Turn 7, Blackout
Once again a Duel was taking place, with the winner moving on to the next round in the Celestic Cup.
Currently the two Duellists playing were Thunderlane and Hearth Burns. They were Duelling on a field named Storm Mountain. Heath currently had Infernal Flame Emperor and two Solar Flare Dragons, while Thunderlane's field was empty.
Thunderlane: 1300
Heath: 2600
"It's my turn," Thunder said, "I draw." He looked at his card and smiled. "Now I'll set the Pendulum Scale, with scale three Tempest Unicorn and scale nine Tempest Griffon."
He placed two cards on his Duel Disk as it lit up. On either side of him, two columns of light appeared as two monsters flew up into them. The first being a yellow horse with a lightning bolt shaped horn and the second being a yellow griffon with lightning bolt shaped talons. The two looked up and shot beams of light, which struck the sky above Thunderlane's head forming a portal. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened and three lights shot out, taking the form of three green serpentine dragons with lightning surrounding them. "Thunder Dragon." (A1600/D1500/L5)X3
"So what?" Heath asked, "those guys can't hurt any of my monsters."
"Maybe," Thunderlane said, "but they will allow me to summon a monster that can." He held out a card and smiled. "I tribute all three of my Thunder Dragons to summon Gilford the Lightning!"
The three dragons disappeared in an explosion of electricity and in their place, stood a giant man in armour and wielding a sword. (A2800/D1400/L8) "Since I sacrificed three monsters to summon him," Thunderlane explained, "his ability wipes out every monster on your side of the field." His monster swung its giant sword, unleashing a burst of lightning which struck every monster on Heath's field and destroying them. "And with them gone," Thunderlane said, "there's nothing stopping him from attacking you directly." And that's exactly what Gilford did, unleashing a single thunderbolt which struck Heath and electrocuted him.
Thunderlane: 1300 (Winner)
Heath: 0
Celestia: That's it, it's over.
Luna: Thunderlane has claimed victory over Heath and will be moving onto the next round.
Everyone cheered as they watched the field disappear and the two Duellists leave the field.
Celestia: And with that the first day of the the Celestic Cup's first round is over.
Luna: Let's take a look at the eight Duellists who've earned their way into the next round.
The megascreen activated and showed the winners of the previous Duels.
Celestia: In the first match, Flash Sentry claimed victory over Shining Spoon and his legendary Xyz Dragons.
Luna: Then in match two, Vinyl Scratch defeated Ringo.
Celestia: Applejack hit the bullseye in match three, defeating Derpy and her Ditsy Goddess.
Luna: Then the sibling Duel between Pinkie and Maud, ended with the older siblings victory.
Celestia: The mysterious Cloak N Daggers managed to defeat Timber, earning his spot in the next round.
Luna: Then Big Mac defeated the Dueltainer Cheese Sandwich under the big top.
Celestia: The battle between Amethyst Star and Pixel Pizzaz, ended in Amethyst winning.
Luna: And as you've just seen, Thunderlane managed to defeat the hotheaded Heath.
Celestia: Tomorrow the B Block will Duel, and only eight remaining Duellists will make it through.
Luna: Until then, good bye.
Half an hour later, the gang had finally managed to get out the stadium and were all about to head home.
"It'll be our turn to Duel tomorrow," Twilight told them.
"Yeah," Rainbow said, "can't wait to take whoever I'm paired with out."
"Not if you're facing me you won't," Rarity said.
"You should probably all get your rest for tomorrow," Applejack suggested, "I know I'm gonna sleep like a log."
"Eeyup," Big Mac said.
With that the group split up, heading in separate direction home.
"You were great today Flash," Scootaloo said as she, Flash, Twilight and Spike were walking home.
"Thanks," Flash said, "but I'm seriously gonna need to up my game if I wanna stand a chance in the next round."
"He's right," Twilight said, "everyone's gonna be aiming to improve. I'd be surprised if we saw anyone use the same stratagy again, since they'd wanna try and be unpredictable."
