Shine On Rarity
Starlight laid on the bed within her hotel room, watching the crappy movie playing on her large screen TV while occasionally making snarky comments to no one in particular. Honestly, she could never figure out how anyone, at any point, thought this was a good idea. A movie where living hyenas were being caught in a tornado, being dropped harmlessly into a city or eating whatever got caught in the funnel? Dear God was this stupid. So stupid that it was a great comedy.
About an hour in, Starlight’s stomach began to rumble. Glancing over at the nightstand, she looked past the empty tray from room service to glance at the clock seeing that it was well past one in the afternoon. After flicking her hair to the side, she reached over to pick up the phone and pressed one for room services. As the phone rang, she picked up the menu tucked in the back of her night stand.
“Hello friend,” came the voice on the other end, a cheerful yet hollow voice. A voice Starlight had talked to many times since taking up a room here.
“Yeah, hello friend,” said Starlight quickly as she opened the menu. “I’d like to order room service. I’m in the mood for your grilled chicken sandwich, hold the mayo with a side of steak fries. Oh, and what kind of pie is on the menu today?”
“I’m sorry friend,” said the voice, a hint of worry escaping his tone. “But we might not be able to help you with that. We were just informed that upper management has started looking into your stay.” Starlight frowned at that, closing the menu while sitting up straight. This shouldn’t be possible! When she first came to this hotel a couple weeks ago, she had dueled the manager, the guy behind the counter, the cooking staff, the wait staff, and even the pool boy so that no one would be able to tip off the corporate HQ while she stayed here for free!
“And how did they find out?” asked Starlight, her heart racing slightly.
“Well friend,” began the voice. “When you first arrived, we marked the room down as ‘occupied’ as to not inconvenience our other potential guests which put you in the system. Our system also keeps track of all food being sent to any room. I believe that HQ took note that during your extended stay no credit cards were used in connection to either your room or other services.” Starlight let out another groan as she fell back onto her pillow. She should have thought it was something like that.
“Can’t you just tell them that I paid with cash?” demanded Starlight.
“Of course we can friend,” said the voice. “But, our total earnings are sent to the accounting department of HQ at the end of every month. They will notice the irregularity.”
For a moment, she said nothing, just staring at the ceiling as she pondered what to do next. The thought of going to one of the cheaper locations, ones that wouldn’t have as much computerized tracking, was instantly discarded with a shudder. She had been to one of those places for a single night, finding it full of bed bugs and a dog that seemed to wander into every single room whenever it wanted. There was no room service and the bathroom was not something she ever wanted to think about again. The next idea was to just go to another hotel. But that would involve dueling the entire staff once again which would be time consuming, not the sort of thing she wanted to do if she really would have to keep changing hotels every couple of weeks. Not to mention that it would be leaving a trail. Sure, she could tell the staff to delete all the videos of her on it and whatever else they needed to do to erase her existence from this place, but once other hotels in the area began to spot similar things going on someone was bound to notice. Then they would send the sort of people who wouldn’t accept a duel for her to get out.
Of course there was another reason why she didn’t want to leave this place. Starlight wanted to see just how far she could extend her newfound power! Right now, at this hotel, she had about twenty people or so under her control whom she could keep an eye on. That didn’t include the several additional people she was also controlling within the city and outside of it, adding at least one or two people to her numbers by the day. So far, none of those she had taken control of had begun to resist. An interesting development as, when she first got this power, she could only control a handful of people for a short amount of time. Was her magic growing more powerful? Perhaps. But, regardless, she needed to keep watching them for just a bit longer before moving to the next phase of her experiment: adding a mass group of people in a single day. She needed to know the limits of her powers before moving on to her end goal.
So that left Starlight with one real option. Get them some money. “Fine, I’ll get you the money by the end of the day,” she said, hanging up the phone before the voice could respond.
Getting up, Starlight stretched a bit as she thought about how lame this all was. When she first got this power, when she understood what she could do, Starlight thought that her life would be on easy street from now on. That she could get people to do whatever she wanted, make them however she wanted and never have to worry about anything ever again. Only reality is never that direct as problems kept creeping up. She had to keep an eye out for those not under her control, she still had to appear like a normal high school girl. It was irritating. What’s more, she was aware that there were others out there who could pose a problem. That Limestone girl, who had been freed before she could steal for her, was proof of that! She was also aware of others looking for her. She had spotted a girl with a large forehead and puffy hair within the area where she had used her magic several times now, eyeing the area with a device. So much for easy.
After stretching, Starlight pulled out her phone and brought up a map of the city. As she walked out the door, she began to scroll around looking for a random spot she hadn’t been to yet. Hmm, maybe the mall.
-x-
“Sweetie, I’m heading out,” called Rarity as she made her way down the steps of her family’s home. “Twilight just called. Something about our new duel disks. Would you-” Now at the bottom of the stairs, Rarity scanned the main floor of the house for any signs of her little sister. She wasn’t on the couch, bent down as she texted on her smartphone nor was she watching television. As Rarity cut herself off, she wondered if Sweetie Belle had decided to head out with her friends without telling anyone. It wasn’t unusual for her to do that, though she wished her parents would drill it in the head of that girl to at least tell someone! However, Rarity was quickly proven wrong as she turned her head to look into the kitchen. There, sitting at the dinner table was Sweetie Belle, clearly not paying any attention to her older sister.
Annoyed, Rarity let out a sigh as she walked over to the younger girl while also taking note of the mess she had made at the table. Several shoe boxes were spread out before Sweetie, their lids equally scattered about haphazardly. As she neared, Rarity could see that within the boxes were all of the Duel Monster’s cards that Sweetie had collected over the years with some of them on the table in various half stacked piles. The only bit of real organization that Rarity could see was her sister's deck, clearly separating the three types of cards in neat little rows before her. Only Sweetie was not going over them at all. Instead her face was planted firmly in a book she was reading.
“Sweetie,” Rarity said a bit louder. Still her little sister paid her no mind, instead licking her lips as she turned the page. Curious, Rarity leaned to the side to read the title of the book which had her sister so completely enthralled. ‘Witch Alley Girls’. Rarity was now fighting hard to hold back her irritation at this. If Sweetie wanted to read a book, then she should have put away her cards first. What if guests arrived? How would she be able to show what an ideal host she could be with this mess?
Sighing again, Rarity reached out a hand to grab the book and tore it from her sister's hold.
“Hey! I was reading that!” shouted a startled Sweetie who turned to give Rarity the stink eye. Then, she blinked before a sheepish smile appeared on her face. “Oh, hey Rarity. Didn’t hear you come down.”
“I could tell,” said Rarity, holding the book in a way so that her thumb kept the page her sister was reading was bookmarked. Her other hand was placed squarely on her hip. “I called for you a few times now.”
“You did?” replied Sweetie while blushing. “Guess I was pretty lost in the book.”
