My Little Pony: Friendship is Numerous

by Monty Eggman

RANK 55: The Sirens' Swan Song, Part 1:

Author's Note:

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: The Dazzlings being confronted about their misdeeds in the tournament, split into two parts (with the next part being released next month). This was an episode that I had been planning over in my head ever since I started the series, and I was really excited to finally write it. So I hope you all enjoy!

RANK 55: The Sirens' Swan Song, Part 1:
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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...

With the Quarterfinals done, the WCQ Qualification Tournament has now reached its Semifinals stage, with four Duelists remaining to compete for the crown. The first Semifinal match-up pitted Ember and Gilda - Duelists whose respective families had a history of Pro Dueling - against one another for what would certainly be a no-holds-barred, close game. And indeed, they were right: Ember and Gilda played some of their best strategies yet, with the Bloodstone Duelist gaining an early advantage. Though Gilda managed to bring out one the most powerful cards in her entire Deck - Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon, even it was no match for her opponent's strategic mind, and in the end, victory went to Ember.

In the meantime, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Bright Mind were investigating Sonata Dusk - a member of an antagonistic group known as the Dazzlings, because Sunset believed that she had cheated in her Quarterfinal Duel. A trip to Mr. Dunstan's office and a look at the data files surrounding Sonata proved Sunset's suspicions to be true: Sonata had purposefully altered her Deck specifically to counter Bright Mind's Alien Deck, using cards outside of the ones that were pre-registered during the Preliminary Round.

With all this evidence in hand, and Sonata's Semifinal Duel against Sweetie Belle approaching, what will Sunset do next...?

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It had been twenty-five minutes since the Semifinal Duel between Ember and Gilda had concluded; Ember was able to win that match and become one of the two finalists for the last Duel of the Tournament. Now, there only remained one other Semifinal Duel to determine who would be Ember's opponent for that Final game: Sonata Dusk - one of the Dazzlings along with Adagio Dazzle and Aria Blaze, or Sweetie Belle - Rarity's younger sister and a member of the Duel Monsters Crusaders along with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Babs Seed. Before that Duel could start, Sunset requested there to be a half-hour intermission in-between so that she could take care of other matters.

"It's almost time for the other Semifinal Duel." Gilda said to her friends in the audience (whom she decided to sit with, since she was no longer in the tournament). "I can't wait to see who'll be Ember's opponent for the final game."

"A shame that you weren't able to make it to the end, Gilda..." said Martin. "You very nearly had that Duel won; I was sure you would come out victorious when you summoned Ultimate Falcon."

"Yeah! Me too!" added Gabby. "I still don't know how that other girl managed to beat it like that!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, Ember had built her Deck pretty well in order to combat just about anything." Gilda told them both. "Her Deck has a lot of high-power monsters that she can just summon out real fast, with barely any time to react. And her Spell and Trap lineup just makes it that much harder to get through 'em once they show up. Not only that, she's real good at studying her opponents and figuring out a strategy to counter 'em, like she did when she was able to stop that Indigo chick from pulling off the same OTK trick she did in the Prelims."

"And when she was able to exploit the weakness of Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En in her Duel with Steel Shadows." noted Martin. "She was even able to set up ahead of time for Chaos Dragon Levianeer when she needed it. Ember is quite the fearsome Duelist, I must say... Capable of overcoming what's right in front of her, while also thinking several moves ahead..."

"Yeah, for sure..." Gabby admitted. "I just hope that the next Duel will start soon...! I wanna see who's going to make it to the Finals!"

(Same here.) thought Gilda. (Which is why it's kinda weird that there'd be this long an intermission before the next game... I wonder what's up with that?)

In the lobby area within the stadium, Ember took a deep sigh, relaxing herself after such a hard-fought Duel. "Excellent work, Ember." said the voice of Ember's father, Torch. "You played that game with a great amount of skill, and I could sense that you were enjoying yourself, even when it looked like you were certain for defeat."

"...Just remembering your advice, Dad." she replied. "I think trying my best to have fun out there actually helped me relax a little. I'm not sure I would have played that Duel better if I was all tensed-up and stuff."

"Exactly." Torch told her. "That is why I told you to not take your Duels too seriously. If you remain calm and relaxed, you will always be able to make the most sound decisions during a Duel. This also applies to real-life situations as well; if you let stress and fear overtake you, you may end up making a choice that you'll regret for the rest of your life..." He then sighed deeply a bit after saying that.

Ember felt a bit of sympathy for her father, knowing that he was referring to his sudden withdrawal from Pro Dueling when he said that. She knew that he wanted her to become a better Pro than he was, and to not make the same mistakes that he had made back then; that was the reason he had been giving her this kind of advice. Nodding, Ember then told him, "I'll make you proud, Dad. I'll become a Pro Duelist and have the best time doing it!"

Torch smiled and nodded (something he rarely ever did in front of anyone), confident that his daughter would have a promising career ahead of her. Looking at his watch, he then said, "We'd better go. The next Semifinal Duel is about to begin. It would do you good to observe your potential opponents before your final Duel." Ember nodded in agreement and they both headed to the audience seating area together.

In the audience, a bead of sweat slowly rolled down Rarity's cheek as she and her other friends anxiously waited for the second Semifinal Duel to start. Noticing how tense she was, Applejack asked her, "Hey Rare, y'all feelin' alright? Ya look about as stiff as a petrified tree."

"...It's nothing you should concern yourself with, Applejack dear." Rarity told her. "It's just...I'm a little worried for my sister, that's all. I hope she can overcome Sonata in this Duel."

"Yeah, no kiddin'." said Rainbow Dash. "I never guessed that Sonata would be as tough as she is; she didn't seem like the smartest one of those three - as if that's sayin' much. I mean, after those Duels she had with Derpy and especially that Bright guy, there's NO telling what Sonata's got in store for Sweetie Belle."

"O-o-oh dear..." said Rarity, getting even more nervous thinking about it.

Turning over to her cyan-skinned friend, Fluttershy told her, "Rainbow...I hate to say this, but you really shouldn't make Rarity more worried about Sweetie Belle than she already is... If it's okay with you, could you, um...try to be a little more positive?"

"Huh? ...Oh, yeah...you got a good point." Rainbow Dash responded, realizing that what Fluttershy said made sense. Smiling, she then told Rarity, "I-I'm sure Sweetie'll be fine, no matter what Sonata's got planned! There's just no way those Dazzlings are gonna win this one!"

"Yeah, just have a little faith, Rarity!" Pinkie chimed in. "After all, there's no way the author of this series would let the villains win, right? If he did, that'd be quite the controversial twist in the story."

"Pink's right... Ah think." said Applejack. "Y'all just gotta stay positive and make sure that Sweetie Belle knows that you believe in her."

"...Yes, you're absolutely right." the violet-haired fashionista responded, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I just have to have faith that things will work out for my sister. I'll...I'll try my best to be brave for her!" The others were happy to see their friend rid herself of some of that tension.

Rarity wasn't the only one worried about Sweetie Belle: Her friends in the Duel Monsters Crusaders were also concerned for her. "Ohhh... Ah sure do hope Sweetie can get through this Duel okay." said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, me too..." Scootaloo chimed in. "I mean, Sweetie's way stronger than she was when we started the club, but that Sonata chick's not messin' around. I still don't know she managed to beat that guy Bright Mind the way she did. It's like her Deck was designed just to beat him, from the way it looked."

(That did seem kinda weird t' me, too...) thought Babs. (I wonder if that's got anythin' t' do with why we're watin' dis long for the next Duel t' start...) She then glanced over to the field, where she saw Sweetie Belle on one side of the field, Sonata and the rest of the Dazzlings on the other, and the MC, Megan Williams, nearer to the center. But Sunset was nowhere to be found, which also struck Babs as peculiar.

Speaking of the Dazzlings, they were the only ones who didn't seem so worried about the next Duel, and for good reason. The three of them had - quite literally - stacked the deck against their next opponent, and were ready to do to her what they did to Bright Mind in the Quarterfinals. "With the cards we've included in your Deck," Adagio said, "not even you could possibly lose to that child over there, Sonata."

"And if you DO lose," Aria then said to her in a stern voice, "I'll make sure you regret it."

Sticking her tongue at Aria, Sonata told her, "Just watch me: I'll take her down, and then I'll beat that Ember chick too! Maybe then you'll stop giving me that sour attitude of yours." She was anxious to get the Duel started, mostly so that could get Aria to stop insulting her constantly.

On the other side of the arena, Sweetie Belle was understandably nervous going up against Sonata, after having seen her last Duel. She did her best not to show her fear, but it wasn't easy. "Just...just gotta stay calm..." she said to herself. "Gotta stay calm... You can do this, Sweetie Belle... You can do this...! ...I hope."