"Yeah," Spike said, "but that just makes it more fun." At that moment Spike's stomach began to growl, indication he was hungry.
"How about a pizza?" Twilight suggested, pointing to a nearby parlour across from the park.
"Definitely," Flash said.
They stepped inside the place, but when they did they noticed someone standing at the counter staring up at the menu. They couldn't believe who they were seeing.
"Thorax?" Spike asked.
The teen in a black hoodie turned around, seeing the four and gulping.
"Hey," he said.
Meanwhile Cold Steel was in his office, watching as the sun slowly began to set.
In that moment Sunset stepped into the room, a concerned look on her face. "We've got a problem," she said as she stepped over to him.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I just got the specs from the Ener-D absorption system," she explained, "they're three times lower then they should be."
This got Cold's attention, as he took the tablet from the girl and looked it over. "This isn't right," he said, "with all those powerful Duellists going all out the levels should be much higher then this."
"Exactly," Sunset said, "I've sent some engineers to check it out, but so far they haven't found anything wrong with the system."
Cold continued to stare at the tablet, unsure what this meant.
In the park, Thorax and the others were sitting on a bench enjoying an extra large deep dish meat feast pizza.
As Thorax took a bite out of his slice, his eyes rolled into the back on his skull at the taste. "How have I gone my whole life without this?" He asked once he'd swallowed.
"I would have thought being prince would mean you could have whatever you wanted?" Scootaloo asked as she took a bite.
"I wish," Thorax replied with a frown, "I'm only allowed to eat food that's elegant and sophisticated. Stuff like junk food is forbidden at home."
"Man," Flash said, "sounds rough. I thought being a royal was nothing but doing whatever you want."
"Hardly," Thorax said, "all my life I've never gotten to do anything for myself. It's all about preparing to take the throne and leading my people."
"That's a lot of responsibility for a kid," Twilight said.
"Yeah," Thorax replied, "that's why I was so happy when mother said we were coming here to watch the Celestic Cup finals. Finally a chance to be away from the spotlight. A chance to enjoy all the things a normal kid would get to enjoy, so whenever I can I sneak out of the hotel to come out here and see what it's like to be normal."
"That's harsh," Spike said.
"Yeah," Thorax said, "mother had some kind of meeting tonight, so I decided to sneak out and try one of the things I read normal kids do."
"Eating pizza?" Scootaloo asked.
"Exactly," Thorax replied.
"So the other day when we met in the park?" Flash asked.
"I wanted to see what a real Duel was all about," Thorax replied, "at home my instructors never let me really Duel. It's all theory and doing Duel Puzzles."
"That's not right," Twilight said, "the best way to improve your skills is actually Duelling. Even I know studying can only get you so far."
"Yeah," Thorax said, "wish I could have another Duel like that."
"Then why don't you?" Spike said as he stood up and pulled out his Duel Disk. "Thorax, I challenge you."
Thorax was surprised at first, but smiled a second later.
The group found an open space and as the sun finished setting and the street lamps lit, the two strapped their Duel Disks on and activated them.
"You ready?" Spike asked him.
"Yeah," Thorax said.
"DUEL!"
Spike: 4000
Thorax: 4000
"I'll take the first move," Spike said as he drew his cards, "I draw. I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4." A bird like creature made out of silver metal appeared. (A1600/D1000/L4) "I place on card face down and end my turn."
"My turn," Thorax said as he went to his deck, "I draw." He looked at his cards and smiled. "Time for something I've been wanting to say all day," he said, "I'm using scale eight Celtic Ùruisg and scale one Celtic Beithir, to set the Pendulum Scale."
Everyone's eyes went wide, as they watched him place two cards on his Duel Disk as it lit up. On either side of him, two columns of light appeared as two monsters flew up into them. The first being a small goblin like creature wearing a brown vest and hat, while the other was a large snake-like creature with six pairs of short legs. "Cut through space time and carve the arc of victory," Thorax said as the two monsters created the portal, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened and two lights shot out and struck the ground.