“I can see that,” said Rarity in a matter of fact tone, her eyes turning to look at the mess in front of Sweetie. “And all of this?”
“Oh,” said Sweetie, looking a little dejected now. She turned to look at the cards, slumping in her seat as she did. “I, ah, well remember last night when I stayed after school with my friends? Well, we were at the new stadium practicing our dueling and somehow it turned into a tournament. We even got a few other people to join like Gabby, Rumble, Diamond, and Pip. I…got last place.”
Rarity’s face softened somewhat as she watched Sweetie turn on her seat, head lowered as she faced her deck. Sweetie’s dueling was always such a delicate subject for her as she was unquestionably the worst out of all her classmates. It wasn’t for a lack of trying or interest because she did try hard; she did have an interest in becoming a better duelist. Rarity had seen it herself, how Sweetie Belle gave it her all every time she dueled. Maybe that’s why it affected her so much when she lost. So no, it wasn’t because she didn’t try. The sad truth of the matter was that her problem was her deck. It just, oh how could she put this? Not very good?
Sweetie Belle used an Ice Counter deck. The idea, as far as Rarity could see it, was to place Ice Counters on the field to get various effects. Originally, her main strategy was to use Cold Enchanters to place Ice Counters on the field in order to power themselves up as well as summoning Ice Master and Blizzard Princess (Sweetie’s favorite monster) for some extra ‘muscle’ Later, she added a few additional cards to help her summon more powerful monsters. However the deck overall just seemed a jumbled mess of cards with too high costs leaving her with few life points and even fewer cards in hand.
“I see,” said Rarity slowly as she looked over the table again. “Were you looking for cards to improve your deck?”
Sweetie let out an exasperated sound before folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on top of them. “I thought there was something here that I missed, some card that I had misread or maybe some out of the box thinking. But…But what’s the point? I must have gone over these cards a hundred times before now. All I’m doing is repeating myself, going over the same cards again and again hoping that I missed something. Only I haven’t! Nothing I have here will help me out and getting better cards is just so expensive. I don’t have hundreds of dollars to spend on cards that might not even do that much to help me win! It just got so frustrating and depressing that I needed a break.”
“I see,” said Rarity slowly, realizing that she had inadvertently opened up a serious would in her little sister. For a moment, she looked around trying to think of something that might help cheer her sister up. Thankfully, she didn’t have to look far. “So, this book,” she began slowly while holding the book up. “I take it it’s another one of those stories where the main character thinks that she’s a loser before finding out she’s a witch, alien, or a demi-goddess?”
“NO WAY!” shouted Sweetie, standing up straight and pushing the table back. A fire was now in her eyes as she looked at Rarity who was doing her best not to smile. “It’s nothing like those books. It’s about a group of friends who all run shops down this street in a magical city! They work together to stop the plots from a rival magical city while also helping out the people around them! What’s better is that each book is told from the point of view of a different character so that we can see through the eyes of each one of them!”
“Hmm, that reminds me of this one series,” said Rarity as she handed back the book. “So, what’s the evil scheme in this book?”
Sweetie smiled, happy to be talking about the book. “Someone has tampered with the ley lines,” she explained in a rushed and excited tone. “Basically a network of magical currents that flow around the city and power all its magical defenses. So far it’s only been a few minor things that the Master of the city thinks are just flukes, nothing too get too worked up about. But the girls think that these were more like test runs. They have been spotting clues all around town that lead them to think that the barrier which keeps their enemies from spying on them is in danger. So they were about to head down into the sewer system where the ley lines can be more easily accessed to see if they can find any signs of tampering.”
“I see,” said Rarity as she glanced at the clock, gasping at the time. “Oh my, I’d better get going. Sweetie, I was going to invite you to come along to see Twilight’s new duel disks followed by accompanying me to a fabulous spa treatment, but you need to clean this up. Plus I’m sure you’d rather finish your book.”
“Yeah,” said Sweetie as she took the book back. As Rarity turned to leave, however, she heard Sweetie say to herself, “Why would I want to look at a new duel disk when I might just quit playing?”
-x-
“About time!” cried Rainbow Dash, tapping her foot on the ground of Twilight’s lab as Rarity hurried through the door.
“So sorry I’m late,” said Rarity, breathing in the air which had hints of burnt metal and other dusts which she hoped wouldn’t stick to her clothing. The last thing she wanted was for people to think that she had just walked past an explosion! Fighting the urge to cover her nose, Rarity looked around at the other people in the room. Sitting on one of the nearby tables, with various machine parts pushed to the sides, were Sunset and Fluttershy. Both girls were looking in her direction with Spike laying on Fluttershy’s lap as she petted him. Pinkie Pie was on the ceiling with suction cups on her feet for, well, whatever reason that had popped into the dear’s mind. Applejack was over by the window, appearing to have been looking out of it until Rarity arrived.
Then there was Twilight. She was in the back of the room, smiling so much that you could see all of her teeth. Right now she was dressed in her lab gear, a dirty looking lab coat along with thick gloves that did nothing positive in the ways of fashion. Well, other than making her look like a mad scientist. As for her hair, Rarity felt like she was about to faint as several strands looked like they had recently been set on fire! Twilight was standing next to a table with a cloth covering it with Sonata by her side. The former Siren was holding up her new gem, gazing at it with a silly looking grin on her face.
“We’ve been waiting for hours,” complained Rainbow as Rarity shut the door behind her.
“Rainbow, it's been three minutes,” stated Applejack bluntly, her eyes have lidded in annoyance.
“Well, you’re all here now so we can begin!” cried Twilight excitedly, ending what might have been a potential argument before it began. As everyone turned to look at her and Pinkie bounced back down to the ground, Twilight cleared her throat to begin. Her tone was a bit more controlled, yet everyone there could still feel the excitement in her voice. “With the rise of magic here in Canterlot, along with it being used in Duel Monsters to hurt people, I have been hard at work creating a number of duel disks which will allow us to combat it more effectively. Some of my attempts have been… less than successful.”
“You’re telling me,” grumbled Spike as he sat up, holding out a paw while giving Twilight a deadpanned look. “One of those designs actually exploded when you put the card on the tray while another somehow made you think you were the monster!”
“Yes Spike, I know,” said Twilight as she rolled her eyes in irritation. “You know this wasn’t easy trying to merge science and magic to work as one!” Then she smiled again. “But, thanks to trial and error, as well as my assistants Spike and Sonata, I was able to figure it out in the end so I was able to come up with several working models which I have tailored made for all of you.” Twilight then grimaced slightly before turning to Sonata who looked extra excited. “Well, except for you Sonata. When I started making them, I only ordered materials for the seven of us since we all had gems.”
