Episode 6: It’s Number Season- Part 1
It was late in the evening. A Duel was taking place in the parking lot of the Canterlot City Mall, but time didn’t seem to be moving outside of it. One Duelist was a blue girl with silver hair, and the other was a mysterious figure with a long, tight, white coat, a maroon scarf covering the lower half of their face, violet hair tied back in a ponytail, and a strange glowing mark around their right eye. The girl, well know at the school as Trixie, had the field advantage, while her opponent controlled no monsters.
“Trixie admits, you had her on the ropes for a while,” Trixie said to her opponent. “But you never stood a chance against this Number monster, or the Mighty and Indestructible Trixie! Big Eye, attack directly!” Her cone-shaped monster shot a blast of magic energy.
Her opponent wasn’t going down so easily. “I activate my facedown card, Forbidden Lance!” the Duelist declared in a seemingly altered voice, making it hard to determine if they were male or female. “This will lessen the damage I take by shaving 800 attack points off your monster until the end phase!” They took the damage with a grunt.
“What a pointless move. Trixie will win on her next turn anyway,” Trixie replied. “For now, she ends her turn.”
“Awfully cocky,” her opponent commented, “for someone who’s letting a card boss her around. I draw!” They pulled a card from the deck slot of their dragon-themed Duel Blade. “I summon in attack mode my Photon Cerberus!” On the field appeared a large three-headed dog made mostly of red metal and blue energy. “Neither player can activate traps on the turn this card is normal summoned. Next, I use the spell card Photon Sanctuary to summon two Photon Tokens to my side of the field! And now, oh you’re in for a surprise. Both of these tokens have 2000 attack points, and I’ll tribute them!”
“But you’ve already normal summoned!” Trixie said with a laugh.
“Very observant,” the Photon user said sarcastically. “But you see, I can tribute two monsters with 2000 or more attack to Special Summon this monster!” The two tokens vanished as the Duelist threw a boomerang-like object. “Come forth, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!”
Despite looking frightened by the strange dragon, Trixie smirked. “Good thing it can’t destroy Trixie’s Number by battle,” she said. “And next turn, Big Eye will just take control of it. You’ve sealed your fate.”
“There won’t be a next turn,” the mysterious Duelist said. “Galaxy-Eyes, attack with your photon stream!” As her dragon blasted Big Eye with a beam of crackling energy, both it and the attack target vanished.
Trixie gasped. “What have you done to Trixie’s monster?!” she cried.
“When Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon battles another monster, it can banish itself and the other monster until the end of the turn,” her opponent explained. “And now I use the quick play spell Photon Lead to Special Summon Photon Crusher from my hand! With it and Photon Cerberus, I attack directly and end this Duel!”
Trixie fell on her back, groaning in pain. Her Number card was then drawn into a device strapped to her opponent’s right arm as their coat changed to a dark grey color. “I’ve got it. Number 11: Big Eye,” the unknown individual said. “But this is only the first of many.”
“Who are you…?” Trixie asked.
“To the world, I’m known as Number Hunter,” the Duelist said. “And I feel like you could be helpful to me, Trixie. Tell me… where can I find more Number cards?”
[One month later…]
“It’s pretty hard to believe that five whole weeks have passed since the Numbers started appearing,” said Apple Bloom as she and her friends exited the school at the end of the day. “And we only have ten out of… how many?” she asked Astral.
“Ninety-nine,” Astral answered. “But there is still cause to be optimistic. Any progress is good progress.”
“By the way, have you girls seen the news lately?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Apparently, there have been a ton of issues of people acting weird, then suddenly falling unconscious. The strangest part is that they all just kept muttering ‘Hunter’ in their near-comatose state.”
“That is really weird,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah wonder if it has anything to do with a Number…”
A few other students ran by, jostling them a bit. “Hey, what’s going on?” Scootaloo asked.
“Didn’t you hear?” one of them replied. “The new girl is Dueling Flash!”
Sweetie Belle gasped. “The new transfer student that came a few days ago? Star something or other?”
"Starlight Glimmer," Apple Bloom remembered. "Let's go watch. Ah kinda wanna see how she plays." Her friends nodded, and they all headed off.
The Duel was taking place near the school football field. Flash seemed to be winning. He had his ace monster, Heroic Champion Excalibur, on the field, and had just destroyed a facedown monster. "I'll end my turn there," he said. "Good luck, Starlight."
