> What Lies Within
>  by Rebellious_Requiem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> First Encounter: Vicious Pitch-Black Fangs! Dark Rebellion! [Part 1]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a clear, sunny Saturday afternoon in the bustling city of Canterlot. The sounds of whirring engines and whipping winds were prevalent as a plethora of automobiles drove through the busy streets. The passengers within headed to and fro, from place to place -- whether it be a simple trip to the grocery store or a fun weekend family outing, planned in haste in an effort to savor the sun’s bountiful rays while they still had the chance.

Two teenage girls, however, had opted to traverse the town by foot on this fine day -- though one of them was considerably more comfortable with the idea of this level of physical activity than the other. Nevertheless; Twilight Sparkle: ever the determined and studious young woman that she was, was never one to back down from a challenge.

You know. Most of the time.

“Sunset… just how far away… is this new park, exactly?” Twilight managed between desperate gasps for air. "I thought you said... it was only a 'few blocks' away from the Sweet Shoppe?"

Sunset Shimmer bit back the little laugh attempting to force its way out of the back of her throat and smiled gently at her friend. She knew that Twilight was more of a reader than a runner, of course, and she didn't want to be mean about it. Well, not now -- not after she had invited her out and the girl had so graciously agreed. “It's not much farther now, Twilight. You can do this; I believe in you!” she declared, lightly slapping Twilight on the back as a sign of encouragement.

And if worse comes to worst, I can probably carry you the rest of the way or something. Don’t seem like you'd be very heavy, after all, Sunset thought -- not quite able to conceal the devious smirk that had made its way onto her face.

Twilight shot Sunset a small pout, as if she had heard exactly what Sunset was thinking, and grumbled under her slowly steadying breath. “Thanks. I guess.” She paused to stretch her arms high above her head and do some quick leg exercises in an attempt to reinvigorate herself. As she did so, something caught her eye across the way. “Hey; is that it, right over there?” she asked, turning to face Sunset, pointing toward the park in question.

The park itself was quite large, and -- as far as the two could tell -- it seemed there weren't a great deal of people currently hanging around the central area. A few parents and children were playing catch, someone was sitting on the bench with their dog as it lazed about, happily soaking in the sun, and a group of college-aged students seemed to be filming a video of some kind. However; there was also a sizable crowd gathered a ways in from the entrance, as if some elaborate event was taking place. Sunset hadn't heard of anything of the sort.

“Huh. It sure is,” Sunset confirmed, smile slipping. “Wonder what all the commotion is about. You think something bad happened?” she suggested cautiously. Something bad was almost always happening -- or about to happen -- whenever the two were involved, so she figured it... couldn't really hurt to ask?

“Beats me,” Twilight responded with a shrug as she readjusted her glasses. “I don't think it's anything dangerous or magical this time, at the very least. It feels a tad too... mundane. Should we go check it out, or should we just come back some other time?”

Sunset was almost tempted to go with Option Number Two -- just in case; but to her dismay, her curiosity managed to get the better of her. “I say we go check it out. At least to make sure it really is nothing serious, at least,” she added. Sunset didn't really want to admit that she was just interested in checking things out regardless, but it seemed Twilight wasn't fooled by her attempted nonchalance.

“Whatever you say, Sunset,” Twilight replied, a knowing smile on her face. Truth be told: she was plenty curious about the situation herself. "Let's get going, then!" she declared as she marched ahead; the short rest just enough for her to restore a good bit of her expended stamina.

Sunset shook her head and smiled as she followed behind her friend. Pinkie's enthusiasm might just be rubbing off on you, Twilight, she mused. She couldn't help but think about how nice it was to see the girl come further and further out of her shell these days -- especially after the things she'd dealt with since she first met Sunset Shimmer and their other friends during the "Friendship Games" sporting event their then-opposed schools took part in every few years.

The "dangerous or magical" things, to use Twilight's own words.

Sunset Shimmer still worried about her friend, even now. Twilight Sparkle had joined their circle quite some time after Sunset had; and due to the small, minor fact that she was an almost perfect doppelgänger of a magical, dimension-hopping actual princess that also happened to be a small pastel pony: she had some rather large shoes to fill. Or "horseshoes," as it were.

Though it was easier, now -- to think of the two Twilight Sparkle(s) as their own separate entities. And that's precisely why Sunset wanted to keep her friend happy; just like she was in that moment. The other Twilight had been well-prepared -- or at least more well-prepared for the situations she ended up in whenever she traveled from her homeland to this land of humans. 

This Twilight, on the other hand, had been sucked into a world right beneath her nose that she was never meant to see -- let alone be such a big part of! One of powerful magic and dangerous creatures and potentially dangerous situations -- just because she'd been a little curious about a strange energy reading coming from the local public high school? It didn't exactly seem... fair, in retrospect.

"You okay, Sunset?" Twilight asked from a little ways ahead of Sunset, a small smile on her face in spite of the concern that shone through her expression. "You look like you're spacing out a little over there. Is something wrong?"

Sunset looked at that soft smile, and in it she saw all of the good will that practically seeped out of Twilight's whole being, and she couldn't help but laugh as gratitude welled up inside. "I'm fine; Twilight," she assured with a genuine smile of her own. "Just got caught up in the past again, is all. You know how it is."

Twilight's knowing look was enough to cause Sunset to avert her eyes. "I mean, sure I do. But what was that one line of yours? 'My past does not define me, my past is not today' or something like that?" she recalled, her tone light and teasing.

"Yeah, yeah; I showed you those lyrics in confidence!" Sunset closed her eyes and tried her best to pretend she was actually upset about having her own words used against her. In reality; it had actually made her feel a lot better about the whole situation. She'd have to seriously thank Twilight for being so... her later. "Enough about me; it's time to get back to gawking at strangers, or whatever it is that we were doing."

Twilight held back a giggle and nodded her head. The rest of their short walk was spent in comfortable silence.

As Sunset and Twilight approached the crowd, they noted the "commotion" in question was congregated around perhaps one of the most expensive and flashy aspects of the new park -- a marked, raised stage with many modern-looking mechanical parts that was apparently known as a “Duel Field,” according to the nearby sign. Sunset and Twilight weren’t quite in the know in regards to the card game the field was built for -- "Duel Monsters" -- but they knew just enough to recognize the rather silly-looking contraptions strapped to the wrists of many of the people present.

At this point it seemed the increasingly popular card game would do just about anything to get its more reserved players out and about, these high tech fields scattered around the country being only one of the more recent innovations. Though it had seemed a successful strategy, as it gave many people a reason to get out more and meet with others; making it a good conversation topic for nervous introverts and social extroverts alike.

At the center of the excited crowd were two young men; both probably around eighteen to twenty years old. They were, like many of the others, also equipped with the proper "Duel Monsters equipment," as silly as it seemed. The two appeared to be in the middle of a rather heated argument -- and Sunset and Twilight were bothered to note that a boy in his pre-teens stood cowering in the shadow of the shorter of the pair.

“Look; for the last time, Onyx,” the older and taller of the two began, practically snarling at the other man. “I told you, we had a deal. The kid agreed to hand it over and everything!” he stated, crossing his arms as if to say in no uncertain terms that the argument was over right then and there.

“He’s also twelve, Buster,” the one called "Onyx" replied flatly. He exhaled and ran a pale hand through his short, dark hair. “You’re being a bully and trying to extort stuff from a kid. That’s pretty low,” he continued, standing his ground in spite of the other man's somewhat imposing height advantage. “What’s it going to take for you to give this up?”

The crowd's murmurs around them grew in both volume and intensity as Sunset and Twilight shared a quick, bewildered glance. "It's totally happening!" someone exclaimed in a hushed tone. It seems they had made it just in time for... whatever this was to hit some kind of peak.

Buster squinted his eyes at Onyx for a few moments, as if sizing him up. After a few moments, he grinned widely. “Well; we’re both Duelists, right? How about we settle this with a Duel? The kid here can keep his card either way, but how about this: if I win -- ”

“You get one of my cards instead,” Onyx cut in, waving a hand dismissively. “Kind of a cliché ultimatum if I'm being honest -- but sure; whatever. As long as we can just get this little incident of ours sorted out quickly. You attracted a whole crowd with this little stunt of yours.” He clicked his tongue in disapproval, but his deadpan expression suddenly shifted into one of excitement and anticipation. He was more than willing to throw down, apparently. 

