Sweetie Belle... Just calm down. This was only a minor setback. Besides, with the monsters I have right now, I can still win this Duel if I have them all attack Zecora at once! You can do it!) With renewed vigor, she then shouted, "Attack, Sapphire Pegasus!! Hit her Life Points directly!" Her horse-like monster neighed loudly as it galloped towards her opponent.
"Sorry, Sweetie..." Zecora began to say, "but I must protect me. So I activate the Trap Card, Changing Destiny!" After her card flipped face-up, A pair of doors appeared in front of Sweetie Belle; one red and one blue.
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Changing Destiny:
(Normal Trap Card)
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Target the attacking monster; negate the attack, and if you do, change it to Defense Position and it cannot change its battle position while it is face-up on the field. Then, your opponent chooses 1 of these effects.
* You (the opponent of this card's activator) gain LP equal to half the target's ATK.
* Your opponent (the activator of this card) takes damage equal to half the target's ATK.
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"Now what's going on...?" asked Spike. "What are those creepy doors all about?"
"Well, after Changing Destiny stops Sweetie Belle's attack," Sunset explained, "she now has to make a choice: She can either gain Life Points equal to half of Sapphire Pegasus's attack, or she can burn Zecora for damage equal to the same amount."
"I wonder what she's gonna pick..." thought the dragon-turned-dog.
"Guess we'll see..." said Twilight.
Zecora smiled a little and then asked her opponent, "Now Sweetie Belle, which choice shall you make? Restore yourself, or will my points you take?"
(No matter what I choose, she'll get to stick around for another turn...) thought Sweetie. (So I think my best bet should be to make sure I'm ready for whatever she might do next.) Pointing to the blue door, she made her decision, saying, "I'll choose to restore my Life Points!" (Sweetie Belle: LP 3,000 + 900 = 3,900)
(Smart move...) thought Sunset, knowing Sweetie made the right call on that decision.
Sweetie Belle wasn't happy that she couldn't finish Zecora off this turn, but she wasn't giving up yet. "Alright, Amber Mammoth and Emerald Tortoise! You guys attack her instead!" The two beasts obeyed and attacked the tribal-dressed woman together, with Amber Mammoth attacking with a charge, and Emerald Tortoise firing off shards of the crystal on its back.
"Urrrrgh!!" grunted Zecora as she weathered the two attacks, first from the mammoth (Zecora: LP 4,000 - 1,700 = 2,300), and then from the tortoise (Zecora: 2,300 - 600 = 1,700). Making a quick recovery, she then asked, "Sweetie Belle, If I may inquire you, is there anything else you plan to do?"
"I guess the only other thing that I'll do is use the effect of Emerald Tortoise and switch my Amber Mammoth to Defense Mode." the young girl answered her. "And I'll end my turn with that."
"Aw man..." said Flash Sentry. "If it weren't for that Trap Card, Sweetie would've won the Duel right there."
"Yeah...now Zecora's got a chance to turn the Duel around." Applejack commented. Rarity stayed silent, hoping that whatever happened next would not be something too difficult for Sweetie to overcome.
"Yep, and if this story's like any other Yu-Gi-Oh! story I've seen," Pinkie Pie chimed in, "she's probably gonna draw some super-strong card right on her next turn just to keep us in suspense."
Confused, Flash then asked Rainbow Dash, "Do...you have any idea what she's talking about?"
"Look, with Pinkie sometimes the best you can do is just smile and nod." the cyan-skinned girl told him.
Zecora then slowly drew the top card of her Deck and looked at it. "Well," she began to say, "this Duel is about to become more interesting... Now watch carefully as I - as you people put it, 'do my thing'!" She then immediately played her newly-drawn card, which appeared as a hologram on the field.
"Aw no... Pot of Desires..." Sweetie groaned, knowing that Zecora was about to draw even more cards from her Deck.
"Now Zecora gets to draw two more cards after banishing ten from the top of her Deck." Sunset explained.
"I kinda got that after the last few times that card's been played..." Spike pointed out. "Do we always have to keep explaining what it does every time someone plays it?"
"Pretty much." the red-and-yellow teen answered him. "Don't even get me started on how times people have had to explain what Pot of Greed did."
After drawing her new cards, the zebra-striped woman then said, "And now I shall Summon Witchcrafter Genni to the field; the book she carries is the only weapon she'll wield." She then played her next monster, which was a blonde-haired human woman with glasses overtop a pair of emerald-green eyes. Her outfit was mostly green as well, with some beige towards the chest area. In her hands was a long, dark green staff with a triangle-shaped symbol and long, green crystals on the top (Witchcrafter Genni: Level 1 / ATK 300 / DEF 500).
(Now what's she up to...?) thought Twilight.
Discarding her Witchcrafter Collaboration Spell Card, Zecora continued her turn, saying, "Now, just as I did with Pittore before, I shall release Genni and gain something more." After that, the monster that she had Summoned vanished from the field without a trace.
"What does she mean by that?" asked Scootaloo.
"Witchcrafter Genni has the same effect that her Pittore did:" Babs Seed explained to her. "By releasin' her and discardin' a Spell from her hand, Zecora can Summon any othah Witchcrafter monster from outta her Deck."
"Aw no... Not again...!" said Apple Bloom, knowing that her friend's opponent was about to Summon another powerful monster from her Deck.
Sweetie Belle could only watch as a large ray of light burst from out of the spot that Genni had been standing. Then, once the light faded away, a small, young girl appeared before her. She had shimmering pale skin, long, light-blue hair with some pink streaks running down in some places, and wore a cute, white dress with lots of frills and a pink bow-like fastener on the front. Draped over her both of her arms was a long, ice-blue cloth that seemed to serve as little more than a decorative purpose, and in her right hand was a long staff with a blue glass ball on the top of it. She wore a pair of long, clearish-white stocking, as well as a pair of small, light-blue shoes on her feet.
"To properly lead the Witchcrafters, she takes great care..." Zecora began to say, "So allow me to introduce...Witchcrafter Madame Verre!"
"She's the leader of the Witchcrafters??" asked Sweetie Belle, concerned because being the leader usually meant that they were the most powerful of the group. Zecora's new monster simply folded her arms in front of her and gave a slightly smug facial expression, as if to say, "You'd better believe I am!" (Witchcrafter Madame Verre: Level 8 / ATK 1000 / DEF 2800)
"Hmmm...that's odd..." hummed Rarity, rubbing her chin in deep thought.
"What's up, Rare?" asked Applejack.
"That Madame Verre monster..." the fashionista began to answer, "her defense points are higher than her attack points, but Zecora played her in Attack Position..."
"Aw cool! She must've put it on the D-Pad wrong, then!" Rainbow commented.
"I don't think that's what she meant when she said that..." Flash chimed in. "I'll bet that new monster has some sort of special effect that works when she's in Attack Mode; otherwise, she wouldn't have done that..." The group in the audience watched on, wondering what was going to happen next. Not one of them was sure what Zecora's new card was capable of; right now, all Sweetie Belle cared about was if it was something that she could overcome...
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Back in Spirit World's massive factory and junkyard, Mana and Sparkman were as ready as they could be to face off against the menacing trash-built dragon monster that ruled over the scrapyard with an iron fist (and iron wings, an iron head; probably iron everything). Joining with them were residents of the scrapyard Junky and Speedy, the former of which was carrying the engine that he had been working on for several months. He brought it with him after making a few adjustments, hoping that it might be able to help in some way.
"So..." said Sparkman to Mana, "you ready to face this thing again?"
"I sure hope so..." the magician girl replied, carrying a large book in her hands with thick, leather covers and a keyhole on the front. "I'm still not sure how or even if we can defeat that thing, but at least we know what it's capable of going in... Hopefully that can give us an advantage."
"Let's hope so..." the superhero responded. He then turned over to Junky and Speedy and said to them. "In the meantime, I want you guys to find a safe vantage point and keep an eye on things for us. The communicators I gave to you and Mana will let you keep in touch with us, so keep watch and warn us if that dragon tries anything sneaky."
"G-got it, Mr. Sparkman!" Junky replied with a salute. "Let's go, Speedy!" His companion nodded, grabbed Junky's hand and sped off to find a safe place for them.