"The good wishes are appreciated but not necessary," Starlight replied, blowing a lock of her purple and teal hair out of her face. "I draw!" She looked at her new card and grinned. "Since I drew a normal monster, Aqua Madoor, I can reveal it and draw a second time thanks to my Heart of the Underdog continuous spell." After seeing the next card, she offered a friendly smile. "This has been fun, but it looks like I win."
Flash was confused. "Huh? But my ace is in play and you've barely scratched my Life Points," he said.
"There are ways to win a Duel besides doing damage, and I just drew the last card I need for one of them," said Starlight. She placed a card from her hand into each monster zone on her Duel Blade, causing a huge magic circle to glow in the air.
"No...! Y-you don't mean...!" Flash stammered as the biggest monster he had ever seen appeared in front of his opponent.
"Oh, I mean!" Starlight replied. "Exodia! OBLITERATE!"
After Flash was blasted by the unbeatable monster, the gathered crowd stared in quiet awe. Apple Bloom was the first to break the silence. "That was amazing. Ah never thought Ah'd see Exodia in action," she breathed.
Starlight looked over at her with a smile, but she seemed to feel uneasy when she saw Apple Bloom and her friends. "Thanks, I guess," she said shyly before abruptly leaving.
Scootaloo huffed and crossed her arms. "Rude. She just walked away from a conversation."
"She's probably just shy," said Apple Bloom. "Understandable. She is new here."
As soon as Starlight was behind the school and out of sight, she dropped the shy act and became all seriousness. She put on an earpiece with a microphone and began speaking. “You there?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m here,” a female voice on the other end replied. “Has anyone made the connection yet?”
“No. My Exodia deck has been the perfect disguise,” Starlight answered. “But that’s not why I called. I need info on three girls. There was some insane energy coming off them. They might have multiples each.”
“Can you describe them to me?” the girl she was calling asked.
“All three about freshman age. A tallish redhead with a country accent, shorter tomboy friend with magenta hair, cuter girl with lavender and pink hair,” Starlight listed off.
“Cute, huh? Hope you’re not considering leaving me for her,” the other girl said jokingly.
Starlight chuckled. “Don’t worry, you know I only have eyes for you,” she said. “But seriously. Can you get me some info on these girls?”
“Right. Just give me a second...” the other girl said. Buttons of a computer keyboard being typed on rapidly could be heard through the earpiece for a few moments before she spoke again. “I found three people in the school database who match your descriptions named Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. I’ve seen them all hanging out at Sugarcube Corner after school every day.”
“Then I’ll catch them while they’re headed to the cafe,” said Starlight. “Wish me luck, Trixie.”
Trixie chuckled from the other end of the call. “You’ve collected fourteen Number cards so far. This shouldn’t be a problem,” she said. “But still. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Starlight said before pulling a long grey coat and a maroon scarf out of her backpack and putting them on. She then hung up and removed her earpiece. “Get ready, girls. Number Hunter is coming for you.”
Later, the Crusaders were on their way to the Sugarcube Corner cafe. As always, Astral hovered close by. Apple Bloom was expressing some worries that she had.
“Ah feel like most of our wins against the Numbers have just been good luck,” the young redhead was saying. “What happens when our luck runs out?”
“If you lose a Duel against another Number holder, you lose all of your Number cards, and I fade from existence,” Astral reminded her.
“And that’s what Ah don’t want to happen,” said Apple Bloom.
“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo. “We’re getting stronger already. And chances are the next person we Duel won’t be that big of a deal.”
“LOOK OUT!” Sweetie Belle suddenly shouted, pointing toward a bike that was careening toward them, out of control. The girls wouldn’t have enough time to move. They all shut their eyes and braced for the impact…
But it never came.
Apple Bloom tentatively opened her eyes and quietly gasped at what she saw. The bike had frozen mere inches away from them. Not only that, but cars had also stopped in the streets. People were stuck mid stride. Even the bugs that had started to swarm the lampposts were frozen in the air.
The other two Crusaders opened their eyes as well and had similar reactions. “Astral, what’s happening? And why isn’t it affecting us?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I… do not know,” Astral admitted.
“Allow me to explain,” an altered voice said behind the group. They turned around to see a figure in a long grey coat. The one who went by Number Hunter in this disguise, but was Starlight Glimmer by day.