“And now I’m going to have to take you out in front of all the nice people you involved! What a darn shame,” he continued, a little too casually for Buster's liking.

Onyx paused his taunting for a moment to send the young boy who had unintentionally ended up at the center of the whole event in the first place into the crowd. "Make sure to watch closely, alright? I'll show you how to deal with this guy and guys like him."

The boy nodded slowly and shuffled into the front row of the gathered people. "Thank you. I will," he offered in a quiet voice, his eyes firmly locked on the ground beneath his feet.

"No problem, kid. You kind of helped me out; if I'm being real here. I was itching for a good match today."

Buster was momentarily taken aback by Onyx’s aura of confidence, but he recovered from the initial surprise and sneered at his quarry. “Okay then, tough guy! Let’s do this!” he called, walking backwards over to one side of the field as to keep direct eye contact with Onyx the whole way to his corner. “We’ll see who beats who down!” he added as the crowd began to back away from the Duel Field to give the competitors their space.

Sunset and Twilight moved back with the rest of the crowd, but somehow found themselves at the front row of the action, and shared yet another apprehensive glance. It looked like they were a part of this now -- whether they liked it or not.

Onyx shot a toothy grin right back at his opponent as he took his own place in the arena, imitating Buster's reversed walk as not to be one-upped. “We sure will!”


“DUEL FIELD: ONLINE;
SINGLE GAME -- ONE ON ONE;
DUEL START.”


The sudden, booming electronic voice that emanated from the field to announce the commencement of the Duel was enough to startle both Sunset and Twilight; causing both to jump back and yelp.

“What’s the matter? Have neither of you ever watched a Duel like this before?” the young boy Onyx had ushered into the crowd asked quietly, tilting his head to look curiously at the two teenagers.

Sunset looked sheepishly at the boy and shook her head before turning back toward the two Duelists. Twilight’s eyes, on the other hand, had never quite managed to leave them. “I've only ever heard of the game before, never seen it in action. Though with all this excitement, I sure feel it’s definitely going to be a sight to behold,” Sunset replied.

As if rehearsed, the two players activated their wrist-mounted Duel Disks; and blades of a harsh black formed from a form of hard light appeared to allow the Duelists to place their cards: "Solid Vision" -- the technology used in much of the game's more high-end equipment. The blade was framed by violet light on Onyx's end and a harsh, fiery orange on Buster's --  Both players drew their first hand of five cards in almost perfect unison. The automatic system flickered between two display screens showing both competitors for several seconds, eventually designating Buster as the first player to make his turn. 

“Let’s Duel!” they shouted together, marking the official start of their confrontation.

Sunset couldn't really understand how they made this card game seem so flashy and dramatic before the first card was even played, but she had to admit that she was impressed.



TURN: ONE
BUSTER -- 4000 LP
HAND: 5



Buster briefly scanned the cards in his hand and his wicked grin grew somehow even wider. “Alright, time to show you exactly what you’ve gotten yourself into, pal! It’s my turn!” he declared forcefully. He plucked a card from his hand and slammed it on the black field projected from his Duel Disk. “I summon Alexandrite Dragon to my field in Attack Position!”



Alexandrite Dragon
Level 4
LIGHT Dragon/Normal Monster
ATK/2000 DEF/0
Many of the czar's lost jewels can be found in the scales of this priceless dragon. Its creator remains a mystery, along with how they acquired the imperial treasures. But whosoever finds this dragon has hit the jackpot... whether they know it or not.



The vicious-looking dragon appeared before them in a glorious flash of light, its scales shimmering brightly in the light of the sun overhead. The Solid Vision System had created a stunningly realistic hologram of the monster depicted on Buster's card that easily dwarfed both players with its impressive stature. Its stats were prominently displayed on a series of pop-up display screens to allow those in the game and on the sidelines easy access to any needed information. The most prominent display was of a value referred to as its "ATK," reading at a whopping two thousand. It let out a low, rumbling growl as it locked eyes with Onyx across the stage -- instantly recognizing the man standing before it as an enemy.

Onyx quirked a brow at the beast as if to taunt it and brandished a sharp, knowing smirk at his opponent. "So that's your strategy, huh?"

Buster scoffed. "Don't you stand there and act like you already have me all figured out right off the bat! There's plenty more where that came from! Like this: the Spell Card Ancient Rules! This card, when activated: allows me to Special Summon one Level five or higher Normal Monster from my Hand; so I'll go with this one! Appear before us, Rabidragon!"



Ancient Rules
Normal Spell
Special Summon 1 Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from your hand.





Rabidragon
Level 8
LIGHT Dragon/Normal Monster
ATK/2950 DEF/2900
It's a snowfield-dwelling, giant-ear-sporting, super-acoustic, snowball-shaped mutant dragon! There's no way anybody can escape.



Buster's new monster was much larger than his first; and the number displayed in its statistics was more impressive than Alexandrite Dragon's by a good amount, clocking in at two thousand, nine hundred and fifty "ATK," but, at least in Sunset Shimmer's opinion: it was much harder to take the strange-looking dragon seriously. Even the mighty roar it loosed upon taking the field and forming fully next to its smaller draconic companion couldn't quite make it seem nearly as threatening as it was presumably supposed to.

Twilight eyed the creature in confusion, fiddling with her glasses absentmindedly. "Head of a rabbit and a... is that a snowball that's comprising its body? Huh. That's an interesting design, to say the least," she whispered, leaning slightly toward Sunset.

On stage, Onyx craned his neck to see the whole of the sizable creature better, scrutinizing it with a sort of analytical expression. "Well; that sure is a card, Buster," he concluded as he put his hands on his hips and looked across the field toward Buster. "Still not really impressed, though. Got anything else for me?" he asked, a smug grin snaking its way onto his face.

Buster furrowed his brow and frowned at Onyx. "Just this: I Set one card face-down!" he declared, placing a card in a Zone that appeared on the field as being slightly behind the monsters under his command. It appeared for a moment as the pattern on the cards' back before simplifying itself as a dark shape filling the Zone as to not take attention away from the imposing holograms, but to remind the other player that it was still present, and just as threatening. "Let's see you pull off something better if you're so cocky! I end my turn!"

"Challenge accepted! It's my turn; so I'll Draw!" Onyx called as he pulled a card from the top of his Deck.



TURN: TWO
ONYX -- 4000 LP
HAND: 6



Onyx spent a good few seconds eyeing his hand and Buster's established board as he contemplated his turn. "Alright; let's do this!" He proceeded to pull one card out of his hand and placed it face-down on the field. "I'll start by Setting one card! And then," he continued, tapping the display screen on his Disk. "I'll go ahead and use it right away! Trap Card activate:  The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine!"



The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine
Normal Trap
Special Summon this card in Defense Position as a Normal Monster (Warrior-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 0/DEF 300). (This card is NOT treated as a Trap Card.) If you have no Trap Cards in your GY, you can activate this card the turn it was Set. You can only activate 1 "The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine" per turn.



"Hey; what's the big idea?!" Buster shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Onyx. "You can't activate a Trap Card on the turn that it's been Set! That's one of the most basic rules of the game, genius!"

Onyx nodded his head sagely. "You're right, of course. Normally: that is the case. However; Shade Brigandine states that as long as my Graveyard is Trap-free at the time of activation, I can activate it on the turn that it's Set. You can go ahead and read it, if you want," he explained, pressing a button on his Disk's screen and drawing Buster's attention to the pop-up that appeared.

Buster glanced at the screen before him that displayed the same text that was written on Shade Brigandine and shook his head slightly with a huff. "I'm good. I believe you," he replied, waving away the screen. "Alright; so you can activate it without waiting a turn. Big deal! What's it actually do?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Onyx replied, as the holographic display of the card flipped over and transformed into an ethereal orb of light. "When The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine is activated, it is Special Summoned as a Level Four Warrior-Type Normal Monster with zero Attack Points and three hundred Defense Points in Defense Position!"

