Duel Sixteen - Applejack vs The Elite! Unsurpassable Challenge!?
Applejack stares down the Nymphs’ second representative, a short, lively girl with long, wild lime green hair tied into a ponytail and big round eyes of a darker shade. The girl is cute as a button and, much like with Dazzleflash, her presence is enough to make the crowd go wild, but unlike her taller teammate, she doesn’t display signs of animosity towards Applejack. She grins cheerfully and introduces herself, “I’m Little Wings the Aurae! Get ready ‘cuz I’m gonna blow you away!” Little Wings swings her right arm and pumps her fist forwards, eliciting another round of cheers and whistles from the crowd.
Applejack’s nose flares. She re-shuffles her deck, draws her five cards and shouts back, “Bring it!” The Duel Disk cycle alternatively once again, giving Applejack the first turn. She wastes no time summoning Superheavy Samurai Flutist and tributing it to special summon Big Benkei. “Ah’ equip Benkei with Superheavy Samurai Soulshield Wall!” Applejack ends her turn with two cards in her hand. Her life points display above her at 4000.
Twilight thinks it would normally be a good start, with Flutist to negate a targeting effect and Soulshield Wall to block an attack, but against these girls she’s not so sure.
“My turn!” Little Wings draws her initial five cards plus one. She hums a cheery tune as she plays Terraforming to fetch Divine Wind of Mist Valley from her deck and immediately activates it. The wind begins picking up and the air around them changes, glowing with vibrant hues of yellow and orange. “Come, Harpie Channeler!” A beautiful, redheaded bird-woman appears with a sharp cry, her jet-black feathers and sharp talons give her a threatening appearance. Little Wings activates her monster’s effect, discarding Harpie Lady #1 to special summon Harpie Dancer directly from her deck.
Harpie Dancer appears with her wings folded around her body like a robe. She suddenly spreads them and disappears in a shower of pure white feathers. Both, Harpie Harpist and Harpie Queen appear in her place, the latter thanks to the effect of Divine Wind of Mist Valley. Harpie Harpist plays a soft tune and Harpie Channeler returns to the hand with an annoyed expression. Little Wings explains, “With Harpie Harpist I can bounce one of my monsters and one of yours!” She grins and waves, “Bye-Bye, Big Benkei!”
Applejack growls, “You wish! Ah’ banish Superheavy Samurai Flutist to negate your monster’s effect!”
Little Wings vigorously shakes her head. “Nuh-huh!” She plays a trap card directly from her hand, “Harpie’s Feather Storm!” The card launches a barrage of feathers that stick all over Applejack’s Duel Disk. “I can play this one from my hand if I have one of my Harpies with me and it negates all your monsters’ effects!”
Applejack glares impotently as the wind begins to envelop Big Benkei. Twilight reacts quickly and flicks her index finger, enveloping Applejack’s skirt with her magical aura and keeping it firmly in place against the wind. Her cheeks heat up in a mixture of anger and embarrassment when she hears several of the boys behind her groan and comment disappointed. Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei is sent back to Applejack’s hand, leaving her open for a direct attack.
“Double Scratch Clash!” Harpie Harpist and Harpie Queen charge in tandem, striking Applejack across the chest and midsection with their claws and sending her stumbling backwards. Her life points lower drastically, to 400. Little Wings sets a single card and declares the end of her turn with a wink.
“Man, Little Wings is so amazing,” comments an smitten boy as he adjusts his camera to better focus on her face. Two other boys next to him nod firmly and follow his example with their own cameras.
“Mah’ turn!” Applejack draws Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji. She looks at the card, then at the card set on Little Wings’ side of the field and back to her hand again. If she wants, she could easily summon Big Benkei again and launch an attack. Two, in fact, as she also has Superheavy Samurai Soulhorns. But if Little Wings’ set card is something to block her attack, she could end up wide open.
Applejack thinks she’s going to try with quantity over quality this time. “Ah’ summon Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji and equip it with Superheavy Samurai Soulhorns!” She unequip Soulhorns, special summoning it, and then normal summons Superheavy Samurai Kabuto in attack position, leaving her with only Big Benkei in her hand. “I’m done here!”
Little Wings draws energetically. She normal summons Harpie Lady #2 and immediately declares, “I overlay my harpies!” A tornado of feathers engulfs the three bird-women. The students closest to the Nymphs shield their faces, the girls also holding down their skirts. “From a time that never was, answer my call!” Little Wings chants with her arms spread open. “A mirage with fangs and claws!” The wind abruptly subsides and in place of the harpies appears a fierce-looking crimson dragon. Its body flickers, almost as if it was made of smoke or fog. “Xyz Summon! Rank Four! Harpie’s Pet Phantasmal Dragon!”
Applejack answers with Superheavy Samurai Kabuto’s effect, switching it to defense position and increasing its defense points by 500.
“Direct attack!” Before Applejack can fully process it, Harpie’s Pet Phantasmal Dragon vanishes, only to re-appear behind her and strike her with its claws. Applejack stumbles forward. Her life points go down to zero and crowd cheers for the second victory in a row of the Nymphs.
Applejack grits her teeth. She instinctively moves her hand towards her head, only to find she doesn’t have a hat to adjust. “Dang it,” she mutters angrily. In her mind she can see the face of Baloney, smirking at her as he repeats his words. Ever since the beginning, you’ve been facing losers and bums.
Her defenses were useless, Twilight thinks dismayed.
Little Wings returns to her group and gets congratulated by her teammates. She quickly goes behind one of them, a taller, demure-looking girl, and pushes her forward. The girl’s cheeks redden as the crowd cheers for her, several of the boys chanting her name.