Apple Bloom frowned. “Who the heck are you?”
“I am Number Hunter,” the mysterious Duelist introduced herself. “This is what I call a time field. Time isn’t stopped, just moving at one ten-thousandth of its usual speed. The only ones who aren’t slowed down… are those with Number cards.”
The girls were shocked. “So ya hunt down people with Numbers and collect the cards for yourself…” Apple Bloom breathed.
“Exactly. And now I’m here to take the Numbers from you,” said Number Hunter. “And of course, the only way to do that is to defeat you all in a Duel.”
“All three of us at once?” Scootaloo asked, receiving a nod in response.
“We should go. Something about this Number Hunter person feels dangerous, even if she will be outnumbered,” Astral warned.
Apple Bloom took note of this warning and looked Number Hunter right in the face. “Sorry, but we’re gonna have to say no,” she stated, and they began to walk away.
The look in Number Hunter’s eyes suggested that she may have been smirking behind her scarf. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice,” she said, holding up her right hand. Three ropes of red energy shot forth, one wrapping around each Crusader’s wrist before becoming invisible. “Those anchors won’t break until after we Duel. Time will even resume its normal speed afterwards. But a Duel has to end here first.”
“Looks like we don’t have a choice,” said Scootaloo, extending her Duel Blade. “You want a Duel? Then that’s what you’re gonna get!” The other two nodded in agreement, their own Duel Blades activating.
Number Hunter chuckled. “Excellent. The three of you will each control your own field, but you’ll share the Life Points and be attacked as if you only have one field, and nobody can attack until we’ve all had a draw phase.”
“Sounds alright to me,” said Apple Bloom. “Do your worst, ya crazy weirdo.”
“Oh, I will. And your Numbers will still be mine!” Number Hunter said as she readied her dragon-themed Duel Blade. Then a strange mark appeared around her right eye, the iris changing from aqua to bright red. “Photon Transformation, go!” she shouted as electricity crackled in the air around her for a brief moment, her coat turning white. The Crusaders were too shocked by this to notice her wincing slightly. “Let’s begin.”
Crusaders
LP: 8000
Hand (AB): 5
Hand (SB): 5
Hand (SL): 5
Number Hunter
LP: 8000; Hand: 5
“I’ll even let you all go first,” Number Hunter offered.
“Well, okay then,” Apple Bloom said as she began the game.
“Play smart. We don’t know what kind of deck we will be facing,” Astral advised.
Apple Bloom nodded. “Right. Ah set two cards facedown and normal summon mah Seed of Flame in attack mode!” she declared. The projections of her facedowns appeared on the field, as well as her flaming plant monster. “Ah end mah turn there.”
Crusaders
LP: 8000
Hand (AB): 2
Hand (SB): 5
Hand (SL): 5
Number Hunter
LP: 8000; Hand: 5
Sweetie Belle took a moment to realize it was her turn. “Oh, are we all going before you?” she asked. “Okay. I draw!” Looking over her cards, she made her decision on what to play. “I summon Deep Sea Diva and activate her special ability, bringing out a level three or lower Sea-Serpent monster from my deck, and I choose my Atlantean Attack Squad!” The two fish-like monsters appeared on her field with a splash. “Then I boost my Diva’s level by one with Star Changer and tune these two together to Synchro Summon my White Aura Dolphin!” Her Diva morphed into three rings of green light, which encircled the white orbs of light that her Atlantean Attack Squad turned into. In a bright flash, a large dolphin was hovering over the field. “With that, I’m gonna end my turn.”
Crusaders
LP: 8000
Hand (AB): 2
Hand (SB): 4
Hand (SL): 5
Number Hunter
LP: 8000; Hand: 5
Scootaloo gained a confident expression on her face. “Now it’s my go!” she said. “I draw! First up, I activate Graceful Charity so I can draw three cards! Of course, then I have to discard two.” After examining her new draws, she chose her discards and continued. “I summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice! Now, since I have a wind-attribute monster on the field, I can Special Summon my Speedroid Taketomborg! Then I tune my Dice with Taketomborg to Synchro Summon this guy right here! Hi-Speedroid Puzzle!” Her Synchro monster appeared, not looking all that impressive. But anyone who knew Speedroids was aware that it could still be dangerous. “Then I set a card and end my turn.”