The ethereal orb advanced slightly forward from its position in the holographic Spell/Trap Card Zone and reformed into the armor pieces displayed on the card's artwork. Bright blue flames erupted from the openings in the metallic pieces and two piercing eyes of blue burning light shined unblinking through a crack in the chest region. As it had appeared in "Defense Position" rather than "Attack Position," its most prominently displayed statistic was its measly three hundred "DEF".

Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer thought they had garnered some kind of understanding of the game so far, considering their complete lack of experience on the subject -- but the sheer volume of the new and convoluted information they were presented with all at once managed to throw them both off completely.

"What... just happened?" Sunset asked in a hushed voice as she turned to Twilight in the slight hope that her bookish friend had managed to build up a more solid knowledge base than she herself had.

Twilight hummed in thought, her face scrunching up a little as she tried to review all the things the two Duelists had said and translate it into a way that she could more easily comprehend. "I... think I get it; but I'm not exactly sure," she admitted to Sunset, looking back at the Duel in progress. "I'd need a better understanding of the actual rules before being able to suggest any kind of proper explanation."

Sunset frowned. She had expected as much, but she was still a little disappointed in her own inability to keep up. "Makes sense." She paused for a moment to admire the top-of-the-line holographic projections and the general aesthetics of the match in progress, as well as the back-and-forth provided by the two Duelists as they played their cards. The whole thing was actually kind of interesting -- if only as a visually impressive spectacle. "I think I can understand why this game got so popular as a spectator sport," she added.

Not quite finished, Onyx picked another card from his hand and placed it on his Duel Disk. "Now, from my hand, I Normal Summon the Monster Card The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm!" 



The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm
Level 4
DARK Warrior/Effect Monster
ATK/1500 DEF/500
If a "Phantom Knights" card(s) is sent to your GY: This card gains 500 ATK. You can banish this card from your GY, during the End Phase of this turn, add 1 "Phantom Knights" card from your GY to your hand. You can only use each effect of "The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm" once per turn.



Another armor piece formed on Onyx's field. This time, it was a knight's helmet -- complete with a red plume atop its head and a bright scarlet scarf tied around its neck -- equipped with two disembodied hands that seemed to be fully under its control. The blue flames burst from inside its metal casing and made up its ghostly form and it stared blankly at Buster's dragons, unfazed and unfeeling as one would expect a phantom to be. This ghastly ghoul was much stronger than Shade Brigandine, but still stood at only fifteen hundred ATK -- far beneath either one of Buster's mighty monsters.

Onyx glanced at the crowd, grinning widely. Sure, it was early -- but there wasn't much point in making this grand audience wait too much longer to see the star of his show. He chuckled and clicked a button on his Disk. "Alright, Buster -- I think it's about time I show you what you're fighting for, don't you?"

Buster's expression conveyed his confusion flawlessly. "Huh? But all you have is two lame monsters -- one even has zero Attack Points!" Buster pointed out. "And only one is in Attack Position, so it's not like you can boost their Attack Points any higher with Spells or Traps and defeat both of my monsters in battle. Why are you acting so confident?"

"Hm; well -- you sure are right on that account, my monsters are pretty weak by themselves. Gee; I wonder what I could possibly be planning to do now that I have two Level Four monsters on my field to get myself out of this sticky situation?" asked Onyx sarcastically, slowly arching both of his eyebrows as he spoke.

A lightbulb seemed to click on in Buster's mind. A somewhat lame "Uh-oh," was all he managed to say in rebuttal.

"'Uh-oh' is right, Buster! By using both of my Level Four 'Phantom Knights' monsters, I can construct an Overlay Network!" Onyx stated, striking a confident pose; fist clenched before him. "Two shadowy knights; join together in harmony and bring forth a new power!" he chanted as he brought his hands together; his words and actions excessively dramatic for the sake of the spectacle.

The two possessed armor pieces transformed into orbs of light once more; this time a bright violet color that nearly matched the accent color of Onyx's blade. As they did so, a swirling portal that resembled an endlessly spiraling galaxy filled with countless, bright yellow stars opened on the field in a Zone that seemed closer to Buster's side than Onyx's own Main Monster Zone. The two orbs of light flew into the air and twirled around each other before hurling themselves swiftly into the void below.

Onyx laughed out loud, obviously having a great time hamming things up. "Pitch-black fangs formed in darkness, rise up and spread your vicious wings wide for all to see!" he chanted as the portal let loose a great and almost blinding purple flash of light and energy. "Using these two monsters as Overlay Units, I Xyz Summon! Appear; Rank Four! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"



Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon
Rank 4
DARK Dragon/Xyz/Effect Monster
ATK/2500 DEF/2000
2 Level 4 monsters
You can detach 2 materials from this card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls, its ATK becomes half its current ATK, and if it does, this card gains that lost ATK.



The dragon in question burst forth from the portal into the air above the Duel Field; scattering the gathered stars around the entire arena to the awe of those in the crowd, bellowing loudly for all to hear. Its slick, dark purple form moved swiftly in spite of the armor-like plating covering its body. Once it had fully materialized and settled itself on the field -- "2500 ATK" appearing on a screen before it -- its glowing yellow eyes affixed themselves first on Alexandrite Dragon, then on Rabidragon. It growled menacingly at the two opposing monsters, as if warning them to so much as try to take it on. Buster's dragons responded in kind.

Twilight let out a hushed "ooh" as she marveled at Onyx's latest monster. "I have absolutely no idea what he just did or why or even how, but that sure looks like one tough creature! You know, probably!" she exclaimed, excitedly. "What do you think, Sunset?"

Sunset thought back to her previous life in a far away land, and the various beasts she had borne witness to under the watchful eye of her mentor. As threatening as this dragon seemed to be, it was much smaller and less terrifying than many of the creatures that came to mind. She smiled wistfully in remembrance and shook her head. "Tougher than the snow rabbit thing, at least," she said, smirking at the hologram.

That same smirk was instantly wiped off her face when Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's eyes seemed to slowly drift over and look directly into her own. Sunset could have sworn she heard a low growl come from the Duel Field's speaker system. She could only blink in surprise; but when she looked again, Dark Rebellion was preoccupied with the two opposing dragons once more.

A chill shot down Sunset's spine. She took it all back. Maybe this "Dark Rebellion" whatever dragon was pretty scary, after all.

Buster squinted his eyes at Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, sizing it up -- much the same as he had done to Onyx before their match. "Fine; I'll admit it's impressive," he said, locking eyes with the beast. "But even though it's a little more powerful than my Alexandrite Dragon, it can't hope to hold up against the might of my Rabidragon! I appreciate the preview though, since that card's gonna be all mine when we're done here."

"Yeah; keep telling yourself that, Buster. Whatever you need to hear to get you through this Duel. See, the thing is; you haven't seen the real power of my Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon just yet!" Onyx retorted, accentuating his words with an overly dramatic point in Buster's direction. The other Duelist reacted only slightly -- in that his frown deepened a bit. "This game's only just getting started, and I'm going to win the whole thing! Just you watch!"


TO BE CONTINUED

> First Encounter: Vicious Pitch-Black Fangs! Dark Rebellion! [Part 2]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



TURN: TWO [CONT'D]
ONYX -- 4000 LP
HAND: 4
FIELD: 
- EX Monster Zone: [Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Attack Position; 2500 ATK; 2 Overlay Units (2 OLU)]



Buster eyed the Attack Points of Onyx's monster again and raised a brow. "'Real power,' you say?"

"That's right, Buster. My dragon's true merit lies within its Monster Effect!" Onyx replied. "Which I'll go ahead and activate now! By detaching both of its Xyz Materials -- the copies of Shade Brigandine and Cloven Helm that I used to construct the Overlay Network -- and placing them into the Graveyard: I can target one monster on my opponent's field and halve its Attack Points!"

Buster reeled back in shock. "It can cut my monster's power in half?! That's brutal!"