"You sure they'll be okay?" Mana asked Sparkman.
"I'm pretty sure they will." he answered her. "If that dragon appears, it will likely come after us - since we're the bigger threat, and ignore those two in favor of us."
"That's good... At least they'll be safe then." Mana replied. "That just leaves the dragon to us... So where is it?" The pair looked around, but there was no sign of the massive dragon anywhere. But they all knew it was somewhere nearby, and it would appear in due time...
A bit further away, on a large pile of junk and scrap, Junky and Speedy were able to build a makeshift guard post (it was pretty easy to do, between Junky's architectural knowledge and Speedy's...speed). From there, they could keep an close but careful eye on the upcoming battle against the menacing monster of scrap that was sure to show up soon. Junky would watch over the battle with his binoculars, and with the communicators that he and his buddy had gotten from Sparkman, they could relay valuable information to both him and Mana (or really, Junky would since Speedy was a mute).
"I-I-I sure hope this goes well..." said Junky, still not too confident about the whole plan. "At this point, just surviving the fight would be an accomplishment..." Turning over to his friend, he then added, "I-if only I were stronger, I could help them... Not that I'm really in a rush to p-put myself in danger like that..."
Speedy said nothing in response (naturally). He then glanced over at the engine that Junky had strapped onto his back and tapped it a few times with his hand.
"Yes... that engine seems like it could be a big help..." Junky told him, "At least...you and our guests thought so... I-I'm still not exactly sure what its true function is, much less how to get it running... Anyway, that's not important right now: Right now, we have to do our part and help both Ms. Mana and Mr. Sparkman s-so they can fight the Scrap Dragon."
And, as if on cue, a roar could be heard from far away, which got the attention of not only Junky and Speedy, but also Mana and Sparkman. "Wh-what was that?!" asked the magician girl.
"Trouble, I'd wager..." Sparkman answered her. "It's just a hunch, but I think our 'guest of dishonor' is heading our way right now..." Once again, they both heard a second roar from nearby; it was louder this time, suggesting that the owner of that voice was getting closer.
"But...but from where??" Mana asked, looking around nervously. "That cry could have come from anywhere!"
Tapping his helmet, Sparkman spoke into the communicator built into it, asking, "Junky, Sparky... You guys hear that roar?"
"Y-yeah, we heard it alright...!" said Junky's voice.
"Well, can you tell us where it's comin' from?" the superhero then asked him. "We don't want this thing ambushing us!"
Junky took a few seconds to look through his binoculars, hoping to catch sight of the vicious creature that was terrorizing the junkyard. It didn't take long for him to spot something huge off in the distance. Though it was too far away to tell what it was, the size of the thing he saw led him to believe that it was the Scrap Dragon. Figuring this, Junky then said through the comm link, "I think I see something coming towards you at 10 o'clock from your current position. I-I believe that it may be the dragon, but I'm not completely sure yet."
Mana, who had also been given a communicator from Sparkman, said to Junky, "In that case, we'll make sure we're ready for it, whatever it is!" After she said that, she then opened the book that she had with her, which contained pages filled with a seemingly indecipherable writing. "Now let's see here... I'll start with the Magicians' Defense spell; that ought to protect us, at least for a little while."
"You think it'll be strong enough?" asked Sparkman.
"It should be; I've been working on it for quite a while with my friend Apple back home." Mana told him. "Before, I needed her help to get the magic to work, but now I can do it just as well by myself."
"Well, let's hope so..." the superhero responded, "because I can see that dragon coming this way!" He then pointed ahead, confirming that Junky was right about what he had seen earlier.
The magician girl glanced in the direction Sparkman was pointing in and saw the massive dragon made of scrap flying towards them. Just like before, it didn't take long for it to know that there were intruders in the junkyard, and it was ready to incinerate them. However, Mana and Sparkman were determined to make sure that they would win their battle against it this time.
The Scrap Dragon then opened its maw, charging up an intense flame. "It's l-launching an attack!!" Junky warned his new friends. "H-hurry and do something, quick!!"
"On it!" said Mana as she raised her staff and began chanting in an unknown language, reciting the words from the magic tome that she had with her. Then, just as Scrap Dragon launched its fire attack, Mana's staff glowed a bright blue and created a barrier made up of pure magical energy which absorbed the attack. The massive dragon continued its attack, hoping to breach the newly-formed shield.
Junky, watching from far away, nervously said, "I-I hope that shield holds up long enough..." His friend Speedy, in the meantime, was observing the engine that the little orange man had brought with him.
With Mana holding up the barrier, Sparkman charged up electricity in his hands and said, "Alright, let's just see how tough this guy REALLY is! Static Shockwave!!" He then thrusted his hands out, firing a powerful bolt of electricity at the Scrap Dragon, scoring a direct hit.
"Yes! You got him!" cheered the magician girl. But her hopes were dashed when she saw that the attack did little more than leave a small scorched spot on the dragon's metal body. "What?! That's all it did??" she asked in despair.
"Well, I wanted to know how tough it was," said Sparkman, rubbing the back of his head, "and I got my answer: He's REALLY tough."
"Not the best time to make jokes, Sparkman..." Mana told him. At that moment, the dragon fired another stream of flames at Mana's barrier, finally doing enough damage to dispel it. "And great: That thing finally got rid of my defense spell...!"
"So what do we do now?"
Paging through her spellbook, Mana then said to her companion, "Well, fortunately, THIS magician has another trick or two up her sleeves...even though this costume doesn't have any sleeves."
As the girl looked for a spell that would help them out, Sparkman saw that the dragon was preparing another attack, gathering a massive flame in its mouth. "Uhhh...you think you could try coming up with one of those tricks real fast? 'Cause this guy's not giving us a whole lot of time...!"
"Ah! Maybe this one!" said Mana pointing to her book. She then swiftly raised her staff and began chanting again, just as the Scrap Dragon fired another shot at them. But just before the attack landed, a large top hat with a question mark on it concealed both Mana and Sparkman. The flames still ended up striking the hat, burning it to cinders, but when the smoke cleared, there was no trace of Mana or Sparkman anywhere where the hat was. Not only that, there were three more top hats just like the first one in front of the dragon. The creature stopped its assault for a moment, confused and trying to piece together what had just happened.
Unbeknownst to him, Mana and Sparkman were NOT in the hat that Scrap Dragon had just incinerated; the magician girl's spell manifested the large top hats, one of which they were hiding under while the other three were mere decoys. "Man, that was a pretty slick move you pulled there." Sparkman complimented.
"Thanks." Mana responded. "It's one of my favorites. Now I have some time before he attacks again to prepare a counterattack."
"But how?" asked the superhero. "It's pretty clear that neither one of us is strong enough to fight that thing directly..."
"...Which is why we're not going to try to." the girl said, paging through her book again. "I have an idea of how we might be able to beat that thing; I just hope it goes better than the last time I tried it..."
"Well, you'd better work fast, Mana..." Sparkman told her, "'cause I think that dragon might've found where we were." Sure enough, the two could see that the Scrap Dragon was preparing to attack the hat that they were hiding under; Mana's spell allowed them to see through the top hat like a one-way mirror. The magic-user got the message and quickly looked up the spell she was trying to find.
From far away, Junky and Speedy were still observing the battle from a safe distance. Neither of them were sure what was happening; all they could do was hope that whatever Mana and Sparkman had planned, it would work and allow them to escape the battle in one piece. Junky continued to watch through his binoculars while Speedy continued to look over the unfinished engine that they had brought along.
After gathering up enough fire in its mouth, Scrap Dragon then unleashed its attack, aiming right for the hat that Mana and Sparkman were hiding under. It then let out a mighty roar as it fired its flames towards the hat, evaporating it in seconds. It seemed that the beast had finally wiped out the two of them for good...
But at that moment, a bright light shot out of the smoke that had billowed out from the fire attack, striking the creature. Bolts of electricity covered the dragon from its head, to its wings, and to its feet, causing it to drop down onto the ground below. Then, all of a sudden, a large circle of light surrounded the creature and latched onto it. The circle consisted of a ring adorned with strange, indecipherable writing and a six-pointed star crisscrossing along the inside of the ring. The moment the circle appeared the creature seemed to be unable to move even the slightest, as if the circle was holding it in place. Not only that, the fire stream that the dragon launched was still there, seemingly drawn towards a certain point...