In the stadium lobby, out of sight of everyone in the main arena, Flash Sentry was talking to Twilight Sparkle and Spike about the things they discovered concerning Sonata's actions in the tournament so far. "I see..." Flash said to them after having heard everything. "So those three were cheating after all... And to think they had the nerve to make fun of Bright when they knew full well that he would've beaten them if they actually played fair. I mean, really?"

"Well, they're not gettin' away with it this time!" Spike said. "Sunset knows everything, and I know she'll do something about it. Those Dazzlings aren't going to cheat their way out of this one!"

"Should we tell Megan about this?" asked Flash.

"She doesn't have the authority to settle this kind of matter." Twilight answered him. "Sunset's the official Tournament Judge, so that responsibility falls to her. Even if we told Megan about what we found out, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it, because that isn't her job to do so."

"Ah, I get it." the boy replied. "So, where is Sunset right now?" he then asked.

"Last we saw her, she went to see Mr. Dunstan so that she could talk with him about the whole thing." Spike told him. "Bright Mind went to go sit with those other Duelists that helped us out, so that they could watch the rest of the tournament together."

"The Duel's set to start two minutes from now." Twilight noted. "I hope Sunset can get back before it begins..."

"You won't have to worry about that." said the voice of Mr. Dunstan, the Industrial Illusions representative. "We're already here."

Twilight, Spike, and Flash then turned around to see Mr. Dunstan standing behind them. Also with him was Sunset Shimmer, and they all had looks on their faces that suggested that they meant business. "Sunset! You're back!" the young Princess said happily.

"We're back, alright." Sunset told her. "Mr. Dunstan and I talked it over with the time we had, and we've come to a decision. A few of them actually; depends on what happens next."

"What do you mean?" asked Flash.

"I don't have any more time to discuss it right now." Sunset told him. "Right now, I have to go out there and deliver the news to everyone in the arena. For now, I want all of you to stay here until I make my announcement." Flash, Twilight, and Spike nodded to say they would and stepped aside so that Sunset could head into the arena. The jacket-wearing teen sighed a bit, knowing that her announcement was going probably upset a lot of people, but she had no choice but to do her job...

Looking at her cell phone clock, Megan said to herself, "Okay...it's now been thirty minutes...." She then looked around with a puzzled expression on her face, looking for Sunset, but she hadn't returned to the arena yet. "She's not here..." Megan said to herself. "It's a bit past the time for the intermission to end, but..." Sighing, she knew she couldn't keep the crowd waiting any longer and turned on her microphone. "Allllright, ladies and gentlemen!" she said with her usual high energy. "Our intermission is over, and it's time to begin the next Duel of the Semifinals!!"

As the crowd cheered around them, Rarity - as well as Sweetie's friends in the Duel Monsters Crusaders - were anxious and nervous about the upcoming match-up. (Here we go...) Rarity thought to herself, hoping with all her might that Sweetie Belle would prevail, as did Sweetie's friends.

"This second - and final - Semifinal Duel with pit these two Duelists against each other!" Megan announced. "On my left is Sonata Dusk of the Dazzlings, who somehow managed to overcome Bright Mind's Alien Deck almost perfectly!" As expected, there wasn't much of a response from the audience. Megan then turned to the other side of the field and said to the crowds, "And on my right, is our sole remaining representative of Canterlot High School and our youngest competitor, Sweetie Belle!" This time, the crowd was more than happy to send their praise and cheers towards Sweetie Belle, hoping that she would defeat Sonata and knock her out of the tournament.

Sonata, of course, was sure that she wasn't going to have any sort of struggle at all. "It's a little too bad I gotta disappoint everyone here, Shirmpy Belle... But you're not gonna be winning this Duel!"

"That's where you're wrong!" Sweetie said back. "I don't know what you're up to this time, but you're not gonna beat me! And my name is 'SWEETIE' Belle!" Sonata, of course, was not scared one bit, as she was confident that there was no chance of her opponent even standing a chance against her; a thought shared by her bandmates Adagio and Aria.

"Well, it looks like our two Duelists are ready to get this Duel on!" announced Megan. "So without further ado-"

"HOLD IT!!" shouted a voice from nearby.

"Huh? Hold it?" asked Megan. She and everyone else turned their attention towards the direction that the voice came from. There, standing in the right-hand arena entrance was Sunset Shimmer, arms folded and a stern look on her face. She then made her way towards the center of the arena, to where Megan was.

"Sunset's finally here?" asked Applejack. "Ah was wonderin' where she was... It was strange not seein' her before the match started."

"Speaking of strange things about Sunset..." Fluttershy began to say, "do you see that look on her face...?"

"Yeah, she looks real serious and stuff..." noted Rainbow Dash. "But why? What's gotten into her?"

"I dunno..." Pinkie spoke up, "but that plot twist I was talking about? There might end up being one after all."

Sunset then stood next to Megan, who asked her, "Um, Sunset...? What's going on? Why'd you interrupt?"

Sighing, the Judge told her, "I...I have an important announcement to make. Can I borrow your mike?"

"Um...sure, I guess...?" the unsure MC replied, handing her the microphone. Everyone was puzzled as to what was going on...especially the Dazzlings, who were all not too happy to see this sudden interruption by Sunset.

At first, Sunset didn't want to say what she had to say to the audience, knowing that they weren't going to like to hear it...but, with another deep, sad sigh, she knew that she had to do tell them. "...Ladies and Gentlemen," she began to say, "I...I'm sorry that I have to tell you all this, considering that you all came here to see some expert dueling here in this tournament..." Another sigh. "...But, due to recent findings that I've come across in the last thirty minutes...I have no choice but to invalidate this match!"

The audience was shocked, surprised, and somewhat angered a little upon hearing this sudden announcement.

"Invalidate??" asked Rarity asked. "Whatever for??"

"Yeah, what's Sunset think she's doing?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I dunno..." said Applejack, "but Ah got a funny feelin' as to what might be goin' on that would make her do somethin' like this..."

Sunset knew the audience wasn't going to be happy to hear this, so she was quick to explain herself as to why she came to such a controversial decision. "I know what you're thinking: Why am I doing this? Why am I cancelling this Duel just before it starts?" she asked them. "Well I'll tell you why: The 'recent findings' that I mentioned earlier - the reason I am making this sudden announcement - have told me that one of the tournament competitors...has been breaking the rules!"

Now there was a sudden collective gasp from the audience, not expecting to hear something like that next. "Someone's cheating in the tournament?" asked Lyra, sitting with her friend Bon Bon. "That's nuts!"

"A cheater?? Who?" asked Thunderlane, who was sitting with some of his buddies elsewhere. "And why?"

For Sunset's other friends, it wasn't hard to figure out the answer as to WHO it was. "Well, I can say for certain that it CAN'T be my little sister that Sunset is referring to...!" said Rarity.

"Yeah...which leaves only one other person:" Rainbow chimed in. "And that's Sonata!"

Sonata backed up a bit, now sweating a little that their plot was uncovered. Adagio and Aria stood up at that moment, ready to do whatever they could to try and keep their facade alive. "...How'd that jerk find out...??" Aria whispered to Adagio. "You said there was no way she'd figure us out quickly enough...!"

"I honestly don't know...!" said Adagio. "I figured that her friend Twilight must have known something, so I sent those fake guards to stop them, and-" Then, realizing something, she growled in a low tone, snarling, "Of course...! That's why I hadn't heard anything from those three... Somehow, they failed to stop her, and that's how Shimmer found out...! Rrgh!"

Turning to Sonata, Sunset then said to the crowds, "Sonata here has been illegally stacking her Deck with cards specifically to counter whatever opponent she was about to face. While she may have won her First Round fairly - since the opponents for each Duel were randomized, in her Quarterfinal Duel, she swapped out cards in her Deck in order to perfectly counter Bright Mind's Alien Deck strategy, using cards from her personal collection and NOT cards included in her Side Deck; and based on how smug and overly confident you three were going into this match, I'm sure you were going to do the same thing to Sweetie Belle, too." She then turned to Adagio and Aria and told them, "And I'm more than positive that YOU two were helping her cheat as well!"

"Oh REALLY?" asked Adagio, trying to play the innocent act as best and as long as she could. "So THIS is what you'll reduce yourself to? Accusing us of something we didn't do and trying to get us kicked out of the tournament on a technicality? You just don't want us win your little tournament because you KNOW you'll never be able to live it down! Your first job as an official Tournament Judge was at a tournament that we just so happened to join up for, and you wanted to make sure that we wouldn't win, just so that you'd never have to deal with that memory for the rest of your life? Honestly...that's quite petty of you, Shimmer..."

Sunset wasn't pleased to hear any of that, but she remained calm, knowing that she had the upper hand. "Don't tell me you really believe all of that, Adagio..." she told her. "Like I would ever risk my position as a Judge by blindly accusing you of something."

"Well, what else would you call it besides BLIND?!" Adagio then snapped back. "There's no way you can prove that's what happened! Isn't it at all possible that Sonata was just that prepared for whatever she might face in your little competition? There's no possible way that you could've known if we did even a fraction of what you've accused us of!!"