Onyx smiled as the orbs of light circling his Xyz Monster broke off from their orbit and phased inside of its body. Several baubles scattered throughout Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's armored body began to glow a bright purple and electrical currents of a similar hue laced through its outstretched wings. "That's not all. After it does so, the lost points are then added to Dark Rebellion's own Attack Points! Now go; drain that Rabidragon's supposed 'might' and take it for yourself! Treason Discharge!"

Dark Rebellion let out a forceful roar as the electricity built up in its wings burst forth and coils of lightning coursed through Rabidragon's body. The larger dragon could only watch and cry out in pain as its strength was sapped by the other monster, dropping from a mighty 2,950 ATK to a much more manageable 1,475. It couldn't keep itself fully in flight and fell to the ground with a resounding crash, simulated by the sudden vibration of the Duel Field.

From the crowd, Sunset could have sworn the noise that came from Dark Rebellion's throat as its power output in turn raised from 2,500 to 3,975 sounded an awful lot like... laughter? Another chill went through her body. Okay; this thing needs to stop doing what's it doing real soon, or I'm going to start freaking out!

Buster clenched his fists as he helplessly stood by his drained beast. "Rabidragon! No!"

"Now it's time for the real action! I enter my Battle Phase!"

"Hold it right there! Before you do that: I activate my Trap Card, Threatening Roar! Now you won't be able to declare an attack this turn; and both of my dragons are safe from harm!" Buster explained through gritted teeth as his face-down card flipped up on the field.



Threatening Roar
Normal Trap
Your opponent cannot declare an attack this turn.



Both of Buster's dragons gained a sudden burst of energy and roared -- as the card's name implied -- threateningly at Onyx's Dark Rebellion and its controller.

Onyx hummed thoughtfully as his Dark Rebellion flinched and pulled away from Buster's creatures, unwilling to go through with any attacks this round. "That they are. Fine then. If I can't attack, then I'll skip the battling and go right to my second Main Phase." He took three of the four cards left in his hand and placed them face-down in his Spell and Trap Card Zones. "I'll Set these three cards and end my turn."

"Which makes it my turn again. I draw!" Buster pulled a card from his Deck and examined the cards on the Field again.



TURN: THREE
BUSTER -- 4000 LP
HAND: 2
FIELD: 
- Main Monster Zone: [Alexandrite Dragon; Attack Position; 2000 ATK]
- Main Monster Zone: [Rabidragon; Attack Position; 1450 ATK]



"Perfect!" Buster exclaimed after checking the new card he had obtained, pumping his fist. "Watch closely, Onyx; you're not the only one with a powerful Extra Deck-based dragon! Let's do this -- I activate the Spell Card Polymerization!"



Polymerization
Normal Spell
Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Materials.



Polymerization, huh? So there's more to his Deck than just high-powered beat sticks; after all, Onyx mused. Based on the monsters he has on the Field, he has to be going for...

"As you probably already know; Polymerization is a Spell Card that allows me to use monsters on my field and in my hand as Fusion Materials for a Fusion Summon! I'll send both my Alexandrite Dragon and Rabidragon from the Field to the Graveyard!"

"Makes sense," Twilight commented from her space next to Sunset. "'Polymerization' is a term used in chemistry that refers to -- "

Sunset coughed lightly, cutting off her friend mid-definition. "Maybe save the vocabulary-slash-science lesson for another time, Twilight?"

A holographic projection of the swirling figures portrayed on the card's art appeared behind Buster and the monsters in question flew toward it, becoming one as they passed through the image -- a glowing white form was all that remained. "Dragon of brightly shimmering scales; merge with the mountainous menace that tears through the treacherous blizzard and call forth an ancient power! Fusion Summon! Appear:
First of the Dragons!"



First of the Dragons
Level 9
DARK Dragon/Fusion/Effect Monster
ATK/2700 DEF/2000
2 Normal Monsters
Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can only control 1 "First of the Dragons". This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by battle with a Normal Monster, and is unaffected by other monsters' effects.



The shapeless white form stretched and expanded itself outward rapidly, eventually forming into the great beast known as the "First of the Dragons." It was a massive purple and white multi-horned dragon whose immense body managed to make even Rabidragon seem like a helpless little gecko in comparison. It stretched its mighty wings and calmly looked down upon its much smaller foe; its piercing red eyes boring deeply into Dark Rebellion's striking yellow.

"Just like I thought," Onyx muttered; staring at Buster's new dragon in awe. Though I've never seen it Summoned on a Duel Field like this. It's just as imposing as its name makes it sound. Though it only has 2,700 Attack Points as it is now. He would have Summoned it in Defense Position if he didn't have a plan to destroy my Dark Rebellion. That last card in his hand must be something pretty powerful.

"First of the Dragons; it's time to crush Onyx's dragon and its so-called rebellion. I'll enter my own Battle Phase!"

"Not afraid of my Set cards?" Onyx wondered aloud, genuinely surprised by his opponent's reckless action.

Buster shook his head vigorously. "I'm not afraid of anything you can do! I'll break through your cards with my ace monster's brute strength and sheer force of will! First of the Dragons will declare an attack on Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Destroy it!"

Twilight frowned and nudged Sunset. "Why would he do that? They've been putting such a big focus on having a higher 'ATK' value than the other player's monsters this whole Duel; but Buster's just throwing his card with lower points at Onyx's Rebellion Dragon? It seems strange."

"Maybe he has a plan to boost its offensive power like Onyx did? He does have one last card in his hand."

"It sounded like these 'Phases' they were talking about determine when they can play certain cards or perform certain actions. If that's true then the 'Battle Phase' doesn't sound like it allows much other than, well, battling. You must be right, though -- he doesn't seem like a guy who'd willingly let his self-proclaimed 'ace' monster be destroyed so easily."

"At this point," Buster said as his dragon suddenly lunged forward; huge body hurtling towards Onyx's monster. "I can activate the Quick-Play Spell Card Battle Fusion from my hand! This card adds the Attack Points of the opposing monster to a Fusion Monster I control when it battles!"



Battle Fusion
Quick-Play Spell
When an attack is declared involving a Fusion Monster you control and an opponent's monster: That monster you control gains ATK equal to the ATK of the opponent's monster, until the end of the Damage Step. You can only activate 1 "Battle Fusion" per turn.



"Called it," Sunset smirked at Twilight, giving her a sidelong glance.

"I already said you were probably right!" Twilight whispered back.

First of the Dragons' body surged with blue lightning as its power increased from 2,700 to an immense 6,675; placing a numerical difference of its original Attack Points between itself and Dark Rebellion in a similar manner to how the latter's Monster Effect worked. The much larger monster pulled back a clawed wing and slammed the smaller dragon into the ground -- an even larger sequence of vibrations humming out through the Duel Field in response. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon let out a cry of pain and burst into a multitude of shards of light before fading completely from the field.

Onyx grimaced at the sight as his "LP" -- or "Life Point" -- counter appeared above his head and dropped from its default value of 4,000 all the way down to a mere 1,300.

"So; that's what those are for," Sunset noted. "Guess that's why they were so focused on their monsters' Attack Points."

Buster grinned and barked out a laugh when the smoke cleared and he saw that his monster's attack had gone through and destroyed Onyx's own. "See? Nothing to be afraid of! My Battle Fusion's effect ends with the Damage Step; but now that you don't have any monsters on your side of the field, it doesn't even matter! Go ahead and take your turn, Onyx! Mine's over!"

Onyx nodded and drew a card from his Deck. "I'll do just that, thanks. My move!"



TURN: FOUR
ONYX -- 1300 LP
HAND: 2
FIELD: 
- Spell/Trap Zone: [3 Set Cards]



"First things first: I'll activate my Set Trap Card, Xyz Reborn. This card allows me to target one Xyz Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it back to my Main Monster Zone -- after which it attaches itself to the monster as an Xyz Material. Come on back, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"



Xyz Reborn
Normal Trap
Target 1 Xyz Monster in your Graveyard, Special Summon it and attach this card to it as an Xyz Material.