Crusaders
LP: 8000
Hand (AB): 2
Hand (SB): 4
Hand (SL): 3
Number Hunter
LP: 8000; Hand: 5
Number Hunter laughed. “You look so confident in your opening moves,” she said. “That’ll make it all the more satisfying to crush you. I draw!” Her card seemed to glow as she pulled it from the top of her deck. “First, I activate Pot of Greed to draw twice more! Then I play Reinforcement of the Army, a spell card that lets me add one warrior from my deck to my hand! The warrior I choose is Daybreaker!” She held up the monster and added it to her hand, which now consisted of seven cards. “Now I can Special Summon my Photon Thrasher since I don’t control any monsters yet! Up next is the spell card Photon Lead, allowing me to Special Summon a level four or lower light-attribute monster like Daybreaker from my hand! And Daybreaker’s special ability activates, summoning a second one from my hand since it was Special Summoned!” The three armored warriors all emerged on Number Hunter’s field, glaring at the Crusaders. “These three won’t be around for long, because I use them to build the Overlay Network!” Her monsters transformed into light and flew into the black portal that opened beneath them. “Behold Number 69: Heraldry Crest!”
The girls all stared as the large Xyz monster rose from the portal, three units orbiting around it. “A Number monster out already?!” Apple Bloom said in fright.
“Indeed. And that’s not all!” Number Hunter declared. “I have yet to normal summon this turn, so I bring Photon Cerberus to the field! And since I successfully normal summoned a level three monster, I Special Summon Kagemucha Knight! With these two, I build the Overlay Network once again! Come forth, Number 20: Giga-Brilliant!” As she said this, a large silver insect emerged from another starry portal.
“TWO Numbers?!” Sweetie Belle cried.
“Such incredible power…” said Astral.
And Number Hunter wasn’t even done. “I activate Giga-Brilliant’s special ability!” she continued. “By detaching one of its overlay units, it boosts the attack points of every monster I currently control by 300!” Her monsters’ attack power rose, and she laughed, holding up the last card in her hand. “And now for my final play this turn.”
“You already have two strong Number cards on the field! What else could you possibly do?!” Scootaloo asked.
“Tribute them,” Number Hunter answered simply, surprising all three of her opponents, as well as Astral. “Thanks to the boost from Giga-Brilliant, both of these monsters now have attack power higher than 2000, so I can tribute them both to summon my real ace!” The Numbers disappeared as she threw a large boomerang thing. “Come to the field, my ultimate Number-slaying beast, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!”
The Crusaders and Astral all stared in absolute terror as the dragon emerged from the thrown object in a bright flash of light. Its main body was composed of unknown red and dark blue materials, and the rest seemed to be made of energy. True to its name, they could see vast spirals of stars in its eyes. It let out a loud roar, its breath blowing all of them back.
I recognize this creature… Astral realized. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were shaking. What am I feeling? Is this what it means… to be afraid?
“Now,” said Number Hunter, “the real Duel begins.” Her dragon roared again, giving the girls a sense of impending doom.
To Be Continued…
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Excellent my friend your writing style is improving greatly =3
8595786
Thanks dude. :)
8595900
Your welcome
8595903
:3
8595933
Are you making up all these Number cards? Because I would like to make one for your story.
8597609
All the Number cards I’ve used so far are actual cards, but I am accepting original character and card submissions. Just PM me the details.
While I have an idea for an oc number card, I was only asking because I was curious. Now I want to make an oc for your fic as well, when that has a crush on Scootaloo. But I need you to send me the details that you would need to know before you could work him in.
8598251
Alrighty. The only details I really need are name, physical appearance, personality, deck, suggested Number, and how the Number affects them other than the obvious.
8598265
I asked for you to PM me what you needed. On a side note, think you could use my actual River Deck? Despite the name, it has few water monsters in it. That's because it's based around my personally instead of an element or a theme.
8598302
That would be alright. I would need a list of cards, of course, and some time to get accustomed to them, but I can definitely make it happen.
8598306
Do you want to to only use 60 of my 80 cards, or can I send you the full list?
8598333
I think I’d like a full list, and I’ll pick some out of the set.
Ahhh! another wonderful chapter, as per the norm :3 Miss ya buddy :)
8600149
Thanks. :)
8620925
Awesome! Just message me the details and I’ll see if I can work with it.