Rarity, as well as everyone else in the room, watched as Sonata’s happiness seemed to evaporate on the spot. Her arms lowered, allowing her gem to dangle around her neck as her head looked squarely at the ground. “Oh, I understand,” she mumbled. But, before she could say anything else, Twilight put a hand to her back which drew the attention of Sonata.
“Don’t worry,” said Twilight with a soft smile. “I already placed an order for all the materials I need to make another one. Once they arrive, I’ll get right to work on your very own custom made duel disk!” In an instant, Sonata’s toothy smile returned followed by hugging Twilight in what seemed like a death grip.
“You’re the best sort of sister EVER!” she cried.
“Ah don’t mean ta be a wet blanket or nothing,” interrupted Applejack. “But are we sure that there’s a good idea?” Everyone turned to look at AJ who was now walking towards the pair with a serious expression on her face.
“Applejack, really,” said Rarity with a dismissive wave of her hand while all the other girls looked at Applejack sourly. “How could you deny Sonata of a fabulous chance like this?”
“Yeah, especially after she helped us out in Rancho Bronco,” Pinkie chimed in.
At that, Applejack sighed. “Look, it ain’t like I don’t trust her or none,” she said. “Thing is, she’s wearing one of the gems that Long Horn an his gang used. Ya know, the ones that sucked up people’s lives, leaving them dried husks? Now Ah know it changed shape when all them others plum broke, but we still don’t know why. Heck, we don’t even know what powers it has. What happens if she uses that there gem an accidently does the same thing they did?”
Everyone blinked at that. “Oh, I never thought about that,” said Fluttershy softly. “From what you told us, it would be just horrible if that happened to anyone we knew.”
Twilight let out a sigh, looking like some of the wing had been pulled from her sails. “She’s got a point,” said Twilight as she placed a hand to her chin. She stood there for a moment, looking like she was trying to figure out what to do next while biting her lower lip slightly. More than once, Rarity noticed that Twilight glanced over at Sonata. Or maybe it was her gem. Finally, Twilight turned to look at Sunset. “Sunset, have you ever heard of anything like this happening back in Equestria?”
“Not really,” said Sunset as she jumped off the table, her expression mirroring Twilight. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors of certain magical enchantments transferring to another or changing shape. From what Princess Twilight told me the Elements of Harmony something similar after they were destroyed. Hmm. But I know magic behaves differently here than in Equestria and it's easier to take control of a magical item that has bonded to another. It’s why I took Twilight’s crown here in the first place.” She then paused and let out a sigh. “But, if I had to guess why the gem bonded to Sonata when none of the others did was because Twilight and Applejack were using those magical prototype duel disks. The two forms of magic were in a sort of…combative state, battling each other in the duel so the losers was damaged or destroyed. Or maybe the battle just damaged the vessel, forcing the magic to disperse or something like that. Sonata didn’t have that so instead the magic might have found her to be more worthy. Or something like that. Honestly, right now I’m just spinning ideas. Although, I can say that the magic in your gem doesn’t feel evil or anything.”
“Oh, oh!” cried Pinkie. “What does evil magic feel like? I always wondered.”
“That’s…hard to explain,” began Sunset as she closed her eyes. “But I’ll do the best I can. Well, ah, I guess it sort of reminds me of the feeling I get right before I’m about to put black liquorice in my mouth.” She paused to shiver. “Now add in mint, a cold sweat, as well as week old tuna on top of that.” At that, everyone shuttered at the phantom feeling of putting all that in their mouths. Rarity worse of all. “Anyways, perhaps Princess Celestia might be able to help. But we’d have to go see her in person.” She then paused to smile. “Or should I say in pony.”
“So, we need to see her?” asked Sonata, who tilted her head to the side.
“It’s possible,” said Sunset. “But I think we should use that as a last resort. For now, me and Twilight can work with you to discover what kind of magic your gem has. I know I said it doesn’t feel dark, but there’s a chance that it might just be weak right now or dormant. If we can’t-”
“AHHH!” yelled Rainbow. “Enough with this already and let's see what we all came here for! At this rate we’ll be talking all day! And we do have other places we need to go!” As much as Rarity didn’t want to agree, out loud anyways, Rainbow did have a point. Glancing down at her watch, she saw that the time for her spa appointment at the mall was ever approaching. When she looked up, she saw that the others had done the same thing before giving Twilight the slightest of smiles. But their eyes said everything they needed to. Something so clear that even Twilight, bless her, was able to pick up on it.
Twilight let out a sigh. “I guess you have a point,” she said. “We’ll finish talking about this when we have more time. But for right now: behold!” With that, Twilight went back to the table where she pulled off the cloth with the greatest of fanfare.
Rarity’s eyes twinkled, her hands balling up into fists as they shot to either side of her face while everyone let out an ‘ohh’ at what Twilight had made for them. There were seven of them in total, seven brightly colored duel disks just for them. Rarity quickly spotted hers: a bright white diamond shaped device that looked like it could easily fit on her wrist. Next to hers was Applejack’s which took the shape of a bright red apple. On the other side was Fluttershy’s, a pink butterfly. Rainbow’s had the most color to it: a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of a white cloud. Pinkie Pie’s was shaped as three connected balloons, the ones on the outside blue while the middle one was yellow. Sunset’s was shaped and colored like the sun, matching her own symbol perfectly. Finally there was Twilight’s which was a purple star.
“Alright, let me tell you all quickly how to work these,” said Twilight as she strapped on her own duel disk. “Right now they are all powered down and won’t activate until you put your gem in like so.” Calming, Twilight took the gem off her neck and brought it over to the center of the duel disk. As it drew neared, a small hole opened up just big enough for Twilight to place it in. Then the device sprang to life, glowing brightly as holographic numbers appeared above the purple star. 8000, the same amount they started with at the start of a duel. Below the numbers were several holographic buttons, each one labeled clearly with words like ‘Graveyard’, “Opponents Monsters’, and ‘End Duel’. At the same time, a row of five purple multi pointed stars appeared on the other side of the duel disk in order to form the tray. “These are set to run until the duel is over, in which case the center will open allowing you to take the gem out. Or you can just turn it off with the press of a button.” To show this, Twilight pressed the ‘End Duel’ button and the duel disk turned off.
“I’ve got to hand it to you Twilight, that’s pretty impressive,” said Sunset as she crossed her arms, giving Twilight a half-lidded smile. “The other Sunset has had her best scientists hard at work to make something just like this.”
“Well, the only reason I was able to do it was because of our gems,” said Twilight with a slight blush on her face. “They are what power these duel disks without weighing them down too much. I’m sure if the other Sunset had access to this sort of power she’d be using it as well.” Twilight then cleared her throat, closing her eyes and pacing back and forth in the duel disks. Her tone became more serious, almost business like. “And speaking of the gems, I don’t want us using these for everyday duels just yet. There’s no telling what they might do to everyday people or the effect they will have on our gems if used too often. Only use them if your opponent is using magic. To help us with this determination, I have created smaller versions of my magical detector for us all to use. The range isn’t as good as the one I’m using but-”
By that point, none of them were really listening anymore. Rainbow was the first to move, spotting a row of what looked like purple pocket watches on the table behind where the duel disks were. In a blur she grabbed one before racing out into the world. Applejack was next, moving around Twilight and grabbing her own before she too raced out. Rarity, as much as it pained her to act in such an unladylike fashion, also took one of the pocket watches and made for the door hoping that she wouldn’t be late for her appointment.