And come back Dark Rebellion did, loosing a loud, vengeful roar as it emerged from the Graveyard; the emblem shown on Xyz Reborn turning into a new orb of light encircling the beast. It turned its gaze slowly on First of the Dragons and snarled in apparent disgust. It seemed being obliterated under its massive claw hadn't been a pleasant experience for the dark drake.

Buster's giddy smile did an impressive 180 degree flip straight into a disappointed frown. "Oh; come on! I literally just got rid of that thing!"

"And now it's back! Did you really think none of my face-down cards were put there in case you managed to defeat it? It's pretty integral to my strategy, after all."

Buster didn't really know what to say to that. "Well -- whatever! It's not like there was any point in reviving it, anyway! It's back down to only 2,500 ATK and only has one Xyz Material! Even if it did have two materials again, it wouldn't matter; because not only is my First of the Dragons immune to Monster Effects, but it can't be destroyed in battle by anything other than a Normal Monster! How do you plan to beat it without having access to a strong Normal Monster, huh?"

"That's easy," Onyx responded, grabbing one of the two cards in his hand. "With this: the Spell Card Xyz Energy! By detaching one Xyz Material from an Xyz Monster I control, I can target and destroy one face-up monster you control!"



Xyz Energy
Normal Spell
Detach 1 Xyz Material you control to target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls, destroy that target.



The single Xyz Material orbiting Dark Rebellion exploded in a glorious flash of light, enveloping the monster in a bright red aura. The dragon's cry rang out loud as the energy provided by Onyx's latest Spell Card flowed through its body and granted it enhanced power. It gathered the energy and released it outward in a burst of red light; enveloping a surprised First of the Dragons in its radiating heat. Buster's massive beast exploded into countless pieces before its projection could even touch the ground, leaving him shocked.

"No way!"

"Way. Without your 'unstoppable' dragon to protect you, it looks like your field's awful empty now," Onyx observed as he scanned his opponent's Zones -- a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Guess that means it's my turn to do some damage, Buster. Let's Battle!"

Onyx's dragon responded gleefully by taking off into the air as electricity skipped across its form once again.

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Onyx declared, raising his hand toward the sky. "Make a direct attack on Buster's Life Points!" he finished with a dramatic flourish.

The dragon in question, covered in violet electricity, dived quickly toward the ground, stopping short with a mighty slam just in front of Buster. Its golden eyes gleamed brightly as it swiped violently upwards with the spiked protrusions jutting out from its jaw -- the projection passing directly through the Duelist; who stumbled backward, barely managing to catch himself as his Life Points decreased from 4,000 to 1,500.

"I'll end my turn there. Think you can come back from this, Buster?"

Buster's frustration was blatantly apparent, but despite his overwhelming disadvantage he seemed perfectly ready to continue. "It's not over until my Life Points hit zero! It's my turn; so I'll draw!"



TURN: FIVE
BUSTER -- 1500 LP
HAND: 1
FIELD: 
- N/A



Call of the Haunted? Buster thought, eyeing his newly drawn card. This is just what I needed! I can't use this to bring back my First of the Dragons due to its Summoning restriction -- but I can revive Rabidragon and use it to stomp Onyx's Dark Rebellion all over again. "I'll Set the card I just drew and end my turn there," he declared as he placed the card face-down on his field.

Onyx raised an eyebrow at Buster's single Set card and laughed. "Resorting to top-decks now, huh? Don't feel bad. I'll finish this up quick. It's my last turn now! Draw!"



TURN: SIX
ONYX -- 1300 LP
HAND: 2
FIELD: 
- Main Monster Zone: [Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Attack Position; 2500 ATK; 0 OLU
- Spell/Trap Zone: [2 Set Cards]



Buster's eyes lit up as he stepped in to make his move before Onyx could continue. "I activate my Trap Card!" he declared, his last hope revealing itself on the field. "Call of the Haunted! This Trap Card allows me to summon back one monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position! Come on back, Rabidragon!" he beckoned as a hole opened in the space beneath his own Monster Zones. 



Call of the Haunted
Continuous Trap
Activate this card by targeting 1 monster in your GY, Special Summon that target in Attack Position. When this card leaves the field, destroy that target. When that target is destroyed, destroy this card.



A claw shot up from the hole as Buster's dragon returned from the great beyond. "Looks like you're not the only one with an undying dragon, Onyx!"

"See -- the difference here is pretty simple, actually," said Onyx, undeterred by Buster's Trap. "Xyz Reborn doesn't come with the same kind of danger your card does."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that your monster is now hanging on by a thread due to Call of the Haunted's status as a Continuous Trap Card. And that thread is one that any self-respecting Duelist should be able to cut with ease! Like this, for example: I activate my Set Quick-Play Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon!"



Mystical Space Typhoon
Quick-Play Spell
Target 1 Spell/Trap on the field, destroy that target.



Buster stepped back as Onyx's newly revealed card whipped up a virtual whirlwind that blew his Trap Card away -- and prevented his monster's rebirth in the process. "But -- I needed that!" he protested, now completely out of both cards and options.

"I know. If it's any consolation: you put up a good fight. Now -- let's get to the good part. I enter my Battle Phase!" Onyx called as his dragon readied itself to attack once again. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; let's end this right here and now! Attack Buster's Life Points directly!" he cried out as his monster swooped down and swung at his opponent once again.

Buster closed his eyes and accepted his loss, not even flinching as the dragon's fangs passed through him and his Life Points dropped to a flat zero. "Guess that's game," he sighed.



DUEL END
WINNER: ONYX




"DUEL COMPLETE;
POWERING DOWN SOLID VISION SYSTEM;
DUEL FIELD: OFFLINE."


Onyx breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the automatic announcement system returned in full force with his triumph. That was actually a pretty close call. That first turn of his convinced me he wasn't going to have any cards with such potent effects. Shows what I get for underestimating him, he pondered; placing his various cards back into his Deck and -- in the case of his hard-working ace, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon -- his Extra Deck.

"Hey! Onyx!" Buster called out; pulling Onyx's attention away from his cards. He stood tall and ambled his way across the Duel Field with a slight frown, lacking much of his previous bravado. "That was... a really good game," he admitted, stopping in front of Onyx but avoiding direct eye contact. "Thought I had you for sure at the end, there."

Onyx blinked, taken aback by Buster's more laid-back attitude -- but his surprise was swiftly pushed aside by the snort he wasn't able to repress in time. "You definitely got close; that's for sure. The way you managed to blast over my Dark Rebellion with First of the Dragons and Battle Fusion was pretty cool. Not enough people using good old-fashioned ATK-boosting effects these days."

"Yeah," Buster replied, scratching the back of his head. "Well; it's no fun if only one of us has something on the line, so... here."

Onyx was shocked when Buster took the Battle Fusion Spell Card from the Graveyard slot on his Duel Disk's main component and placed it into his hand. "Huh? But we never agreed to anything like this."

"Don't think it's such a huge deal. I have a spare I can replace it with back home, is all." Buster turned and lazily waved back at his opponent. "Just know that I'll take you and your dragon down for real next time," he added. Before he could get too far he abruptly stopped and turned to face the middle-school boy he had been dealing with and muttered a quick apology before continuing on his way.

Onyx smiled a little at Buster's retreating form. That felt almost like progress. Shouldn't have to worry about him messing with the local kids anymore, at the very least. "I'd like to see you try! Come back anytime!" he yelled out after the other Duelist. Buster only offered him a quick glance in return and continued down the path away from the arena. He glanced at Battle Fusion again and shook his head. It's too bad I can't actually use this. Maybe someday I'll try and mess around with it. I actually have a card in mind, thinking about it...

Meanwhile, amongst the spectators who had taken to chatting excitedly about the Duel as a whole to anyone and everyone around them, Sunset Shimmer was mostly just lost in thought. 

Of course the game had been exciting to watch; though it had been a mere six turns -- a fact an excited Twilight Sparkle was apparently very taken with, given the way she kept bringing it up as she conversed animatedly with another audience member -- but Sunset was more preoccupied with the strange feelings she had gotten from Onyx's Xyz Monster. The way its bright yellow eyes seemed to gaze directly into her own... and the way it seemed to "emote" so much more than the other holographic creatures didn't sit right with her at all.

