Dark World Dealings
Duelists of the Friendship Cup
Dark World Dealings
Sombra grabbed a chair by the back of the seat and pulled it towards the desk Sunset sat at. The metal squeaked as Sombra swiveled the chair around to face Sunset, and then sat down in it, his hands clasped on the desk.
Sunset looked around the room. I don’t think I have classes here. Which room is this? The posters and boards around the room seemed to indicator some sort of English class. When Sunset looked at the back of the room where bookshelves were lined up, she met Sombra’s green eyes and found herself transfixed.
Sombra stared at her for several seconds. Sunset fought the urge to fidget in her seat. I should look away. This is creepy… why can’t I look away? The lights were on in the room and yet Sombra’s face seemed to be in shadows, his features obscured.
At last, he spoke.
“Impressive victory, Miss Shimmer. You’ve reversed Canterlot High’s fortunes in this tournament.”
Sunset swallowed heavily. “Thank you.”
Sombra sat back in his seat. He raised his eyebrows and gave a small incline of his head. “Tell me, which of those cards that you used were created wholecloth during the duel? I am merely curious.”
No. Sunset felt a chill run up her back. “I… I got a few lucky draws. That’s all.” Sombra continued to watch her, his expression unchanging. Sunset nodded. “Just luck.”
“I believe the truly skilled make their own luck. And you, Miss Shimmer, are skilled.”
“I don’t think my dueling is going to change what I draw.”
“Is that so?” Sombra took a deep breath and looked away. He stood and clasped his hands behind his back, taking a few steps away.
Sunset bit her lip. He’s probing, trying to get me to reveal something. “Principal Sombra, what are—”
“May I call you Sunset?”
Sunset paused. “Huh?”
Sombra turned back at her. “Would it bother you terribly if I used your given name?”
“…No.”
Sombra nodded. “Then if I may, Sunset, I would prefer it if you dropped your pretenses of naïve innocence. I know what you did down there.”
He’s bluffing. He has to be. Sunset’s hand shook at her side and she clenched it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.” Sombra raised his head slightly. “I do not think you are a fool, Sunset, and I would not treat you like one. I hope you will afford me the same respect. So when I say to you ‘I know what you did’, I expect you to respond with the understanding that you do not need to lie to me."
His eyes boring into Sunset’s, Sombra leaned forward. “If it will set your mind at ease, allow me to say the word first – magic.”
Sunset’s heart skipped a beat. She closed her eyes and took a breath. “You know?”
“I have said so, did I not?”
“How?”
Sombra waved a hand in the air. “Surely you did not think you were the only one in this world with power, did you? It is rare, true; I would not question it if you claimed to have never met another. But they are out there.”
He’s not wrong. Sunset had heard rumors and stories, but they’d never affected her so she hadn’t paid any attention nor had much interest. I was content to just wait for the portal to reopen so I could invade Equestria.
“But, yet…” Sombra tilted his head and narrowed his eyes slightly. “Your powers are different, somehow. I have met many duelists who can draw whatever card they may need, or create new cards from nothing. But I have never met a duelist who can create new types of cards.” His eyes fell on Sunset’s forearm and her duel disk. “Could I have a look at those Pendulum monsters, please?”
Sunset’s free hand moved to cover up her cards. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t trust you.”
Sombra’s lips twitched down slightly. “You offend me, Sunset. Not once before have I ever lied to you, and I do not intend to start now. What cause is there to distrust me?”
Anger boiled up in Sunset at his words. She channeled it into a glare. “You’re the head of the school that has humiliated and pushed around Canterlot High for years.”
“You deem me a scapegoat for your school’s ill performance?” Sombra snorted and shook his head. “I chose to take Crystal Prep to a higher level of competition, and Celestia refused to keep up. If you want someone to blame for Canterlot High’s loss of the tournament every year, look to your own principal.”
Sunset paused and blinked, her glare fading. “What do you mean?”
Sombra spread his hands. “Under my careful eye, Crystal Prep has become one of the most prestigious dueling institutions in the country. When I first became principal, eleven years ago now, Crystal Prep was much like Canterlot High. I instituted a dueling ranking system, decreed school events utilize the advanced ruleset of professional play, and I changed entry into the Friendship Cup to be based on merit rather than a student vote.”