"Celtic Knight." (A1600/D1800/L4)
The second became a green fish man creature, carrying a trident. "Celtic Fuath." (A800/D1400/L4)
"Where did you get Pendulum Monsters?" Flash asked him in amazement.
"Mr Steel," Thorax replied, "he gave them to me as a gift."
"Figures," Scootaloo said.
"Now I'll use my Celtic Ùruisg's Pendulum Ability," Thorax replied, "which increases the ATK of any Celtic Monster by three hundred points during the Battle Phase." (A1900/D1800/L4), (A1100/D1400/L4) "ATTACK!"
Celtic Knight shot forward, raising its sword as it drew closer to Horus.
"I activate my Trap," Spike said as his face down flipped up, "Dragon Scale Armour. This card negates my monsters destruction, though I'll still take the damage." The knights blade struck the dragon, but the monster remained intact.
Spike: 3700
Thorax: 4000
"I end my turn with a face down," Thorax said as he set the card and his monster's ATKs went back to what they were.
"Not bad," Twilight said, "they're both evenly matched."
"But Spike's had a lot more practical experience," Flash said, "Thorax needs to be careful."
"My turn," Spike said, "I draw and summon Armoured Wyvern in ATK mode." A humanoid lizard wearing red armour over its black body with only its head being visible appeared. (A1500/D1200/L4) "Then I'll equip him with my Dragon Spike, which will increase his ATK by six hundred points." A metal war helmet appeared on Armoured Wyvern's head, which had a large curved horn sticking out the end. (A2100/D1200/L4) "Now I'll attack your knight with my Wyvern."
Spike's dragon charged forward, swinging its accessory at the elf. Celtic Knight raised its sword to defend, but the horn sliced through and cut him in half.
Spike: 3700
Thorax: 3500
"Now I'll attack your Fuath with Horus," Spike said as his monster spat a fireball at the fishman, destroying it.
Spike: 3700
Thorax: 2700
"I activate my face down," Thorax said as his card flipped up to reveal a Trap, "Dark Celtic Spirit. When a Celtic monster with a thousand or less ATK points is destroyed, I deal damage to you equal to its ATK." From the Trap shot out a ghostly form of Fuath, which flew over to Spike and flew through him, making him shiver.
Spike: 2900
Thorax: 2700
"Plus Fuath has his own ability," Thorax continued, "when he's destroyed by battle I can add two level four or bellow Celtic monsters from by deck to my hand." His deck shuffled before slotting out two cards, which he took.
"Well Horus has his own ability," Spike said as he placed a card face down, "at the end of the turn that he destroyed a monster, he can evolve into his LV6 form." In that instant, Horus was enveloped into a light and a few seconds later he broke out of it. His new form looked larger and more dangerous, while it took to the air above Spike. (A2300/D1600/L6)
"It's my turn," Thorax said, "I draw and now I'll use my Pendulum Scale to cut through space time and carve the arc of victory." The portal formed above his head, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened and three lights shot out, hitting the ground and taking form.
The first looked like Celtic Guardian, but his armour was light blue and he carried two swords. "Celtic Guard of Noble Arms." (A2100/D700/L4)
The second was a monster that looked to be made entirely out of seaweed, with a white mask over its face. "Celtic Peallaidh." (A1700/D1400/L4/P4)
The last one was a red goblin like creature, with white hair and black horns. "Celtic Bauchan." (A800/D800/L2/P5)
"Oh boy," Flash said, "Spike's in trouble."
"Now," Thorax said, "my Ùruisg Pendulum Ability increases all my Celtic monster's ATK points by three hundred. (A2400/D700/L4), (A2000/D1400/L4/P4), (A1100/D800/L2/P5) "I set one card face down and then attack with Noble Arms!" His twin bladed swordsmen charged at Spike's Horus, slicing it in half.