-x-
“Oh dear I just feel awful,” groaned Rarity aloud as she walked down the main hallway of the Canterlot mall. All around her people were moving at various speeds, some in a group talking to each other while others drifted on their own drinking a soda or water as they did so. “Twilight put all that time into making us such wonderful things and I had to run out on her. Maybe I’ll get her a gift card for a free makeover session. I dare say the poor girl needs one and not just because she worked hard on these.”
Turning a corner, Rarity found herself near the movie theater where a crowd had gathered creating a wall of people between her and the entrance. Whispers circulated around as people were moving about or jumping up and down in order to get a better view of what was going on. For a moment, Rarity thought that a movie star or some other celebrity was around. But she didn’t feel that level of excitement in the air. It was a bit more…panicked? Yes, that was the right word. At first, Rarity was going to ignore it as she had to get to the spa as soon as possible…but her curiosity quickly got the better of her. After all, a little peak wouldn’t hurt and it would make for excellent juicy gossip when she reached the spa. So with as much ladylike grace as she could manage, Rarity slipped through the throng of people until she was at the front.
Once on the other side, Rarity saw what had caused the commotion: the police. Several of them had gathered around the entrance, keeping the crowds back while others looked like they were looking around collecting evidence as well as statements. One of those officers in blue was Twilight’s brother: Shining Armor. He was talking to, if memory served her right, the manager of the theater, who looked like he was in a panic. While Rarity couldn’t hear what he was saying, her time in the fashion world had taught her how to read body language fairly well. She could see him holding his arms, with them twitching as if they wanted to go flying about. It was clear he wanted to go into a rage, yelling at the top of his lungs while waving his arms about. But he knew that would do no good and would only serve to hamper the investigation by forcing everyone there to pause to calm him down. His eyes were focused on Shining, narrowed. Oh yes, he was angry. Very, very angry.
For a brief moment, Rarity considered flagging Shining Armor down to ask what was happening. Yet common sense told her that would be a bad idea. Right now he was working and she had no connections to this case. Whatever was happening was none of her business.
Still, from what she could see, it didn’t look like anything too serious had happened. If someone was attacked there would have been an ambulance near here. Also, Rarity would have assumed that the mall and police would have wanted to push the crowd back even more. Perhaps locking down the building to search for whoever had committed the attack. So perhaps they had just been robbed. Deciding she would ask Shining about it later, when he was out of that dashing uniform, Rarity began to walk away at a slightly hurried pace. Not so quickly as to make it seem like she was escaping the scene of her crime, or at least to give the impression of it, but fast enough so that she could get to her spa appointment on time.
Yet, once she was away from the crowd, the pocket watch began to buzz so powerfully that the white-skinned girl jumped. Quickly, she pulled it out, seeing a glowing purple light (because of course it would be purple) pointing to her left. As she turned, she saw that the light seemed to be fixated in the same direction much in the same way as Applejack’s compass. Why dear Applejack would still use such a crude device when she has a GPS on her phone was beyond her. Much the same way she wondered why Twilight would design these things like a compass!
For a moment, Rarity stood there wondering what she was going to do. Equestrian magic was close by but her spa appointment was fast approaching. She could call the others, like maybe Rainbow Dash who would be here in a flash and eager to take on whatever it was so that she could enjoy herself as planned. Pulling out her phone to do just that, Rarity paused before she could speed dial her friend. What if Rainbow was busy right now and away from her phone? Yes, no doubt she was running about like mad in soccer or something like that. Same with Applejack if she was helping out at her family farm. She never kept her phone on her while she was harvesting apples, something about not wanting to fall and break it. Twilight? Might be mad at her for leaving or might still be on a tangent about how the devices worked, never realizing that they had left. That image brought a smile to Rarity’s face.
“Guess it’s up to me,” said Rarity as she began to walk towards the magic. Yes, this was for the best right now. If the magic was in the wrong hands then whoever it was might cause trouble in the mall, harming the mall goers while interrupting her spa visit. But if it was a false alarm or the magic wasn’t too bad or anything like that she would just be a few minutes late at most. Nothing to worry about.
The watch took Rarity down a long hallway and through the doors leading out of the building, which Rarity hesitated to open. When she did, she found herself at the farthest parking lot. One which few people used since it was on the opposite side of the main street as well as being close to, in her opinion, the least popular stores. And there, walking towards her in her cinema uniform was Juniper Montage. Only, the lime skinned girl was not looking like her normal self. The first thing Rarity saw that was off was the poor dear’s uniform was all a mess. It looked dirty, as if she had gotten into a bad scuffle or something with buttons missing as well as other parts looking untucked. Her hair was also a mess with one of her twin tails completely undone. Not that she seemed to mind the horrible state of her appearance. Juniper had a large, forced smile on her face that looked almost painful to look at! But the worst thing was the hideous mass that was on her neck. A blob like thing that looked exactly like what Pinkie had described on her sister’s neck! It clung to her skin, wiggling about while making the most vile noises that made Rarity cover her mouth in disgust!
“Juniper, what happened to you?” asked Rarity as she took a step back in disgust, one hand flying to her mouth to cover it.
“Hello friend,” said Juniper, her head twisting to the side in a way that made a cracking sound. “I’m perfectly fine. There are no worries no, no judgments. I’m just like all the others who have accepted true friendship.”
“You what?” began Rarity as dread began to take root within her. She glanced backwards for just a moment, thinking about the scene inside the mall while also recalling what Limestone had tried to do. Fearing the worst, Rarity slowly turned to look at her friend. “Juniper, something happened at the theater. Did you have anything to do with it?”
“Oh yes,” said Juniper, cracking her neck in the opposite direction. “My friend asked me to help her out. And after she gave me this wonderful friend on my neck and opened my eyes, how could I say no?”
“But your uncle-” began Rarity
“Rarity, would you like to know true friendship?” asked Juniper, interrupting Rarity as she took a step forward. At the same time the thing on Juniper’s neck divided, splitting into two separate creatures. While the mass still on Juniper’s neck began to replenish itself, the part that had split off launched itself away from her and towards Rarity. Only Rarity was ready for this. She knew that this thing had done this before so she raised her hands into the air to create a diamond barrier. The mass struck the barrier, making a ‘splat’ sound as it did while its tendrils wiggled around. Clutching her hand, Rarity commanded her barrier to turn in on the mass, crushing it utterly on the spot.