He turned his head to the wall, and Sunset followed his eyes to a poster for the Friendship Cup. “I have told Celestia that her school could be the same as ours, if she would adopt my reforms. The benefits of my system are self-evident, but Celestia refuses. She once told me that it was the decision of her students, they wanted the Friendship Cup to be about fun, and had little interest in advanced rulesets or ranking systems. She agrees with that sentiment, and has told me she doesn’t want her school to be ruled by competition and bitterness.”
Sombra looked over at Sunset, stepping back towards her. “I have made Celestia offers of equality and fair competition, and she remains loyal to her students and to her ideals. Admirable. But misguided. Imagine what this tournament could be if Canterlot High would only rise to meet the challenge properly, instead of stagnating in mediocrity.”
“Is that what you think we are?” Sunset replied.
“Yes. But there are always outliers. Like you.” Sombra smiled at her. “I had often wondered about you. Canterlot High’s mysterious champion who never duels outside of tournaments. But you never entered the Friendship Cup, and what little I knew of you showed no higher ambition from you as a duelist than dominating your school. I brushed you off as a low priority, a probable false lead.”
He stopped in front of Sunset, his smile widening. “And now today you demonstrate to me your magic is not only active, but powerful beyond compare. I cannot tell you how delighted I am to apologize to you for my erroneous presumptions.”
Sunset stood, her chair squeaking, and looked up at him. “Well, you found me. What do you want with me?”
“To invite you to Crystal Prep.”
Sunset faltered. “What?”
Sombra reached into the jacket of his suit and withdrew a small pamphlet with a photograph of Crystal Prep on it. “Normally, tuition at our school is rather expensive, but it is worth the price for the caliber of instruction you would receive. I accept nothing less for my students than the best faculty and the best facilities, and we teach within the highest percentiles in the region for both Duel Monsters and conventional courses.
“What you will not read in pamphlets like this, however, are the private dueling classes we host. In the safe environment of this closed setting, in a class only I may authorize admittance to, Crystal Prep students with the potential for magic can hone their abilities and awaken the full breadth of their powers. An opportunity you will never find at Canterlot High.”
“A free tuition to a private school with magic lessons?” Sunset looked at the pamphlet. “You just finished boasting about how you use Crystal Prep to track down duelists with magic and train them. But why? What do you get out of this?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Crystal Prep’s reputation speaks for itself. We have tutored champion duelists for years, not to mention professionals who enter other fields of dueling such as card and game design. Success breeds prestige and prestige breeds influence.” Sombra closed his eyes and gave a small chuckle. “You could not imagine how much money Crystal Prep gets from sponsors and donors every year.”
“Money doesn’t make your school or your students better than Canterlot.”
“No – being better makes us better.”
“And it makes you arrogant.” Sunset glared. “I used to use my cards to push people around and control this school. And you think running an entire school that way is how I should learn? That I’d want to re-learn how to be a bully?”
“Bully?” Sombra frowned. “The only inequality you suffer from is that which you afflict upon yourselves. If you and your fellow students tire of losing the Friendship Cup, speak to Celestia about it. We could stop holding the tournament, or you may adopt my methods. Crystal Prep is proof they are successful. We have many students enrolled even now who hone their craft both magical and benign. Some have skill enough they could pose a challenge even to you.”
Suspicion bloomed in Sunset’s mind. “Twilight.”
Sombra’s gaze did not falter. “Yes?”
“She remembers my deck. She knows Pendulum monsters don’t really exist.”
“Proof of her latent abilities. She holds promise.” Sombra looked away and gave a small huff. “I have tried to encourage her to expand her horizons, but her mind is rigid and closed. She is intelligent beyond compare, and it has done her well in her classes, but she could be so much more if she could unlock her true potential. I have not yet given up hope for her, but if she did not awaken her powers when dueling you, I am uncertain what more it will take.”
“You expected her to awaken her magic dueling me?”
