Dueling for a Chance

by Darthvalgaav

Not all Monsters Have Fangs

“Of all the indignant things,” growled Rarity as she stormed her way through the busy streets of Manehatten. All around her were ponies on the sidewalks as they went to and fro on their daily business. The weather was pleasant, neither too hot nor too cold making this an excellent day for a casual stroll. Perhaps some of these ponies were doing that, pausing to look at the displays of the many shops that the white unicorn passed by. They might be on their way to work or perhaps visiting a friend. Whatever the reason, all of them moved out of the way as Rarity marched down the street. Not even the dirtiest peddler trying to sell his wares would approach the white unicorn as she snorted steam out from her nostrils in a most unladylike manner.

This had been the mood she had been in since leaving the train station with her friends. A mood that had only grown worse over the last day and a half when the police brought an unconscious Sweetie Belle to her doorstep. It had started out as fear, closing the shop for the day to make sure nothing bad would happen to her. She had even sent a message to Twilight, requesting the unicorn’s assistance in trying to make sure the young filly would be alright. Thankfully, Sweetie awoke before the purple alicorn could arrive.

That relief quickly turned into anger as Sweetie told Rarity about the events that brought her to that street. Enraged, Rarity galloped out of the house to where Night Stitch had written down as her home address to get an explanation. The address turned out to belong to Berry Punch who had no idea who Rarity was talking about. Furious Rarity went to the mayor’s office to see if any new ponies had moved into town only to find that none had in the last few months. This meant that the only place left to search for the filly was her last known place of residence, the same one as the mare who had been pulling the strings: Manehatten.

During the train ride, Rarity’s anger festered and boiled to the point where not even Pinkie Pie tried to cheer her up. While it was low of Suri to use a filly like this, she was positively furious at Night Stitch for the betrayal. She had invited the filly into her business, nay her home. She was going to teach the filly everything she knew about the trade. And who was she repaid? Not just stealing from her but also leaving her sister out in the streets alone for who know how long?! What if something had happened to poor Sweetie Belle? How could she live with herself if she had gotten sick or been kidnapped? How would she explain this to her parents?

“Rarity, please don’t be angry with her,” Sweetie had said when Rarity voiced her anger when it had threatened to drown the mare. Rarity could remember Sweetie Belle clearly, staring at her with those big pleading eyes. “You didn’t see her! She was scared out of her mind. It was like she thought she had to do this or else!”

Rarity, however, had not been swayed. “Sweetie Belle, Night Stitch had a choice,” she had said. “She could have done the right thing and not stolen from me. She could have confided in me with whatever it was that was troubling her. But she didn’t, instead choosing to be a bad pony. Even when you followed her and gave her another chance to do the right thing, providing her with options, she refused. No matter the reason, there is no excuse for hurting other ponies like she had.”

Rarity’s friends had said little about the matter, coming along to help find the filly and get some answers from her in pony. With no idea where she lived, they were going to search the streets of Manehatten along with Sweetie Belle starting at the local card shops. It seemed that that might be the best place to look for a former pro duelist. Well, that suited Rarity just fine for she was heading down to see Suri in pony. And when she got there she would rather not have her friends there in case her temper blew, causing her to act un-lady like in front of them.

Unlike with Night Stitch, Rarity knew exactly where Suri had set up shop. It was in the lower end of Manehatten on one of the…cheaper streets. That wasn’t to say that it was a bad neighborhood or anything like that, however it was far removed from the busier section of the city. Here there were smaller stores that sold much cheaper products as well as a few old ‘ma and pop’ stores like in Ponyville. There were also plenty of gaudy stories that offended Rarity’s senses with their cheap neon lights.

Suri’s store was simply called Polomare. It was a decent looking two-story building, nestled between two cheaper looking stores. Rarity was impressed that Suri had managed to refrain from placing her face on the window or anything like that. Instead she had several mannequins dressed in her gowns, none of them in the way of the elegantly written Polomare in the middle of the window. What ruined it for Rarity was that she recognized those outfits as the ones Suri had made Coco make back when she had tricked Rarity into giving up the fabric! It was a reminder that just boiled her insides up even more than they already were as she stormed into the store.

There was no chime of bells when she entered nor any other indication that would let the owner know somepony had entered. Looking around the store, Rarity spotted several mannequins in various poses in what might be the latest in Suri’s line. Whether the mare had made them herself, had an employee do it while she took the credit, or simply stolen them from somepony new to the world of fashion was anypony’s guess. At the opposite end of the store was a doorway leading into the back room, separated by a long counter with a bell on it. Frowning, Rarity moved towards the counter as her horn lit up to ring the bell.

“Coming,” Rarity heard Suri say. A moment or two later Suri entered through the doorway, her smile fading instantly when she saw who it was. “Oh, Rarity. What a surprise.”

“You know what I’m here for Suri,” said Rarity, her voice dead of all emotions. “I want the scroll your little thief took from me.”

Suri gave Rarity a scandalized look as she placed a hoof over where her heart should be. “Rarity, was something stolen from you? How dreadful. I guess you should be more careful with who you hire. This world just isn’t…” Suri’s words trailed off as Rarity’s blue magic glowed brightly as a scroll began floating in from the backroom. The other fashion pony looked at it for a moment before grabbing it with her hooves. “This is mine!”