"Hm? Wh-what's happening now??" asked Junky, unsure of what had just happened.
Once the smoke had finally cleared, it revealed that - although the dragon had managed to strike the hat that Mana and Sparkman were hiding under, neither one of them had suffered even a slight singe. Instead, the fire attack was currently being sucked up into a cannon-like object that was colored pink with a speckled design, had gold rims lining each end of it, a stripe with a diamond pattern lining it just under the rims, along with a series of question marks in-between those stripes. Right beside the cannon that was sucking up the attack was a similar-looking cannon with the exact same décor on it. In between the cannons was a confident-looking Mana with her trusty magical staff raised towards the sooty sky.
"Uh...Mana?" asked Sparkman. "What exactly is going on?"
"It's my Magic Cylinder Spell." Mana told him. "I had it ready so that, when the dragon finally attacked the hat we were hiding under, I could use this spell to draw in its attack and store it into one of the cylinders. And once it's fully absorbed the attack, it'll launch it right back!"
"So is that why you wanted me to fire my Spark Blaster?" he then asked her. "So that it wouldn't be able to dodge the redirected attack?"
"Exactly." she confirmed with a nod. "And it's also the reason I trapped it with the Spellbinding Circle curse. Now it's trapped while the cylinder absorbs the flame attack it launched."
"I see...but are you sure it'll work?"
"Hopefully." Mana answered. "But that circle curse is strong, and I don't see any skull-faced blue slime monsters around here to get in the way this time!" Sparkman decided to trust that his friend had it under control, even though he wasn't sure what she meant by the slime monster comment. Junky and Speedy watched the scene from afar, hoping that this tactic by Mana would end the dragon's reign of terror once and for all.
Finally, the remainder of the Scrap Dragon's fire attack was sucked into the first cylinder. This caused the one beside it to begin glowing with a white aura. "Alright!" the magician girl cheered. "Now let's send those flames back to where they'll do the most good! FIRE!!" And with that, the second cylinder shot out the dragon's flames right back towards it, hitting it dead-on.
"Yes!! We got it!" Sparkman said, pumping his fist into the air.
"Th-they did it! They defeated the dragon!!" cheered Junky, hopping for joy. It seemed like the battle had finally been won...
But when the smoke cleared, Mana gasped in shock when she saw that the flames didn't destroy the creature. Instead, they seemed to be strengthening it as they completely covered the massively powerful dragon. "What's going on?!" she asked. "The attack didn't work!"
"No joke..." Sparkman commented. "That just seemed to make it madder... It's like those flames spurred it into a rage of some sort!"
Thrashing about in fury, the dragon let out an angry roar as it finally managed to shake off the magic circle that it had been trapped in. It then began shooting its flames haphazardly, not caring about anyone's safety, including even its own. Mana and Sparkman barely avoided one of the stray fire attacks as the dragon continued its rampage as it continued to tear up the junkyard.
"Now what do we do?" Sparkman then asked Mana.
"I-I don't know...!" said Mana, a bit fearful. "Even if I had a spell that I can use, I doubt that thing will give me enough time to perform the incantations... It's attacking randomly, and it doesn't seem like it's going to stop until everything's destroyed!"
"Or everyONE... Look!" the superhero said as he pointed towards the area where Junky and Speedy were. "That dragon's heading towards the others! We've gotta go save 'em!" Mana nodded to say that she agreed. Although they still had no idea how to stop the Scrap Dragon, they knew that they had to at least make sure it wouldn't kill anyone in its fury. The pair ran off, hoping that they would make it in time to save their new friends...
Meanwhile, a small figure peeked out from behind a large trash pile nearby...
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Back in Canterlot High, another major battle was seemingly heading towards the homestretch: The tournament Duel between Zecora and Sweetie Belle was still going on, with the curious curio shop owner having Summoned another very powerful monster from her Deck: Witchcrafter Madame Verre, the leader of the Witchcrafters.
"So...what d'ya think that new monster's gonna do?" Spike asked Twilight.
"Don't ask me... I've never seen it before." the young Princess responded.
Looking over the cards she was holding, Zecora smiled and took one of them, saying, "For one as young as yourself, you have played incredibly well... So I won't take any chances: I'll activate this Continuous Spell!" She then played the card that she had selected from her hand immediately Once it appeared on the field, she then added, "Let's see if you're a fan of my Magician's Left Hand!"
"Um...Sunset?" Sweetie began to ask. "What does that card do?"
"That Spell Card makes it so that the first Trap Card or effect that you activate each turn ends up negated." the jacket-wearing Judge explained to her. "In addition, it then destroys the negated card."
"Aw no...!" Sweetie then said. "That means if I activate my Crystal Conclave Trap, it'll just get blown up!"
"As for my next move," Zecora then said, "the decision won't be hard. I'll now activate Witchcrafter Genni's effect from the Graveyard! By banishing her - plus another Spell Card from play, I can then use that Spell Card's power right away!" After deciding which Spell to take out of the game, she then revealed cards and added, "I'll cause quite a sensation by banishing Witchcrafter Collaboration!"
"Oh dear... That isn't good..." said a worried Rarity.
"What's wrong?" asked Applejack.
"Witchcrafter Collaboration allows Zecora to select one of her Witchcrafter monsters, and give it the power to attack twice this turn." the fashionista explained to her friend. "As if that weren't enough, that Spell Card also blocks Sweetie from activating any Spell or Trap Cards in response to either of her attacks."
"Ooooo...yeah, that definitely doesn't sound good at all..." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Aw, she'll be just fine!" said Pinkie Pie, not losing hope. "She's was in a WAAAAAAAY worse situation when she fought that meanie-mean-pants Diamondbright! She can get through this, no problemo!" She then hummed a bit and added, "Now that I think about it, I think Diamondbright was wearing a skirt, not pants... So would that make her a meanie-mean-skirt instead...?"
"Okay, so that witch girl can attack two times this turn..." Spike pointed out. "But it shouldn't matter, right? Her attack points aren't high enough to get past Sweetie Belle's monster."
"Maybe right now..." Twilight told him, "but I'll bet my status as a Princess that Zecora's monster might have a way of overcoming that issue."
Sweetie Belle had the same feeling herself as her opponent began her Battle Phase. "Now my Madame Verre shall attack your Amber Mammoth!" Zecora declared. "Which will leave you defenseless, if I'm correct with my math." Her monster then raised her long, glass staff, charging up energy into it. "And now you shall see my Witchcrafter's ability!" the tribal woman then said to her opponent. "For every Spell in my hand that I show, my Madame Verre's attack and defense points grow!" Zecora then revealed two Spell Cards - Witchcrafter Creation and Dwimmered Path, causing her monster to gain more power (Witchcrafter Madame Verre: ATK 1000 + 2000 = 3000 / DEF 2800 + 2000 = 4800).
"Th-three thousand attack points?!" Sweetie exclaimed. "Just like that?!" But it was true, as Zecora's monster used her strengthened power and sent a bolt of white energy that wiped out her Amber Mammoth. Due to its effect, Sweetie's monster transformed into its jewel form and went to her back row, leaving only her Emerald Tortoise to defend her Life Points.
"Now that Zecora destroyed Sweetie's monster," Sunset noted, "she'll get to draw another card with her Witchcrafter Scroll Card. I wonder how Sweetie will respond to it...?"
"I activate the effect of my Crystal Conclave Trap!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "I'll use it to Summon another Crystal Beast from my Deck!"
"No!! Don't do it, Sweetie!!" shouted Apple Bloom from the audience.
But it was too late to take back her move, as Zecora said, "You seem to have forgotten; your move has been wasted. For my Left Hand card will see your Trap negated!" At that moment, a hand launched out of her Continuous Spell Card and slashed away Sweetie Belle's Trap Card, destroying it and ending its effect.
"Why did she go and do that??" asked Spike, surprised by the younger Duelist's apparent misplay.