Sombra looked back at Sunset. “If you are concerned I somehow arranged your confrontation, do not be. I have not influenced the randomly chosen duels of the tournament, you have my word. But I will not deny that when I saw the two of you matched, I grew rather excited. I had hoped at least one of you would spur the other into awakening.” He smiled again. “And so you did.”
“Yeah, well…” Sunset sat down in another desk and rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s not something I’m proud of. I could have seriously hurt her.” She looked at her deck. “I can’t control it. I didn’t even know I could summon it up like that. But I won’t use a power that I can’t stop from hurting others.”
“A fair assessment. I do not think Twilight was in any serious danger, if that will help put your mind at ease. And while your magic is unlike any I am familiar with, I believe the same tutoring techniques used for other duelists could help you hone and learn to control it.”
Sombra stood and held out the Crystal Prep pamphlet again. “Attend Crystal Prep, Sunset, and I can help you unlock and master your abilities. You could become a duelist unparalleled but for a handful of others like you.”
Sunset stared at the offering for several seconds.
I don’t even know why I can’t control it, much less how. And it made me into… that. “You really think you could help me?”
“I promise it. I think attending Crystal Prep would be the best thing for everyone, including yourself.” Sombra inclined his head slightly. “I would hate to think what may happen if you lost control of your powers while dueling one of your friends.”
Sunset’s head skipped a beat. My friends… She took a shaking breath and looked down at her duel disk. This deck was born from Twilight’s deck, and then reformed from my friendship with the others here. If I left them, would my deck vanish? Or would it change to something else, something I don’t even recognize? She moved her eyes to the Extra Deck slot, empty. If just using my magic this one time caused those evil cards to appear, what could happen to me if I abandoned my friends?
She looked up at the pamphlet in Sombra’s hand, and raised her arm to gently push it aside.
“No.”
Sombra frowned. “May I ask why?”
Sunset inhaled deeply. “I can’t say I’m not at least a little curious. And I do want to learn how to control my magic. But I can’t leave Canterlot. I have friends here.”
“You could make new friends at Crystal Prep. And contact with your friends here would not be forbidden.”
“It’s not that simple.” Sunset took a breath. “I belong at Canterlot High. Crystal Prep may be great, but… all the things you said about how you reformed it, the way your students duel…” She stood firmly and locked teal eyes with green. “Like I said: I’m not interested in re-learning how to be a bully.”
Sunset looked back at Sombra. After holding her gaze for several seconds, he gave a brief bow of his head. “This is the second time today I have been disappointed.” Sombra sighed and tucked the pamphlet back into his suit. “You may consider my offer remaining open, at least until the end of the tournament. Think it over a bit more and we can talk again tomorrow.”
My answer will be the same. Aloud Sunset merely said, “Sure.”
Sombra extended his hand, now empty. “Once again I congratulate you on your win. Whatever you may choose, you have a unique gift, Sunset. I hope you will do what is needed to nurture it.”
“…Thank you.” Sunset took the hand and shook it.
Once their hands stilled, Sombra withdrew his. “If you do not mind, I will take my leave. Good evening, Sunset. I will see you tomorrow.”
With a short bow and a nod, Sombra turned and calmly walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind him.
Sunset waited, listening to his footsteps echo down the hall.
“Twily?” Shining Armor knocked twice on the closed door. “Dinner’s ready.”
“Not hungry,” came the muffled response.
Shining frowned and turned the door handle. “Twilight?” He pushed the door open and peaked his head into his sister’s room.
Twilight sat with her back to him, working on her computer. Her duel disk lay on the desk next to her, a cable running from the disk to the computer.
“No, no, no!” Twilight grunted and slammed a fist beside her keyboard. “It won’t even transfer!”
“What are you doing?” Shining asked, coming up to her.
Twilight turned to her duel disk and examined the cable connection as she spoke. “My duel disk doesn’t have any records of my duel with Sunset. Any time I try to access data from it, either the programs crash or the data is corrupted. The duel record is corrupted. The video and audio recordings are blank. Even the record of my opponents didn’t add Sunset to the directory.”
“Should run some maintenance on it, make sure it runs properly.”
“It worked fine yesterday!” Twilight shrieked, her eyes snapping up at her brother. “But the after I dueled Sunset, everything went haywire!”