“Really?” asked Rarity as she cocked an eyebrow. Before Suri could deny it, Rarity pointed a hoof at the scroll. Specifically the emblem on it: a fancy R with an eye in the loop along with eyelashes, the symbol for Rarity’s line. “Care to explain why my logo is on that scroll? One that you are claiming belongs to you?”

“You could have put that on there with your magic!” shouted Suri as she pulled the scroll closer to herself.

“Very well then,” said Rarity as she cut her magic off. Taken off guard, Suri tumbled backwards without the pull of Rarity’s magic. “I had hoped you would at least been mare enough to know when you were caught, but if you insist on lying like a filly caught with her hoof in the cookie jar than I shall treat you as such. We shall simply get the police involved. I am sure that once they examine the scroll they will find trace amounts of MY magic within the lettering.” Suri opened her mouth, but Rarity silenced her by rapidly bringing her hoof to her neck and then making a quickly slashing motion. “Oh, and if you think you can get away with the claim that you made these dresses from the fabric described in the scroll then I will simply direct them to Miss Coco. I am sure she would love to tell them how you obtained the material to make these dresses.”

Seeing the dumbfounded look on Suri’s face, Rarity turned to leave. In all honestly, she knew she could have done something like this back when Suri first tricked her. However there was the matter of the time crunch and she had not wanted to miss her big chance. After words she had decided to settle on not pursuing Suri about the matter. She knew Suri could never replicate the process on her own. But she had never expected Suri to go this far to get it! Now she would pay, even if Rarity had to go before Princess Celestia herself.

“Wait,” cried Suri as she ran if front of Rarity. There was an oddly calm smile upon her face. “You don’t want to bring the police into this. Think of the scandal, the bad press.”

“Perhaps more towards you,” said Rarity sternly as she tried to pass Suri. Suri, however, was determined to remain in front of Rarity.

“How about we settle this like mares with a duel?” she asked. “You do have a deck, right?”

“Of course I do,” said Rarity, frowning a bit. She had hoped that this would be a duel with fencing swords so she could stab Suri repeatedly. “But why should I do this?”

“Because if you win, I’ll hoof over the scroll,” said Suri slyly. “No police investigation. No bad press for either of us. No waiting for the courts. Just a simple and straightforward duel. That is, if you think you have the skills to beat me.”

“I suppose then that if you win you get to keep it?” asked Rarity. Suri’s smile seemed to widen before nodding. Frowning, Rarity’s horn lit up. There was a blinding flash and, when it faded, her duel disk was on with her deck in its slot. “Very well then. But, I must insist that when I win you are never to come near me or my friends ever again. And, should I find out you copied it already and are making more of those gowns then I shall go see all the princesses about this. Is that clear?”

“Hmm,” went Suri as her smile faded a tad. Rarity could almost tell that Suri had believed her to be stupid enough not to have considered this. That she would have left, believing that Suri hadn’t copied it or memorized the process. “Very well then.”

-x-

Several minutes later found the two mares up on the roof. Both had agreed that the shop, while less breezy, was simply too cramped for a proper duel. Not wanting an audience, the two had decided that the roof was the best choice rather than the park. So now here Rarity stood with her flank facing the streets while Suri was positioned on the opposite side. Already, the duel disks had decided who would go first as the image of Rarity shining between them.

“Looks like I go first,” announced the white unicorn as she drew her first card. She paused to look at all six cards floating in her magic before picking one out. “I’ll start by summoning Vylon Vanguard in attack position!” Descending from above appeared an odd looking creature. It had no legs, just a spike on its mostly white body with golden shoulder pads that swung back to almost appear as wings. It reached out with its hands as it appeared on the field, showing off its 1400 attack points.

Suri gave a laugh. “Vylons? Doesn’t seem like your style.”

“How could they not be?” asked Rarity. “These monsters are like works of art made from gold and ivory. Aesthetically pleasing instead of all those garish monsters so many others play with. But the best part about them is that they know how to accessorize! So I’ll do that now by playing the spell card Vylon Material and equipping it to Vanguard.” A golden weapon materialized next to Vanguard, looking almost like a snail's shell which ended with a crystal that glowed bright yellow. Once equipped, Vanguard’s attack points rose to 2000. “I’ll also play the spell card Vylon Element.” Above Rarity appeared a series of golden rings. They hovered there, filling with a multicolored glow that caught the attention of anypony who looked at it. “I believe that will be all for now.”

“Then I draw!” yelled Suri with a grin. She looked at her hoof for only a moment before pulling out a card. “I think I’ll start with Polymerization. With it I fuse my Edge Imp Chain and my Fluffal Penguin in order to Fusion Summon Frightfur Sheep!” A vortex appeared above Suri, sucking up her two monsters before a pillar of hit the ground in front of her. What came out was so disturbing that Rarity almost took a step backwards. It was stuffed sheep that had its limbs replaced with by weapons. For example, its front legs were a hook while the other was a buzz saw. It was held in the air by two golden disks that Rarity was sure was another type of weapon. Oddly, its attack points weren’t very high; only 2000.