“Pearl Rain! Pearl Rain! Pearl Rain!”
Twilight thinks she cannot fully blame them. The girl is stunningly beautiful, with her flawless, pale-white skin and soft blue eyes. Her most prominent feature is definitely her hair: it’s so long it goes down her waist and of a light cerulean that seems to shimmer. It reminds Twilight of the surface of a clear lake under the light of the morning sun.
Pearl Rain bows politely and introduces herself to Applejack, “My name is Pearl Rain and I hold the title of Naiad.” She ignites her dark blue Duel Disk, revealing an energy blade of a lighter shade, and adds, “Please don’t take this personally.”
Seeing Applejack’s incensed expression, a couple of girls in the crowd joke it may be too late for that.
The Duel Disks decide Applejack will go first once again. She re-shuffles her deck and aggressively draws her five cards. “Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves!” She equips her monster with Superheavy Samurai Soulpeacemaker and tributes them both to bring Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei directly from her deck to the field. Applejack follows by rearranging the top five cards of her deck with Gigagloves' effect. “Turn end!”
Pearl Rain calmly draws. The same group of boys shout words of encouragement, causing her to blush and smile. “I activate Moray of Greed.” Pearl Rain shuffles Mermail Abyssmander and Mermail Abysslinde back into her deck to draw three new cards.
Twilight frowns. First earth, then wind and now water, she thinks. Do these girls each use a deck focused on a single attribute?
Satisfied with her newest cards, Pearl Rain normal summons Neptabyss, the Atlantean Prince. The floor ripples like water and a young, fit man emerges with a loud splash, clad in blue armor and wielding an ornate trident. Using Neptabyss’s effect, Pearl Rain sends Atlantean Dragoons from her deck to the graveyard to add Atlantean Heavy Infantry from her deck to her hand. She follows with Atlantean Dragoons’ effect to add Mermail Abyssmegalo to her hand, again from her deck.
“I discard Abyss Soldier and Atlantean Heavy Infantry to special summon Mermail Abyssmegalo.” A column of water erupts from the middle of the field, and from inside emerges a massive humanoid shark clad in scale-like armor. The creature stands taller than even Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei and it wields a serrated sword more akin to the spine of a downed prey than a weapon proper.
Applejack thinks Mermail Abyssmegalo’s 2400 attack points are not enough to break through Big Benkei’s defenses, and if her opponent tries to use a card effect, she’s prepared to counter it. Sure enough, Pearl Rain explains when Atlantean Heavy Infantry is sent to the graveyard to activate a water monster’s effect, she can destroy an opponent’s face-up card on the field.
A tidal wave surges, threatening to devour Big Benkei. Applejack snarls, “The hay you will!” She discards Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit, lowering the defense points of Big Benkei by 800, but preventing its destruction by battle or card effect. Big Benkei’s body glows hot red. The tidal wave explodes into a cloud of steam as soon as it makes contact with its body.
An astonished boy exclaims, “She blocked Pearl Rain’s one-turn-kill combo!”
Twilight smiles as she realizes Pearl Rain must have been planning to tribute Neptabyss to grant Abyssmegalo a second attack and bring back Atlantean Dragoons to the field. With three direct attacks, she could have bypassed Gigagloves defensive effectand win. She looks at Applejack, whose expression brightened considerably. But Applejack managed to counter her perfectly.
Pearl Rain’s lower lip curls slightly in disappointment. She retrieves Abyss-Sphere from her deck with Mermail Abyssmegalo’s effect, and then offers Neptabyss to grant it a second attack and allow her to bring back Atlantean Heavy Infantry to the field. “Atlantean Heavy Infantry gives me an extra normal summon of a level four or lower Sea Serpent-Type monster.” Deep Sea Diva emerges on the field. The mermaid’s angelic voice brings Atlantean Pikeman directly from Pearl Rain’s deck to her side. Pearl Rain sets two cards and calmly declares the end of her turn.
Twilight quirks an eyebrow in suspicion. Strange, she thinks. Deep Sea Diva is a tuner monster; why didn’t she perform a Synchro Summon?
“Mah turn! Draw!” Applejack looks at her newly drawn Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet and thinks now is her chance. “Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler!” She switches her newest monster to defense. “With Big Benkei on the field all of mah’ Superheavy Samurai can attack in defense position!”
“Trap card open!” Pearl Rain unveils her set Abyss-Sphere. “Mermail Abyssnerei!” A beautiful armored mermaid jumps from Pearl Rain’s deck, taking a defensive stance.
Applejack is undeterred. She orders the attack of Big Benkei on Mermail Abyssmegalo, “Get him! Superheavy Smash!” As she readies to activate the effect of Soulbuster Gauntlet in her hand, Pearl Rain flips her remaining set card, Poseidon Wave.
Twilight’s eyes widen in realization and she gasps.
The trap unleashes a gust of wind so strong it stops the advance of Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei and even knocks Applejack on her ass. The crowd explodes in a chorus of cheers and whistles, and Applejack realizes in shock that her life points went down to zero.
Poseidon Wave negates a single attack and inflicts 800 points of damage for each Fish, Sea Serpent or Aqua-Type monster on the controller’s field, Twilight thinks. That’s why she filled her side of the field. She looks at Applejack, still processing what happened, and bites her lower lip. These girls have plenty of strategies and they’ve all seen most of what Applejack’s deck can do.
Pearl Rain bows politely once again and retires without saying a word. The boys chant her name some more. One of the Nymphs, a sporty girl with short red hair, grins widely and puts her arm around Pearl Rain’s neck, hugging her tightly before taking her spot. The crowd cheers loudly for her as well, particularly the girls.