"Yeah, she should have known that her Trap Card wouldn't work," Twilight added. "so why did she try to use it anyway??"
Everyone watching the Duel wondered the same thing that Twilight and Spike did...except Sunset. She had a smirk on her face, suggesting that she knew what was really going on. (Hmmm...I see what you're up to Sweetie.) she thought to herself.
If Sweetie Belle did have a strategy, no one - including Zecora, was aware of it. The exotic Duelist then continued her turn, drawing a card with her Witchcrafter Scroll and saying, "I'm not sure why you made that play; it seemed to be a bad call. And with my Madame Verre's second attack, your tortoise shall be next to fall!" Her Spellcaster monster then fired another bolt of energy at Sweetie's remaining monster, wiping it out.
"Urrgh...! I use the second effect of Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins!" Sweetie said, trying her best to hold her ground. "So I only take half the damage (Sweetie Belle: LP 3,900 - 1,200 = 2,700)! Then, I move Emerald Tortoise to my back row!" And just like that, her monster reverted to its jewel form, moving to the back of Sweetie's field along with the other three that were already there.
"That you can do as I go to Main Phase 2." said Zecora. "From my hand to the field, I shall now play this: Magician's Right Hand... Can you guess what its effect is?"
With a slight groan, Sweetie answered, saying, "Well since your Left Hand card stops Trap Cards, that must mean the Right Had stops Spells, right?"
The zebra-striped woman nodded yes to confirm that. "My turn is over, so try your best. Or else this next turn will be your last." she then told her opponent.
"Good thing your li'l sis had that half-damage effect ready to go..." Applejack said to Rarity. "But if she doesn't do somethin' on her next turn, she's a goner!"
"Yeah, don't take this the wrong way Rarity, but I don't know how she's gonna get outta this mess." said Rainbow Dash.
"Honestly, I don't know either..." Rarity began to say. But then she suddenly stood up with a determined look on her face before saying, "But that doesn't mean I am giving up on her yet! There hasn't been a single member of my family that's given up on accomplishing anything, and I won't allow it to start now! I KNOW Sweetie Belle will come out triumphant, and I plan to stay by her the whole way through!" Pinkie Pie applauded to show her appreciation for her violet-haired friend's speech, and the others smiled, knowing that Rarity was right.
Overhearing what Rarity had said, Apple Bloom looked over to both Scootaloo and Babs Seed, telling them, "She's right! We may not know how she's gonna win this, but that don't mean she can't win it!"
"Yeah, that's right!" said Scootaloo. "We just gotta believe that she can do it!"
"And more importantly," Babs added, "we gots t' make sure that SHE knows that we believe she can do it! So whadd're ya guys waitin' for? Let's cheer her on 'til we're outta breath!"
"YEAH!!" said both Bloom and Scoot in unison.
Sweetie managed to hear what her friends and Rarity had said about her and smiled. If she was still even slightly nervous about her Duel, she wasn't anymore, knowing that she had a lot of support out there. Even Zecora seemed pleased to hear the cheers for her opponent. She then spoke to Sweetie, saying, "So, I ask you: What shall you do?"
Putting on a confident smile, the young Duelist answered, saying, "What do you think? I'm gonna win this Duel, that's what!" She then looked at her Deck as she reached for her next card, thinking, (This is it: I need to draw a good card now, or I'm out of the tournament... But I'm not worried one bit! With all the advice Sunset gave me, and the support I have right now, I know I've got this Duel won!) She then placed her fingers on the top card and swiftly pulled it off of the Deck. She then looked at it and thought, (Hmmm... Rainbow Bridge... This card lets me add a Spell Card or a Trap Card to my hand... With this, I might be able to get just what I need to win the Duel!)
Sweetie Belle then looked over at Zecora's side of the field and continued her thoughts. (The problem is, if I try to play it, that Magician's Right Hand card will just negate it...) But after a closer look at the card image on the field, she noticed something about it that she didn't see before. (Wait a sec...) she pondered. (What does that text say...?) Sweetie Belle then tapped the card image on her D-Pad's touch screen, which allowed her to get a much clearer look at the card, allowing her to read the card's effect text. (According to this,) she thought, (that card negates the first Spell Card played by the opponent... Is that all it does?) Then Sweetie let out a slight gasp. (Wait! That's it! Maybe that IS all it can do!) Looking at the card she drew this turn, she then said to herself, "I think I have a way out of this... I just hope it works..."
The audience watched on, wondering what Sweetie Belle could possibly do to get out of her precarious situation. Sunset, however, seemed to have an idea of what the young girl was planning to do.
"Okay! Here goes!" Sweetie declared. "I'll start by activating the fourth effect of Rainbow Ruins! Since I have four Crystal Beasts in my back row, I can draw a card from my Deck!"
"...Again, you have forgotten: My Right Hand card is in play." Zecora reminded her. "And I use its power to take your Field Spell away!" And just like that, the tribal-dressed Duelist used her card's effect to dispel her opponent's Field Spell and stopped its effect.
"What?? Why did she do that?!" Spike asked. "She just lost her Field Spell! Didn't she remember what happened last turn??"
"Maybe...or maybe not..." Twilight told him. "Take a look at Sweetie Belle's face, Spike."
The dragon-turned-puppy then glance over at the young girl. He was surprised to see that - despite the fact that her Field Spell had been negated... Sweetie Belle's confident smirk was still there. "She's...she's still smiling...?" he asked. "But why? It's almost like she's glad to see her card get destroyed."
"It's something like that, Spike." Sunset told him. "Now her REAL plan can take effect."
"Real plan?" asked Twilight. "So you knew that Sweetie Belle would do that?"
"It still doesn't make any sense..." Spike added. "Sweetie still lost one of her best cards; as long as Zecora has those two Spell Cards out, she can negate every Spell or Trap that she plays!"
"That's only partially true, Spike." the jacket-wearing judge informed him. "As powerful as those Left Hand and Right Hand cards are, they have a serious flaw." She then looked over at Twilight and told her, "Boot up the Duel on your D-Pad, Twi, and then take a look at both of Zecora's Spell Cards closely."
The young Princess nodded and booted up her Duel Pad so that she could observe Zecora's and Sweetie Belle's Duel. Once the field was displayed, she then tapped the images of both of Zecora's Continuous Spells to get a closer look at them. After reading the text on both cards, she gasped in surprise. "Of course...!" she exclaimed. "Now I see what she's trying to do!"
"What? What's she doing?" asked Spike, not sure what Twilight and Sunset were talking about. But the red-and-yellow teen simple motioned to the little puppy to keep watching the Duel to find out for himself.
Taking another card from her hand, Sweetie then declared, "Now I Summon my Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat in Attack Mode!" Her new monster was a pink-furred feline creature with radiant purple eyes, and jewel on its chest area with the same color as its eyes (Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat: Level 3 / ATK 1200 / DEF 400). "Her special ability allows her to cut her attack points in half in order to hit your Life Points directly!" she then told her opponent.
"It's not quite enough to eliminate me from this Duel," the tribal Duelist spoke, "but I know you have something planned; I am no mere fool." Sending her Witchcrafter Creation card in her hand to the Graveyard, she then added, "With this discard, Madame Verre's effect shall now negate: Every monster you control, leaving you to face your fate." Her monster then raised her staff and sent out a ring of green energy that covered the field. Sweetie monster then hunched down lower, its special power negated for the turn.
But that move didn't even faze Sweetie Belle, who confidently told her opponent, "You're right, Zecora: I do have something planned... But I don't think you'll be able to stop me from completing it!"
"Hm...?" Zecora wasn't sure what Sweetie meant by that, but had a feeling that she had a big play ready to go.
"From my hand I activate...the Spell Card Rainbow Bridge!" Sweetie Belle declared as she played the card onto the field. "This card lets me get any Spell or Trap Card from my Deck that has Crystal in its name!" Zecora gasped a little in response, realizing what her opponent was trying to do.
"Wait a second...I don't get it..." said Spike. "How come THAT Spell Card worked? I thought Zecora's card could negate its effect, just like it did before."