“Do you like it?” asked Suri calmly. “This deck was…a parting gift of sorts from Night Stitch. Her prize winning deck that allowed her to several championships. I highly doubt your deck stands a chance.”

Rarity glared back. “Figures that filly would have such a deck,” she muttered to herself.

“Hmm,” went Suri as she smiled calmly. “Now I activate the effects of the monsters that were sent to the graveyard. When Fluffal Penguin is sent to the graveyard as part of a fusion summon, I can draw two cards and then discard one.” Calmly, Suri drew and discarded. “Next, my Edge Imp Chain allows me to add any Frightfur card from my deck to my hoof. So I’ll be adding my Frightfur Fusion. Now Frightfur Sheep, attack her Vanguard!”

“But both monsters have the same attack points!” yelled Rarity in surprise. Suri grinned as she tilted her head, Frightfur Sheep flying through the air to claw into Vylon Vanguard who aimed his equipped weapon at it. Both monsters exploded before her eyes, but as the dust settled she noted that there were patches of fur everywhere. “Well, since my equip card was sent from the field to the graveyard I can add another Vylon equip card to my hoof. So I’ll choose Vylon Segment.”

Suri shrugged. “Fine by me,” she said as the fur on the field began to stir. “Take your useless accessory. My monsters don’t need them to be good! Now then, since my Frightfur Sheep was destroy in battle, I can special summon it from the graveyard with 800 more attack points!” Rarity watched in horror as the fur and bits of metal began to fly around the field back towards the spot where the sheep had first appeared. They connected together, reforming the nightmare creature. “Let’s try this again, shall we? Frightfur Sheep attack Rarity directly!” Frightfur Sheep made a demented baaing noise as it flew towards Rarity where it proceeded to slash at her. The unicorn screamed as her life points dropped to 5200. “I believe that will do for this turn. Do try to put up a little bit of a fight Rarity.”

“Believe me, I will,” snarled Rarity as she drew a card, making the total five. As she looked over her cards, she contemplated how much trouble she was in. The white mare had hoped Vanguard would have either lasted longer or been destroyed by a card effect so she could have used his ability. Heck, she would have settled for having her equip card being destroyed so she could have used her Element. With no monsters on the field and her life points down, she knew she was in trouble. Thankfully, there was something she could do with the card in front of her. It wasn’t an ideal move but it was better than nothing.

“I’ll start by summoning my Vylon Ohm in attack mode,” announced Rarity as she placed her card on her duel disk. Descending from above once again was gold and white creature with a spike instead of legs. Its two front arms had no visible fingers, instead looking more like giant oversized flashlights. “When Ohm is summoned to the field, I can take one equip card in my graveyard and remove it from play. Then, at the start of my next turn, it is added to my hoof. The card I choose is my Vylon Material.”

“Fat lot of good that will do you Rarity,” sneered Suri as she fanned herself with her cards.

“Oh, you’ll be surprised,” replied Rarity as she took another card from her magical hold. “Next I’ll equip my monster with Vylon Component.” Around one of Ohm’s arms, a bracelet slide on with two large crystal spears pointing out of it. “But it won’t be equipped for long because now I use my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy it!”

“Are you trying to throw the match now?” demanded Suri as she watched the equip card be destroyed before her very eyes. But before she could say anymore, the multicolored lights inside of Vylon Element began to ripple.

“Hardly,” said Rarity. “When a Vylon equip card is destroyed outside of the battle phase, I can summon an equal or lesser number of Vylon tuner monsters from my deck for each that was destroyed. So, since Component was destroyed I get to add another Vylon equip card to my hoof while summoning Vylon Cube to the field!” As Rarity went to take another equip card from her deck, a white box floated out of Element and slowly lowered itself to the field. This monster had two thin looking arms while a golden light shined from its chest. “Now everything is set. I tune my level three Vylon Cube with my level four Vylon Ohm to Synchro Summon my level seven Vylon Delta!” Both of Rarity’s monsters rose high into the sky, with Cube becoming three rings while Ohm became four bright golden stars. As a green pillar of light formed on the field, a pair of massive white wings erupted out of it. As the light faded, Delta could be seen in all of its glory. It had no legs, only a long, sharp red crystal in the middle of three golden rings. Its upper body was like that of a Minatare with large arms with golden rings running down them, stopping just before its powerful hands that were clenched into fists. Delta’s head, however, was small lacking any horns or even a face; just a glowing red light. Floating behind this creature was a massive golden triangle the same size as it. Its defense points were 2800.

“Since Vylon Cube was used as a Synchro material, I can now add any equip card from my deck to my hoof,” continued Rarity. “So I’ll choose my Rod of Silence – Kay’est.” The card shot out of Rarity’s deck before she added it to her hoof. “Now, since my monster is in defense mode, I’ll equip him with Vylon Segment before ending my turn. This allows me to activate his special ability to add another equip card to my hoof. This time I’ll pick Mage Power.” As Rarity added another card to her hoof, a golden device that looked almost like an oyster shell appeared on Delta’s arm.