The red-haired girl points at herself with her thumb. “The name’s Ivory Fire, the Thalia,” she says with a cocky grin. In terms of looks, she has nothing to envy her teammates. Her hair is short and wild, with a handful of locks going over her forehead, and of a bright red color, giving her a certain “boyish charm”. Her violet eyes brim with confidence. Ivory Fire raises her left arm and ignites her crimson Duel Disk, the blade glowing with an orange hue. “Let’s see if you can take the heat!”
Applejack stands up. Ever since the beginning, you’ve been facing losers and bums. Grey Cloud was the only genuine article among them, and we all saw how you went up against him. She shakes her head and scowls fiercely, re-shuffling her deck without a word and drawing five cards.
The Duel Disks determine Ivory Fire will take the first turn. She draws her initial hand in a pile, fanning it with a single flick of her wrist. After briefly examining her options, she summons Fire King Avatar Barong and sets two cards. Ivory Fire throws a side kick in the direction of Applejack and, without even lowering her well-toned leg, points with her index finger and says, “Your move.”
A girl squeals and says, “I love when she does that!” A boy next to her nods rapidly. “Yeah,” he mutters. His cheeks redden as he adds, “But it would be better if she wore panties instead of training shorts.” The girl swiftly elbows him in the ribs.
A Fire King deck? Twilight wonders alarmed. She knows what they are capable of, but in these circumstances, giving unsolicited advice during a duel would be a breach of etiquette.
“Mah’ turn!” Applejack draws. Looking at her hand, she thinks now she’s going second this may be her opportunity to deal some serious damage. “Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji!” She offers her monster to bring her ace, Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei, and wastes no time equipping it with Superheavy Samurai Soulhorns and Superheavy Samurai Soulclaw, raising Big Benkei’s defense points to a whopping 4000.
With a soft chuckle of amusement, Ivory Fire activates her set Threatening Roar. The card releases a shockwave that pushes Applejack backwards and forces her to skip her Battle Phase. Applejack glares, visibly annoyed she still can’t reach her opponent’s life points. Once again, she has no choice but to stay on the defensive. “Ah’ special summon Soulhorns and Soulclaw in defense position!” The monsters detach from Big Benkei, standing at its sides and forming a wall in front of Applejack. With no more plays available, she ends her turn.
“Trap card open!” Ivory Fire reveals her second set card, Generation Shift. Fire King Avatar Barong disappears in a shower of sparks and Ivory Fire retrieves a second copy from her deck. She special summons Fire King Avatar Yaksha from her hand, then draws a card to begin her turn proper. “In my next Standby Phase after Barong is destroyed by an effect, I can fetch a Fire King card from my deck!” She retrieves Circle of the Fire Kings, raising her hand count to four, and immediately plays it to destroy Yaksha and bring back Barong. “When Yaksha is destroyed I can destroy one card in my hand!” She chooses Fire King High Avatar Garunix.
“Fire Formation Tenki!” Ivory Fire retrieves Coach Soldier Wolfbark from her deck and wastes no time summoning it. “When Coach Soldier Wolfbark is summoned, I can bring back a fire Beast Warrior from the grave!” Fire King Avatar Yaksha emerges in a column of flames and Ivory Fire overlays it with Coach Soldier Wolfbark to bring Diamond Dire Wolf in defense position. After detaching an overlay unit from her monster, Ivory Fire orders, “Dreadful Howl!” The giant, armored wolf lets out an eerie howl that vaporizes Fire King Avatar Barong and even makes the massive body of Big Benkei crack.
Muttering a curse under her breath, Applejack discards Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit to protect Big Benkei. Ivory Fire laughs slightly. She sets the last card in her hand and adopts a fighting stance, motioning for Applejack to “come” with her right hand.
“Mah’ turn! Draw!” Applejack’s chest heaves and she feels the headache from before creeping back, but she thinks she’s not going to give up. In her hand there’s a second copy of Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit and Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves. After taking a moment to read Fire King High Avatar Garunix’s effect, Applejack glances at Ivory Fire’s set card. What could it be? A second copy of Threatening Roar maybe? That would stop her in her tracks, sure, but with Soulfire Suit she was safe from Garunix’s effect next turn; and she had Gigagloves on top of that. It was a perfect selection of cards, right? Right?
Applejack clenches her right fist and shouts to the sky. “Ah’ equip Big Benkei with Soulclaw and Soulhorns!” The two machines take off and combine in spectacular fashion. “Superheavy Smash!” Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei crushes Diamond Dire Wolf with its massive claw. Applejack orders a direct attack. The set card on Ivory Fire’s side of the field activates and Applejack’s eyes shrink as she reconizes the artwork of Book of Moon. Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei vanishes, leaving only the projection of the back of a card. Applejack deflates; Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit doesn’t work on face-down monsters. She sends Soulhorns and Soulclaw to the graveyard, then sets Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves. “Ah’ done here…”
“My turn!” Ivory Fire eagerly draws. She takes a card from her graveyard, holds it high and shouts, “Light the fire of victory in the sky!” Ivory fire slaps the card on her Duel Disk and calls, “Fire King High Avatar Garunix!” The whole field is engulfed in flames. Applejack shields her face, watching as her cards are turned to ash. The flames finally subside to reveal a terrifying yet majestic giant bird with crimson feathers and a crown of fire. It lets out a cry more akin to the roar of a dragon than the call of a mere avian.
Applejack re-arranges the top five cards of her deck. She keeps her hand over her Duel Disk warily, ready to activate Gigagloves defensive effect.
After retrieving a second copy of Circle of the Fire Kings with Fire King Avatar Barong’s effect, Ivory Fire takes her first card, Rekindling, and activates it while declaring, “It’s over!” Two Fire King Avatar Barong and Fire King Avatar Yaksha appear on the field in a whirlwind of flames.