Spike: 2800
Thorax: 2700
"Now my Guard's ability lets me draw cards equal to the number of Celtic Guard's I own," Thorax said a he drew a card, "And next my Peallaidh's ability activates. Since a Celtic Monster destroyed one of yours, it ATK points increase by two hundred." (A2200/D1400/L4/P4) "Attack!" The swamp monster unleashed a bunch of vines, which wrapped around Armoured Wyvern and constricted it to destruction.
Spike: 2700
Thorax: 2700
"Now Bauchan while attack you directly," Thorax ordered as his monster charged forward and headbutted Spike in the gut.
Spike: 1900
Thorax: 2700
"I end my turn with a face down," Thorax said as his monster's ATK went back to normal.
"What a move," Scootaloo said.
"Thorax really knows how to use those Pendulum Monsters," Flash said.
"But don't forget," Twilight said, "Spike's deck has a way to take Pendulums down."
"It's my turn," Spike said, "I draw and activate my face down," Spike said as his card flipped up to reveal a Trap. "Dragonic Revival," Spike said, "this cards lets me summon a Dragon from my graveyard to the field until the End Phase." In a flash of light, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 reappeared on the field. "Next I'll summon my Tuner Monster Peewee Dragon," he said as a small red dragon appeared on the field. (A300/D100/L2)
"A Tuner Monsters," Thorax said in shock.
"That's right," Spike said, "and now watch as I tune level two Peewee Dragon with level six Horus the Black Flame Dragon." The small dragon flew into the air and transformed into two balls of fire, which carved a pair of burning rings which Horus flew into. "Cast your flames across this battle field, and burn everything that is weak to ashes" Spike said as his monsters burst in an explosion of fire. "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!"
The flames erupted, as Spike's ace burst free and revealed itself. "Dragonic Blazemaster!" (A3000/D2000/L8)
"Whoa!" Thorax said in amazement.
"Now I'll attack your Celtic Guard of Noble Arms," Spike said as his dragon raised his flaming sword and struck the elf down.
Spike: 1900
Thorax: 1800
"But I'm not stopping there," Spike said, "because Blazemaster's ability now activates. Since he destroyed a monster, he can attack again but the damage you take is halved." Dragonic Blazemaster's sword reignited as it swung it towards Peallaidh slashing through it and causing Thorax to be bathed in the holographic fire.
Spike: 1900
Thorax: 1150
"And once again," Spike said, "Blazemaster can attack again." His monster's sword once again reignited.
"If this hits Thorax'll only have fifty life points left," Twilight said.
"I activate my Trap," Thorax said as his card flipped up, "Celtic Soul Guard. Now I can cut the damage I take from a battle involving a Celtic Monster in half."
Blazemaster slashed through Bauchan, bathing Thorax in the flames once again.
Spike: 1900
Thorax: 600
"Wow," Scootaloo said, "this Duel's really heating up."
"Spike's a literal Pendulum Slayer," Flash said, "makes me wonder whether Thorax can fight back."
"Let's find out," Twilight said.
"I'll throw down a pair of face downs and end my turn," Spike said.
"It's my turn," Thorax said, "I draw." He looked at his card and smiled. "Now my Pendulum Scale to cut through space time and carve the arc of victory." The portal formed above his head, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened and two lights shot out, hitting the ground and taking form.
"Celtic Peallaidh." (A1700/D1400/L4/P4)
"Celtic Bauchan." (A800/D800/L2/P5)
"Those two again?" Spike wondered.
"And now I'll banish the three monsters in my graveyard," Thorax said as he raised his card up high, "to summon my most powerful monster." From the ground the spiritual bodies Celtic Knight, Celtic Fuath and Celtic Guard of Noble Arms flew out, before transforming into balls of spirit energy which flew into the card. "Celtic Warlord!" (A3000/D3000/L10)
"That's Thorax's best card," Flash said, remembering how difficult it'd been to beat it himself.
"You ready for this?" Thorax asked as he smirked at Spike.