"It's quite simple." Twilight told him. "Zecora's Left Hand and Right Hand Spell cards can only negate the FIRST Spell and Trap played during a turn. Once I saw that, I realized what Sweetie's real plan was."
"Sweetie Belle only activated the effect of her Field Spell previously in order to purposely trigger the effect of Right Hand." Sunset Shimmer added. "That way, it couldn't use its effect for the remainder of the turn. Not only that, she also let her Trap Card be destroyed last turn so that she would have an open space in her Spell & Trap Zone this turn."
"Ohhhhh, now I get it!" Spike exclaimed, finally understanding Sweetie Belle's unusual strategy. "But how did she know to do all of that ahead of time?"
"When I was training Sweetie Belle and the rest of her club, I had taught her that one the most important things when using a Crystal Beast Deck," the jacket-clad teen answered him, "is to maintain a good balance in the back row, and to try to leave at least a few open spaces to play Spells and Traps. Keep that in mind, and you can play the Deck very effectively, just like Sweetie did."
"Now it's just a matter of whether or not that card she just played will be one that can help her get out of her situation..." Twilight chimed in. Sunset however, was fairly certain that Sweetie Belle could figure out what she needed to do.
Sweetie looked at her D-Pad, which currently displayed all of the cards in her Deck that her Rainbow Bridge Spell Card could retrieve. (Alright...now all I have to do is pick a Spell Card that can turn this whole Duel around...maybe even let me win it all...) she thought to herself. (The trouble is...what should I choose...?) Then, as she continued to glance over all of the possible choices, one card caught her eye. (Huh...? What's this Spell Card...?) she said to herself. Curious, she tapped on it in order to get a better look at its effect text. Upon reading it, she gasped a little and said, "Wait... I remember this card now...! It's one of the cards Sunset gave me when she was training me and my friends!" She then recalled the first time she had seen the card for herself...
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"What's this card, Sunset?" Sweetie Belle asked Sunset as the two were currently occupying the tree house that her friends used for their meetings. Sweetie was holding the card in question in front of her, looking at it with curious eyes.
"It's a very powerful Spell Card, Sweetie Belle." Sunset answered her, sitting in a chair beside her. "One of the strongest cards in the entire Crystal Beast Deck. That card has led to more victories with the Deck than you could imagine."
"Really? No kidding??" asked Sweetie, surprised to hear that.
"No kidding." Sunset told her with a nod. "If you play that at just the right moment, you can win the whole Duel, even if you're in the worst position possible."
"Wow... I never thought something like this could be that strong..." the younger girl responded. "And you're just letting me have it? For free?"
"You bet." the jacket-wearing teen confirmed. "That card is just what your Deck needs to help it compete with even some of the strongest Decks out there. And I know you'll use it well."
Sweetie Belle was happy with how much Sunset had helped her out with her Deck and her dueling. Looking at the card with a big smile on her face, she then said, "Th-thank you so much, Sunset! I promise I'll take extra-special care of this card! I promise!" Sunset simply smiled and nodded, pleased to hear her say that.
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Looking at the card on her D-Pad's touch screen, Sweetie Belle thought to herself, (This is what Sunset was talking about: I'm pretty sure this is the kind of situation she meant when she said to play this card at the right moment...) Deciding to pin all of her hopes on that one card, she tapped its image on the screen, and the D-Pad auto-shuffled the rest of her cards, leaving the card she chose sticking out.
"So what is it? What card did you choose?" Zecora began to ask. "What sort of strategy do you plan to use?"
Smiling, Sweetie answered, "The kind of strategy that lets me win, of course!" Taking the card from her Deck, she immediately played it and proudly shouted, "I activate my last Spell Card... Crystal Abundance!!" The audience gasped in shock and surprise; they didn't expect Sweetie Belle to play that card. And based on Zecora's equally-surprised expression, neither did she.
"Crystal Abundance...?!" gasped Rarity. "Oh dear... I had completely forgotten about that card...!"
"What...what does it do?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Well...if I remember correctly," Flash Sentry began to say, "Crystal Abundance is a Spell Card that can only be activated if the user has at least four Crystal Beast cards in their back row...which happens to be exactly how many Sweetie Belle has."
"Then what?" asked Pinkie.
As Flash continued to explain the card's effect to the others, Sweetie was doing the same thing with her opponent. "Now," she began to say, "by sending all four Crystal Beast cards in my back row to the Graveyard, I can send every single card on the field to the Graveyard too!" Zecora gasped in shock as all four of her own cards - Madame Verre, and the three Continuous Spells in her back row instantly vanished in a flash of light.
"WOAH!!" exclaimed a shocked Spike. "She just wiped out all of Zecora's cards at once!"
"And that's not the end of it." Sunset told him. "After Sweetie Belle removes all of Zecora's cards, she then gets to Summon a Crystal Beast from her own Graveyard for each of the cards her opponent lost."
"Each one?!" the purple puppy asked.
"That means...since Zecora lost four cards total," Twilight calculated, "that means Sweetie Belle gets to Summon FOUR monsters at once!"
And that's just what the young girl did. "Now from my Graveyard, I Summon four Crystal Beasts!" Sweetie declared. "I bring out Amber Mammoth, Amethyst Cat, and two copies of Sapphire Pegasus!" The four monsters then appeared on the field at the same time, giving Sweetie plenty of monsters to unleash her final attack with.
"No...!" gasped Zecora. "Sweetie Belle has wiped my field completely bare...! And with nothing left, I am now worse for the wear!" Even so, she had to concede that her opponent made an impressive play, and for that, she gave a warm smile.
"Would ya look at that! Sweetie just turned things around completely!" Scootaloo said with great joy in her voice.
"Ah knew she'd make a comeback!" cheered Apple Bloom.
"I gotta say, dat was a pretty neat trick she pulled there with dat Crystal Abundance card." said Babs Seed. "Now there ain't nothin' that can stop her from winnin' this now!"
Pointing forward, Sweetie then ordered her monsters, "Alright, guys! It's time to win this Duel! Attack her Life Points directly!" And with that command, all of Sweetie Belle's creatures rushed forward and unleashed their full power. Zecora stood there, satisfied with having fought a worthy opponent, not saddened in the slightest, despite that she had lost the game...
(Zecora: LP 1,700 - 1,700 = 0)
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Meanwhile, back in the Duel Spirit's world, the situation involving Mana and Sparkman's battle against Scrap Dragon seemed to be only getting worse. The trash-built behemoth was now going into a blind rage, blasting everything that its eyes could see. And now it was heading straight for the heroes' new friends, Junky and Speedy.
"O-o-oh no!! The dragon's coming for us now!" Junky exclaimed out of fear. "Wh-what are we gonna do?! Where will go?! Is this it?!" Speedy was getting worried as well; he knew he was more than fast enough to get away, but not if he had to carry his friend with. He didn't know what to do.
Mana and Sparkman were running as fast their legs could carry them, but the dragon seemed to be staying ahead of them. "No...!" said the magician girl in despair, "at this rate, that thing will get to the others first! And if it does..."
"Don't think about what MIGHT happen, just keep running so we can try and KEEP it from happening!" Sparkman told her, trying his best to motivate her into keeping up the chase.
Just then, the raging Scrap Dragon let out a anger-filled roar, just as it spotted the helpless Junky and Speedy. Seeing them as an enemy, the beast charged up another flame attack, ready to do the unthinkable. "No! No, don't!! Please!!" Junky shouted, fearful that it was about to be all over for both him and Speedy.
"No! It got to them before we could!!" shouted Mana. "And now it's gonna blast them!" Sparkman could only just grumble, frustrated that they couldn't reach them in time. It seemed like it was all over for Junky and Speedy...
...But then, just as the dragon unleashed its flames, a pink streak shot past both Mana and Sparkman at sonic speed, seemingly heading towards the spot where the creature's attack would impact. "What was that?!" asked the electrical superhero.
"I don't know...but it's going straight in between that dragon and our friends!" Mana pointed out.
Indeed it was, and when it finally stopped, it took the full force of the dragon's mighty attack, creating a massive explosion. As big as it was, thanks to the intervention of their mysterious Good Samaritan, the impact of the blast didn't even touch Junky or Speedy. "Wh-what happened...?" asked the short-sized builder, seeing that he hadn't been seriously hurt or worse. When he looked up, he gasped in shock at who was there. "What?! You??"