Shining leaned closer. “Twily, what’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” Twilight grunted angrily and clutched her hair. “Everything’s wrong! That duelist is something beyond just cheating, Shining! Her eyes were glowing! So was her deck! How do you explain that?”
“Error with the holograms?”
“And her new Extra Deck cards that I’ve never seen her use before despite recording almost twenty hours of footage of her dueling?” Twilight jabbed a finger at her camera drone on her dresser. “I checked. Literally, I rewatched it all. And now all the data of the duel is corrupted?”
“Twilight.” Shining sat down on the bed. “Look at me.” Twilight turned her eyes his way. “You’ve had a long day. How about we go grab some food and you let your mind rest, and you come back to it in an hour? Maybe you’ll come up with something over dinner.”
“I’m not hungry,” Twilight muttered.
“We had an early lunch at the tournament, you are so.” Twilight’s stomach growled. Shining smirked and pointed to it. “See?” He put his hand on Twilight’s shoulder and gave her a playful shake. “You’ll think better on a full stomach.”
Twilight closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Let me give you a scenario. A duelist with cards you’ve never seen before – nevermind they’re an entire type of card you’ve never seen before – is out there. Emails and phone calls to judges and card designers, and research on every card database you know of, turn up nothing. When you face her in a duel, her eyes start glowing and she starts playing cards you are absolutely certain she didn’t have before. Her cards physically hurt you, beyond what a duel disk is designed to do normally. And then after the duel, your duel disk has no data about the duel.”
She opened her eyes. “Would you not be even the slightest bit curious as to what was going on?”
Shining pulled his hand back. “Yeah, that’s definitely weird, and I’d want to know more. But my first step would be to approach this girl and just ask her about her cards. I wouldn’t spy on her with a camera drone and try to steal her deck.”
“I wasn’t trying to steal it, I just wanted to look at her cards.”
“I would have just asked her.”
“If she’s cheating then she’ll say no.”
“And if she isn’t cheating, she’ll say yes, and you’ve been spying on an innocent girl.” Shining shook his head. “Twily, curiosity is one thing; this is obsession.”
“I knew it,” Twilight muttered. “You don’t believe me. No one does.” She gave her cell phone an accusing look. “The only person who ever thought I was onto something was Principal Sombra. And he hasn’t returned my calls all night.”
“He does run our school, Twilight. He’s a busy man.”
“I know, but I need to talk to him!” Twilight cupped her hands to her face and groaned. “I just want someone to explain this to me. It doesn’t make sense.” She looked at her duel disk and flicked the hinged flap that covered up the cable ports on the bottom.
“Everything I know about this game tells me I’m wrong. Judges, designers, store owners, websites, databases. Even my own schoolmates. They all tell me those cards can’t exist. But I’ve seen them, I’ve played a duel against them. I know what I’ve seen, and I know that what I’ve seen can’t be real.”
She looked back at Shining Armor. “Does a crazy person realize they’re going crazy?”
“You’re not going crazy, Twily.”
“Isn’t that just what you’re supposed to tell a crazy person to make them feel better?”
Shining chuckled at the remark; Twilight didn’t. He quickly stopped and he stood up, moving in front of her.
“You are not crazy, Twilight.” Shining hugged her, patting the back of her had. “You are the smartest duelist I’ve ever seen, and that isn’t your BBBFF talking, that’s the Crystal Prep champion. If you say something is going on, I believe you. And I know you’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you,” Twilight mumbled into his shirt.
“But,” Shining continued. He stepped back and put a hand on her chin to tilt her head up. “You need to know when to take a step back. What was it you used to say to me? ‘A poor duelist focuses on beating what’s on the opponent’s field; a great duelist focuses on beating what’s in their deck.’”
“I don’t think that’s quite the same thing…”
“Point is, whatever is happening with that Sunset Shimmer girl, yelling at your duel disk and calling yourself crazy isn’t going to give you the answer. You’ll be free all day tomorrow, you can look around Canterlot and talk to people then if you need to.”
“...Yes.” Twilight inhaled. “You’re right, that’s fair... yes.”