“Not today darling,” said Rarity firmly, pulling out the duel disk Twilight had made for her while Juniper watched on in confusion. After strapping the thing onto her wrist, Rarity held out her hand. “Now Juniper, I’ll free you from the control of that thing and of needing to buy out a whole aisle's worth of vanishing cream!”
“No one is taking away my friendship,” said Juniper, pulling out her own duel disk and activating it. At the same time, Rarity inserted her gem into the device which instantly created a row of five interconnected glowing blue diamonds to act as her card tray.
“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In-between the two appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, one side showing Rarity as she blew a kiss at the cameraman in a very elegant style while the other showed Juniper in her Daring Do cosplay. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Juniper.
“I go first,” announced Juniper as they both drew their opening hands. “I draw!” Only briefly glancing down at the six cards she now held, Juniper began to place most of her hand in the spell/trap card slot. “I set five cards and end my turn.”
“Ok,” said Rarity slowly as she drew. Before she even looked at her hand, her eyes which were so used to detecting the minor flaws in any of the fashions she created, examined her opponent’s field with the greatest of care. She had never seen Juniper duel before, but she had heard from Rainbow that she had a deck ‘inspired’ by Daring Do. Whatever that meant. So she really had no idea if this was good for Juniper or not. For all she knew, this could be a bluff to hide the fact that she had a bad hand. Or it could be a series of traps ready to strike.
“First I’ll play the spell card One for One,” announced Rarity as she slid the card into the magical hard light tray. “By discarding one monster from my hand, I’m allowed to special summon one level one monster from my deck. So I'll discard my Vylon Prism to bring out the simply marvelous Vylon Sphere!” A small white orb with bright blue eyes and two arms appeared on Rarity’s side of the field showered in golden light. The top of its head it had two large blue orbs that answered for eyes which looked about innocently as it hovered there in defense mode. Not that it would be a good defense with only 400 defense points. “Next I’ll play the spell card Vylon Element!” Above Rarity appeared a series of golden rings, one behind the other, large enough for a truck to run through. They hovered there, filling with a multicolored glow that caught the attention of anypony who looked at it.
“I know this play,” said Juniper as she pressed a button on her duel disk. “With the right cards, you can use Element to get all the tuner monsters you need. But that’s not going to happen as I play Twin Twister! By discarding one card in my hand, I can destroy two spell or trap cards on the field.”
“So you’re using both your targets on my Element?” asked Rarity with a raised eyebrow. To be honest, it felt like she was jumping the gun a little with this move. But, then again, if she knew about what Element could do then she must know about her Vylon equip card which, when destroyed, could let her search her deck for another one. So maybe that was why she was using it now, so Rarity couldn’t get any searches.
“No,” replied Juniper, head twisting to the side as she spoke. “I’m targeting two of my face downs!” Rarity gapped as from Juniper’s card came a wind funnel that shot high into the air. Above their heads the funnel split into two before heading back to the earth where it then crashed onto Juniper’s card creating a large cloud of smoke that hid Juniper from view. When the possessed girl spoke, there was an additional eeriness to it. “Now the real duel can begin. The cards I destroyed were my Artifact Scythe and Artifact Moralltach! Monsters that can be set in the spell/trap card zone. But when they are destroyed during your turn, they get special summoned to my side of the field!” As the smoke cleared, Rarity saw what she meant as two ghostly figures were now on Juniper’s side of the field holding massive weapons. The first was a whitish blue ghost with wild, lion-like hair. He held in both hands a sword that looked two to three times his size whose base looked both ancient yet high tech at the same time. The blade was white, like it was made of some sort of energy with blue lines running down it. This monster’s attack was 2100. The other monster was purple, looking like a truly malnourished man with long hair that went past his shoulders. Resting on his shoulder was a scythe which also looked old yet integrated technology well beyond its age. This monster had 2400 attack points.
“Now their other effects activate since they were special summoned during your turn,” continued Juniper. “Scythe prevents you from special summoning from the extra deck for the rest of your turn. As for Moralltach, it destroys one face up card you control. This means your Vylon Element is no more.” If possible, Juniper smiled even larger while her eyes bulged as Moralltach swung the blade which set an arc of energy at Element. When it made contact, the gateway was cut in half with ease causing it to explode over Rarity’s head.
“Well, that’s disappointing,” admitted Rarity as she held up a card. “But I’m sure I’ll be able to draw another Element in due time. But for now I summon Vylon Vanguard in attack mode!” A light shone from above as a metallic creature descended to the ground next to Rarity. This 1400 attack point monster had no legs, its lower body ending at a jagged point as it floated there. Despite that fact, it seemed imposing as it was at least twice Rarity’s size with a mostly ivory white body with four green gems in its chest. Its lower arms were covered in gold as were its slicked back shoulder pads that almost resembled folded wings. “Now, time to empower my elegant monster with a few accessories. And I just so happen to have a matching set of Vylon Material.” On either side of Vanguard appeared slick metallic devices that were golden circles with a yellow crystal sticking out of the middle. They floated in unison next to her monster who held up his arms, lightning shooting from his golden armbands to the base of the weapons as they closed in. When they connected, his attack rose to 2600.
“As you can see, each Vylon Material gives my monster an additional 600 attack points,” said Rarity. “More than enough to take down your monsters. Vanguard, destroy her Moralltach!”
“Sorry friend, but I can’t let you do that,” replied Juniper as she pressed a button on her duel disk. “I activate the trap card: Artifact Sanctum. With this I can go through my deck and special summon one Artifact monster to my side of the field. And the Artifact I have uncovered is Achilleshield which will be appearing on my field in defense mode!” A massive bronze like shield with a similar craftsmanship to the other artifacts appeared in the field, with purple glowing circles rippling out of its center. Another ghostly figure held this weapon, looking more gallant than the one holding the scythe. Its defense points were 2200. “When this monster is special summoned during your turn, its effect kicks in preventing you from attacking any Artifact monster.”
“Very well then,” said Rarity with a sigh. For a moment, she examined the field as well as their hands. Right now they had both used up their entire hands, leaving them to the mercy of the draw. Juniper had more monsters as well as one final face down, but her deck seemed to require her to wait for Rarity’s turn to do anything. Not only that but Rarity’s monster was currently the strongest one on the field. Meaning… “I end my turn.”
“I draw then,” said Juniper, head turning and cracking some more while the creature on her neck began making squishing noises. “Now to make sure you can’t tune anything. Artifact Scythe, destroy Vylon Sphere!” The withered purple ghost stood up before throwing the scythe at Rarity’s monster. The fashionista watched as the weapon swung around almost like a boomerang, circling her monster before returning to its owner. When it did, Sphere began to split in half revealing it was cut right along the middle.