Chuckling a little and still remaining calm, Sunset held up a paper in her hand, saying, "Actually, I can prove that ALL of what I've said is true. Did you honestly think that Industrial Illusions - which strictly enforces a zero-tolerance policy on cheating - wouldn't be prepared for something like that? If so, then you three are even more foolish than I thought." Showing them the paper in her hand, the red-and-yellow girl told them, "What I'm holding in my hands right now is a Deck List; more specifically, YOUR Deck List."

"Our Deck list??" asked Aria, not expecting to hear that. "Where did... HOW did you-?"

"Allow me to explain a few things:" Sunset then began to tell them, as well as everyone watching. "Do you recall what happened during the Preliminary Rounds yesterday? In order to determine who would make it into the main tournament, each and every Duelist signing in to participate were set up against A.I. opponents on a series of Duel Terminal cabinets. But those cabinets did more than simply tally up scores and sort the competitors... The moment each Duelist plugged their Duel Pads into the Terminal, the cabinet's scanning technology scanned each and every card in their Decks: Main Deck, Extra Deck, and Side Deck... Everything was recorded and sent directly into Mr. Dunstan's Duelist Database."

"Woah, really??" asked Gilda, surprised to hear that.

"That's quite ingenious, I have to say..." Martin spoke. "That means that they had information about every card in each of the Decks used by everyone that competed here. That would make it impossible for someone to change their Deck during the competition...or rather, it would be impossible for them to get away with it."

"As some of you might recall, my assistant, Twilight Sparkle, had informed you all that you were not permitted to change the cards in your Deck after the Prelims were over." Sunset stated, just as Twilight, Spike and Flash entered the arena at last. "In other words, whatever cards you used for the Prelims were what you were restricted to." Turning back over to the Dazzlings, she told them, "But I guess you three just didn't care about that rule, did you? Thanks to the Duelist Database, as well as the fact that Bright Mind recorded the entire Duel he had with Sonata, Mr. Dunstan and I had more than enough evidence than we needed to bust you with. So you guys can just drop the whole 'I'm innocent' act." The Dazzlings growled in response, knowing that they couldn't lie their way out of this now.

"Pfft...! I can't believe that those three thought they could cheat and get away with it!" said Wonderbolts leader Spitfire.

"Yeah, the nerve of some people!" her teammate Soarin commented. The recently-added member - Steel Shadows, said nothing, but he shared the same opinion as his new friends did.

"Grrrrn...! To do something so dishonest as to break the rules..." growled Torch. "Those three down there have no sense of honor! They do not deserve to call themselves Duelists!"

Ember nodded, saying, "Yeah, that's pretty low of them to actually attempt something like that and think that it was going to help them win."

Sunset continued to speak to the troublesome trio, telling them, "I didn't trust you three the moment you walked into the community center yesterday. Even so, I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and try to do things fair and square. I showed you three more mercy and forgiveness than anyone else here would have given you... I was actually HOPING that the three of you had changed." Sighing, she then said in a low voice, "...But I guess that's just another mistake I made that I can add to my list..."

Twilight heard what Sunset had said and felt a little sad for her. "Sunset..." she simply replied.

"...Mercy...?" said Aria, scowling. Angered more than ever before, she yelled, "Mercy?! You and your dumb friends destroyed our magic and ruined our lives!! And you think you're showing US mercy?! We were just about to succeed and get back at you jerks for what you did to us, and you gotta ruin that for us too?!? You're just kicking us out of here 'cause you're scared of what we'll do to you and your stupid friends!! That's what this all is, isn't it?!?"

Sunset was about to say something back, but then noticed something glowing on Aria's right hand. (Huh? What was that...?) she then thought. Though she couldn't make it out too clearly, she then wondered, (Could it be...? Was that...?) She then recalled something from earlier in the day: Her former cohorts, Snips and Snails had told her that the Dazzlings were up to something, which Applejack's brother Big McIntosh later confirmed. She also recalled that Derpy had told her that she entered the tournament on behalf of The Doctor in order to find people using Number Cards. Not long after that, Twilight had told Sunset that, while going to see Mr. Dunstan, they encountered trouble in form of thugs pretending to be security guards, which showed that the Dazzlings were trying to keep certain information regarding them hidden. Finally, she recalled a conversation she had just had Mr. Dunstan during the earlier intermission...

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"...It's still just hard to believe that this happened..." said Mr. Dunstan. "Even after everything we've tried to do to prevent or at least deter cheating, this still happened..."

"I know, it seems unbelievable..." Sunset told him, looking over the papers that Twilight had shown to her just minutes ago. "Unfortunately, that's just how it is: You can do everything in your power to stop people like this, but they'll always find a way to cause trouble anyway, even if it means going out of their way to do it." She sighed a bit, knowing that fact quite well from her past experiences.

Sighing as well, Mr. Dunstan then said to her, "Well, I suppose that's why we put these measures in place, just in case something like this were to come up. We should at least be happy we caught this before the tournament was over; it's quite a headache to discover it later and go through all of that red tape to overturn results, and even after it's all said and done, no one really feels good about it all anyway..."

"So now what do we do?" Sunset asked him.

"I believe that matter should be left for you to decide, Ms. Shimmer." he replied. "I'm only here as a representative of Industrial Illusions; you're the official Judge. What happens with Ms. Dusk now should be left in your hands... So what would YOU do concerning the situation?"

"Well...the obvious answer is to disqualify her from the tournament." she answered him. "After all, with her breaking the rules - not to mention the bad attitude that she and rest of her group have shown to the other competitors so far, we have quite a lot of grounds to do just that." Looking at the paper that showed Sonata's Deck List, she added, "There's just one thing that concerns me even more, though..."

"...Oh? What would that be?"

"The three cards in Sonata's Extra Deck that are listed as 'n/a'..." Sunset told him. "What's the deal with that? Why wasn't the Duel Terminal able to show what those cards were? Was there a glitch in the cabinets? Or in the database?"

"Not a chance." Mr. Dunstan answered. "The Duel Terminals and our Digital Card Database were programmed and developed in hand with our partners in Kaiba Corporation: A company that prides itself on making sure that the quality of their technology and products are always first-rate. Even the smallest bugs or glitches would have been picked up and corrected before any sort of problem could arise. Believe me, they take this sort of thing quite seriously."

"Okay, so a bug in the system is essentially ruled out..." thought Sunset. "Maybe the cards are counterfeit?"

"Also impossible." he informed her. "As you may already be aware, the Duel Pads developed by Kaiba Corp. are specially designed to not be able to recognize counterfeit cards. Only genuine Duel Monsters cards carry the special microchip located in the bottom-right corner; a microchip that should be completely impossible to perfectly replicate, even by the most skilled counterfeiters. The systems may not have been able to tell us what the cards were, but it DID identify that they were real cards. But I digress; the fact that our constantly-updating Card Database couldn't tell what the cards were baffles and concerns me as well..."

(Hmmm...so the system isn't glitched, and the cards aren't bootleg, yet the database couldn't figure out what they were...?) Sunset thought to herself. At that moment, she got a slight tingling feeling coming from the deck box attached to her hip. It was only for a second, but it was a feeling that she knew all too well. (...Could it be...?) Clearing her throat, she then told the man, "Mr. Dunstan...I think I might have a clue about this whole thing, and if I'm right about it, it might explain why the Dazzlings came here and why they tried to cheat... And it's also helped me figure out exactly what to do with them."

"It has?" asked Mr. Dunstan.

Nodding, she then said, "But first, before I act on it, there's something else I need to tell you..." She then took her Deck out of the box attached to her hip area...

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(After that, I told him all about the Number Cards, and even showed him the ones that I had...) Sunset continued to ponder. (I was actually surprised that he believed me about the whole thing. He mentioned something about it not being the first time that something like this came up related to Duel Monsters, whatever that means...) Turning to the Dazzlings, who were all still fuming about their plot being discovered, she then thought, (That glow I saw on Aria's hand pretty much confirmed my suspicions... But just to know for sure, I'll need to get some more info out of them, and I think I know just how to do that...)

Smiling slyly a bit, she then asked the three of them, "So, you think I'm scared of you guys winning the tournament and making me look bad, do you? Sorry, but that's far from true. You caused trouble for everyone just because you have some kind of beef with me and my friends; that's the reason you three ought to be thrown out of here. But of course, you go ahead and blame something or someone else for your problems instead." Folding her arms and looking confident, Sunset then asked them, "If you have some personal issue with me, then why don't you three just come right out and face me head-on instead of going through all of this nonsense?"

"Huh?" asked Aria. "What're you goin' on about now?"

"I'll tell you:" Sunset replied. Turning over to one of the other Dazzlings, she told her, "Adagio, I have a little proposition for you and your group."