“See?” Shining smirked and ruffled her hair. “Your bro is good for more than being a handsome duelist.”
“Stop that,” Twilight scowled and pushed his hand off her hair.
“I will, if you come get dinner with me.”
“Fine, but after dinner I’m coming back to work on this.”
“As long as you get to sleep at a proper time, sure.”
“…‘kay.” Twilight stood up and obediently followed her brother out of her bedroom, pausing at the doorway to look back at her duel disk, and then to her broken glasses folded up on the desk in front of it.
Why can’t I understand this?
Sitting at her desk in her apartment, Sunset stared at the Magia card on top of the scattered pile of cards in front of her.
Why did I receive these cards? Twilight left me her deck to take care of. Then they turned into these. Why? Sunset sighed and slumped in her chair. Twilight trusted me to use her deck properly. And somehow I turned it into this… I don’t even understand what ‘Pendulum’ is supposed to mean in regards to the Elements of Harmony. Sunset reached into the pile and picked up her Compassio card. Her lip quivered as she looked at it.
Dark attribute… needs the other Pendulum Zone empty to use its effect… the other six synergize perfectly with each other. This one relies on being alone. She let Compassio fall back on top of the others. Twilight’s deck was born from the bond she shared with her friends in the two worlds. So what does this deck say about me? That I corrupted Twilight’s cards into something that shouldn’t exist? She stared at the card, the fae knight’s eyes a mirror of her own teal.
Is that card what I am? Even when trying to be good, I’m part of something evil?
Sunset’s phone vibrated from the bed. She leaned over and picked it up, turning it over to reveal a text alert from Rarity.
Are you okay?
Sunset reached to touch the keypad icon, and paused. She moved her hand over to the phone icon and tapped it instead.
The line rang twice before it picked up.
“Well?”
“I don’t know.” Sunset fought down a lump in her throat. “Rarity, those cards… you know what they were called.”
“I do. Rainbow Dash retrieved the ones you dropped on the field.”
“Okay.” Sunset bit her lip. “How are you guys doing?”
“Pinkie has been, well, Pinkie about it - I can’t be certain if her exaggerations are for comedic effect or simply how she cannot help but express herself.”
“Exaggerations?”
“She’s saying you turned into a monster.”
Sunset ignored the pang in her chest. “And the others?”
“Fluttershy is worried about you more than what you did. Applejack hasn’t discussed it much, but I can tell she’s concerned.” Rarity huffed. “Rainbow Dash thinks it’s, to quote her, ‘totally awesome’. She wants to know if you can give magic to the rest of us.”
Sunset narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Quite not. I recall the last time you did that. Better to say, I recall pieces of it.”
Images of a darkened parking lot and her hands glowing with red magic entered Sunset’s mind. She shut her eyes to will them away. “What about you?”
“I could do without seeing you in that state ever again. Otherwise, I’ll be fine.”
“I wouldn’t do anything like that to you again, Rarity. Never.” Sunset gripped her phone tighter and pressed it closer to her head. “I don’t want to hurt you, or the others, or even Crystal Prep’s students! I didn’t mean to do... What happened today wasn’t what I wanted!” She stopped and caught her breath, clutching a hand to her face. “I’m sorry… Please believe me.”
“I do.”
Hand still on her face, Sunset closed her eyes and nodded. “Thank you. Really, thank you.”
“I think the question we’re all pondering in our own way is what happens now.”
“I’m not sure.” Sunset lowered her hand and breathed deep. “I guess, no more magical duels for me. Good thing I won’t have to duel again in this tournament, right?”
“Indeed. I do hope you’ll still come to support us? We can’t know the match-ups, of course, but it’s Rainbow, myself, and Flash left to duel.”
“Of course I’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Marvelous.”
Sunset pulled her phone away to look at the clock on it. “I’ll let you go get some sleep, then.”
“You do the same, darling. And try not to beat yourself up about this. We’ll figure this out together.”
“Yeah… together.”
“Ta-ta.”
Sunset hung up and tossed her phone back to the bed.
Figure it out together… She lowered her head, letting her hands hang from her knees. I know one person who could tell me what it means. But she’s in another dimension. She glanced back at her stack of cards on her desk.