“You may have destroyed it, but it shall not leave the field,” said Rarity, placing a hand on her chest for emphasis. “By paying 500 of my life points, Sphere will become equipped to Vanguard!” A golden glow surrounded Rarity, who cried out while also doubling down as her life points dropped to 7500. Thankfully all this was more out of shock than pain for it wasn’t that bad. As she rose back into a standing position, she could see that her monster was now attached to Vanguard’s waist.
“Not good enough to stop me,” replied Juniper, her eyes twitching. “I set one card face down and end my turn.
“We’ll see about that darling. I draw!” announced Rarity as she drew. She looked at the sole card in her hand…and smiled. “I now summon Vylon Pentachloro!” Once more a monster descended down from the sky in a beam of golden light to Rarity’s side of the field. Only this monster was a bit more…abstract. It’s head was a golden arc whose ends curved down its black body where they became thicker and more circular until finally they were long arms whose colors rotated from silver to gold. The rest of its body seemed to jab outwards, ending in ornate golden spikes. It’s attack was 500.
“Pentachloro is a union monster, meaning that once per turn I can either equip it to a Vylon monster or unequip him in order to summon him back onto the field,” explained Rarity. “So I’ll equip him to Vanguard to make him even more powerful!” As Rarity moved her monster into the spell/trap card slot, Pentachloro moved behind Vanguard and underneath its wings. It’s arms merged with Vanguard’s while its ‘head’ became more of a high collar. Only its attack remained the same.
“Now Vanguard, let's battle,” announced Rarity. “We shall finish what we started and end Moralltach!” Vanguard raised its arms, sending twin beams of of golden light at Moralltach. Juniper’s monster shattered while her life points dropped to 7500. However, Rarity’s attack kept going, bending around Juniper. “Oh, I think I forgot to mention darling but when a monster equipped with Pentachloro destroys a monster in battle, then I can target one card you control and destroy it. Time to put that hideous Scythe to rest!” And with that, Scythe was attacked in the back and destroyed.
“You may have destroyed two of my monsters, but I can easily replenish them,” said Juniper. “I activate my face down Artifact Ignition! With this quick play spell card I can target one spell or trap card on the field and then destroy it. Then I can set one of my Artifact monsters in my deck into my spell/trap zone for later. I destroy my own card: a copy of Artifact Moralltach! And since this is still your turn, you should know what that means.” Moralltach swung the blade once again, sending an arch of energy right at Vanguard. It hit him, however Vanguard remained on the field. “How?”
“Just another feature of union monsters darling,” said Rarity as she pulled out Pentachloro. “When the monster it's equipped to is about to be destroyed, Pentachloro goes to the graveyard in its place.”
“Very well friend,” said Juniper as a card shot out of her deck. “I’ll finish up with the last part of Artifact Ignition, setting another Artifact Scythe to my side of the field.” Calmly, she placed the card onto her duel disk.
“Then I suppose I’d best end my turn,” said Rarity.
“I draw then friend,” said Juniper before looking at her lone card. “I set one card face down. Then, I build the overlay network using my level fives Artifact Achilleshield and my Artifact Moralltach!” On the ground between the two dueling girls appeared a vortex that looked like a spiral galaxy twinkling with stars. Both of Juniper’s monsters turned into beams of light that shot in while the chanting began. “Weapons of old and the spirits tied to them. Be re-forged into a weapon greater than before! XYZ summon Rank 5: Drill Driver Vespenato!” Rarity watched in shock as a mechanical hornet rose from the portal; its wings on its back looking like jet engines, its legs nothing more than metallic claws, and its stinger a drill. It’s 2500 attack was impressive, but still it was not powerful enough to get over her Vanguard! It seemed…out of place for a deck like this. If anything, Rarity would have thought she’d use it as her own decks XYZ monster.
“With that, I end my turn,” said Juniper. Now Rarity was really confused and it no doubt showed on her face. What was she thinking? Why didn’t she use her monster’s effect? For a moment, Rarity wondered if this was again like what she had heard from the duel with Limestone. According to Pinkie, Limestone had been fighting it the entire time, making bad plays or at least half baked ones. Was the same thing happening here? To be honest, Rarity couldn’t tell.
“Juniper, is everything ok?” asked Rarity. Perhaps it was a dumb question since whatever was controlling her would be answering. But, as she said this, she pressed the button on her duel disk to see what that Drill Driver could do.
“Of course everything is ok friend,” replied Juniper, her smile becoming even more painful to look at. “Everything is finally alright. I have never felt so happy before. All those negative feelings, the twinges of jealousy I feel whenever your music video plays or hearing about all the things you and your friends are doing, they’re all gone.”
Rarity looked up from her duel disk, frowning. “Darling, I never knew you felt like that,” she said honestly.
“Of course you wouldn’t,” replied Juniper, and for once there was bitterness in her voice. Like something authentic of the girl was breaking through. “You’re like the main character of a movie or a TV show, the one who has the skills to do anything and go on grand adventures. See the world, other worlds, meet famous people, and have a great future. But the rest of us? We’re stuck in the background or behind the stage, just existing. We know we don’t have what it takes to be anything more no matter how hard we try.” Then, her voice changed into a forced cheerfulness as the creature on her neck seemed to regain control. Rarity could see large veins in Juniper’s neck now appearing like the grip of a hand. “But now, I don’t feel like that anymore. And my friend can help everyone feel like this. No more special people in the world to feel jealous of because we’ll all be in the background. Won’t that be wonderful?”
Rarity shook her head, not hesitating for a moment. “No darling, it wouldn’t,” she said firmly. “I’m sorry if I ever made you or anyone else, feel less than what you really are. That’s not why I got into fashion. I wanted to make everyone feel wonderful and unique. I love helping people find ways to show off how wonderful they really are, bringing that out in the most dazzling way.” She then paused for a moment. “But in the world your friend wants to make, as you claim, then I would be denied that chance. As would anyone else who dreams about rising up from where they started. Or even a chance to shine like you once did.”
As Juniper’s neck cracked again, the creature now making slurping noises, Rarity let out a sigh. “Sadly, you are right about one thing: not everyone can be the star of an exciting story. Not everyone has the skills they want or need to do something like that. And, as try as they might, might not have what it takes to learn them. But…just because you’re not the star doesn’t make you any less important.” Pausing for a moment, Rarity pulled out Vylon Sphere from her spell/trap zone and held it up. “Take this darling little monster. It’s just a weak little monster, not my deck’s headliner. But Sphere is still important and not just because it’s a tuner. It can be searched out fairly easily, act as a defense, and if I had one of my equip cards in the graveyard he could help me bring it back. It may never be seen as a card everyone would want or be in anyone’s top ten video, but I’ll always stand by it.”
As Rarity spoke, she began to feel something. Not from the duel disk, not from her opponent, or even a sense that they were being watched. No, it came from the card in her hand. Rarity could feel something warm, something good flowing into her. Turning the card around, Rarity could see Sphere’s eyes looked like they were beginning to water before the card art returned to normal.