"...What kind of 'proposition', Shimmer...?" asked Adagio, wary of her foe's intent.

"This tournament was set up so that we could find out which Duelist could come out on top playing fair and square." Sunset reminded the trio. "Even though the three of you clearly didn't think the rules applied to you, I'm willing to give you three just one more chance to stay in this tournament and play legitimately...under ONE condition."

"And what's that?" asked Adagio.

"The condition..." the jacket-wearing teen began to tell her, "...is that you have to beat ME in a fair Duel first!" This statement surprised the crowd, this time out of interest and curiosity.

"Wait, did I hear her right?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Did Sunset say that she's gonna Duel them right now?"

"That's...what I heard her say, I think." Rarity replied. "But why would she do that...?"

"Hmmmm...just a li'l hunch," Applejack commented, "but Ah've got this funny feelin' that she's got a real good reason for it..."

"...Duel YOU?!" asked Sonata, shocked by this sudden challenge.

"Yeah, that's right." Sunset confirmed. "You beat me, and you can stay in the tournament, but you have to use your Deck the way it is right now; no more modifications at all." Pointing to herself with her thumb, she then added, "If I win, on the other hand, you three are out; no questions asked. What do you say?"

"What do we say??" Aria began to ask, seemingly eager to get even with Sunset. "Of course we-"

But Adagio stopped her, whispering to her, "Aria, NO. You remembered what our client told us: We're NOT supposed to fight her now..."

"C'mon...!" Aria argued. "The reason we agreed to that bug-eyed weirdo's request in the first place was so that we could get back at Sunset and her dopey friends...!"

"We agreed to it for the money, Aria..." Adagio reminded her. "Something that we don't have a lot of right now, if you recall... If we mess this up, we don't get paid."

"But...if we get kicked out of the tournament, then we'll still not get the reward..." Sonata told her. "And I can't keep eating those dollar-store tacos forever, you know..."

Despite keeping their voices low as best they could, Sunset was able to make out most of what they were saying. (So they're here on someone else's behalf, huh...?) she thought. (I knew it was too much of a coincidence that they'd show up for the tournament I was a Judge for, especially considering that the only people that knew I was the Judge was everyone at my school; which they do go to anymore.) Seeing that the trio couldn't agree on what to do - and having a hunch as to who it was that hired them, Sunset decided to speak up, saying, "I can tell that this isn't an easy decision for you three to make... So how about I sweeten the deal?"

The Dazzlings stopped arguing with each other upon hearing that. "Sweeten the deal...?" asked Sonata.

Opening her deck box, Sunset thought to herself, (Now...let's see if my OTHER hunch about them is correct...) She then took out two cards from her Extra Deck and showed them to Adagio, Aria, and Sonata. The two cards were Chronomaly Machu Mech and Chronomaly Chateau Huyuk; two of her Number Cards. "Ever come across cards like these before?" she casually asked them.

"Hey! I've seen cards like those! We have ones just like that!" Sonata thoughtlessly blurted out.

Quickly (and futilely) covering Sonata's mouth with her hand, Aria yelled at her, saying, "You idiot! You weren't supposed to tell her THAT!!"

A bit dumbfounded, Sunset said to herself, "...Well, that was easy... But at least now I can confirm my other suspicions of them." She then asked the trio, "So, those Number Cards of yours; you find them yourselves or did this 'client' of yours give them to you?"

"What's it to you, Shimmer?" Adagio asked rudely.

"It might mean everything to all of us right now." the red-and-yellow girl told her. "Because now this means that we can raise the stakes of this Duel a little more to make it worth your while. So here's the deal: You beat me, and not only do you remain in the tournament, but you also get all my Number Cards, as per the rules of Duels between Number users. Of course, that means that I get all of your Numbers if I'm the one who wins. Just think about it: You might end up impressing this client of yours even more when you go back and tell them that you got all of my Number Cards..."

At first, Adagio wasn't eager to accept Sunset's challenge to Duel, knowing that it was a violation of their deal with their mysterious client. But now with the prospect of obtaining Sunset's Number Cards, not to mention finally settling their score with her, she was beginning to reconsider her decision...

"...Tell you what: I'll give you all five minutes to talk it over." Sunset allowed them. "After that though, I need an answer. Agreed?" The Dazzlings nodded to say that they did and the trio huddled together to think over the matter.

Sunset walked over to where Sweetie, Twilight, Spike, Flash, and Megan were standing, saying to them, "Sorry about all this guys... I know things escalated pretty quickly there..."

"That's certainly one way to put it." said Flash.

"So...what's going to happen now?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Am I going to Duel or what?"

"Don't worry, Sweetie." Sunset told her. "I promise you'll get your chance to Duel soon. But first, I need to settle this matter with the Dazzlings first, especially now that I know that they have Number Cards. My job here may be to make sure the tournament runs smoothly - something that I'm still trying to make sure of, but before all of that, I have to deal with anyone that has those Number Cards." Strapping on her D-Pad, she then told them, "The last thing we need is them using those cards in the tournament or anywhere else for that matter; that's why I don't want to kick them out of here just yet..."

"I understand." said Twilight. "At the very least, they'll be forced to use their Numbers against someone that knows how best to fight them, thereby limiting the damage they could do with them."

"But if those three beat you, then that'll just give 'em more Numbers to cause trouble with!" Spike reminded Sunset.

"I know the risk, Spike." the jacket-wearing Duelist told him. "But there's no other choice; I have to face them. Don't worry, I have no intention of letting them take my Numbers from me."

"Then give it your best, Sunset!" Flash cheered. "We're all behind you on this!"

"Same here, Sunset." said Twilight. Spike nodded to say that he would be supporting her, too.

"Yeah, you show those meanies that cheaters don't belong in this tournament!" Sweetie said enthusiastically.

Chuckling a bit, Sunset replied, saying, "I'll try my best to do so."

Elsewhere, the Dazzlings were talking over the matter at hand with each other, trying to figure out what to do. "So...what do you think we should do, girls?" asked Adagio.

"Well, the answer's obvious!" Aria spoke up. "We have to crush her! This might be our only chance to get our revenge!"

"I'm not sure if we should or not..." Sonata said sheepishly. "She told us not to fight Sunset, but we can't do our job if we get kicked out... But if we fight her and we lose those cards that she gave us, we'll never get paid!"

"Yeah, maybe..." Aria somewhat agreed, "however, if we manage to defeat Shimmer, we not only get our revenge, we'll get her Number Cards too! I'm sure that the client won't care that we broke the rules a little after we tell her that we got all of Sunset's Numbers! We might even get a bonus!"

"...Why stop there, Aria?" said Adagio with a sinister chuckle, getting an idea in her mind. "Maybe we could get even more than just that."

"What do you mean, Dagi...?" asked Sonata.

"Think about it: Why would our client not want us to go after Shimmer, unless SHE wants her all to herself?" the Dazzlings' leader asked them. "I could tell that she was quite fixated on Shimmer for some reason. But you are right about one thing Aria: WE should be the ones to take Shimmer and her friends down! And when we get all of her Numbers, we can use them to confront our client and take everything from her as well!"

"Woah, you're sayin' that we oughtta double-cross our client just like that?" asked Aria. She was shocked, but quite interested. "I gotta say, that's pretty hardcore of you, Adagio; I'm impressed."

"I have to admit, I kinda like the idea, too..." said Sonata, who changed her tune pretty quickly. "Instead of getting some of her money, we could take everything from her instead!"

"So...we're all in agreement, then?" asked Adagio, already knowing what her groupmates' answers probably were.

"I'm in." Aria told her.

"Me too." said Sonata, agreeing as well. The three nodded, coming to their unanimous decision.

"Alright, time's up!" Sunset told the trio. "Now what's your answer?"

Turning towards Sunset with a cruel smile on her face, Adagio told her, "Alright. We'll accept your terms. We beat you, and we get to stay in the tournament, not to mention that we'll also take your precious Number Cards as well. You beat us, you get our Numbers and we'll leave without any trouble. Deal?"

"...Deal." the red-and-yellow girl said with a nod. The two even reluctantly shook hands to seal the deal. Turning back towards Megan and returning her microphone back to her, Sunset instructed, "Announce to everyone that the next Duel will be between Sonata and myself."

Nodding, Megan took her microphone and made the announcement. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen! It seems that there will be a slight change in our schedule! Instead of the next Semifinal Duel, Sonata Dusk will instead duel against our Tournament Judge, Sunset Shimmer, to determine whether or not Sonata will remain in the competition!"

"Yeah! Go get 'em Sunset!" cheered Rainbow Dash. "Teach those three that cheaters don't belong here!" The rest of Sunset's friends in the audience sent their good wishes to her as well.

"Go for it, Sunset!" cheered Apple Bloom. "Give 'er one for me!" The other Duel Monsters Crusaders cheered as well, along with the rest of the crowd.

"Give it your all, Sunset." Twilight told her. "I know you can do this!" Sunset nodded back to her, giving a thumbs-up back in response.