It's like no one else even noticed anything, either, she thought. Surely I wasn't just seeing things; right? No. No, there was definitely something weird about that dragon. I need to trust my gut feeling on this one. I want to check it out; maybe even have Twilight examine it to test if there's any strange readings coming from it, but how would I even go about...?

"Hey, Sunset?" Twilight asked; looking at Sunset. "Do you think we could ask that Onyx guy to show us how to play Duel Monsters?"

"Uh." Well. That might be a good place to start. "You think he would?"

Twilight shrugged. "Maybe? It seems like it could be a good potential hobby to keep in mind, at least. You and the other girls are always trying to tell me that I need more of those."

Sunset's lips curled into a smile. "You just want to be able to read and do all kinds of math without us bothering or teasing you, huh?"

Twilight sputtered and opened her mouth to protest, but closed it after a few short moments. "It does seem fun."

"Can't exactly say I disagree. I wanted to talk to him about something, too; so it couldn't hurt to ask. Let's go," Sunset said, breaking away from the slowly dispersing crowd toward Onyx -- currently signing the Duel Disk of an excited Duelist who had recorded his match with Buster on his cell phone.

"Talk to him about something?" Twilight wondered. "What do you mean?"

Sunset slowed a bit and clicked her tongue, pondering briefly if she should tell Twilight the truth. She eventually decided it was for the best, because -- as the memory of an uncharacteristically serious Pinkie reminded her -- "Friends don't keep secrets from other friends, Sunset Shimmer!" 

"Did you notice anything 'strange' happen during the Duel?" Sunset finally asked, stopping to twirl around and look at Twilight, folding her arms across her chest.

"Strange? How so?"

"Well..." Sunset hoped that Twilight would be receptive to her concerns given the abnormality they seemed to attract wherever they went. "Like when Onyx Summoned his Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and it looked right at me? Or the way it was so much more expressive than the other monsters -- like when it kind of laughed at Buster's First of the Dragons before it attacked?"

Twilight furrowed her brow and hummed. "I didn't see it look at you, but I did notice its whole demeanor seemed more fleshed-out than the others. I just figured that was how it was programmed to act. You think it's something else?"

Sunset nodded. "I'm not sure or anything, but that's the vibe I'm getting. The same vibe I get when dealing with... you know, the usual stuff," she finished with an awkward sort of wave of her hands; letting a certain word hang, unsaid, in the air.

"Magical stuff?" Twilight filled in the term for Sunset with a frown. "I don't know about that; but I trust you if you think this is something we should take a closer look at. I guess that's a good enough reason to talk to him. We can ask him how to teach us later or look it up online, at worst. If you think something dangerous is going on here, then -- "

"Actually," Sunset cut in, holding up an open palm. "If something is going on here, I don't think it's anything particularly dangerous."

"You don't?"

"Not yet, anyway -- let's not jump to conclusions. Right now I just want to be able to confirm or deny my suspicions before I decide what to do about it, if there's even anything to do about it at all. Asking him to teach us about the game might be the most effective way. I can't think of many other reasons he'd let us get close enough to his favorite card, otherwise," Sunset reasoned.

"Hey; so I don't know what kind of conspiracy theories you're hatching over there, but did somebody mention needing to ask me something?" came Onyx's voice, much closer than either girl had been expecting. Sunset and Twilight both jumped back in surprise, much to Onyx's amusement. "My bad. Did I interrupt?"

"N-no; you're fine. Sorry about that," Sunset replied. "But you're right, we did want to talk to you."

"You want to talk about learning how Duel Monsters works?" Onyx guessed with a quirked eyebrow. In response to Twilight and Sunset's widening eyes he laughed. "You spent the whole Duel making confused, yet mildly interested commentary. I'm guessing that was the first time you've seen the game in action and you got all curious about it. Go ahead and stop me if I'm wrong, though!"

"You're actually exactly right," Twilight confirmed. "Do you think you can teach us?"

"Well; I'm no professional teacher, but I think I can set you two on the right track to becoming Duelists -- if that's what you want. Here, uh..." he began, trailing off as he sifted through the pockets of his jacket for a moment. His face lit up as he found what he had been searching for -- a pencil and a pad of paper. He scribbled an address and a few words and handed the paper to Sunset Shimmer with a smile. "Come to that shop on Sunday if you're still interested by then -- the rear entrance, specifically. Any time past ten in the morning is fine with me. Catch you guys, then!" he added cheerfully, turning to respond to the enthusiastically waving hands of another group of spectators.

Twilight Sparkle blinked and looked down at the paper in Sunset's hand. "Huh. That was easy."

"That it was," Sunset agreed. "Too easy, maybe?"

"I'm not sure. Do you think we should invite the other girls? Just in case this is something we should be dealing with, I mean."

Sunset Shimmer's mind wandered back to the look in Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's eyes and her body shook. "That might be a good idea. For now we should head home. I want to do a little bit of preemptive research before Sunday comes along."

"Ooh, ooh! Can I come? I love research!"

Sunset smiled at Twilight's excited expression. "You sure do. Why not? Let's get going."
> From the Ground Up; School's in Session!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Onyx groaned quietly as he rolled his shoulder and neck; his stiff joints making disturbingly audible popping noises, much to his dismay. Ugh. I was a lot more okay with coming in today to teach those girls when I made the offer, but the increase in bizarre noises and weird dreams I'm dealing with are making it way harder to get any good sleep, he thought while checking to make sure the shop's signs were all left in the "Closed" positions and the front entrance was locked up nice and tight so no one would try to come in asking for his help on a non-business day.

Some people just really didn't like reading the "Business Hours" sign. It was right there!

The owner of the local card store "One/Two Shuffle!!," -- Onyx's boss -- had agreed long ago to his request to use the store's back room as a makeshift card game classroom of sorts to use on Sundays or as needed, since it only operated as a business from Monday through Friday and opened itself as a local hangout/venue on Saturdays. Due to its multipurpose nature, there were always extra tables and and other kinds of equipment related to tabletop gaming stored in the back for a variety of occasions.

Onyx glanced at the wall-mounted digital clock. 11:45 a.m. They either lost interest or just decided to sleep in. I can respect that. Kind of wish I'd gone with noon, now that I'm thinking about it. He went into the back room and set up a table and a chair for his own use -- but made sure it was big enough to put additional chairs around it if the need arose. Pulling the box containing his Duel Monsters Deck out of his backpack, Onyx laid the cards out on the table with the intention to review his last few Duels and make adjustments based on his performance -- but was stopped abruptly when he heard a rapid series of knocks on the door leading to the alley behind the shop.

"Yo! You in there, weird guy?"

"Rainbow Dash! You cannot just simply refer to him as 'weird guy' -- it's very rude!"

"Yeah; well -- so's your face, Rarity!" came the first voice's snappy retort.

An audible gasp and a huff. "Very mature."

Another series of knocks, much more subdued that the first sounded out. "Onyx?" Now there was a voice the man in question found more familiar. The one with the fiery hair. "Didn't skip out on us, did you?"

"Nope; I'll be right there!" Onyx called out. He grunted as he rose from his seat and rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up a bit. Can't be looking like a wreck in front of my new "students"; bad first impressions never go over well in the long run. It sounds like they brought some friends along, too -- going to have to adjust for that a bit.

As he opened the door, an almost alarming number of teenage girls piled into the room one after another. The two that Onyx had only heard behind the door were still bickering about "proper manners" and the like, while the two he had met at the park were whispering amongst themselves and to a new person -- this girl sporting a seemingly out-of-place, but oddly fitting Stetson hat -- in a somewhat conspiratorial tone. The final two girls seemed like polar opposites; one excitedly checking out the room in a blur of color and motion while the other appeared just about ready to fold in on herself and pop out of existence at any given moment.

Onyx took a moment to closely consider the girls in front of him since they seemed more preoccupied with each other than himself at the moment. The girl with the blazing hair wore an outfit similar to the one she had worn at the park: a simple, casual set adorned with the same leather jacket she had worn before. The slight wear and tear of the material indicated she wore it often.