Spike, in turn, smirked back. "Bring it on."
Meanwhile in a dark place, the figure was sitting in his throne. Up on the screens he was watching as the computer showed images of all the Duels that had occurred that day.
A moment later, the computers screens changed to show numbers a bar charts. The screens also began to move to the left or right, until they revealed a glass window into another smaller room. The room's walls were covered in metal dishes, as several blank Duel cards floated around it in midair. Seconds later a computerised voice spoke from out of some speakers.
ENER-D CONVERGENCE STEADY!
The figure sat back in his throne, as a pair of metal orbs flew up from the floor and into his hands which gripped them. The next second an opening in the ceiling opened and out of it came a metallic bowl like helmet, which landed on the figures head.
TRANSDIMENSIONAL LINK READY!
The figure took a deep breath and spoke. "Begin."
Suddenly the orbs and helmet began to spark, causing the figure to shake and scream as the energy flowed through him. Inside the room the metal dishes began to glow, before beams of light shot out and struck the cards.
At Freeze Industries, Cold and Sunset were in his office as the lights began to flicker before they went out.
"What's going on?" Sunset asked.
"Not sure," Cold replied as he went to his office phone and picked it up, but as he put it to his ear he didn't hear a dial tone. Putting it back down he went to his computer and tried to switch it on, but nothing happened. "Power must be out in the whole building."
"Not just this building," Sunset said, making him look up at her. She was staring out the window and as he followed her gaze, he realised what she was looking at
All over the city, electrical systems were going offline. Lights and machines lost power and cut out, causing the whole city to be engulfed in darkness.
The group was continuing to watch the Duel, when suddenly the lamps in the park went out and bathed them in darkness. As the Duel Disk's also cut out and the holograms disappeared.
"Hey" Spike said as his monster vanished, "that happened?"
"The Duel Disk system must have shut down," Twilight said.
"Why?" Scootaloo asked.
"Probably the same reason as the blackout," Flash said as he looked around.
"Great," Spike moaned, "and I was winning."
"Not for long you weren't," Thorax joked.
"Right," Spike said sarcastically.
"It was close," Twilight said, "it could have gone either way."
"To bad we'll never find out," Flash said.
"I wonder what caused the blackout?" Scootaloo asked.
Back at the mysterious location the beams of light continued to strike the cards, which began to glow as images and words appeared on the surface. Eventually the machine finally shut down and the figure gasped for breath as he began panting.
TRANSFER COMPLETE!
All over the city, the power was slowly returning and block by block the lights turned back on.
"That was weird," Flash said as the lamps came back on.
"Maybe the power plant had a temporary problem," Twilight guessed.
"Maybe," Flash replied.
Once the figure had regained his breath he looked up into the room and saw the card's glow fade, while the images on them solidified on the card. Once the light was completely gone, the window folded into the wall and the cards flew out and floated around him.
"Welcome," he said to the cards, "now go join your comrades." He pressed a button on his computer and an opening appeared in the wall to the left of him, revealing a small deck of cards. The floating cards flew into the opening and onto the deck.
"This is barely the beginning," he said as he turned his throne towards a table to the right, where a case sat. Opening it up he revealed many more blank cards.
Behind him, Shadow, Adagio and the six other cloaked figures stood.
"Shadow, Adagio," he said, "retrieve as much Ener-D as you can find."
"Yes your majesty," Adagio said with a bow.
"We won't let you down father," Shadow continued, mirroring her.
"Be sure that you don't," the figure replied.
Back in the park, the five teens were preparing to head out.
"To bad you two couldn't restart your match," Twilight said, "but it's getting late and we're all gonna need to be up early tomorrow."
"Yeah," Thorax said, "I should get going before mother gets back."
"Well I hope we'll see each other around," Spike said.
"Definitely," Thorax said with a smile before turning to Flash and Twilight. "I'll be cheering for you guys."
"Thanks," Flash said.