"...Alright, Sonata," Adagio told her bandmate, "get in there."

"Yeah, and you better not mess this up for us." Aria added. Sonata just stuck her tongue out at her, not appreciating the snarky comment.

Once both Duelists entered the field, Megan then shouted, "Alright, it's time to start our Tournament Special Match! So let's get right to it!! BEGIN!!"

"Let's DUEL!!" shouted both Sunset and Sonata (Sunset Shimmer: LP 4,000) (Sonata Dusk: LP 4,000).

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The audience was ready for anything that could possibly happen during this Duel between Sunset and Sonata, which no one expected to see in the first place. The only thing that all those people knew was that they wanted Sunset to win and ensure that the Dazzlings would be punished for trying to cheat their way through the tournament.

Twilight, Spike, and Flash sat back down on the side bench, and they were soon joined by Sweetie Belle, who still wasn't sure what was going to happen. "So...now what?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Am I still going to have a Duel after all of this? I know Sunset said I would, but..."

"Of course you will get to Duel, Sweetie." Twilight told her. "All this match will determine is whether or not you'll face Sonata afterwards. It all comes down to how well Sunset can do against her."

"I hope Sunset wins this..." Sweetie said to her. "Not because I'm scared to fight Sonata, of course, but..."

"We know." Flash said to the young girl. "You're just worried for Sunset. Believe me, we're hoping she can pull through this."

"Yeah, especially since now we know that those Dazzling girls have Number Cards..." Spike pointed out. "Y'think they were sent by those weirdos from that Skyes Academy place?"

"Who knows, Spike...?" Twilight replied, unsure herself. "It seems pretty likely, since they kept talking about some sort of 'client', but who knows what the whole deal is. All we know is that they definitely came here for revenge on us for what happened the last time I was here, and you know as well as I do that they're probably willing to do anything to get what they're after." The four of them stayed silent afterwards to see just how the Duel would play out, hoping that Sunset would come out on top.

On the bench at the other side of the arena, Adagio and Aria were confident that they would get what they were after. "This'll be so satisfying...!" Aria told her. "If this plan of yours works, Adagio, we'll get back at those Rainboom losers and have everything we need to take everything from that bug-eyed chick with all the makeup!" Humming a bit, she then asked, "Come to think of it...why'd she need all of that makeup anyway? I know we've got a lot of that stuff, but she had like, a whole store's worth of it in that room of hers. What's the deal with that? What's that weird chick tryin' to hide with all of that stuff?"

"It won't matter anyway, Aria." Adagio told her. "Once we get Shimmer's Number cards, we'll go back and use those cards to take everything she's got and then some! We'll be more powerful than ever before!"

"Assuming Sonata doesn't screw it all up..." Aria told her, still not confident in her blue-skinned bandmate's abilities.

Looking at her Duel Pad and her opening hand, Sonata glanced back at the rest of her group and thought, (Finally...we're gonna get our revenge on Sunset for ruining everything last year! And not only am I gonna show Sunset that we're not to be messed with, but maybe I'll finally show Aria that I'm not some dunderhead like she always thinks I am!)

Drawing her first hand, Sunset said to her opponent, "Alright, I'll go first!" Looking over what she had, she thought, (I've got to try and win this... I can't allow those three to use their Number Cards to cause any more trouble in this tournament than they already have... I just hope that I can make things right.) Taking a card from her hand, she declared, "I summon Chonomaly Nebra Disk in Attack Mode!" Upon playing her card, her disk-shaped monster then appeared on the field, ready to help (Chonomaly Nebra Disk: Level 4 / ATK 1800 / DEF 1500).

"After Nebra Disk is Normal Summoned," Sunset told her opponent, "I can take any other Chronomaly card out of my Deck and add it to my hand. So I'll use it to retrieve Chronomaly Crystal Skull." After adding the card to her hand, she then said, "But it won't stay in my hand for long! I'll discard Crystal Skull and activate its effect! Now I can search my Deck again and add a Chronomaly monster to my hand, and I'll choose Chronomaly Moai!" She then did just that.

"That move helped thin her Deck a little," said Flash Sentry. "Plus, it got a Chronomaly monster in the Graveyard to possibly use for a card effect later on."

Taking the card she had just searched from her Deck, Sunset then declared, "Now, since I control a Chronomaly monster, I'll Special Summon Chronomaly Moai in Defense Mode!" Her Easter Island head-like monster then rose up from out of the ground to further guard its controller (Chronomaly Moai: Level 5 / ATK 1800 / DEF 1600). "Lastly," she then said, "I'll place a card face-down and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn! I draw!" shouted Sonata. She then looked at the card she drew and grumbled a bit to herself upon seeing what it was. She then placed it - along with a second card - in her D-Pad's Spell & Trap slot, saying, "First thing I'm doing is setting these cards face-down!" Sunset glanced at the two Set cards, particularly the first one - the card she drew for her turn. Sunset seemed a bit suspicious about it...

"Next thing I'm gonna do is summon Abyss Soldier in Attack Mode!" she said, playing a strange whale-human hybrid creature carrying a trident in its hands (Abyss Soldier: Level 4 / ATK 1800 / DEF 1300). "And then I'll use Abyss Soldier's effect! By discarding a WATER monster into my Graveyard, I can send any of YOUR monsters back to your hand!" She then pointed to Nebra Disk and shouted, "Which is what I'll do with that weird-looking Frisbee of yours!" Sonata's monster then unleashed a wave that sent Nebra Disk off the field, returning it to Sunset's hand.

(Since Nebra Disk had the same attack points as her monster,) thought Sunset, (she had no choice but to send it back to my hand. Otherwise she would have gone after Moai instead...) She also knew that, based on what she had seen with Sonata's Deck strategies so far, her maneuver wasn't quite done yet and she had an idea of what was coming next.

"Next, since the card I discarded was my Atlantean Dragoons," the blue-colored Dazzling told her foe, "I'll use his effect and grab Atlantean Marksman from my Deck!" After taking her card from the Deck, she then said, "Now get ready, Sunset; I've been waiting for the chance to do this for a long, LOOOONG time!" Pointing forward, she shouted, "Get her, Abyss Soldier! Attack her Moai with your Lunging Trident!" Her monster then speared Sunset's Defense Mode monster, crushing it into rubble.

"Oooof... That's a rough start..." said Apple Bloom.

"At least Sunset didn't take any damage from that attack." Scootaloo pointed out.

"Yeah, an' not only that," Babs Seed told them, "but since Sunset's got her Nebra Disk in her hand again, she can use it t' search out anothuh Chronomaly card from the Deck, so she's actually in pretty good shape right now."

Smirking a little and feeling a little smug, Sonata then said, "Alright, I think that'll do for now. But I'll be more than happy to embarrass you some more next turn."

"Actually, I wouldn't be too sure about that, Sonata." Sunset told her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked the blue-skinned teen.

Tapping her D-Pad's screen, Sunset then said, "I'll activate my Quick-Play Spell, Cosmic Cyclone!" After her card was revealed, she then explained, "At the cost of a thousand Life Points, I can banish any Spell or Trap on the field!" Looking at Sonata's face-down cards, she glanced back at the one that she knew was the card Sonata drew this turn. Pointing to that card, she declared, "I'll banish that card!" (Sunset Shimmer: LP 4,000 - 1,000 = 3,000)

"Aw no!" responded Sonata, her smug act dropped immediately as her card flipped face-up before vanishing a second or two afterwards.

"Hmmm...Macro Cosmos, huh?" asked Sunset, after seeing the card she eliminated from the Duel. "That's a rather odd choice for YOUR Deck, considering how reliant your Deck is on sending cards to your Graveyard; even as a Side Deck option it would probably hurt you more than it would hurt me... Or should say, 'than it would hurt Sweetie Belle'?"

"Urk...!" grunted Sonata, realizing what her opponent was going on about.

"What's she talking about?" asked Sweetie Belle, curious since her name was mentioned.

"That card Sunset banished; it wasn't listed in Sonata's Deck list either." Flash told her. "Which means she was indeed trying to cheat you had she been able to Duel you, just like she did in her Duel with Bright. That one card could have stopped a lot of your Deck's best moves, such as using Crystal Abundance or summoning Rainbow Dragon. Not only that, your Deck also doesn't have a lot of cards to destroy cards like Macro Cosmos, either."

"Maybe so, but now that trick of theirs is backfiring." said Twilight. "Because now they're dueling Sunset instead, so they didn't have time to change their Deck to fight her. Not only that, but the cards they snuck in to counter Sweetie Belle will probably end up being useless against Sunset. I wonder if Sunset took that into account when she challenged them."

"Urrgh..." grumbled Adagio. "I was afraid of this... Sonata's Deck was altered to fight a Crystal Beast Deck, but she isn't fighting that Deck right now...! Not that it matters; we still have more than enough power to crush her regardless of this handicap. We just have to hope that none of the cards we swapped in come up before we can establish control of the game."