The other girl he had met in the park -- the one with the dark blue hair streaked with pink and purple -- adjusted her glasses as her eyes met his. She half-smiled a little nervously before going back to her hushed conversation. She wore a more formal outfit: a short-sleeve buttoned shirt and a pleated skirt. It gave a professional and well-composed sort of feel to her appearance; in contrast to her expressive face and mannerisms.

Eastwood kept stealing glances at him as Onyx eyed the group. Onyx could only guess by the logo embroidered on her clothing that she worked for that local apple orchard farm... thing he heard so much about. He had yet to try any of their products, as apples weren't really his thing -- something he was gradually regretting. Her muscles were toned and her skin was tanned from doing hard, manual labor out in the sun. Ony didn't like the way she kept regarding him as if he'd done something wrong.

The fourth girl he recognized as the one who had called him "weird guy." That didn't bode well. Did the other two girls describe him as being weird? A sort of mild offense flared up in his mind, but he quickly banished it as to not betray any kind of unpleasant expression. This one seemed more athletic than the others; wearing a jogging hoodie and shorts. Onyx's attention was drawn more to her hair than the rest of her, though. A mess of windswept, multicolored hair sat atop her head in a way that screamed "check me out, I'm so cool!" It worked for her, though -- made her stand out in the crowd right away.

The one arguing with the rainbow-haired girl had a high-class air to her that Onyx couldn't quite explain. Perhaps it was the way her perfectly-coiffed wavy hair seemed to shine or the obvious quality of her designer clothing, but something definitely suggested she was very into trends and fashion. Onyx debated whether or not this snarky in-his-head commentary was necessary in this situation, and eventually decided that it totally was. Her filed and manicured nails unnerved Onyx in a way he couldn't understand. Perhaps it was the way the pointed nails seemed like sharp little knives on the ends of her fingers? He shook his head and decided not to think about that any longer.

The super uncomfortable-looking young woman just kept herself occupied by twirling a finger through her long, pink hair. She made absolutely sure that she was looking at anything but Onyx at all times -- teal eyes darting around the room to make sure there was not so much as a second of accidental eye contact. Onyx couldn't quite understand why she was there if she was this bad around strangers, but resolved to leave the direct contact with her to her friends. He didn't want to make her even more uncomfortable than she already was.

As for the final girl -- oh. She was directly in front of Onyx's face. He didn't really know what to do about that, so he just kind of stared at her for a few seconds.

"Hiya! What'cha looking at?" she asked cheerfully. Her poofy pink hair bounced with her movements and Onyx was oddly compelled to follow one particular curly strand, as it seemed to keep its shape no matter what the energetic girl did.

"Uh. Right now... I'm staring at you, I guess?" Onyx replied, taking a tentative step back. "My bad."

"That's okay! I was staring at you, too; so that makes us even! I think. Anyway, my name is Pinkie Pie! What's yours?"

Onyx cleared his throat; caught a little off-guard by Pinkie's high energy. "I'm Onyx. Technically my full name is 'Ashen Onyx,' but I used to know someone named 'Ashy Skies' so I've gone by just Onyx for quite a few years now out of habit. Helped avoid confusion back then, and it just sort of... stuck."

"Okay; Onyx it is! Ooh -- unless I can call you Ashie?"

"I feel like that would be kind of confusing, Pinkie," chimed in the athletic rainbow girl. "You already call me 'Dashie' and those are pretty much the same."

"Aw; you're right! I'll stick with Onyx for now, then. It's nice to meet you!" Pinkie exclaimed, grabbing Onyx's hand and giving it a thorough and intense shaking. Onyx swore he could hear -- and feel -- his brain rattling around in his head like a loose marble.

"N-Nice to meet you, too, Pinkie Pie," he managed to get out through his newfound dizziness. "Quite a handshake you've got there."

"Thanks; I practiced in front of the mirror this morning!"

A beat passed in complete silence. "What?"

"Okay, okay; enough about her!" the rainbow girl spoke up again. She slid swiftly in front of Pinkie Pie and pushed her lightly back and out of the way. "Lots of introductions to get through and not enough time for your... randomness." She turned and struck a confident pose, her chest puffed out and her grin wide. "My name is Rainbow Dash. Try to keep up, 'weird guy' Onyx!" she continued, turning to stick her tongue out at the offended fashionista.

Onyx shook his head slowly, but smiled all the same. "I'll do my best, 'loud girl' Rainbow Dash."

"Hey! Pinkie Pie is way louder than I am!" Rainbow Dash protested, rather loudly for someone who apparently wasn't very loud.

"Whatever you say, Rainbow."

The farmhand actually chuckled at this -- much to Onyx's relief -- and stepped up next. Onyx noticed her emerald green eyes held much less suspicion than they had previously... but it was still present. "Not bad; Dash here needs people around to keep her in check and indulge her little back 'n' forths from time to time. Name's Applejack," she said, giving a little tip of the brim of her hat. "'s a pleasure to meet you, partner."

"You too, Applejack! I was worried you didn't like me for a minute there," Onyx admitted, unable to contain the small bout of nervous laughter that had bubbled up inside of him.

"Well; I haven't known you long enough to have any sort of real opinion on you. You're okay in my book for now, but just know I am a little wary of you. Nothin' personal." Applejack shrugged. "Just lookin' out for my own, is all."

Onyx nodded slowly in understanding. "I get it; makes sense. I'll try to stay in your good graces, then."

"I'd appreciate that. Alright; who's next?"

"I'll accept that invitation, Applejack. Wouldn't want to keep our gracious host waiting much longer, non?" the stylish girl asked. "Dear Onyx, allow me to introduce myself. I am Rarity, an up-and-coming fashion designer -- who will one day rise up and take the world by storm!" she announced proudly, before deftly handing Onyx a small, yet practical and modern-looking business card. "I can tell you seem to be fond of the 'dark and mysterious' look, but perhaps drop by sometime and allow me to fix up something a tad nicer for you to wear?"

Onyx frowned down at his choice of clothing for the day. "What's wrong with a tee shirt and jeans?" Sure, the colors were a bit dark, but he loved this outfit! Granted, it wasn't exactly exciting to look at, but it suited him just fine -- or so he thought, at least.

"It's just so drab, darling! Don't get me wrong, it's not awful, per se -- but you lack the proper accessories to make anything about your appearance pop, and when you're wearing such a dark color palette, all of.. well, to be blunt, all of you just sort of fades away into the shadows. It's most unfortunate."

Onyx blinked. He tried to process what she was saying, but he ended up more confused than anything else. "I don't really get fashion."

"You don't have to; that's why I'm here! We can discuss this another time, though -- I can actually feel Applejack and Rainbow Dash's disapproval growing as we speak," Rarity said as she turned to the two in question. "What ever is the problem? I'm just giving him some advice, is all."

"Let the dude wear what he wants, Rare."

"I'm gonna have to agree with Dash on this one here, Rarity. Leave 'im be."

"But -- " Rarity began to protest.

Onyx glanced at the image on the rear side of the business card, recognizing it after a brief tussle with his memory of the surrounding area. "Huh. I know this place. It's actually pretty highly praised -- good quality clothing and accessories all around. I'll think about stopping by... but only if the stuff you have in mind's not too expensive. This place doesn't pay that well."

Rarity blinked. "Of course! I'll get to sketching some ideas right when I return home!" she cried out giddily, actually squeeing in delight. After a moment she stopped to collect herself and cleared her throat in a graceful and elegant manner. "If you really want me to, that is."

And here I was thinking she was going to be a handful. "Of course, my lady," Onyx replied with an intentionally cheesy and over the top bow; received about as expected by a chorus of groans and a single amused giggle. "So who's up next? We're almost through the whole class."





As Onyx spoke to the other girls -- plenty distracted by their unexpected but not unwelcome presence -- Sunset Shimmer's keen eyes wandered over to the table where his Deck lay unprotected. She was gripped by a sudden idea. She eased slowly over to the table as to avoid rousing any suspicion; and sure enough the card she had been looking for was left out in plain view: Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. She glanced quickly over in Twilight's direction, and as their eyes met for a fleeting moment they nodded in unison. Sunset reached her hand out slowly until it was placed firmly over the card.