What am I supposed to be able to do?
Stats
Page generated in 0.033 seconds
Total duration
737 users online
762,252 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I feel bad for Sunset...
Hey Yugi
Hey Jaden
Hello, Sombra, I'd like to introduce you to Yuma Sukomo, he kind of invented an entire sub-type of card. Maybe you've heard of them, the Number Cards?
Ten bits to Twilight will awaken her magic while searching for answers and when it does it will be dark.
9471077
Actually I seem to recall Fluttershy using a Number in her duel again Sour Sweet.
https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Number_64:_Ronin_Raccoon_Sandayu
Hmm. So topdecking magic bullhonkery is an established aspect of this universe? (What am I saying? It's a Yu-Gi-Oh world; of course it is.) That certainly explains the previous story. In theory, any pony coming through the portal would have their magic converted into such an ability.
"With all due respect, Principal Sombra, this is a competition between two high schools. How many people outside of the school district even know about it, much less care?"
The fact that Sombra contrasts "magical" with "benign" speaks volumes about what those private classes entail.
Heh. Yeah, it kind of lost some essential context in translation. Though one could try to tie it to, say, a metronome.
In any case, good to see at least some of Sunset's friends taking her backslide seriously. Also interesting to see the temptation angle of Rainbow Rocks getting reinterpreted here, to say nothing of the apparent lack of a quantum entanglement journal. I suppose bringing in pony Twilight would undercut Sunset's arc, to say nothing of how human Twilight might react to seeing her counterpart from a different dimension. (There's a joke about banished cards in there somewhere...)
Looking forward to more.
Very nicely done indeed here.
Okay, has Sombra just been in the background of every Yugioh series?
Ok I need to check something here as its been bugging me a little. Do Fluttershy and Applejack use an actual themed deck or have they made their own with a type of card? I know Dash's and Rarities are official decks and I'm pretty sure Pinkie's is.
Anyway in regards to this chapter NO, just NO. Rarity your friend is struggling with her own inner demons and being tempted by an idiot, seriously with everything that's gone on in the Yugio duels saw blades to sever an opponents legs, memory erasing, corruption Sombra thinking magic is good and a way to duel fairly is just idiotic on his part. Plus the fact if he just told Twilight about magic straight out she'd probably believe him and be relieved. Well written character though. You don't tell her she's a monster and you don't trust her, you encourage her that right now she gets to make a choice on who she wants to be. Sure she slipped in this duel but she isn't a bad person because it makes her feel unhappy and next time she can choose not to go down that path.
I am so worried. I want Sombra to be not the baddy. But at the same time he has leveled up his creepy level a lot in this chapter. This story has got me in it's claws.
I like how Sombra is super proud of using magic to cheat at a childrens card game to run a successful high school, even through he lives in a world were people already use magic to cheat at a childrens card game to take over the world...
idk, it just doesn't seem as ambitious to me. Unless there's more to his agenda.
Magical diary?
Anyone else hearing Principal Sombra with the voice of Xemnas from Kingdom Hearts?
For some reason, i have the newest chapter marked as read but it's still showing i have something in my library.
Having recently watched a few episodes of GX to pass the time I can't help wondering how Twilight would react to Jaden's Neo's deck consisting of one of a kind monsters with a unique summoning in contact fusion or Aster as his not released destiny heroes?
9410350
Same here. I love Toon World theme. It's so cool.
Wow, that was something else.
9472533
He might honestly not be that ambitious. A children's high school principal doesn't really have any need to risk using corrupting evil magic the way a ruler theoretically might. Even if he wants magical power and might be willing to cross a lot of lines for it, it's quite possible that safer, saner experiments have convinced him the rewards aren't worth the side effects. (Just as it is very difficult to tell the difference between altruism and sufficiently enlightened pure self-interest, it's hard to distinguish lack of malice from sufficient awareness of risks and consequences.) This also means he's in some ways more of a problem than Cinch was (if you still want the same kind of changes affecting Crystal Prep as an afterword). Lacking Cinch's insecurity issues, he has no motivation to take any steps rendering rainbow lasers an available response, and also won't snap. (Also unlike Cinch, he probably could manage to change the general attitude of Crystal Prep without losing the confidence of the parents who are sending him new students and thus soon tanking the school's reputation.)