"And hope that Sonata doesn't slip up and do something stupid when we can't afford it." Aria noted, always eager to remind everyone just how she thought regarding Sonata.

Drawing her next card, Sunset thought to herself, (I knew that card I banished was one that they illegally swapped into her Deck, judging from the annoyed look on her face when she drew it; I guess it's a good thing that Sonata doesn't have a good poker face.) Looking at her hand, she then pondered, (Still though, I'm lucky I was able to get rid of that Trap; it actually would have been bad for my Deck too, though mine is better prepared to deal with it.)

"Hey! You just gonna stand there and stare at your hand all day?!" asked Sonata. "You're the Judge; you should know there's a rule against slow playing!"

"Like you're one to talk about breaking rules!" shouted Spike, a little miffed by that comment.

Even so, Sunset knew that she had to wrap this Duel up fast, so she wasted no time in making her next move, "Well, since you insist," she told Sonata, "and since you were so generous to give my Nebra Disk back to me, I'll go and re-summon it in Attack Mode!" After her monster returned to the field, Sunset then told her, "And you know what that means: I get to search my Deck for another Chronomaly card!"

"Aw no! I forgot about that!" said Sonata, realizing that she may have made a slight mistake in letting her get that card back into her hand. "Urrgh...fine! Just get your card and get on with the rest of your turn already!"

"Fine." Sunset responded calmly. "I'll get Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem out of my Deck with Nebra Disk's effect." After taking her chosen card, she then played another card from her hand, saying, "Now I'll activate Chronomaly Technology! Here's how it works: After I banish the Chronomaly Crystal Skull in my Graveyard, I can peek at the top two cards of my Deck. I take one to put in my hand and put the other one in the Graveyard." After paying the cost of the card, Sunset picked the top two cards of her Deck and looked at what they were. It didn't take long to make a decision: She took the second card she picked up from the Deck and sent the first one to her Graveyard.

"Well...? What did you get with that card?" asked Sonata, anxious to know.

"You'll see." Sunset assured her. "But first, I'll use the effect of my Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem, and Special Summon him in Attack Mode, since I used a Chronomaly Spell during this turn." After playing her card, a red humanoid creature made of rock rose up from beneath the ground and assumed a fighting stance (Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem: Level 4 / ATK 1500 / DEF 1000). Then, taking the card she picked up from her Spell Card earlier, Sunset then told Sonata, "If you knew what card I got with Chronomaly Technology, I don't think you'd be as eager to see it..."

"Uhhhh..." Sonata wasn't sure what to expect, but was starting to get worried.

Playing the card from her hand, Sunset declared, "I activate...Raigeki!! Which means your Abyss Soldier is going down!" Everyone then watched as a single bolt of lightning struck Sonata's only monster on the field and vaporized it into nothing.

"WHAT?!?" the blue girl screamed. "That card is so broken!! That's not fair!"

"You mean MORE unfair than illegally changing your Deck to defeat specific opponents?" asked Sunset. Sonata grunted a little, realizing that she wasn't one to talk about things that were not fair.

"Now Sonata is wide open to an attack by both of Sunset's monsters..." said Rarity.

"And the damage they'll cause'll take out over three-quarters of her Life Points!" Applejack added. "Sunset'll get a huge advantage and maybe even win 'cause of it!"

"...I don't like to disagree with any of you," began Fluttershy, "but I don't think it will be that easy... Sonata still has a face-down card on the field, so she might be able to protect herself..." The rest of them looked on, hoping that whatever Sonata had prepared wouldn't be something Sunset couldn't handle.

Sunset felt the same way, looking at her opponent's set card. (Even with that face-down card out,) she thought, (I should still try to attack anyway and at least see what she's cooking...) Pointing forward, the red-and-yellow girl shouted, "Go, Nebra Disk! Attack Sonata directly!" The disk-shaped monster then began spinning like a saw blade and flew straight towards Sonata.

"You're getting me that easily!!" the blue Dazzlings shouted, tapping her D-Pad. "I activate Bubble Bringer!" After flipping the card, a massive cloud of bubbles began spraying out of the card towards Nebra Disk. Suddenly, it stopped in place, as the bubble cloud prevented it from seeing where it was going (though how it was able to see in the first place was a mystery). "Thanks to this card," Sonata told her foe, "None of our monsters that are Level 4 or higher can attack directly! So you won't get to my Life Points THIS turn! So THERE!"

Dismayed, but not defeated yet, Sunset spoke, "I had a feeling you had something like that ready. So now I can try and play around it somehow."

"I'd like to see you try!" Sonata taunted, trying to sound confident despite the fact that she was still pretty wide open to an attack.

Looking at a card in her hand and thinking for a while, Sunset said to herself, (Okay...I still have an advantage in the number of cards I have out, so my best plan is to wait and see what she does next turn... And I think this card could help me counter whatever she does as best as possible, but we'll just have to see...) Placing the card in her back row, she declared, "I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

(Hmmm...) thought Twilight. (She didn't Xyz Summon this turn, despite that she has two Level 4 monsters on the field... I wonder why?)

"Then it's my turn! I draw!" Sonata said, taking her next card. Looking at it, she smirked and thought, (That's the perfect card! Now I can show Sunset - AND my sisters - that I'm not the airhead they think I am!) Taking a different card from her hand, she then played it, shouting, "I Summon Atlantean Marksman in Attack Mode!" In an instant, her crossbow/trident-wielding monster appeared on the field (Atlantean Marksman: Level 3 / ATK 1400 / DEF 0). "And since I just played a Sea Serpent monster to the field, I can use the effect of the Shark Stickers I drew and bring it out too!" Sonata told Sunset as she played the card, bring out a small, blue fish-like creature with what appeared to be a disk-shaped object on its head that seemed to be adhesive in function (Shark Stickers: Level 3 / ATK 200 / DEF 1000).

(Two Level 3 monsters, huh...?) thought Sunset, already figuring out where this was going.

"Looks like Sonata's about to bring out an Xyz Monster..." noted Flash.

"Yeah, but which one?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Twilight had a feeling that she knew what was coming next...as did Utopia, who decided to make himself known to her right now. (Twilight...) he said. (I am certain that you can feel it as well... You know what's about to happen...)

Nodding, she told him, (I do... Which means Sunset was right about what she thought about them...besides the fact that they tried to cheat in the tournament.)

As her two monsters on the field began to glow a bright blue, Sonata - whose eyes changed their color from their normal raspberry-like color to a fiery, sinister red. "You'd better be ready for this, Sunset!" she said with a wicked-sounding snarl, as if she was turning into a wild animal mid-Duel. "I'm gonna crush you and show everyone here just how powerful I am, including my sisters!!" Thrusting her hand into the air, she shouted, "I overlay Atlantean Marksman and Shark Stickers - both Level 3!! I build the Overlay Network!!"

The winds began to pick up a bit more as a galaxy-like portal appeared in the center of the field, drawing in both of Sonata's monsters. Sunset did her best to hold her ground, steeling herself for whatever Sonata was bringing out. Megan, along with many of the other spectators, were just trying to figure out what was going on.

"What is this...?" asked Torch, looking up as the sky above began to darken a little.

"I don't know," Ember replied, "but I'm starting to get the feeling that this isn't a normal Duel anymore..."

"Urk...!" grunted Martin, as he started holding his head as if he had a migraine.

"Martin? You okay, buddy?" asked Gilda out of concern.

"I...I'm fine, but... but I just had a sudden feeling come over me..." he said to her. "A familiar - and horrible - feeling..."

Feeling more powerful with each second passing, Sonata was prepared to play her trump card. "Surface! Number 47!" she chanted. "Emerge from the depths of the cold ocean waters and drag your prey down where light can't reach! Xyz Summon! Devour them! Rank 3! Nightmare Shark!!"

Once the chant was finished, the portal exploded in a massive ball of light, revealing a red mark on the ground that looked like the number 47. Then, from out of where the mark was, a massive amount of seawater billowed out, creating a small ocean. Out of that ocean came a bright blue egg-like object, which began to glow brightly as it formed into another shape: A blue-and-white creature that seemed to be part shark and part dragon in appearance, based on the wing-like protrusions coming out of its back. On its "hands" were large, sharp sword-like claws, and it's long tail was covered in a few barbs as well. Its dorsal fin bore the 47 mark, as did Sonata's left forearm.

*******************************

Number 47: Nightmare Shark
(Xyz-Effect Monster/Sea Serpent/WATER/Rank 3/ATK 2000/DEF 2000)

2 Level 3 monsters
Cannot be destroyed by battle except with "Number" monsters. When this card is Special Summoned: You can attach 1 Level 3 WATER monster from your hand or your side of the field to this card as material. Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 WATER monster you control; this turn, that monster can attack your opponent directly, also other monsters cannot attack.