The figure that had blocked Scrap Dragon's attack was a small pink bird; the same one that had been living safely underground with Junky and Speedy in order to escape from the dragon that was terrorizing them. It flew in the way of the attack to prevent it from harming it friends. Not only that, despite it having taken the full brunt of the flame attack, the little bird looked completely uninjured. Not only that, it seemed to be surrounded by a faint, glowing, green sphere of light. The dragon seemed to have some problems though: after unleashing its full fury, it actually tired itself out and needed a moment to rest.
"Hey...it's that little bird we saw...!" Mana pointed out. "It saved Junky and Speedy from getting hit by that attack!"
"And it isn't even slightly singed afterwards... Amazing..." said Sparkman. "Who knew that little guy had that kind of power?"
Confused, but grateful, Junky approached the little pink bird and asked it, "You...you came to help us??" The bird chirped happily to say yes. It then glanced over to the side, revealing that the bolt-covered hedgehog and the ladybug with a star on its back had also accompanied it, having come out of a small hole close by. "You...ALL came to help us?" Junky then asked.
"Of course they did." said Mana as both she and Sparkman finally made it to where they were. "You and Speedy kept them all safe for so long, they wanted to return the favor. They didn't want you leave you guys to face that dragon all by yourself."
"That's right." Sparkman chimed in. "After all you've done for them, they knew that they needed to help you guys out, even if it wasn't much. They came here now so that they could stand united with you - with all of us, so that they could live peacefully and not have to worry about thugs like that dragon."
Giving the little bird a pat on the head, Mana then said to them, "The way your friend just rushed in to protect you without even a second thought just shows how well you all get along with each other. Whether you know it or not, your spirits are in perfect synch with each other!"
"Perfect...synch...?" said Junky, pondering for a moment. Just then, he gasped in surprise and exclaimed, "That's it!! I know what the problem is now!"
"Uhhh...what problem?" asked Sparkman.
"Why my engine wasn't running correctly!" Junky said in an excited tone of voice as he opened up his experimental engine. "The power cables weren't synchronized with each other! The energy they supplied to the main battery was either too little or too much! But if I adjust them like so, equalizing their energy flow..." He then (very quickly) made the adjustments he was talking about. After what seemed like only a few seconds, Junky picked up the engine, holding it as if it were a trophy. "Yes! It's perfect now!"
"So...what exactly is it supposed to be used for?" asked Mana, still not sure what Junky was talking about.
"I don't know what it does exactly, but I know for sure that it'll give us the energy we need to finish this battle once and for all!" the tiny tinkerer answered. Strapping the engine onto his back he reached for the pull cord that would start it up. But then he stopped, turned over to his friend and asked him, "Speedy... it's thanks to you that I was able to get all of the parts and tools I needed to finish this engine. And now that it's ready to go, I want you to have the honor of pulling this cord with me and starting it up. What do you say?"
Speedy stared at the engine for a moment, and then back at his friend. Though his helmet completely covered his face, he seemed to be very touched by what his friend had told him. With a smile (assumedly), Speedy nodded to say that he would help him activate the engine.
"...Thanks, Speedy." Junky responded. "You're the best friend I've ever had." He then gave his longtime companion a hug, which brought a happy tear to Mana's eye. Junky then grabbed onto one side of the engine's pull cord, while Speedy held fast onto the other end. 'You ready? Let's do this!" the short-sized inventor said to his friend, who gave a nod to say that he was ready as well. Then, the two of them pulled the cord as hard and as fast as they could.
The engine began to rumble, letting out a loud sound as it sparked to life. The humming of the device began to get faster and louder, generating more and more energy with each second. At first, that's all it seemed to do...until Junky began to glow with a bright white light. "Wh-what's happening to you??" Mana asked the little guy.
"I-I'm not sure..." Junky responded, "but I feel like I can... I can touch the sky...!" Then, all of a sudden, the white light that surrounded him transformed Junky into pure energy, which split into three, glowing spheres that shot into the air. No one was sure what was going on or why, but before anyone could speak up, three green rings then came back down from the area where the spheres flew into. The rings surrounded Speedy, causing him to hover slightly into the air.
"Uh...what's going on?" asked Sparkman. "What did that little guy do?"
That's when Mana let out a gasp. "Wait! I've seen this before!!" she exclaimed. "I saw something like this back when I was alive on Earth, when I served Pharaoh Seto! I think he called it...a 'Synchro Summon'."
"Synchro-what?" asked the superhero. "I don't know what that really is, but I like it! That is of course, if it'll give us the edge we need to take that dragon down..."
"Well, let's hope so..." the magician girl responded.
Everyone watched as Speedy continued to float in the air while surrounded by the large, green rings. Then, just like his friend did, he split into small light spheres as well - two this time. After that, the rings and spheres were suddenly engulfed by a tower of light from above, striking the ground with incredible force and causing Mana and Sparkman to close their eyes, along with the three smaller creatures that were with them. This continued for a while until the light finally faded away. When Mana and Sparkman opened their eyes again, the gasped at what - or rather WHO, they saw in front of them.
The figure that was standing before them all was a very tall, humanoid-like being. He wore purple-colored armor on most of his body and a pair of red circular shades over his eyes. On the sides of each of his oversized shoulder pads was a beige, wing-like protrusion. Around his neck was a white scarf and on his left first were what appeared to be some sort of brass knuckles. He then threw a mighty air punch with his left arm, displaying an incredible amount of power as he did so.
Mana and Sparkman were at a loss for words before the newcomer. Eventually, the girl then meekly asked, "Wh-who are you...?"
Turning to face her, the purple-armored figure asked her, in a deep voice, "You don't recognize me, Mana?"
Hearing that, Mana then took a guess as to who they were, asking them, "Is that you, Junky...? Or is it Speedy?"
"A good question." the figure answered her. "I am Junky. And I am Speedy as well. And I am also neither."
"Uh...could you say that again?" asked Sparkman, not getting what he meant. "And can you say it a little less cryptic-y?"
"Forgive me; I suppose I should." the armored man replied. "When the engine was activated, it transferred an incredible amount of power into myself...er, into Junky. This power allowed his spirit to combine and synchronize with that of Speedy's... And I am the result of the combination. Therefore, I am both of them, but also a new being altogether. As such, you may now refer to me as... Junk Warrior!"
"Junk...Warrior... I like it!" Mana complimented. "And you look so much more powerful now!"
"Indeed." the figure - now known as Junk Warrior, said to her. "I am now more than the sum of my parts. And with this power..." He paused momentarily to face the massive Scrap Dragon, who had nearly recovered from the last attack it had unleashed before finishing. "...I intend to defeat that monster and bring peace back to this scrapyard!"
"You think you can?" asked Sparkman. "'Cause right now, we're really pinning our hopes on you at this point..."
"...I know I can." Junk Warrior told him with a nod. "Because I have your support... ALL of your support." He then glanced down at the bird, hedgehog, and ladybug creatures that had been staying in the junkyard for some time and told them, "I know we can defeat that dragon once and for all, but I can only do so if all of you can lend me your support. Can you do that for me?"
The other, smaller creatures nodded to say that they would.
"Thank you, my friends..." said the armored man as he bravely stepped forward towards Scrap Dragon, who had now fully recovered and was back in the air again. Pointing at the massive bully, Junk Warrior shouted at it, saying, "Your reign of terror is over now! Today, right here and now, I WILL defeat you! I WILL bring peace back to this scrapyard! And I WILL make sure you never terrorize anyone ever again!" The dragon let out a roar in an attempt to frighten the newly-formed warrior, but Junk Warrior didn't even budge from his spot, refusing to let the dragon scare him. "If you are so powerful," he told it, "then hit me with everything you have! Hit me with all of your rage, if you think that's enough to stop us!"
"Woah...that guy is nothin' like Junky was." said Sparkman. "He's way more confident. I just hope he knows what he's doing."
"...I believe in him, Sparkman." Mana told him. "I know he'll be okay." Sparkman nodded, saying that he agreed with her.