“Really Rarity?” asked Suri as she drew her sixth card, a smirk placed upon her lips. “Taking a defensive stand already while trying to build up you hoof with equip cards? It’s so pathetic. Sure your monster has a decent defense points, but it’s no match for me! So I’ll start out by summoning my Fluffal Owl!” Appearing on Suri’s side of the field was a brown owl with small glasses. It turned its head to look at Frightfur Sheep before cringing. “I’ll use his effect to add another Polymerization to my hoof. Then I’ll fuse my Fluffal Owl on the field with the Edge Imp Saw in my hoof to create my Frightfur Leo!” Another portal appeared in the sky, sucking up the owl that looked like he was desperately trying to keep out of it and failing, as well as some sort of bladed monstrosity. After a flash of light, Frightfur Leo appeared looking like a stuffed lion that had been thrown into a saw mill. Its teeth looked like a red bear trap and its mane looked like a buzz saw as well as its chest. It had three clawed fingers that looked very much like red daggers, sporting 2400 attack points.

“Now I can use my monster’s special effect!” announced Suri as she pointed a hoof at Vylon Delta. “I can target one monster you control and destroy it! Not only that, you take damage equal to the destroyed monster’s attack points. So say goodbye to your defenses!” With that, Frightfur Leo’s stomach blade began to spin. Faster and faster it went until a yellow energy disk went soaring out towards Delta. Suri grinned, her eyes glued to the destruction that would soon befall before her. As the disk neared, however, Delta moved the arm holding Vylon Segment up a bit like a shield before a web of purple energy formed in front of him. The blade impacted the web as it tried to cut through it only to shatter after a moment. “I-I… WHAT HAPPENED?!?”

“Suri, did you really think I would summon Vylon Delta without some additional protection?” asked Rarity. “Delta was protected by the equip card I placed on him.”

Suri gritted her teeth as she looked down at the card in her hoof. “Since neither of my monsters have enough attack points to get over yours, I’ll end my turn.”

“Very wise,” said Rarity as she drew her card so that she now had six. “Now that my turn has begun, I can bring back my Vylon Material to my hoof. I will now summon my Vylon Sphere to the field.” A small white orb with bright blue eyes and two arms descended from the sky until it was floated next to Vylon Delta. “Now I will tune my level one tuner Vylon Sphere with my Vylon Delta to Synchro Summon Vylon Epsilon!” Another pillar of green light appeared before Rarity before another one of her heavily war machines appeared on the field. Epsilon did not have a spike for a lower body; instead it was long and trailed behind him almost like a snake’s while two engines beneath it kept him afloat. Its upper body was tall with wings on his back as well as a golden circle with thorns on it. This Vylon had 2800 attack points. “Now, since Sphere was sent to the graveyard, I will use his effect to turn him into an equip card at the cost of 500 of my life points.” After saying this, Sphere appeared on the field again, flying up and attaching itself to Epsilon’s head while Rarity’s life points dropped to 4700.

“But don’t think that’s all I’m doing,” said Rarity as her Element began to ripple once again. “Since the Vylon Segment was destroyed when I summoned Epsilon, I can use my Vylon Element to bring out a Vylon tuner from my deck. So clear the stage for Vylon Tetra!” From Element came a white creature that looked very much like a triangle. Or perhaps a pyramid seen from above with arms. Slowly in floated down onto the field. “Next I’ll use the spell card Monster Reborn to bring back Vylon Delta. Sadly, the poor dear won’t be gracing us with his elegant appearance for long. Instead I’ll be tuning Tetra with him to Synchro Summon Vylon Alpha!” For a third time in this duel another green pillar of light appeared before Rarity’s monster appeared. Alpha was mostly white with black and golden trimming. Its body was smooth and egg shaped with the largest wings seen so far. Its attack points were a bit low for a level nine monster however, only 2200. “Now, like with Sphere, I will give up 500 of my life points to equip Tetra to Alpha.” As Rarity’s life points fell to 4200, Tetra floated up to the back of one of Alpha’s hands where it attached itself to. Golden light began to shoot out of one of Tetra’s edges, forming a long blade.

“When Alpha is summoned, I can equip him with one card from my graveyard,” continued Rarity as she closed her eyes. “So I’ll bring back my Vylon Component. I’ll also equip each of my two monsters with a Vylon Material each!” Both monsters received their crystal equip cards, Alpha’s attack rising up to 2800 and Epsilon’s becoming 3400. “Now then, before I attack, I’ll activate the special ability of Epsilon: by sending one equip card to the graveyard I can destroy one card of the field. So I’ll send my Sphere to the graveyard to be rid of that vile sheep of yours.” As Rarity paid the cost, Sphere floated downwards towards Epsilon’s outstretched hand. Once there, golden energy began to pour from Epsilon into the tiny tuner until it became a miniature sun. Then, without warning, Sphere rocketed downwards towards Frightfur Sheep where it exploded in a massive ball of flames.

“You fool!” shouted Suri as Vylon Element produced another Vylon Sphere which landed in defense mode. “My monster will just come back!”