*******************************

"Oh dear...!" said a surprised Rarity. "Sonata summoned a Number! That must be why Sunset is dueling them! She must have found out that they had Number cards!"

"This may be statin' the obvious, but that ain't a good thing..." Applejack told her friends. "Those cards're dangerous in the hands of perfectly innocent people, but with her havin' one..."

"And you probably wanna bet the other two Dazzlings have Number cards too?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I'm not taking that bet, Dashie." Pinkie told her. "You'll probably win that bet. Besides, I'm too young to gamble anyway."

"So it's true..." said Flash. "Those girls DO have a Number card, maybe even more."

"Oh wow...I'm glad I'm not dueling them after all." said Sweetie Belle, feeling a bit frightened by the sudden appearance of this new Number Card. Twilight had said nothing in response, as she and Spike looked on, hoping that Sunset would be able to defeat this Number Card too.

"Hmmm...you didn't waste any time, did you?" asked Sunset. "I had a feeling that you'd bring your Number Card out sooner or later. But don't think that you're going to win this Duel just because you got it onto the field."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Sonata responded, not listening to a word she said. "Listen, Sunset: My sisters and I have got a lot riding on this, and you're not gonna ruin it this time! Not only are we gonna get our revenge on you, but I'LL be the one that does it! Then finally, I'll get all the respect that I deserve!! I'm not some blockhead you can make fun of! And I'm gonna prove that right now!!"

(Yeesh...well she wasn't lying about having a lot riding on this game...) thought Sunset, starting to understand what was driving Sonata right now. (She thinks that everyone else thinks that she's unintelligent, and that's given her such an inferiority complex. I'll bet she's trying to not just prove that she's smarter than she seems to other people; I'll bet she's mostly trying to prove that to her sisters as well...) Sunset sighed a bit and said to herself, "In some ways...she was just like I used to be; trying to prove to someone else that she deserves more than what she's been given and actually needs..." She then put on a determined look and added, "Well, whatever she's trying to do, I have a lot riding on this Duel too... And I refuse to lose!"

"What are you mumbling about??" asked Sonata, confused. "Ah, whatever. Doesn't matter. I'll be ending this game real fast anyway. And I'll start by activating Nightmare Shark's effect! By removing an overlay unit, I can have him attack you directly this turn!" She then took a card from under her Xyz Monster (Number 47: Nightmare Shark: OLU 2 - 1 = 1), causing one of its two blue. floating orbs to be absorbed into its dorsal fin, giving it a power boost.

"That all you've got?" asked Sunset.

"Hardly!" the blue Dazzling responded. "Because Atlantean Marksman was the card I detached from Nightmare Shark, I can use his effect too! That lets me pop any face-down card you've got on the field! And since that card in your back row is only one you've got..."

"Actually, let me just stop you right there." Sunset interrupted. "Since you're about to destroy my set card, I'll chain it first! I activate my Wonder Xyz!"

"What the-?!" exclaimed Sonata.

"I decided the best thing to do at the end of my turn was set up my board so that I could react to whatever you tried to do." Sunset explained to her. "So, since you decided to show me your Number Card, allow ME to show you one of mine!" Putting her right hand into the air, she then shouted, "Using the effect of Wonder Xyz, I overlay my Level 4 Nebra Disk and Aztec Mask Golem to build the Overlay Network!!" Her two monsters on the field then transformed into a pair of lights - one orange, and one yellow - before they went into another galaxy-like vortex.

"No! There's just no way!!" protested Sonata, despite being unable to stop Sunset from making her move.

"Descend now, Number 36!" Sunset chanted. "Great palace of unknown origin, show yourself and display your mystical might! Xyz Summon!! Temple of Artifacts! Rank 4! Chronomaly Chateau Huyuk!!" And with that, the first of her Chonomaly Numbers appeared on the field, the bright blue sphere hovering over the field in all its majesty (Number 36: Chronomaly Chateau Huyuk: Rank 4 / ATK 2000 / DEF 2500 / OLU 2).

"Now they both have a Number on the field!" said Rainbow Dash. "But Sunset's is gonna be the one that wins, no question about it!"

Ember and Torch were quite amazed at the cards that both Sonata and Sunset had played. "Dad...what are those monsters they have on the field...?" Ember asked her father. "I've never seen anything like them before..."

"I...I don't know, Ember..." Torch replied, unsure of what was going on. "I've seen all sorts of cards and monsters during my dueling career, but I've never seen anything like this...! All I can say for certain is...is that these monsters might be in a whole other league, beyond the power of most other cards out there..."

(Hmmm...beyond most other cards, huh...?) thought Ember. (That sounds like the perfect kind of challenge for me!) The sight of those Numbers didn't scare her, but made her excited at the thought of possibly fighting them in a real Duel, especially since she was driven by her desire to have a rematch against Sunset once she won the tournament...

Back at the Duel, Sunset then said to Sonata, "So now that my Trap Card has resolved its effect, your Marksman's effect can no longer destroy it. Too bad for you, but very good for me."

"Yeah, well so what?! Your monster's not stronger than mine is," Sonata informed her foe, "and besides that, he's attacking you directly anyway! Once Nightmare Shark takes a bite of your Life Points, the rest'll be easy! No one'll ever make fun of me ever again!!" Pointing forward, she shouted, "Get her, Nightmare Shark!! Attack her directly!!" Her monster rushed towrds Sunset, ready to devour her and her Life Points.

"If that attack hits," said Flash worryingly, "Sunset'll be down to just a thousand Life Points!"

"Sunset!! Watch out!!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

But the jacket-wearing teen was ready for it. "I activate the effect of Chateau Huyuk!" she declared. "By removing an overlay unit, I can drop the attack power of one of your monsters straight to zero for the rest of the turn!!"

"You can WHAT?!" asked a startled Sonata.

Thanks to the power of the orb that it absorbed into itself (Number 36: Chronomaly Chateau Huyuk: OLU 2 - 1 = 1), Sunset's Number Card heavily weakened Sonata's monster (Number 47: Nightmare Shark: ATK 2000 > 0), who slowed down its charge until it was stopped completely, falling to the ground in exhaustion. "Now that its attack is zero," Sunset told her opponent, "your monster's direct attack doesn't cause me any damage."

"...Lucky move..." grumbled the blue siren, annoyed that her attack didn't work.

"I hardly call it luck, Sonata." Sunset told her. "I made my move in preparation against whatever you might try to do this turn. That way, I could summon the monster I needed for that moment. My Deck had countermeasures against whatever I might face, but unlike you and your sisters over there, I don't need to cheat those countermeasures in. And I don't rush into a situation without thinking, like you did when you made your attack without thinking about what my Chateau Huyuk was capable of."

"...Just make your make your move already." Sonata grumbled, not in the mood to listen to Sunset's speech (Number 47: Nightmare Shark: ATK 0 > 2000).

Sighing, Sunset took her next card, saying, "I'll draw a card and use Chateau Huyuk's effect again (Number 36: Chronomaly Chateau Huyuk: OLU 1 - 1 = 0)! So Nightmare Shark's attack once more goes down to zero until the end of the turn." Sunset's monster weakened Sonata's monster once more, leaving it vulnerable (Number 47: Nightmare Shark: ATK 2000 > 0). "Unfortunately for you," the red-and-yellow girl continued, "Nightmare Shark won't make it to the end of the turn."

"No...! No I can't lose!" protested the blue Dazzling. "I can't lose like this!!"

"I know you have a lot riding on this Duel, Sonata... But I have a lot at stake here, too. And I don't intend to lose either!" Sunset then said to her Number Card, "Now, Chateau Huyuk! Attack Nightmare Shark!! Neolithic Laser Strike!!" The massive sphere then fired a massive and powerful beam of energy at the ground that began sweeping its way towards Sonata and her monster.

(No...this can't be...!) thought the blue Dazzling. (How...how could I lose to her...?! Now Aria's never gonna let live me that d-!) But her thought was cut short when the beam finally hit her monster, evaporating it to nothing and striking Sonata hard. "EEEEYYAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" she screamed, taking the heavy hit to her Life Points (Sonata Dusk: LP 4,000 - 2,000 = 2,000).

"Alright!" cheered Apple Bloom. "Sonata just lost half her Life Points!"

"Yeah, Sunset's got her on the run now!" Scootaloo added, eager to see their coach win against the Dazzlings.

Sunset took a deep sigh to ease herself up a bit before looking back towards Sonata, who had a stunned expression on her face, both her arms drooping down, and wasn't moving an inch. Before Sunset could ask what was wrong, she - and everyone else watching - watched as the blue Dazzling toppled down to the ground. "Huh? What happened to her??" Sunset asked, showing some concern for her opponent.

"What on Earth...?" asked Rarity. "Did Sonata just faint?"

"Maybe..." thought Applejack. "After takin' an attack like that, Ah wouldn't blame 'er..."