The Scrap Dragon then began charging up its next massive flame attack, intending to wipe out his new adversary and turn him to ashes. But Junk Warrior stayed still, not moving an inch. The three small creatures stayed behind him, hoping and praying that he would prevail. As they did, a faint, blue-green light surrounded them; Junk Warrior, too had a similar light surrounding him.
Then Scrap Dragon let out its massive fire attack once more, aiming it straight towards Junk Warrior. The others were scared for him, but they continued to believe that he would be okay, in spite of the impending doom coming his way. Then, before the attack connected with him, Junk Warrior raised his left arm and used his hand to strike directly at the stream of intense flames. To everyone's shock, he managed to deflect the attack, sending into the sky, where it burned out safely.
"WOAH!! Did you see that?!" said Sparkman, who was very much surprised at what had happened. "He just swatted that attack away like it was a housefly!"
"I knew he could do it...!" said Mana, happy that their friend was okay.
Junk Warrior - who was still surrounded by that blue-green light, remained stoic as he watched the once-powerful dragon let out another roar. This roar, however, seemed to be out of exhaustion and not intimidation, and for good reason: The creature had now expended most of its energy and was much weaker now; it didn't even have the strength to fly anymore.
"It seems your power is all but gone." said Junk Warrior. "As I said: You will never terrorize anyone ever again!" He then went into a fighting stance and sped towards the now-weakened dragon, preparing to give the final blow. Upon reaching the creature, Junk Warrior leapt into the air and, upon reaching the full height of his jump, dove straight towards Scrap Dragon with his left fist in front of him. "Time to end this! SCRAP FIST!!!" he shouted as he dove faster and faster towards his target.
The punch connected with the once-powerful creature, creating an impact so powerful, it shook the ground around them. A split second later, the creature roared in pain moments before a powerful explosion of energy was released, covering them and the area around them with an incredibly powerful light.
The others were doing their best to either not go blind from the light, or get swept away by the shockwaves of the impact. Mana, Sparkman, and the three smaller creatures huddled next to each other with their eyes closed as they rode out the aftermath of Junk Warrior's mighty attack. Then, as quickly as it had occurred, the mini-tremors stopped and the bright light had finally died down.
"So...did we win...?" asked Sparkman.
"I just care if Junky...er, Junk Warrior is okay." said Mana. "Please...please be okay..."
For a moment, all that could be seen was a pile of scorched metal that once made up the body of Scrap Dragon, and not a sound could be heard. But just then, a CLANG was heard, getting the attention of the others. As they looked over towards the pile of scrap, they could see a piece of it jiggling a little before getting thrown off to the side. Then, out from under the piece of scrap metal, Junk Warrior stood up. Although his armor was singed and scratched up a little, he was otherwise perfectly okay.
Junk Warrior looked over towards his friends and gave a nod to them, saying, "This scrapyard is safe once more... Thank you, all of you."
-- To Be Continued...
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TOURNAMENT RESULTS (Round 1):
1. Indigo Bolt vs. Ember [WINNER: Ember]
2. Steel Shadows vs. Slid Diamond [WINNER: Steel Shadows]
3. Gilda vs. Night Switch [WINNER: Gilda]
4. Fluttershy vs. Gabby [WINNER: Fluttershy]
5. Derpy Hooves vs. Sonata Dusk [WINNER: Sonata Dusk]
6. Bright Mind vs. Flash Sentry [WINNER: Bright Mind]
7. Sol Burner vs. Octavia Melody [WINNER: Octavia Melody]
8. Sweetie Belle vs. Zecora [WINNER: Sweetie Belle]
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(nods) nice job with the duel, and the deck you gave to Zecora seems to fit her quite well; can't wait to see what happens in the future... 😄
I now picture the Ice Barriers running a superstore corporation.
Ah yes, I remember those days.
I see you went the Dragon Ball route in terms of identity.
Really glad to see this is now continuing there.
Its pretty impressive you have Zecora be able to continue rhyming throughout the whole duel there. Ironic that Zecora has Witchcrafters given how I kept imagining Sweetie Belle to have Witchcrafters in the various thoughts I have in general.
I wonder how faster would you be posting the chapters now? Like back to once a month or even more chapters per month to catch up given how the pandemic screwed up your posting schedule badly?
I am guessing Spike is the character who is in the one times out of ten that isn't allowed to be a duelist then..
I know I already said this a bunch of times on how its extremely unfair for Spike to not be a duelist(like he's literally the only character in the group in that is physically there that isn't allowed to be a duelist) but.. damn it Pinkie Pie..
Pinkie Pie's line really rubbed it in that Spike is singled out with being shafted hard by not being allowed to be a duelist there.
He's singled hard out by the universe making him a lowly pet that is unable to duel instead of human while everyone else, including other dragons like even Spike's sworn enemy Garble freaking GARBLE, gets to be human and a duelist. He's literally the only character here that is physically with the group in the human world that doesn't get to be human nor to be a duelist.
Why is the universe so determined to make sure he doesn't get to be equals to the girls nor get to be a duelist? Why is it so determined to make her sure he gets excluded hard from the girls?
I enjoyed the chapter quite alot but I just feel so frustrated from Pinkie Pie's line there that I wanted to express my frustration there.
Sorry..
Always love to see this updated and Zecora using Witchcrafters was a pretty ingenious choice as it fits her perfectly. Looking forward to more down the road
Glad to have you back Monty! But I have to agree with nightshroud. Just having Spike be the one out of ten that becomes a duelist is just rubbing salt on the wound. Sure he's a dog, but wasn't there a Dog Duelist in ZEXAL? You could have it be like that, or you could have a Number (somehow) turn Spike human. You can't just brush him off to the side, Spike is equally as important as the Rainbooms and deserves a chance. He's saved the Crystal Empire twice, Spike deserves a chance to shine in the Human World. Give him a chance to duel, give him a deck(ELEMENTAL HEROES/NEO SPACIANS), give Spike the chance to Get His Game On!
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Or maybe a powerful Chaos Dragon deck too?
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I only know the more popular decks that show up in the anime.
10883022
Sure hope Spike gets alot of dragons there.
Anyway, I think Gogoanime has all of the episodes of each series(though you might want to have strong anti-virus stuff like Norton installed just in case).
Not sure where to find the mangas, but I think there was some comic dubs of some of them.
You could see alot of decks from there.
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Cool, but I'm currently operating on a Chromebook so I can't really download any antivirus programs.
10883033
I see.
Doesn't Chromebook have powerful anti-virus stuff already installed?
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I don't know.
A great chapter that was worth the wait! Sweetie Belle showing off more of her skills, the first round coming to an end, and that wonderful side plot in the Duel Monster Spirit World. I loved seeing the spirits of Yusei's cards like that. That end was amazing!
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Btw when you typed "Just having Spike be the one out of ten that becomes a duelist is just rubbing salt on the wound." did you meant like Spike being one of out of 10 characters that don't get to be a duelist?
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I meant he was one of the 1 times out of 10 that doesn't become a duelist. Like you said on your comment.
10883149
Yeah.
Was pointing out on how it got worded there a bit off, to let you know.
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Yeah, I know. Like I said, didn't want to rub salt on the wound.
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You can watch all of the episodes that are our (or at least most of them) here. All you need is a decent ad-block like Ublock Origin, which is completely free and works on Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Vivaldi.
Great to see more of this again.
The duel between Sweetie Belle and Zecora was fun, and I am legitimately surprised that Sweetie Belle managed to pull out a win in the end. I honestly thought Zecora was going to have a bigger role, but I say congratulations to Sweetie Belle! Also, the Spirit World Journey continues where it left off, with the focus now being on 5D's monsters. I thought it was cute how Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior were nicknamed Junky and Speedy, and their friendship let them Synchro Summon into Junk Warrior to defeat Scrap Dragon. I kinda hope that Junky and Speedy and/or Junk Warrior join the group after this now.
Not only was that a hilarious moment, I also agree with it. Zecora is a very popular character but I think not many people use her that much, despite wanting to, because of her always rhyming. Though one or two people find someway to get around her rhyming for one reason or another.