“Are you going to draw anytime soon?” asked Juniper.
“Very well then,” replied Rarity, sliding Sphere back into her graveyard before drawing. One card in her hand now, she looked at it before smiling. “Time for another equip card: Mage Power. Now, for each spell or trap card I control, my Vanguard grows even more powerful. So with a total of five, Vanguard’s attack becomes…” Rarity’s voice trailed off as Vanguard began to grow larger and larger, its attack rising to 5100!
“Now attack Vanguard and destroy that Drill Driver!” yelled Rarity as she pointed to the Xyz monster. As Vanguard’s beam flew across the field, piercing the machine insect with the ease of a knife through warm butter, Rarity noted the delight in Juniper’s eyes.
“You fell for it!” yelled Juniper as her life points dropped to 4900. “Now Friend I’ll show you the folly of your actions. When my Xyz monster is destroyed, I can special summon one level five or lower monster from my graveyard. With this power, I'll bring out the monster I used to activate my Twin Twister: Artifact Mjollnir.” Appearing on the field was a ghostly, hot pink figure holding a massive hammer that was so much like the other weapons Juniper had brought out. The ghost took a knee, protecting Juniper with its 1800 defense points. “When Mjollnir is summoned to the field during your turn, I can special summon one of my Artifacts in the grave. Moralltach, come back to me!” Mjollnir slammed his hammer into the ground creating a massive fissure which Moralltach flew out of. “And since it was special summoned during your turn, I can destroy one card you control. Vanguard, prepared to feel the power of these ancient artifacts! Meaning I can say goodbye to Vylon Vanguard for good!” Artifact Moralltach swung its blade again, sending an energy arc right at Vanguard which sliced him in two.
“Now you are helpless,” said Juniper as she stared at the cloud of dust before her. “On my next turn, I’ll be able to Xyz summon again to begin tearing you apart. And with nothing in your hand you will be helpless.”
“Oh, I couldn’t say that,” said Rarity as the cloud began to disperse. There she stood, with a total of seven cards in her hand.
“What?” asked Juniper, staring at Rarity in shock. “But how?”
“Vanguard knows how to repay a person for so generously giving him so many different equip cards darling,” explained Rarity. “When he is destroyed, I get to draw one card for each card equipped to him. What’s more, each of my Vylon equip cards lets me add another from my deck when they are sent from the field to the graveyard. Meaning I was able to get my last Material as well as a Vylon Component. Now I have what I need.”
“No…You can’t…That was supposed to end all your hoping,” gasped Juniper.
“Darling, I read what your monster could do,” said Rarity. “That’s why I attacked it in the first place. You might have replenished your field with monsters, but I replenished my hand. And what’s more, it’s still my turn.” Rarity then held up a card. “But first, one more draw! I activate Vylon Matter which lets me take the three Vylon equip cards in my graveyard, shuffle them back into the deck, and then draw one card.” Rarity paused as she took out her three cards from her graveyard, watched as they were auto-shuffled back into the deck, and then drew a card. As she looked at it, her eyes began to glow in the shape of the omega symbol.
“Now I normal summon Vylon Hept in attack mode!” declared Rarity. Appearing now on Rarity’s side of the field was another monster with no legs, just a point made of white, ivory-like metal with golden wings on its back. Its arms were thicker than the rest of its body, looking like golden cannons were attached to them. Its attack was 1800. “Next, I’ll equip him with the spell card Rod of Silence – Kay’est!” In front of Hept appeared a clear crystal with a staff in its center. The crystal shattered, allowing Hept to take a hold of it with its hands. “With that in place, I think a return of Element is in order.” Once again, above Rarity’s head appeared the gateway. “The stage is now set. I equip Hept with Segment which is then destroyed due to the effect of the Rod of Silence. Since Segment was sent to the grave from the field I’m allowed to get another copy of Segment. What’s more, the effect of Element activates, allowing me to special summon one Vylon tuner from my deck. So descend to earth Vylon Prism!” Prism came out from the portal, looking 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. “Next I’ll use the Segment I just got to repeat the process, getting a Material from my deck this time as well as another Prism!”
Rarity lowered her head a little as the third monster appeared on her side of the field. “Now darling, I will tune my two level four tuners Prism with my level four Hept to create the glory of my deck!” Rarity paused as her two tuners rose into the sky, becoming a total of eight rings which then transformed into golden omega signs. As for Hept, he transformed into four golden lights. While this was happening, Rarity raised her head to show that the golden light in her eyes was even brighter than before. “The end has come, the ultimate weapon of war. Let the heavens quake with your might and glory! Synchro summon level 12! Vylon OMEGA!” As Rarity finished her chant, the pillar of light that she created, the same one that happens with all synchro summons faded. But moments later, in the sky above them, appeared a massive golden omega symbol that towered over everything. 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 attached to them. More and more body appeared until, finally, black feathered wings appeared. Vylon Omega looked down with its one eye honed onto Juniper. It’s attack was 3200.
“Like with Sphere, I’ll give up 500 life points for each Prism so that they can be attached to Omega,” continued Rarity as her life points dropped to 6500. “I’ll also equip the two Materials to him as well as a Component.” One by one, the equip cards attached themselves to Omega to become more weapons for this giant monster. When it was over, its attack power had risen to 4400. “With that, I end my turn.”
“I…I draw,” stammered Juniper as she drew, looking at the monster, down at the card she had just drawn, and then back up at the monster. “I build the overlay network once again, using my level fives Artifact Mjollnir and my Artifact Moralltach! Legends abound, glorious battles remembered in dreams. Uncover the blade and swing into victory! Xyz summon Rank 5: Articfact Durendal.” Appearing on Juniper’s side of the field was…another sword carried by a ghostly figure. The only difference this time was that it’s blade had red and blue lines in it that matched the mismatched colors of the ghost holding it. What’s more, its attack wasn’t all the impressive at 2400.
“I end my turn,” she said.
“Then I draw,” said Rarity, drawing her card with so much power that a golden arc was created when she drew. As she did, however, Juniper pressed a button on her duel disk.
"Since it's now you're turn, I activate my face down: Back to the Front!" she declared. "This lets me special summon one of my monsters from the graveyard in defense position. So I bring back my Artifact Moralltach!" Again, Juniper's blade returned to the field. "Now, it's effect activates letting me-"
"Not so fast darling," said Rarity as Omega began to pull back one of its arms. "When you activate a monster effect, I can send one card equiped to Omega to the graveyard in order to negate and destroy it!"