"So...does this mean the Duel's over...?" asked Fluttershy.

Taking out a tablet and tapping it a few times, Pinkie Pie told her shy friend, "Nah, I don't think so. The title of the story says that this is just Part One, so there's GOTTA be more to it than just this."

Twilight was just as confused and worried as everyone else was. Just then, Utopia spoke to her in her mind, saying, (I had a feeling this would happen...)

(What?) asked Twilight. (You knew this would happen? What do you mean?)

(I felt that Sonata was inexperienced in wielding her Number Card, and she drained a lot of her own energy upon summoning it to the field...) Utopia answered her. (So, between the Number's destruction and the mighty blow Sunset had dealt to her, that sudden loss of energy caught up to Sonata and exhausted her, to the point where she couldn't even find the strength to stand up or remain conscious. She is still alive of course, but it may take her a great amount of time to recover...) Twilight was relieved to hear that Sonata wasn't dead, but did feel a little sorry for her, as was her nature.

Adagio and Aria, on the other hand, were not very pleased by what had just happened. "Unbelievable..." Adagio spoke in an irritated voice. "I give Sonata one job - ONE job - and she couldn't do it...! I thought for sure that she got the point this time, but apparently not..."

"What'd I tell you, Adagio?" Aria asked her. "I told you that if I were the one in the tournament, none of this would have happened!" Getting up off the bench, she added, "And it's about time I prove that to you..."

Sunset then noticed Aria walking over to where Sonata was laying and asked, "And what do you think you're doing?"

Looking over towards her, the pink-skinned Dazzling answered, saying, "What does it look like, Sunset?" She then removed Sonata's Duel Pad and strapped it onto herself. "Since my sister here can't continue the Duel anymore, I'm takin' over for her!"

"What?!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "That's not fair! Sunset beat Sonata already! The Duel's over!"

"...NO. She didn't beat us." Aria rebutted. "If you recall, our deal at the beginning of this whole thing was that if she beat us, we'd leave the tournament: If she beat US. And 'us' means all THREE of us! Even though Sonata's down, me and Adagio are still here! So this game's NOT over, get it?!"

"Why you little-!" Dash continued to protest.

"Rainbow...please calm down..." Fluttershy urged her. "It's not worth getting angry over..." The cyan-skinned teen huffed, but did as Fluttershy suggested and calmed down.

Sunset also wasn't too happy about this whole deal, but decided it wasn't worth arguing about either. "If that's the way you see it, then fine: You can take over for Sonata. But since the Duel didn't technically end, we'll start from where she left off, so the current scores and the status of the field remain the same, got it?" (Sunset Shimmer: LP 3,000)

"Whatever." huffed Aria. "Like I need a handicap to beat you down into the dirt!" (Aria Blaze: LP 2,000) She then looked Sunset square in the eye and told her, "I'm warnin' you, though: I'm not gonna be as easy t' beat as Sonata was! I won't make the same bone-headed mistakes as she did! I'll take you down and be the one responsible for getting back at you and your loser friends!!"

"Give me all the threats you want, if it makes you feel better..." Sunset told her, unfazed by Aria's rude remarks, "but here in this arena, we let our cards do the talking. So draw your next card and let's finish this!"

"Now you say something I can agree with!" the pink Dazzling shouted. "It's time I personally put an end to your meddling once and for all! I draw!" After she drew her card for the turn, she placed it into her hand, took out a different card, and played it onto her D-Pad. "I summon Atlantean Attack Squad in Attack Mode!" she shouted. Her fish-man monster then appeared on the field, wearing bumpy, purple armor and wielding a sword and shield, the latter of which matched the armor color and also looked fish-like in appearance (Atlantean Attack Squad: Level 3 / ATK 1400 / DEF 0). "This guy's ability gives him 800 more attack points when I have another Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua-Type monster on my field." Aria then explained.

"Well right now, you DON'T have another monster out." Sunset reminded her. "And even if you did, Numbers can only be destroyed with another Number."

"You honestly don't think I already know all that?" asked the pig-tailed Dazzling. "Unlike Sonata, I don't overlook those kinds of things!" Taking another card from out of her hand, she then added, "Once I play this card, we'll have this match in the bag, along with all your Number Cards! I activate the Spell Card Surface!"

*******************************

Surface
(Normal Spell Card)

Target 1 Level 3 or lower Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua monster in your GY; Special Summon it in Defense Position.

*******************************

"I'll use this card to bring back Atlantean Marksman from the Graveyard, giving me two monsters!" Aria told her nemesis as her monster in the Graveyard returned to the field in Defense Position. "More importantly, they're both Level 3." she then added.

"...Which means you have the material to make a Rank 3 Xyz Monster." Sunset deduced. (And if my hunch is right,) she then thought to herself, (I'm sure I know what kind of card she's about to bring out with those two monsters...)

"...Twilight?" Spike asked his Princess friend, "Do you think she's going to bring out another Number against Sunset?"

"...I'm certain of it." the purple girl answered. "That's the only reason that she feels so confident right now." Utopia, in his spirit form, nodded in agreement.

Closing her eyes and putting on a sinister smirk, Aria then said to Sunset, "You'd better be ready... "Cause if you aren't..." She then opened her eyes, revealing that not only did they give Aria a more crazy and unhinged look on her face, but they had also changed color from their normal mulberry purple to a bright yellow. She then finished her sentence, saying, "...then I'm about to tear you to shreds!! I overlay my Level 3 Attack Squad and Marksman and build the Overlay Network!!" Her two monsters then flew into the galaxy-like vortex that manifested itself in the center of the field, which exploded to reveal another Number symbol: This time resembling the number 17.

"Aw geez...here we go again...!" said Gabby as she and her Griffonstone High friends braced themselves for the appearance of another Number.

"No way...! Don't tell me SHE'S got one of those Number Cards too!" exclaimed Gilda. "That's nuts!" Martin seemed to know that already; having had Numbers himself once, he could sense that sort of power in others, though not to the same degree as Sunset or Twilight could.

"Surface now! Number 17!" Aria began to chant. "Mighty god of the ocean's depths, emerge from the water and display your might! With your power at my command, there's no stopping me! Xyz Summon!!" After she said that, a large object descended from above the still-darkened skies above: It seemed to be a purple, egg-like object, but was covered in barbs. On the top of it, several spider-leg like apparatuses were sticking out, giving it a rather unsettling appearance. "Chew 'em up! Rank 3! Leviathan Dragon!!" shouted Aria, finishing the chant.

After that, the object then unfurled itself, revealing the body of a massive, serpent-like dragon, and that the spider leg-like appendages were actually three pairs of blue wings. More spines could be seen on the creature's face (one of which bore its Number symbol), its lower body and its tail. The dragon gave out a screeching roar as it made its presence known to all who were watching.

"I was right..." thought Sunset out-loud. "She had a Number Card too...!"

"Heheheheh..." chuckled Aria, sounding more evil the moment her Number card entered the field. "I haven't felt this good in a long time...! Finally, you and your dumb friends'll pay for what you did to us!! My Leviathan Dragon will chew you all up and spit you out! And then, no one will be able to stop us!!"

"Bring it on!" shouted Sunset, not about to show any fear despite the massive beast that stood in her way.

"Oh, I'll 'bring it on', alright, Sunset..." the pink-skinned Dazzling told her in a wicked-sounding voice. "And I'll bring you down while I'm at it! Prepare to say goodbye to everything!" The audience watched on, wondering what would become of Sunset once the Duel was over. All they knew for sure was that this match was about to get even more intense...

-- To Be Continued...

Comments

[MLPMekarm]

now karma is hitting the siren cheets hard.

[nightshroud96]

Didn't expect that would be how all 3 Dazzlings will duel.

Remember Coloreless - Chaos King Of Dark World?
Its FINALLY printed. AND Dark Corridor too.

And Volcanic support is finally happening too.
So Garble is more dangerous than before.
If only Spike was allowed to duel him and beat him in this AU though..

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Oh man, this is awesome! It looks like instead of just disqualifying Sonata, Sunset is doing what Kaiba did to Zigfried and beating them in a duel first. Pretty smart, that way she gets their Number cards when she wins. She pretty much beat Sonata by knockout with just one attack already, but Aria pulled a case of exact words to take her place. I bet Sunset can take her though. Then it is just a matter of if she will duel Adagio too and make it three for three.

Then of course once these three cheaters are taken care of, that automatically makes the finals Ember vs Sweetie Belle!

[ArcanaMaverick7]

Sunset VS the Dazzlings. Awesome. Loved how Sunset was able to beat Sonata's Number, then Aria takes over and summons her own.

[Monty Eggman]

11566746

I'm glad you made that connection; since that is one of my favorite episodes of the original series, I wanted to sort of do my own take on it. I hope you'll enjoy the rest of it.

[LunarChaos88]

So awesome, so tense. I can't wait to see what Number Adagio will use. ^^