So, with all the duels in the first round finished, and the matches for the quarter-finals decided, think I have my predictions on who will win next round.
Match 1: Ember vs Steel Shadows: I am betting on Ember to win this one. She has the advantage of being a canon character over an OC, and I want to see more of her storyline of wanting a rematch with Sunset. Plus, she is one of my personal favorite supporting characters. It won't be easy but I feel like she can pull off another win.
Match 2: Gilda vs Fluttershy: I feel like this is going to be the highlight of the tournament up to this point. This is the rematch we have all been waiting for. Normally I would think it would be easy to decide between them, but both of them have had focus chapters and both still have a lot of their deck to show off for the rest of the tournament, making it hard to decide. If I had to choose one between them though, I would probably have to go with Fluttershy.
Match 3: Sonata Dusk vs Bright Mind: This is an easy one. Just this once, I am going to change my stance and cheer for the villains. Bright Mind is my least favorite character in the entire story at this moment, so as far as I am concerned, Sonata and the other sirens are the lesser of two evils compared to him. I want Sonata to absolutely crush and humiliate him, make it a Curb-Stomp Battle if possible.
Match 4: Octavia Melody vs Sweetie Belle: This was not a matchup I was expecting, but it is certainly going to be an interesting one. Between the two of them, I would probably say I give a bit more support to Sweetie Belle after her performance in this chapter, and I feel she has a bit more left to showoff than Octavia.
Horary for Sweetie Belle!
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Anyway..
I just really hope it doesn't end up being some moral involving Kuriboh or something.
Spike really deserves to be equals to the girls the "chosen ones".
I get Kuriboh saved the day despite its weak appearance due to by its effect blocking a fatal blow but the problem is THAT'S IT, it just sits the grave after doing one thing while the real heroes finish the fight.
In Power Ponies and Rainbow Rocks, he only did one "small" thing that freed the girls but afterwards he is instantly sidelined and in their shadows due to he's not a "chosen one" like them, he doesn't have the powers they have. He just sits there after one "mascot ex machina" thing while the REAL HEROES get the final blow in the end while Spike is sidelined hard.
I really hope Monty doesn't pull something like that. Spike really deserves to do really cool stuff and be equals to the girls, not stuff that is comparable to freaking Kuriboh for the sake of a moral.
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And if he does do that, we'll just type a formal complaint in the form of an angry rant.
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Hopefully not coming off as aggressive and rude.
I don't want to sound rude/offensive to Monty there.
I often get nervous on what an author would say(or someone in general depending on the conversation) so I get worried on if I say something that makes that person mad or if I worded something wrong.
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Yeah, I get what you mean. This story is so good, and honestly, it could get better with Spike as a Duelist.
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10884971
I just want to say something to contribute to this. I understand you are both disappointed that Spike is a dog here instead of human like Garble and Ember, but are you two just going to keep voicing your displeasure about it in every single chapter now?
We get it, you’re disappointed, but saying it once was enough. Also, for your information, just because Spike is a dog here doesn’t mean it is impossible for him to potentially get to duel himself eventually. Zexal had one episode with a dog that knew how to duel, albeit with a little help from its trainer, so that could mean Spike might get a chance eventually. Plus weirder non-humans have also gotten to duel throughout the franchise, including two dueling monkeys (and no that does not include Joey).
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Thank you for contributing your opinion. And while it may sound like we're a bunch of broken records, we are merely communicating our opinions and just wish that Spike has a chance to shine instead of being left behind on the sidelines.
Looks like Mana's getting help from the other Protags monsters
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I didn't really voice that in literally every single chapter though.
I didn't intended on sounding like that but whenever something pops up like on what a duelist feels/experience, I just feel like pointing out on how much Spike misses out hard. Or like I mentioned in my comment i now I said it a bunch of times but felt like saying it again due to Pinkie Pie's line rubbing it in that Spike got singled out pretty much.
If Spike were to be able to duel, I really hope its like he gets to do it regularly rather than it being a one-time thing.
Like him not only be able to experience what the girls get to experience and being included but also being able to fight alongside them as a equal instead of a sidekick relying on "mascot ex machina" or something. Like being able to hunt Numbers too, I hope we see Spike being able to hunt Numbers like the other girls are.
I will really rejoice so much if Monty has Spike become a duelist(like not a one-time thing but is able to duel a bunch of times like the girls are).
But I really hope he addresses the dog issue too(maybe like Spike becoming human at all to duel while in the human world), since Spike being a dog is really screwing his character up.
And honestly no offense to Monty but he kind of made it worse with how apparently other dragons(including Spike's worst enemy, GARBLE) get to be humans too, which means the universe singled out Spike to screw him over.
Its like the universe is saying Spike isn't allowed to be equals to the girls by having him be stuck as a lowly pet dog. And him being a dog also severely limits what he can do, yes he can do stuff due to being a dog but the trade-off is too unfair with all the stuff Spike is unable to do. And unable to interact with anyone outside of the group due to people flipping out at a talking dog. I mean, he got scolded in this story for talking to Gilda which revealed he's a talking dog. He isn't freely able to talk to anyone else and interact with them properly outside of the main group. That and he has to stay in a backpack most of the time due to "no pets allowed". Hell, it even harmed him since it allowed him to be captured by Snips and Snails, SNIPS AND SNAILS. Its embarrassing to be nabbed by those two.
And rendering him unable to do stuff, such as unable to be part of the Rainbooms(as in actually part of the band) or unable to do other stuff most of the time.
Him being stuck as a dog is really harming his character. I just really hope that gets addressed too. Having Spike brush this off isn't really making things better honestly.
Sorry about being bothersome about this..
I just feel so strongly there, I didn't mean to sound like I've been posting the same comment over and over again if it does sound like that.
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I actually didn't know where that originated from, I just heard it somewhere and some point and thought it sounded cool.
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I went through several versions of those scenes, such as the fight, and the emergence of Junk Warrior, before finally settling on what I put in this episode. Overall, I like what I came up with, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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I'm glad you enjoyed the game between Zecora and Sweetie Belle. With all of the recent (and upcoming) support that Crystal Beasts have gotten, Sweetie's going to have a lot to show off before the Tournament is done.
I'll just say it now, since I feel it's pretty obvious: Yes, he's joining their group. I just need to think of something interesting for the next leg of their journey.
I agree as well, but I took the difficulty as a challenge rather than a chore. And as for how some people find a way to get around it, I'm one of those people. In Rank 9, I had Rainbow Dash ask Zecora not to rhyme while explaining the whole Astral World thing (which was actually a reference to a scene in Banjo-Tooie). And in this one, I had other characters explaining the effects of Zecora's cards for her to get around the rhyming thing, since I knew I couldn't get away with not having her rhyme her words a second time.
As for how I feel about your opinions concerning the next round matchups...
Match 1: Ember vs. Steel Shadows: I feel that is a very plausible and understandable opinion to have. I do really like the character of Ember in the official series, and I do want to do a lot with her in the future, possibly even beyond this story arc. Though I also do like Steel Shadows, based on the description that was given to me, and I have some plans for him as well...
Match 2: Gilda vs. Fluttershy: I have been looking forward to writing up their rematch for a long time as well. Though it may be difficult, I'm thinking of trying to have the entire Duel be an epic battle between their big Dragon monsters. I managed to do something like that before in some previous writing I did, so I think I could pull it off.
Match 3: Sonata Dusk vs. Bright Mind: A bit harsh (especially since Bright Mind is someone's OC), but I kind of expected that you'd have that feeling.
Match 4: Octavia Melody vs. Sweetie Belle: I still have yet to showcase a lot of both character's cards, which is what I'll be mostly focusing on when I write their Duel with each other.
Finally, to end this VERY long comment, I also plan on having other Duels happening at the same time as the main competition, as requested by several people. I have ideas for one such Duel, and possibly another, and it will be mostly so that other characters that haven't Dueled (or haven't Dueled in a while) can showcase more of their cards.
Anyway, thanks for the comment, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story arc!
10891952
Don't worry about Utopia too much; it's still going to get a great deal of screen time...
10895135
I can't wait to see Utopia's most powerful form, Number 99:Utopic Dragon.