Applejack grits her teeth impotently and braces herself for the onslaught. The wave of fire washes over her body, taking her full 4000 life points down to zero, and the crowd loudly celebrates for another victory of the Nymphs. It’s obvious they have stopped paying attention to Applejack for a while and they simply keep watching to see the team of girls in action.
Twilight approaches in concern. “Applejack,” she calls softly. “I’m fine, Twilight,” Applejack replies drily. The exhaustion is evident in her face, yet she only has eyes for her opponents. Twilight gulps and steps back. She’s so stubborn, she thinks.
Ivory Fire walks back to her group with her right arm raised triumpanthly, like a fighter just having won her match, the crowd cheering for her. Pearl Rain smiles brightly, clapping enthusiastically for her teammate. Ivory Fire stretches her arms before casually placing both hands behind her head, fingers interlocked. “So, who’s going next?” She looks at the blonde girl and asks, “Sun Glow?”
Sun Glow doesn’t say a word. She keeps her eyes locked on Applejack with a stern frown and both arms crossed over her chest.
Ivory Fire chuckles softly. “Right.” She shares a brief smile with her teammates before turning to the dignified-looking girl. Her mouth curves into a mocking grin and she says, “I guess it’s Miss Prissy’s turn then.”
The dignified girl smirks and counters, “Don’t feel bad because we’re leaving the best for last, darling.” Ivory Fire blows her a kiss and she turns her face to to mimic receiving it on her cheek.
Twilight watches the dignified girl step forward. The way she walks reminds Twilight of a model walking down the runaway. In fact, she’s so beautiful she could easily pass as one. Her long, jet-black hair is stylized in curls, with two longer ones going down her shoulders. Light brown eyes exude a mixture calmness and smugness. Unlike her teammates, she wears makeup. Some dark eyeshadow, just enough to be noticeable, and bright violet lipstick that accentuates her flawless white skin.
The girl turns her nose slightly upwards, basking in the admiration from her peers like a flower under the sunlight. It’s not until the cheers from the crowd subside that she daintily extends her left arm and ignites her black Duel Disk to reveal a light purple magical energy blade. “I am Ebony Moon,” she announces with great fanfare. “And I have been granted the title of Lampad!” She smirks and, flicking a lock of her hair, adds, “But you can call me the Queen of Darkness, if you wish.”
Applejack hands move practically on their own, re-shuffling her deck and drawing five cards. She grumbles and asks, “Are ya duelin’ or are ya talkin’?”
Ebony Moon shakes her head. “Such temper,” she comments chidingly. She draws her five cards and the disks randomly grant her the first turn. She picks a card between her perfectly manicured fingers and slids it into the Field Spell slot of her Duel Disk, “The Gates of Dark World.” A massive mechanical gate emerges from behind her. The doors open partially, letting an ominous fog pour outwards and cover the floor of the field. An unearthly light shines from the other side, covering Ebony Moon and heightening her beauty, as further evidenced by the students recording the event snapping their cameras simultaneously.
Twilight scratches her chin thoughtfully and wonders if Ebony Moon uses a Dark World deck.
Ebony Moon sets a single card and plays Dragged Down into the Grave. She reveals the two remaining cards in her hand, Broww, Huntsman of Dark World and Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, and tells Applejack to pick one for her to discard. Applejack doesn’t hesitate to pick Grapha, which she sees as the bigger threat for having the highest attack points. Ebony Moon complies and motions for Applejack to reveal her hand.
Applejack briefly glances at her hand before reluctantly revealing its contents. Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves, Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter, Superheavy Samurai Swordsman, Superheavy Samurai Kabuto and Superheavy Samurai Soulbreaker Armor.
Ebony Moon smiles confidently, points with her index finger and declares, “Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves.”
Applejack is surprised by Ebony Moon’s pick, but she certainly isn’t complaining. “When Gigagloves goes to the graveyard Ah’ can re-arrange the top five cards of Mah’ deck!” She swiftly does so.
Ebony Moon’s smile widens and she says, “You’re welcome.” Both duelists draw a card.
Twilight bites her lower lip. This is bad, she thinks worriedly. There’s no way she would pick Gigagloves without having a plan.
Ebony Moon continues. “Dark World Dealings.” Both duelists draw a card. Applejack discards Superheavy Samurai Soulbreaker Armor while Ebony Moon discards Broww, Huntsman of Dark World, netting herself a second card with her monster’s effect. She declares the activation of her Field Spell’s effect, banishing Broww in her graveyard and discarding a second copy in her hand to draw a total of two cards from her deck and raise her hand count to three.
“Man,” a smitten older boy comments. “I could watch her draw cards all day…”
A younger boy holding a camera smiles and says, “I can send you a copy of this video, if you want.”
The older boy’s expression brightens. “Really!?”
“Yup!” The younger boy answers with an enthusiastic nod. “Just ten bits.”
“Ten bits!?” the older boy asks baffled.
The younger boy shrugs. “I need to make a living.”
The older boy looks at Ebony Moon, then back at the younger boy. “Deal.”
Ebony Moon summons Tour Guide From the Underword. The cute, red-headed demon girl blows her whistle and a horribly malformed demon jumps straight from Ebony Moon’s deck onto her side of the field. She overlays her level three Tour Guide From the Underword and Broww, Huntsman of Dark World to Xyz summon Leviair the Sea Dragon in defense position.