“That’s true,” replied Rarity as Frightfur Sheep began to pull itself back together. “However, it can only do that once per turn and its 800 attack point gain doesn’t stack. Epsilon, attack Frightfur Sheep so we can be rid of it once and for all!” Epsilon raised the arm which Vylon Material was attached to. Particles of light could be seen gathering into it before firing a condensed beam of light into Sheep, burning a hole through it effortlessly. With a final demented baa, Frightfur Sheep burned in gold colored flames as Suri’s life points fell to 7400. “Next Alpha will attack your Leo!” Like Epsilon, Alpha raised the arm which contained the Vylon Material and pointed it at Frightfur Leo. It too blasted a beam of light into its target, destroying it as Suri’s life points became 7000. “With that I end my turn.”

“That’s it?” asked Suri as she drew her forth card. “All that work and all you were able to do was a mere thousand points of damage? This will be easier than I thought.”

“Not as easy as you think,” counter Rarity. “Part of Epsilon’s effect is that you can’t destroy any of the equip spells equipped to him. Also, as long as Alpha is equipped with an equip card, he can’t be destroyed by spell or trap cards.”

“So what?” sneered Suri as she held up a card in her hoof. “Remember this card? It’s Frightfur Fusion! I was saving it just in case you managed to destroy one of my monsters. With it, I can fusion summon one Frightfur monster from my extra deck by banishing monsters from either my hoof or the graveyard. So I’ll be banishing my Frightfur Leo, Fluffal Owl, and Fluffal Penguin in order to bring out Frightfur Saber-Tooth!” A dark portal opened up from the ground to reveal a stuffed cat with purple fur. For the briefest of moments, Rarity thought that this monster wouldn’t be another bladed horror. But she was wrong. Before her eyes sword blades began to stick out of this feline as parts of its body were stretched out, held together only by a series of now visible threads. Frightfur Saber-Tooth’s mouth opened unnaturally wide to reveal a pair of glowing red eyes. Its attack points were 2400. “This monster has a special ability that trumps anything you have. Since I used three monsters to create it, it can’t be destroyed by battle or card effects. As if that weren’t enough, it also gives all my Frightfur monsters an extra 400 attack points as well as reviving one Frightfur monster in my grave. Three guesses who I’m bringing back.” Rarity didn’t say anything as another portal in the ground opened up allowing Frightfur Sheep to appear on the field again. As it floated next to Saber-Tooth, Sheep’s attack points rose to 2400 while its feline ally’s attack points became 2800.

“If you think that’s all I’m going to do than guess again,” continued Suri as she played another spell card. “I activate my Frightfur Factory. With this card, I can banish any Polymerization or Fusion card in my grave to fuse monsters either in my hoof or my field. Oh, and this card won’t be going out of style anytime soon since it’s a continuous spell card! So I’ll banish my Frightfur Fusion spell card in order to fuse both the Edge Imp Sabers and Fluffal Dog in my hoof in order to summon my Frightfur Tiger!” Another portal in the sky opened up, sucking in another bladed field as well as a stuffed dog with cute wings on its back. What came out of the portal was a light greenish blue stuffed tiger whose upper limbs were connected to its body by a pair of scissors on each side. There was also another scissor that looked like it had just cut through the monster while its mouth was opened wide to allow another set of glowing red eyes to stare at Rarity. Its attack points started at 1900 but rose to 2300 thanks to the effect of Saber-Tooth. “Now, let’s start off with some attack point numbers. My Tiger gives all of my Frightfur monsters 300 attack points for each Frightfur monster on the field. That’s a total 900 each.” Rarity watched in utter horror as the Frightfur monsters seemed to grow in size as they each gained more attack points. Saber-Tooth went from 2800 to 3700 while Sheep became 3300. As for Tiger its attack points jumped to 3200.

“There is a bit more you should know,” continued Suri, catching Rarity’s attention. “Frightfur Tiger also allows me to destroy cards on the field equal to the number of card used in its creation. So, since I used two, that means I get to destroy two of your cards. So those monsters you worked so hard to get onto the field, they’re going to the grave where they belong!” Rarity’s eyes went wide as the scissors in Tiger’s chest area began to glow bright blue before blades launched forwards towards Alpha and Epsilon. When the attack hit, it seemed like nothing happened. At first. It was only after a moment that their body parts began to slide against each other, a delayed reaction before they exploded into thousands of golden lights.

“You may have destroyed my monsters, but the effects of my other cards still go off!” announced Rarity as her Vylon Element began to ripple. “First off, since you destroyed three of my Vylon equip spells; I am allowed to bring three to my hoof. So I’ll be added my last Material, a Segment, and finally a Component. Next, since four Vylon equip cards were destroyed outside of the battle phase, my Vylon Element allows me to special summon four tuner monsters from my deck to the field in defense mode. So grace the field Vylon Sphere, Vylon Tetra, Vylon Stella, and Vylon Prism!” One by one, Rarity’s monsters floated out of Element and onto the field. Stella was a white, six pointed star like monster with two arms and golden rings around the points above its arms as well as around the point where its legs should have been. Prism looked like a crystal with the Vylon monster wrapped around it like armor. The shining blue crystal was visible on the creature’s lower body as well as parts of the creature’s chest and shoulders. But beyond that Prism had on the same white metal with golden trim. Now Rarity had a total of five monsters to protect herself with. However, none of them had the defense points or a special ability to survive this onslaught.