He has a very narrow area of responsibility which involves adapting to society at large rather than influencing it - which allows him to justify his methods as preparing students for an already flawed society. If you can show him that a friendship-based approach works for expanding the potential pool of magic users, he can certainly be reasoned with. ...Of course, sharing magic with others or "sparking" it is not one of Sunset's natural traits, and she's absent any equivalent to the second movie, so no talking to Twilight, no experience using the local magic positively, and if we're actually resolving this with the tournament (instead of making the tournament the startoff point for a slow Twilight meltdown) pretty much no time to learn heroing. On the other hand, the setting's even better suited than canon for doing more impossible things with less preparation. It'll be interesting to see which way things go.
9506641
Right. I get that I'm speaking against the Cut Lex Luthor A Check trope here, and taking over the world is immensly silly. I'm just saying that if you have the power to conjure mythological creatures from pieces of cardboard...
I guess I'm just wondering why you'd run a high school and not some higher instance.
9507064
There's an interesting point lurking in there. In the prequel story, Twilight takes it for granted that high school relationships are destined to become memories as students spread out and lose touch. (Not invalid, though I find it interesting Princess Twilight's the one with the thought.) Sombra can have a greater influence over adolescents than any other age group, it saves him some of the schmoozing which seems to be a primary duty of university administration (yes, Crystal Prep, I know, but a lot of people will believe a high school principal has more urgent if not important things to do with their day than lunch, drinks and tours with them personally), and it probably gives him a greater range of circumstances he can attribute to teenagers and get well-meaning help covering up, but it isn't clear if this is the prime networking and empire-building period for the students. ...At the same time, I suspect if somebody with Sombra's record felt like guest lecturing at a university or spending some alone time with select students or faculty, people would be very accomodating, and he's charismatic enough to not need direct authority to get most of what he'd want from them. You could say he has most of the actual power while having to do less of the unpleasant parts.
He did one slightly dubious thing in making Sunset that offer: somebody in a position oriented towards the predominance and well-being of the Duel Monsters game, in a situation where player safety is relevant, should have made it clear that while enrollment at Crystal Prep would be the convenient option, tutoring directed at getting Sunset to a point where at least harming other duelists was an explicit choice would be provided in any event. (He's not trying to claim Crystal Prep has trade secrets, and shouldn't be.) But looking at the conversation, it's very easy to claim he never got a clear chance to say that.
9507739
See now I'm thinking more and more that Sombra may just be a nice guy who wants to help people manage their powers (Like Professor X). If he was looking to create an army of magic users he probably would have got them in his clutches way earlier in life. Getting teenagers to blindly follow him in just 3-5 years sounds really hard (cut to hidden brainwashing facility on campus?). Plus you'd think if one of his students went on to attempt worlddomination after graduation, people would connect the dots.
Then again, everything Sombra has said in this fic has been horribly manipulative...
Also offtopic, but is english your first language? Not to be rude, but it seems like you string barely connective words together into these bigass paragraphs to the point where they become nearly unreadable.
9507873
Basically I agree with you. Sombra may not be a basically good person, but absent a decent reason to do evil he won't. With no goals anyone strongly disapproves of, he doesn't need blind obedience, and getting teenagers to agree with him enough to stay amenable to fair offers isn't difficult.
Short answer: yes, it is. Slightly longer: I spent seventh grade through high school with an instructor who made me write. A lot. About a lot of topics. While I was learning computer languages, at a time when spacing or indentation was a waste of vital bytes in source code. Not sure I parse English the same way any more or always remember what's legible to me isn't globally applicable. For what it's worth, these days I can always avoid using more than three nested sets of parentheses; five years ago that wasn't true. Sometimes I do write shorter and clearer comments. The thing is, time editing them down is also time to decide I don't really need to post them at all. My more voluble periods of comment-writing thus tend to be while sick, exhausted, or distracted and my filters are down. Not ideal. Happens anyway. Sorry.