“By detaching an Xyz Material from Leviair, I can special summon one of my banished level four or lower monsters.” Broww, Huntsman of Dark World re-appears from a cloud of black mist. Ebony Moon smirks, flicks one of her curls and declares, “Now, behold my greatest monster!” She returns Broww to her hand, takes a card from her graveyard and plays it on her Duel Disk. A deafening roar echoes from behind the Gates of Dark World, making Applejack and Twilight jump on their toes. The light from the other side fades and the doors burst open, revealing a massive demonic dragon with jet black skeletal hide and glowing crimson eyes. Ebony Moon calls the monster’s name proudly, “Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!”
“D-Damn it,” Applejack mutters angrily. She mentally berates herself for having chosen Grapha for discarding.
Ebony Moon sets a second card and let’s out a dramatic sigh. “My turn is over.”
Applejack angrily rips the top card of her deck. “Draw!” As soon as she summons Superheavy Samurai Kabuto, however, Ebony Moon answers with one of her set cards, Deck Destruction Virus. The body of Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World melts into a cloud of black spores and Applejack shields her face as they wash over her and her monster.
Twilight’s eyes widen in realization. T-That card, she thinks alarmed.
“Just in case you don’t remember,” Ebony Moon begins with a smug smile. “Deck Devastation Virus destroys every monster in your field, hand and all you draw until your third turn if they have 1500 or less attack points.” She tilts her head and adds, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that covers nearly every Superheavy Samurai monster out there, right?”
Applejack is left speechless. She has no choice but to dump all her cards into the graveyard. Clenching her empty fists, Applejack glares at her opponent impotently and declares the end of her turn.
“Very well.” Ebony Moon draws. She holds her newest card between her index and middle fingers and wags it at Applejack. “And just in case you were hoping to use Gigagloves effect…” She points at her second set card and orders, “Trap card open, Dark Smog.” Ebony Moon discards Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World. The demon refuses to go down and crawls up from the grave to her side of the field. “By discarding a Fiend-Type monster, I can banish a card in your graveyard.” A column of black smoke rises from Applejack’s Duel Disk and Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves is ejected from the graveyard.
Ebony Moon brings Beiige back to her hand to special summon Grapha from the graveyard, then switches Leviair the Sea Dragon to attack position. Twilight watches astonished as Applejack’s life points are taken down to zero with just two attacks. The crowd of students cheer for the fifth victory of the Nymphs, their enthusiasm remaining as high as ever.
Such skill, Twilight thinks. She didn’t let Applejack do anything.
Applejack’s entire body trembles. This loss hit her specially hard. The voices from the crowd combined with the words of Baloney in her mind form an unbearable cacophony. She holds her forehead tightly with her right hand.
Ebony Moon curtsies and returns to the group. As soon as she does, Sun Glow congratulates them all on their performance. “I’ll take care of the rest,” she declares as she steps forward to face Applejack.
The hallway is quickly filled with murmurs of expectation from the crowd of students.
“It’s Miss Sun Glow’s turn!”
“Incoming Judgment of Light! Yeah!”
“She’s beautiful, but also scary!”
“Man, I pity that Applejack girl…”
The murmurs grow into cheers and whistles, but Sun Glow only has eyes for Applejack. “A duelist must have a mind of steel,” she says sternly, arms folded over her chest. “If five duels are everything it takes to exhaust you, then you have no hope.”
“Shut up!” Applejack shouts. She re-shuffles her deck for the last time and aggressively draws her initial hand of five cards. “Ah’ ain’t done yet, you hear me!?”
Sun Glow calmly raises her left arm and ignites her yellow Duel Disk to reveal a magical energy blade of the same color. “I am Sun Glow the Aegle!” she declares fiercely. “I will be your final test!”
They begin their duel and Sun Glow is chosen to go first. She draws her initial five cards. After briefly examining her options, she plays a monster face-down and sets a single card. “I end my turn.”
Applejack draws wordlessly. She examines her hand, but no matter how much she tries to think, she can’t come up with any play that hasn’t been defeated before. “D-Damn it,” she mutters in frustration. “Ah’ play a monster face-down and end mah’ turn!”
“My turn. Draw.” Sun Glow begins activating her own Field Spell, Realm of Light. A beautiful, massive temple surrounded by nature appears, with a thick layer of clouds covering the sky above it.
“It’s a Lightlord deck!” Twilight blurts out. A few students shoot her glares of disapproval, but Sun Glow doesn’t mind, and her next card confirms Twilight’s suspicions.
“I flip summon Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter.” The beautiful, white armored wolf appears snarling fiercely. It charges and pounces on Applejack’s set card, biting it in half. Sun Glow activates her monster’s second effect to send the top three cards of her deck to the graveyard and a single ray of sunlight pierces through the clouds, increasing Ryko’s attack and defense points by 100.
Sun Glow continues summoning Ehren, Lightsworn Monk and ordering a direct attack of Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter.
The wolf pounces on Applejack and she uses her Duel Disk to shield herself and push the monster back, but her life points still decrease to 3700. Still, that’s exactly what she needs. “Superheavy Samurai Prepped Defense!” The automaton appears holding its lance defensively. “You won’t be able to destroy this one by battle or effects!”
Sun Glow is unfazed. “Ehren,” she orders. The young monk swiftly charges forward, evading Prepped Defense’s counterstrike and delivering a precise palm strike to the automaton’s mid-section. It lets out a metallic groan before its whole body gets catapulted back into the deck as if it weighed nothing. “Simple tactics like that won’t work against me,” Sun Glow points out. “Turn end.” She sends the top three cards of her deck to the graveyard to comply with Ehren’s effect and a second ray of light pierces the clouds above, further powering up her monsters.
Applejack grits her teeth, then draws wordlessly. Her expression softens as an idea begins forming in her mind. She checks her Duel Disk’s screen for the data on the field and sees Sun Glow’s deck has twenty-nine cards remaining. “Maybe…” With a frown of determination, Applejack special summons Superheavy Samurai Scales, bringing back Blue Brawler from the graveyard.