With that, Thorax turned and ran off back to his hotel.
"Nice kid," Twilight said, "to bad he's lead such a sheltered life."
"Hopefully one day he'll get the chance to live his own life," Flash said.
"Hopefully," Spike said.
<The Next Day>
Much like the previous one, the second day of the Celestic Cup finals were set to be just as eventful.
As Flash and his friends all took their seats in the audience, Thorax and his mother arrived in the VIP box where Shining, Cadance, Cold and Sunset were waiting.
"Good morning Chrysalis, Thorax," Cadance said as they sat down. "I hope the blackout last night didn't ruin any sight seeing or something."
"Of course not," Chrysalis said, "it takes more then a little darkness to cause any problems for me."
"Do you know what caused it?" Thorax asked.
"I'm afraid not," Cold said, "our best guess is something or someone siphoned the cities power grid of its energy for a brief moment."
"Interesting," Shining said.
Meanwhile onstage, an explosion occurred and the Celestic Sister stepped out.
Both: HELLO CANTERLOT!
Celestia: I hope you all got a good nights rest, because the Celestic Cup round one B Block contest is sure to require all your strength to get through.
Luna: That's right sis. sixteen more Duellists, competing for one of eight spots in the next round. Only the best of the best can make it there.
Celestia: Indeed. Now let's remind ourselves who those sixteen Duellists are.
She pressed a button on the remote and the megascreen switched on, revealing the images of the sixteen Duelists.
Luna: There they are, but who will be victorious this day?
Celestia: Only one way to find out. But first, we need to decide who'll be Dueling in the first match of the day.
Luna: I couldn't agree more.
Luna held up her own remote and pressed the button. The images all spun around hiding the Duellist, before they began randomly spinning. Eventually one shot out and flipped around, revealing the Duellist.
Celestia: Twilight Sparkle!
"Alright," Spike said, "you're up.
Twilight nodded as she stood up.
"Go get em Twilight," Rainbow said.
"We have faith in you," Rarity said.
"Thanks," Twilight said with a smile as she looked around to see her opponent.
A second image flipped around, revealing a boy with yellow skin and blue hair.
Luna: Comet Tail!
"So who is this guy?" Pinkie asked,
"Not sure," Applejack said, "never met the fella."
"I guess I'll find out when I Duel him," Twilight said as she made her way down the steps.
"Hey Twilight," she looked around to see Flash, who was giving her a cheeky smirk. "You've got this."
Twilight smiled and turned back to the front, before making her way down the stairs.
The Celestic Cup's B Block first round had begun. Who would win, who would lose and who has something to hide?"
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This was nice. More scenes with Thorax and a great fight with Spike. I actually looked up that changelings are originally from Celtic folklore, so the Celtic deck is actually pretty fitting.
What kind of cards did that blackout create from power being siphoned? Either way, its going to be a tough deck to beat when its revealed.
Onto Twilight's battle for the finals! It's probably going to be a challenge.
That was a fun chapter. Nice to learn more about Thorax before moving on. It's interesting that this is only the second time we've seen Spike in an on-screen duel in this universe. Now Twilight vs Comet Tail next. I know Twilight and Comet Tail use to be a popular ship in the fandom until Flash came, so this will be fun to see.
over
will
I think you mean Definitely.
can
I think you forgot to include "em" between "go" and "Twilight."
chance and live.
It would be nice to see Adagio think about her sisters down the road in this arch, either viewing them as weak or maybe wanting to get them back, but things are getting dark.
I know fillers get annoying when used excessively, but every now and then, they're fun and refreshing.
8319252
No regrets.
Literally.
Heath Burns? He's a character from "Monster High". Isn't he?
10263890
No, he’s a background character in Equestria Girls who has had little to no speaking roles. He looks like this:vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/4/48/Pinkie_Pie_%22hands_wave_up%22_EG.png/revision/latest?cb=20130725182254
10265002
You know what's funny. That's the same guy who goes on to become a villain in the later stories.