“Ah, your fashion disasters,” mocked Suri. “All lined up for me to destroy. Frightfur Saber-Tooth, destroy that one right there.” As she pointed to Prism, Saber-Tooth charged forwards and ran past the Vylon. Moments later Vylon Prism fell to pieces before exploding. “Frightfur Tiger, pounce on that stupid Sphere!” Tiger did as commanded, jumping into the air and landing in front of Vylon Sphere. It swatted at the smaller monster, its paw missing it so that instead Sphere was it by its scissor legs which sliced it in two. “Finally, Frightfur Sheep will destroy the other Sphere.” One demented baa later and the other Vylon Sphere was stabbed by Suri’s monster. “That’ll do for now. Your move Rarity. Do try to make it count.”

“Believe me, I will,” said Rarity as she drew her card. She looked at it for a moment, biting her lower lip before raising her eyes to look at the three monsters in front of her. She knew she had only one monster that could stand up to them. The trick was getting it onto the field. Hopefully, this card would give her that chance. “I play the spell card Vylon Matter. I return my two Vylon Materials and one Component in my grave back to my deck. Then I draw one card.” The cards she announced were ejected from the graveyard slot and quickly placed into her deck which automatically shuffled them. When it finished, Rarity drew another card…and slumped. “I play One Day of Piece. We both get to draw one card and neither of us can deal damage to the other until the end of your next turn.” Both mares drew their cards, Rarity still looking despondent as she saw what she had drawn. “I end my turn.”

“Looks like your generosity failed you yet again,” laughed Suri as she drew a card.

“I’ll still have another turn,” stated Rarity as she tried to look strong. However, she was worried. All of the cards in her hoof were equip cards. If she wanted to make her big play and get her best card onto the field, she needed to draw a level four monster next or else she would lose!

Suri, meanwhile, was shaking her head. “I would have thought you would have learned your lesson the last time we met,” she said as she stood there, seeming to savor the victory that was within her hooves. “In this world, in this town, and especially in this business its every mare for herself. You need to take every chance you get, use everypony you meet until you find something better or they outlive their usefulness. That willingness of yours to give others a chance, to help them make it in warfront of fashion is what caused you to end up where you are now. Guess I should be grateful. Had you done what I would have and used Night Stitch only as free labor without really showing her anything, then it would have made things far more difficult for me.”

As Suri threw back her head to laugh, Rarity frowned. “Just make your move already,” she snapped. “I don’t want to hear anymore about that tratorious filly anymore.”

That stopped Suri in her tracks as she lowered her head to look at Rarity in the eyes. “Oh?” she said with an odd smile. “Feeling betrayed are we? Would it make you feel any better if you knew why Night Stitch helped me? Why she didn’t go to you for help or any other pony? Well, it's actually very simple. I was the only pony in this city to offer that little piece of street trash any hope.”

Rarity’s eyes widened at that. “W-What did you say?” demanded Rarity.

“Hmm, yes,” went Suri, looking as if she were remembering something truly sweet. “I found her less than a week ago, homeless and looking through my trash for stuff she could exchange for money. Little thing was desperate for money since her mommy was sick.” These last words were said mockingly as she took delight at the sight of Rarity’s stunned and horrified expression. “Nopony would see her, not for free at least. Nopony would hire a filly, let alone a homeless one who would be more likely to steal from you. I had thought about throwing water on her and being done with her when the greatest idea I ever had popped into my head. I made a deal with her, help me get the process to making Rarity’s special fabric and I’ll get your mommy the medicine she needed to feel all better.” Suri threw back her head and laughed even harder.

“Y-You could do that?” asked Rarity.

“Come on Rarity,” sneered Suri. “Use your head. Of course I couldn’t do that! I had never seen her mother and I certainly wasn’t going to waste what little bits I have left on her homeless flank! I’m sure anypony with a brain could have figured that out. But, then again, Night Stitch was so desperate and so scared that she agreed on the spot. And believe me, I kept her like that. I knew no matter how much she buttered you up you’d never sell me the process. Still I acted like she had failed me, driving her further into a state of fear. So much so that she gave me her best deck when I wanted.” Suri grinned wickedly. “Then, after she came back to me crying like a little foal, I gave her a bottle filled with breath mints!”

As Suri laughed again, Rarity clenched her teeth so hard she thought them might break. “How could you do something so cruel?!” yelled Rarity.