“That’s what you think,” said Juniper as she removed a material from her monster. “I activate one of my monster’s effect in response to one of your Prism’s effect, changing it to destroying one card on my side of the field so-”
"So sorry to interrupt you again," said Rarity as her monster pulled back another arm. "However, Omega's effect is not once per turn. As long as I have equip cards, he can continue to stop you." Juniper's smile faded as a Vylon Component was flung from Omega, piecing and then shattering the blade of Durendal before it was destroyed. Following that a Material was then flung at her Moralltach to repeat the process.
“Since I just sent two of my equip cards from the field to the graveyard, I can now add two more Vylon equip cards from my deck to my hand. What's more, Element activates allowing me to special summon two more tuners from my deck to the field. I suppose I'll add two Vylon Cubes,” stated Rarity, glaring not at Juniper but at the thing controlling her as she added her last Material to her hand as well as a Component. At the same time twin white boxes floated out of Element and slowly lowered itself to the field. Both monsters had two thin looking arms while a golden light shined from its chest. Their attacks were 800 a piece. “You are far too late to try such cheap, underhanded tricks like that with me! Now, I equip Omega with the last Vylon Material in my hand. Then I will activate his effect, targeting one Vylon monster in my graveyard and equiping it to Omega.” Now, with five cards equiped to Omega, its power began to rise more and more until it reached 4400!
"It is time Omega! Attack her directly!" At Rarity's command, the crest of Omega began to glow blightly while the three Vylon Prisms began to pulse. As the glow of the crest became as bright as the sun its attack rose all the way to 7400!
"T-That's impossible!" shouted Juniper as the light drew closer to her.
"It's not," said rarity simply. "Each of my Vylon Prisms has the effect where when a monster equiped to it attacks or is attacked, that monster gains 1000 attack points."
“I won't let it end here!” said Juniper as she held up a card. “I activate the effect of the Artifact Vajra in my hand, allowing me to special summon it when you declare a direct attack!” Omega’s attack was halted as a blue specter appeared on the field holding twin weapons that Rarity couldn’t make heads or tails out of. All she knew was that it was in defense mode with 1900 points. “And when this monster is special summoned during your turn, its effect kicks in, destroying all cards in my spell/trap card zone meaning-” She got no further as another Material was used to negate the effect and destroy her last remaining defense.
“It’s over darling,” said Rarity as her monster attacked, its light engulfing Juniper. The girl cried out in pain, mind-blowing agony coursing through her as she held out her arms to protect herself. However, the thing that was in real pain was the creature on her neck which began to smoke before it too became nothing more than dust. When it had gone, Juniper fell to her knees and passed out leaving Rarity the only one left standing as the police came out.
-x-
“What do you mean there’s nothing you can do for her,” Rarity nearly shouted in an unladylike manner. It was much later that night with Rarity now dressed in her nightgown, ready to get her beauty rest when she was interrupted by a call from Twilight’s brother.
After their duel, everything had happened so fast that it was a whirlwind to Rarity. One moment, she had finished dueling Juniper and the next the green haired girl was being questioned by the police. From what Rarity heard, they caught Juniper on security tape stealing all of the money that was in the manager’s office. What’s more they also had several eyewitnesses who placed her at the scene of the crime. Juniper had her head down the entire time, mumbling out responses that Rarity could only make out as “I can’t remember” and “I don’t know”. What made the whole thing worse is that the press were on the scene soon as well, coming up to Rarity and proclaiming her to be a hero for stopping the thief. It was all she could do just to get out of there, only managing to ask Shining Armor to give her a call as soon as he could.
And things were not getting any better.
“Rarity, my hands are tied here,” said Shining Armor. His voice sounded tired, drained of all his energy. “I just can’t let her go because she’s your friend.”
“But she’s innocent,” cried Rarity.
“That’s-”
“She was under the influence of magic,” interrupted Rarity. “You know that can happen. So why can’t you let her go!”
“Because the law doesn’t work that way!” shouted Shining Armor, sounding like he was quickly losing his patience. No doubt he had had a similar conversation with Twilight and Sonata, having to repeat himself for a third time. “Look, I know about magic now. But a lot of people don’t even believe in it. Even if you were to go to my chief, show what you can do, Juniper would still be in jail because she got caught and now has to defend herself in the court of law. That’s how it works. And you will have a hard time convincing a jury to accept that ‘magic made me do it’ is a plausible defense without hard evidence.”
“But…But what if we were to show them we had magic?” asked Rarity.
Shining Armor let out a groan, the noise in the background making it sound like he had plopped onto a chair. “You would prove magic exists, but you still wouldn’t be able to prove that Juniper was affected by it.” There was a pause and when the officer spoke again, he sounded a little more hopeful. “The good news is that we are getting a few cases like this one. Employees suddenly stealing from their bosses and then having no memories of what they did or what they did with the money. We’re also getting reports that people are doing strange things without remembering anything. Like paying $500 for a Saggi the Dark Clown and not even a mint condition one that was held by a famous duelist. These are all good hard working people, most of whom have never done anything like this before so there are a few lawyers out there throwing out the possibility they were under hypnosis. But…”
“But?” echoed Rarity, a hint of fear in her voice.
“Juniper might have a problem,” admitted Shining. “I spoke to her uncle and, well, the stunt she pulled at the studio is going to weigh against her.”
More fear gripped at Rarity as she clutched the phone tighter. “He…He believes her though right? That it was magic?”
Shining just sighed. “Right now Rarity, he’s hurt. Very, very hurt.”
-x-
At the same time, Starlight whistled a nameless tune as she walked into her hotel room without a care. Of anything.
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Well done with the duel
interesting duel and deck choices; not sure I like human world Starlight too much right now, btw
10568539
Well, what she did was no different than what she did to Limestone. Only here she didn't get away with it
10568637
(shrugs) fair enough, I suppose; needless to say, though Juniper didn't deserve what happened to her 😔
Had a feeling Rarity would be keeping Vylons. They're a good fit for her. Wish the duel could have lasted longer, but Artifacts aren't really a deck meant to be played pure. More something to be splashed into other decks
10568539
While I get where you're coming from, Equstrias Starlight wasnt much better as she forceably removed the Mane 6's cutie Mark's before imprisoning them with the intent to brainwash them.
10570094
(shrugs) true, but at least pony-Starlight at least thought that she had good intentions with her schemes, i.e. she didn't want anyone else to go through the pain she had gone through after losing Sunburst; here though, it feels like human-Starlight is just trying to utilize her new magic to maintain control over others without any other driving force beyond simple greed, thereby making pony-Starlight the better individual even pre-reform, you know? 😐
10570587
Interesting point. However, counter points, she is a teenage girl who just got incredible power. She could just not be considering the consequences of her actions. Also we know in this chapter that she is testing the limits of her powers. So perhaps she has a plan which she considers the greater good. At least in her mind
10571109
(shrugs) eh, fair enough; guess we'll just have to see what sort of schemes she comes up with moving forward 😅
you made the witchcrafters into a book series?
10621705
Yep, that you for noticing