“Superheavy Samurai Battleball!” The tiny, ball-shaped robot fuses with Ehren, Lightsworn Monk in a cluster of stars. “Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji!” Sun Glow is quick to answer with her set trap, Vanquishing Light. Ryko lets out a howl and disappears, immediately a pillar of light falls from above like a hammer and vaporizes Shutendoji. Applejack grimaces, but says nothing. “Ah’ end mah’ turn!”
“My turn.” Sun Glow draws, bringing her hand count to three. “If you are hoping to build your defenses and wait until I deck out, then you’re making a grave mistake,” she chastises.
Applejack grumbles, but can’t come up with a reply.
Sun Glow activates Solar Recharge. She discards Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress to draw two cards, then sends the top two cards of her deck to the graveyard. A third ray of light falls from between the clouds. “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner.” Sun Glow discards a card and Lumina chants to bring back Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior. After setting the last card in her hand, Sun Glow calmly declares the end of her turn, much to Applejack’s surprise. She sends the top three cards of her deck to the graveyard thanks to Lumina’s effect. “Activate Garoth’s effect.” Sun Glow reveals the top two cards of her deck, Felis, Lightsworn Archer and Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, before sending them to the graveyard to net herself two more cards from her deck. Immediately, she special summons Felis and Wulf to the field in defense and attack positions respectively. Two more rays of light pierce the clouds and illuminate the center of the field.
Applejack hesitates. Looking at the screen of her Duel Disk, she sees that Sun Glow’s deck has nineteen cards remaining. She wonders if she could hold until it reaches zero. Muttering a curse of frustration, Applejack draws. She special summons Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter and tributes it together with Superheavy Samurai Scales to summon Big Benkei. “When Trumpeter is tributed for a Superheavy Samurai Ah’ can bring him back!” Applejack does so and quickly orders the attack of Big Benkei on Garoth, “Superheavy Smash!”
Sun Glow points at her set card. “Trap card open, Lightsworn Barrier.” Garoth closes his eyes and a sphere of light surrounds him, blocking Big Benkei’s attack. Sun Glow sends the top two cards of her deck to the graveyard. A sixth ray of light falls from above, increasing the attack and defense points of Sun Glow’s monsters by 600 points each.
Applejack growls under her breath. She looks at the two remaining cards in her hand, Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit and Soulbuster Gauntlet. Just a bit more, she thinks anxiously. I need to hold on a bit more.
“My turn!” Sun Glow draws. Her demeanor suddenly changes, becoming more aggressive. She tributes Wulf, Lightsworn Beast and calls loudly, “Descend, angel of salvation and guardian of light! Celestia, Lightsworn Angel!” A gorgeous angelic woman appears in a shower of pure white feathers. Sun Glow explains, “When Celestia is summoned by tributing a Lightsworn I can send the top four cards of my deck to the graveyard to destroy two of your cards!” She does so. Realm of Light further empowers her monsters and a beam of light shoots up from the graveyard, wrapping around Celestia’s free hand and taking the form of an ornate sabre. The angel’s attack power goes up by 700 points. “I choose Blue Brawler and Big Benkei!”
Applejack discards Soulfire suit to protect Big Benkei and Blue Brawler disappears in a pillar of light.
Sun Glow continues tributing Felis to destroy Trumpeter at the cost of sending the top three cards of her deck to the graveyard. “It’s not enough,” she mutters before activating a second copy of Solar Recharge and discarding Jenis, Lightsworn Mender to draw two cards and send the top two of her deck to the graveyard. “I need more light!” Sun Glow plays Charge of the Light Brigade to send the top three cards of her deck to the graveyard and add Jain, Lightsworn Paladin back to her hand. The clouds suddenly break apart, filling the whole field with intense light. Sun Glow closes her eyes, momentarily basking in the light, before discarding Jain to bring back Ehren, Lightsworn Monk with Lumina’s effect.
Applejack drops her arms defeated. She knows Soulfire Suit and Soulbuster Gauntlet are useless against Ehren’s effect. As expected, Big Benkei is sent back to the deck and Celestia delivers the final blow that lowers Applejack’s life points from 4000 straight to zero. The crowd explodes in a chorus of cheers and whistles, louder than before.
A young girl in the crowd groans. “I wanted to see Sun Glow use Judgment Dragon,” she comments disappointed. An older girl gently nudges her. “You dummy, if she did that her life points would have gone below 4000 and she would have been the only one in the team to win with less than that.”
To win with just two cards remaining in her deck, not using the best monster in her archetype of choice and all for the sake of the team, Twilight thinks. Sun Glow…it’s not just her skills,the way she carries herself in a duel makes me feel like I could challenge her with an army and she would not back down.
Sun Glow steps forward, glaring sternly at Applejack. “As expected, you are not worth—”
“That’s enough!” Twilight steps between the two of them, matching Sun Glow’s glare. “I don’t know who do you think you are, but Applejack came here to learn! And you’re attacking her for lacking the knowledge she precisely came to acquire?” She shakes her head. “What kind of logic is that?”
Sun Glow narrows her eyes. “That reasoning may be fine for the first years, Twilight Sparkle, but she was invited to a class for fourth year students, who are just a single step from becoming professional duelists.” She tilts her chin upwards and adds, “To come here, dressed like that and behaving so casually is disrespectful towards the students and this institution itself.”
“And this is your idea of correcting her?” Twilight asks outraged. “To duel her into exhaustion six against one?”