“Please, what I did was no different than recycling,” said Suri. “I saw some trash in this town and found a use for it. Then, when I was done with it, I tossed it away!” Then, as she saw the look of outrage on Rarity’s face, she rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t give me that look. You’re no better than I am. How many streets have you walked down and averted your eyes from looking at some homeless bum? How many ponies have you personally put out of business due to your own success? How many times did you use your Princess friend to help you promote your tacky work? Let me tell you something you should have figured out by now: the world isn’t like Ponyville. It’s a harsh and cruel place where hundreds of ponies everyday are put on the street. It’s survival of the fittest and if you don’t learn that quickly you’re on the streets. That’s the reality of it. Princess Celestia wastes her time and bits trying to help these poor fools who society at large doesn’t care about. The only reason you even care right now is because she has a sad backstory and looks cute. Now, enough of this. Time to destroy your remaining monster!”

As the field cleared of all her monsters, Rarity stood there breathing hard. She was angry. Angry at the things that Suri was saying for sure. For using and manipulating that poor filly. But she was also angry at herself. Angry for not listening to what Sweetie Belle had told her. For not wanting to find out why Night Stitch had stolen from her because of hurt feelings. For thinking such horrible things. Well no more.

“You’re a monster Suri,” stated Rarity coldly as she glared at her opponent.

“Call me whatever you want,” replied Suri as she rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter as long as I stay on top and off the streets. Now make your last move so I can get back to work.”

Rarity didn’t draw her card right away, instead looking at the monsters staring back at her. “I’m glad this vile deck is no longer in that filly’s hooves. It’s better suited for you. You take the innocent ponies around them and try to inject them with your line of thinking. Coco was able to walk away from you before turning into a monster and I’ll make sure that filly doesn’t either.”

“Spare me from the cheesy speech and just draw already,” said Suri as she pretended to yawn.

“I draw,” said Rarity as she drew. She looked at what she had…and smiled. “I summon to the field Vylon Stigma in attack mode.” Rarity’s new monster looked a lot like a snake made of gold and black metal, descended down onto the field with its long claw like arms. “Next, I’ll equip him with the spell card Rod of Silence – Kay’est!” In front of Stigma appeared a clear crystal with a staff in its center. The crystal shattered, allowing Stigma to take a hold of it with its twin claws.

“So what?” asked Suri, her voice holding large amounts of annoyance. “That card’s worthless. All it does is raise a monsters defense points by 500.”

“That’s not entirely true,” said Rarity. “It also destroys any spell card that targets the equipped monster. So, if I were to equip another equip card to it, it would be destroyed on the spot.” As Rarity said this, she played her Vylon Component card. The weapon approached Stigma, ready to attach itself to it when a beam of water shot at the Component and destroyed it. “Now, since it was destroyed, I can add another equip card to my hoof: Vylon Filament. Also, Vylon Element activates allowing me to special summon another tuner monster. I choose Vylon Prism. Then, I will repeat the process by equipping Filament so I will be getting a Material added to my hoof and then another Prism onto the field.” As Rarity said this, Prism came out of Element and onto the field. As the next equip card was played, it too was destroyed allowing for the second Prism to appear on the field.

“Now it’s all set, darling,” said Rarity. “I will now tune both my level four tuners with my level four Stigma to Synchro Summon my best monster: the level twelve VYLON OMEGA!”

“Two tuners?” echoed Suri as Rarity’s monsters ascended into the sky. Again there was a pillar of green light but, as it faded, nothing happened. It looked like Rarity had screwed up or something. Yet, the odd thing was that Rarity didn’t look worried. Suri opened her mouth in preparation to ask where her monster was when it happened. In the sky above them appeared a massive golden omega symbol. As it lowered onto the field, its white body began to phase in around the symbol taking an almost dragon like appearance. White, spiked circles appeared around the upper part of the omega before arms became attached to them. More and more body appeared until, finally, its four black tattered wings phased in. Vylon Omega let out a roar that shook the roof as it displayed its 3200 attack points.

“In addition to summoning Vylon Omega, I will give 1000 of my life points to equip my two Vylon Prisms to it,” said Rarity as her two tuner’s began to circle around Omega, her life points dropping to 3700. “Also, when Omega can equip one Vylon monster in the grave to itself once per turn. So I think I’ll equip the last Prism.” Another Prism appeared and joined the other two circling Omega. Then, all at once, they drew closer. Two attached themselves to Omega’s sides fusing onto its body like power cells while the third attached itself to the monster’s chest. “Next, I’ll play this equip card you might remember: Mage Power. For every spell or trap card on my side of the field, Omega will gain 500 attack points.” Omega let out a roar as it’s power rose to 5700.

As Suri took an instinctive step back, Rarity pointed at Frightfur Tiger. “Now, Vylon Omega, attack with Divine Impact!” The golden omega symbol began to glow brightly to an almost blinding level. Rarity watched as Suri raised a hoof to shield her eyes before her jaw dropped.

“You’re monster!” screamed Suri. “It’s attack points rose to 8700! How is that possible?”

“It’s Vylon Prism,” explained Rarity coldly. “You see, each one of them raises the attack points of the monster they are equipped to by 1000 during the damage step.” The light continued to shine brighter and brighter until Frightfur Tiger burned away in the divine light. As for Suri, her life points took a massive drop to 1500. And that wasn’t the only drop. All of her monsters lost their 900 attack point boost. “That ends my turn.”