“That was merely a sample of the harshness of high level Duel Monsters, of what she will have to face if she decides to step into the competitive envirovment.” Sun Glow answers solemnly. “I figured as the personal student of Princess Celestia you would understand that.”
Twilight narrows her eyes and hisses, “The only thing I understand is that you know nothing of Princess Celestia and her methods.”
Sun Glow’s eyes widen. In the blink of an eye, her expression turns into a picture of fury. “What did you—” But before she can say another word, both Dazzleflash and Ivory Fire put a hand each on her shoulders.
Little Wings quickly gets between Sun Glow and Twilight. “Excuse meee! Excuse meee!” She looks at Twilight and says, “I think your friend just left.”
Twilight turns around and gasps; Applejack is nowhere to be seen. She quickly runs in the same direction, muttering apologies as she pushes among the dispersing crowd of students.
Sun Glow watches Twilight leave, both fists clenched tightly.
“Calm down,” Dazzleflash tells her with a look of concern. “A duelist must have a mind of steel, remember? This won’t do you any good…”
“What she said,” Ivory Fire adds. She grins mischievously and says, “Plus, we’ve only got like thirty minutes left of the lunch hour and that’s nowhere near enough for Dazzleflash to fill up her stomach.”
Dazzleflash’s eyes widen and a prominent blush spreads across her chocolate dark cheeks. “W-Why you! I don’t eat that much!”
Ivory Fire’s grin widens. “Nope, just enough to feed a regiment of Royal Guards.”
Sun Glow’s expression softens and her lips curve into a small smile.
Little Wings gently takes hold of Sun Glow’s hands, making sure to loosen their grip, and with a bright smile says, “I heard they’re serving your favorite today! Quesadillas! We should hurry!”
Sun Glow nods. “Y-Yes…”
As the team heads towards the cafeteria, Ebony Moon whispers to Pearl Rain, “I swear it’s like dropping a spark on a mountain of dried grass.”
“But can you fully blame her for that?” Pearl Rain asks with concern.
Ebony Moon pauses briefly, then shakes her head.
It doesn’t take long for Twilight to find Applejack in the plaza near the school. A large open squared area, surrounded by fancy coffee stores and restaurants and with a round marble fountain occupying the center.
On the middle of the fountain is an octagonal base; on top stands a sculpture of a beautiful woman spreading her wings majestically. Four water jets would periodically shoot upwards, occasionally creating a small rainbow over the statue.
Applejack sits at the edge of the fountain, slouched over and with her gaze fixated on the ground.
Twilight calls her name and Applejack flinches, but does not respond. Twilight gulps. She sits next to Applejack and gently puts a hand on her shoulder. “Applejack,” she begins unsurely. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? I mean—uh—losing is part of the learning process too, you know.”
Applejack remains silent and Twilight wonders if she’s saying the right stuff. I’ve never tried to cheer up somebody else before, she thinks. “A-Anyway, everything is going to be fine…”
“Nope,” Applejack mutters somberly.
Twilight blinks surprised. “A-Applejack?”
Applejack suddenly stands up and shouts, “Nothing’s gonna be fine, Twilight!” A nearby flock of pidgeons flies away scared and a couple of passerby briefly look at Applejack in surprise before resuming their walk while whispering to each other. Applejack sits down again and lets out a breath of exhaustion. “I’m a failure,” she mutters dejectedly.
“What?” Twilight shakes her head vigorously. “That’s not true!”
“Baloney told me…” Applejack sniffs and then continues, “He told me all my matches were fixed and I had been duelin’ losers and bums—and the only talented guy trampled me.” Her eyes begin to water and she cries, “And then I lied to you! And Princess Celestia—in your faces!”
“Stop it,” Twilight says firmly. “I already told you I’m not angry and I assure you neither is Princess Celestia.” She puts both hands on Applejack’s shoulders and further assures her, “And you’re definitely not a failure.” Applejack tries to protest, but Twilight continues, “A failure would not have accompanied me into one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria, or risked her life to save mine or stand by me against a dark magic-wielding foe.” She tilts her head, smiles and asks, “Am I wrong?”
Applejack wipes her eyes with her forearm and smiles, a faint blush across her face. “Thanks, Twilight…” Still, even when she seems to have eased, she still looks crestfallen.
Twilight wonders what to say until she looks at Applejack’s Duel Disk and realizes what she has to do. “Let me see your deck.” Applejack blinks twice and Twilight repeats her request, “Your deck, can I see it please?” Applejack complies. Twilight fans the pile of cards in her hands and quickly begins scanning the contents of the deck. I knew it, she thinks. “This deck is completely made of Superheavy Samurai monsters.”
Applejack scratches her back of her neck puzzled. “Uh, yeah? Isn’t that how they’re s’posed to be played an’ all?”
“True, but a bit of diversification can help their cause.” Twilight pulls out a single card from the deck, Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves and says, “This one, for example. You did well putting four copies of it in your deck, but let me ask you something: how many ways you have of sending it to the graveyard?” Applejack opens her mouth to respond, but Twilight quickly adds, “Beyond tributing, synchro summoning and destruction?”
Applejack frowns thoughtfully. “So yer sayin’ Ah’ need to make some adjustments to Mah’ deck?”
Twilight nods. “Even the most talented duelists have a limit to what they can accomplish with the same cards.” She neatly piles the deck and hands it back to Applejack. “If you want, we can look at this together.” Smiling brightly, she adds, “I know a card shop around here that also sells great vegetable sandwiches!”
Applejack clenches her fists. Ever since the beginning, you’ve been facing losers and bums. Grey Cloud was the only genuine article among them, and we all saw how you went up against him. She stands up, turns to Twilight and, grinning confidently, says, “Let’s do this.”
Back at the main building of the Eos Dueling School, Celestia sits comfortably in her office, watching a video in the screen of a plain Duel Disk. A soft knock at the door catches her attention and she instructs, “Come in.”
“Excuse me.” A young, bespectacled woman holding a file folder enters the office. She dresses professionally, with black high heels, a pure white pencil skirt and a buttoned shirt of the same color, complete with a small red tie. Her long, dark brown hair is tied neatly into a bun. The woman has big, round moderate orange eyes and soft features which, coupled with her short stature, make her very easy on the eyes.
The woman approaches Celestia, who keeps watching the video, and peeking over her shoulder asks, “Are those the Nymphs?” Celestia smiles and nods. The woman comments excitedly, “Those girls are on their way to surpass even Prince Blueblood and Shining Armor!” Celestia’s smile widens and she says she expects many great things from them.
“So...” Celestia turns off her Duel Disk and, after setting it aside, looks at the woman and asks, “Have you done what I asked, Raven?”
“Yes!” Raven answers readily. She adjusts her glasses and begins, “I have already placed an order for one hundred barrels of cider at Sweet Apple Acres, payment fully made in advance as per your instructions.”
Celestia nods approvingly. “Excellent.”
“Princess, if I may ask,” Raven begins tentatively, “Why do you need so much cider for? I mean—you paid it with money from your personal account, so…”
“Oh, you know,” Celestia waves her hand casually. “I figured Princess Luna would fancy herself a drink after her long absence.” She finishes with a wink and Raven giggles in response. Celestia clears her throat. “Now, about the file…” Raven wordlessly hands her the file folder. Celestia thanks her and opens it, her eyes scanning the first page until they focus on the picture of a bespectacled, man with curly, light grayish vermillion hair. “Mr. Svengallop…”
“May I ask, again, what’s so interesting about him, Princess?” Raven tilts her head. “He’s a mid-class manager at best.”
Celestia smiles knowingly. "You could call it a hunch."
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i call BS at some point one of the staff would call out the group as bullying, also there card shufflers seem to be rigged, i mean nearly six perfect duels in a row? all of them getting almost exactly the cards they need? every duelist gets a few bum hands or bad draws at some point. the duels would have been more believable if they hadn't been quite so utterly one sided.
I always disliked the 4k health rule they use in the show as it is way too small considering how many monsters can easily break that. Not to mention how I had a burn deck that would have constantly dominated with that low of a pool. Of course it at least does prevent the whole magical scientist cheese. Only deck ever to have a 97% win-rate, 92% on turn one.
8688164
I think Celestia might have interfered with that to get Aj to come at this from a different angle and to get Twi to help her friend.
8691350
it still seems like these six beat a million to one odds in there hands and draws.
8691350
it still seems like these six beat a million to one odds in there hands and draws.
You don’t have hunches, you just know.
8691898
One of the advantages of writing a story is that you can control the luck of the draws. Johan Anderson, to cite an example, plays with a single copy of each Crystal Beast, but that doesn't stop him from being considered one of the top duelists in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
Still, suspension of disbelief is a thing and that's why I made sure all of them used drawing and/or searching effects. The circumstances of their wins vary too. Effect damage with monsters and traps, bouncing, field and hand wiping, etc.
Plot-wise, I needed Applejack to lose to develop her character. In hindsight, I should've made it more obvious that, even if she was taking part in illegal duels to earn money for her family, she still felt proud of her victories and finding out they were all arranged was a nasty blow to her ego.
Losing should be always part of the equation, if you ask me, moreso if the duels have nothing important at stake beyond one's record.
The only exception would be Rainbow Dash. Because she's awesome.
8693638
okay but now you've created an enormous karma vacuum, so you either need to have twilight or one of the other elements take on the nymphs and win or have AJ have a comeback because to be frank, what happened with them down't happen in the most otherworldly of calculations. i understand you are controlling the draws and i get you needed them each to win, but you also revealed that there decks are turned to rather... specific strategies. having run more then a few of those decks before i know from experience that usually never works.
all i'm saying is for an injection of realism you need to show them failing to the same reasons they succeeded here and having them beaten by a non-student would be more fitting then by a student honestly. break there elitist view at point blank.
8694078
Oh, rest assured there will be rematches.
Is this story still updating?
8779058
Yeah, I didn't think too highly of it at first because I thought it sounded like rap in the beginning, but now it's just fucking awesome!
8779525
Oh yes, yes. I simply have been too busy with my job.
8780928
Fair enough, just wanted to make sure.
8779778
I honestly didn't mind the rap, it gave the theme more energy and made it seem more upbeat. As if it was saying you should be excited for what this series has to offer.
8780976
Yeah. Like I said, the song's cool for me now.
Gonna be honest, not the biggest fan of this chapter for various reasons. I will first off state that I liked the overall concept of Applejack needing to take part in Underworld duels in order to make ends meet and dealing with the consequences. Adds a new dimension to her character that can be developed later.
Not a big fan of Celestia just buying her way out of Applejack's problem but when you need to find a way to adapt the episode as to add in card games, some things are bound to be lost. Also, didn't really like watching Applejack get absolutely demolished 5-6 times in a row in repetitive fashion when one loss to one, maybe two, of them would've done just as well. I get that I shouldn't expect the heroes to win all the time and you need to introduce each of the Nymphs and their decks so they can get trounced later but it still bothers me.
Instead, it makes Applejack come across like a loser with a lousy deck. Maybe she'll get payback later on, as it ends with Twilight agreeing to help her with reconstructing her deck but for right now this whole chapter (and the two preceding it) left an overall bad taste in my mouth.
You can only have up to three of the same card in your deck.
You can only have up to three of the same card in your deck.