Suri gritted her teeth as she drew her card. “You must think you won, right?” she growled. “So you got a big, bad monster on the field. Big deal! The deck I have is a champions deck and its power belongs to me! Your monster is yesterday’s fashion compared to the creatures at my disposal and I’m about to prove it! I use my second copy of Frightfur Fusion to remove Fluffal Dog and Edge Imp Saw from my grave to summon another Frightfur Leo!” Like that, a new Frightfur Leo appeared on the field. “And now I use his special ability to-” Suri was cut off as the omega sign began to glow once more. “What are you doing?”

“Whenever you use a monster’s effect, I can negate and destroy it by removing one equip card attached to Omega,” exclaimed Rarity as she removed a Prism. Frightfur Leo let out a cry of pain, raising its paws in a vain effort to protect itself from the light before it burned him away as well.

“Fine, whatever,” growled Suri as she changed her monsters to defense position. “Sooner or later I’ll get around that dumb monster of yours. Until then, my cards will keep me safe. Fightfur Saber-Tooth can’t be destroyed by battle or card efforts, remember? And when you destroy Frightfur Sheep, it’ll just return to the field. So go and take your turn. It won’t matter!”

“But it will,” replied Rarity as she drew another card. “Because I now play my last equip card for this duel: Vylon Component! This card allows my monster to deal piercing damage when it attacks. I’m sure you know what that means.”

Rarity could see Suri’s eyes widening, implying that she did understand the meaning. Vylon Omega attacked once more, the attack going through Sheep and straight to Suri who screamed in defeat while her life points dropped to zero. As the holograms faded away, Rarity walked over to the other mare while using her magic to take a hold of the scroll she had fought so hard to get. Meanwhile, Suri was pounding at the ground with her hoof.

“You won,” hissed Suri as Rarity approached. “Now get out of my store.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Rarity said coldly as she looked down at the mare. “But, before I do, I want to know where I can find Night Stitch.” Suri looked at Rarity for a moment with a puzzled expression. Like she had never expected Rarity to ask her this. The puzzled expression didn’t last however as she got up, a smug look overtaking her features.

“Well I could tell you,” she said while eyeing the scroll. “But what’s in it for me?” Without a word or ever looking at it, Rarity levitated the scroll over to the other mare.

-x-

Not too long afterwards, Rarity found herself manueving through an old abandoned apartment complex. The walls were lined with graffiti, vile phrases assaulting her at every turn. Some of them were better than others as she did her best to avoid puddles of liquid that she was sure weren’t water. But then there were very…graphic depictions of a mare and a stallion doing things that she was glad Sweetie wasn’t here to see. The air was horrid towards the mare’s senses, but she pressed on in an effort to find Night Stitch.

After climbing three floors, Rarity was beginning to think that Suri lied to her. Again. The only ponies she had found in here were some stallions who were protecting what little they owned with the fury of a dragon. None of them would talk to her, not even when she offered them several bits for information. If Suri had lied to her than she would not wait to see the Princesses in order to make sure Suri paid.

While passing by another room, Rarity could hear something. Pausing, she perked her ears in order to listen better. After several hearts beats, she recognized that voice. As well as what she was saying.

“Mommy, please wake up.”

Fear and panic overtook Rarity as she ran down the hall towards where she heard the voice. As it got louder, she could better make out the panic in her words. She could almost hear the tears running down the filly’s face as she cried out for her mother. Rarity no longer cared what she stepped in or what she ran through, her only prayer being that she hoped she wasn’t too late.

Eventually she found who she was looking for in a room at the end of the hall. There was Night Stitch, an open medicine bottle next to her with the ‘pills’ she had worked so hard to get. Her tiny hooves where pressed again the body of a mare that had to be her mother as she laid on an old, dirty mattress. While the older mare’s eyes were closed, her mouth was open and Rarity could tell the body had grown still. As Rarity entered the room, Night turned to look at Rarity almost causing the grown mare to gasp. Night’s eyes were bloodshot while also appearing…broken. Rarity had no better word for it. It was as if all the life and energy that those eyes had once held was gone.

“Mommy won’t wake up,” said Night Stitch before she turned to look at her mother again. “I got her the medicine. Why won’t she wake up?”

Rarity said nothing as she walked over to the filly and sat down. Slowly, she wrapped her hooves around the filly who still tried to wake her dead mother from the grave.

Author's Note:

One more chapter to go

Comments

[Mr-Astounding]

so Rarity uses a Vylon deck and Night Stitch's other deck, and subsequently Suri's current deck, was a Fluffal/Frightfur deck? ...seems legit; also:

“Mommy won’t wake up,” said Night Stitch before she turned to look at her mother again. “I got her the medicine. Why won’t she wake up?”
Rarity said nothing as she walked over to the filly and sat down. Slowly, she wrapped her hooves around the filly who still tried to wake her dead mother from the grave.

...ow: that hit me right in the feels

[Brony-wan-kenobi]

Suri, there are not enough angry Flurrershys in the world to possibly convey how low you sunk. How much you hurt this filly. I'm sure if I tried, this comment box would go on for days! However that would require effort that you are not worthy of so take the one.

Good duel

[Ri2]

...Can Suri go to prison for this?