A brief twinge of pain suddenly shot through her head and she recoiled from the card, careful not to make too much noise. Almost immediately after she removed her hand from the innocent-looking slip of cardboard the pain ceased entirely. Sunset's eyes shot toward Twilight again, greatly alarmed; and the other girl looked just as bothered -- apparently having noticed Sunset's reaction.

There is definitely something strange going on here. Probably magical. It's almost always magical. Sunset bit her lip and glanced anxiously at the card again. She reached for it again in an effort to provoke the same reaction.

As Sunset's hand reached the artwork of the armored dragon she was filled with a strange sense of fear.

A low, threatening growl sounded in her ears.

Sunset pulled her hand back once more and walked away from the table as quickly as she could without looking like she was about to freak out.

She was totally about to freak out.





"I'll go next!" the fiery girl volunteered quickly. She looked a bit frazzled and her voice held a certain edge to it. "My name is Sunset Shimmer. We met a few days ago, but I didn't really introduce myself back then. It's nice to meet you in a more official sense, Onyx."

Must have had something on her mind. "You as well, Sunset. Honestly; I didn't expect you to bring quite so many friends along with you when you showed up. How did you manage to convince all of them to spend their precious Sunday with some random stranger learning how to play a nerdy card game?"

"Well, we may not look it at first glance, but we're all very well-versed in the fantasy genre. It wasn't too difficult to convince them when I mentioned magic and monsters were involved," Sunset offered with a grin; technically telling Onyx the whole, honest truth. Sort of. "Plus, Rainbow Dash watched one of the cell phone recordings of your Duel with Buster online and she said... what was it, Rainbow?"

"That your dragon thing was the bomb! I mean, did you see it?! I mean; of course you saw it, Onyx. But it was all like fwoom and then bzzt and then -- and then -- " Rainbow recounted, doing her best impression of Onyx's Dark Rebellion with all the enthusiasm her wildly flailing arms could muster.

" -- and then it was all like 'GROOOAAHHH' and fwing and it blew up all those other dragons and then hit Buster's weak point for massive damage!" Pinkie Pie finished with a wide sweeping motion, picking up right where Rainbow Dash had trailed off. "It was so cool! It looked like such a fun game! You get to blow stuff up almost every single turn!"

Sunset nodded her head toward the other two. "Those two were the easiest to convince."

"That's fair. The -- admittedly kind of weird -- advanced hologram technology is certainly a solid eye-catch for most new players, if nothing more." Onyx sighed as he remembered the old days where playing on a table on a custom mat in an overly crowded room was the coolest playing his favorite card game ever got. "I'm glad to hear it. Alright; two left, right? Or, uh, just one?" he asked, glancing over at the lone girl in the corner.

Glasses Girl spoke up next: "I'll go. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry about that, by the way; it's not that she's specifically trying to avoid you or anything. Fluttershy just isn't very good with meeting new people. She's very..."

"Shy?" Onyx offered with a shrug.

Twilight nodded. "She should be able introduce herself to you when she gets a bit more comfortable around you. I'm also sorry we didn't contact you in advance about bringing all these extra people along with us. We're a very close-knit group, you see; so we do almost everything together these days. It's not going to be a problem or anything, is it?"

"I don't think so; no. I'm pretty sure this is a 'the more the merrier!' kind of deal. Except the smallish space thing, I guess? Would have probably tried to clean this place up a bit better to provide a little extra leg room if I'd known we'd be eight instead of three," Onyx replied, frowning at all the cluttered floor space he could probably have been putting to good use if he'd been more thorough. Maybe he'd give it a shot when he was feeling better -- less exhausted.

Applejack pulled a chair up to a larger circle-shaped table set out in the middle of the room and sat down. "I'm sure it'll be just fine, considerin' we're only gonna be playin' a game o' cards. None o' them fancy-schmancy holo-whatsits like in the videos, right?"

Onyx nodded. "Those only appear if you play the game with a 'Duel Disk' -- the peripheral I was wearing on my wrist in those same videos; and those are a bit too expensive for me to just hand out to practice with. One of those things you'll only buy if and or when you decide you'd like to make a fairly substantial commitment to the game."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at him. "How substantial?"

"... Fairly."

"So basically: they're really expensive. Darn! I was totally going to get one. Maybe when I save up some extra spending cash," Rainbow sighed as she sat down next to Applejack. "So are we going to learn anything soon, or is this whole 'class' of yours just going to be a bunch of introductions?"

"Huh, well I'll be." Applejack shook her head solemnly. "Rainbow Dash: actually excited to learn something. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Hey! I was excited to learn how to play the guitar!"

"Speaking of learning," Twilight interrupted as she joined her sitting friends, pulling an alarming variety of items from her bag considering its modest size -- including multiple calculators; several small notepads, pens, and pencils; what appeared to be some sort of actual written report; among other things -- and placing them on the table between them. "After a bit of prior research, I decided to bring along anything I thought might be helpful in learning the exact ins and outs of Duel Monsters. I'll be sure to take lots of notes! I already read up on the basic rules and reviewed Onyx's Duel with Buster a handful of times, but it can never hurt to have too many resources to pull data from!"

The rest of the room turned to stare at her in silence. She coughed nervously and smiled.

Onyx shook his head slowly. "At this point; you might already make a better teacher than me. I'll do my best to live up to your expectations, I guess?"

"That'd be great!"

"Alright; everyone else who's interested take your seats around me -- except you, Fluttershy. You can sit wherever you want. Just be careful not to break anything. I'd rather not get fired. I kind of like this place," Onyx announced. The rest of the girls complied and sat around the central table -- a few of them even grabbed some of Twilight's "study tools" -- and looked expectantly to him.

Onyx cleared his throat and tried his best to sound like he knew what he was talking about. "Now; it sounds like most of you have already seen a real Duel in action, but I should probably start with the most basic of basics to make sure we don't miss anything important. First off: the three major types of cards..."





"Okay, Rare; since you're wide open -- I can have my monster attack you directly for game!" Rainbow Dash declared as she tapped her Monster Card soundly on the playing mat that had been positioned closer to Rarity, who huffed and crossed her arms as she checked the math and discovered that Rainbow Dash had indeed wiped out the remainder of her Life Points.

"That's no fair! You already practiced against Applejack, and I was still figuring out how to properly follow the rules!" she whined -- or, complained, as it were -- as she picked up her cards. "I demand a rematch!"

Rainbow only laughed boisterously at Rarity's determination. "To be fair: you already practiced against Twilight. But you really want a rematch, huh? Fine; I accept! Try as hard as you want, you won't ever take me down!"

"We'll see about that!"

"Don't forget to have fun, you two," Onyx reiterated from his position leaned against the wall. "Can't tell you how many times I've forgotten to do that, myself. It's always nice to win, but it shouldn't be the most important thing. Not all the time, at least."

"Yes, sir!" Rainbow Dash called back with a quick two-fingered salute.

"He told you to stop calling him that, Rainbow," Rarity pointed out as she idly -- and a tad awkwardly -- shuffled her own practice Deck.

"And I decided to ignore him! So there!"

"I call winner!" Pinkie shouted as she bounced over to Rainbow Dash's side to peek at her cards while she played.

"You're on!"

Onyx smiled and relaxed against the flat surface behind him. He was glad to see that some of the girls had taken to the game in a pretty astonishing way, and were more than excited to throw down against each other in order to get the hang of things quicker.

Fluttershy had even come out of her "designated anxiety corner" and joined the rest of her friends at the circular table; looking substantially more comfortable than she had earlier. Twilight, studious as she was, continued to make note of every single little interaction the cards had with each other on the board -- no matter how simple they seemed.

"Something the matter?" Sunset asked -- causing Onyx to jolt a little -- as she leaned against the wall beside him with her arms folded across her chest.

Onyx turned to face her, puzzled. "Not really. Why?"

Sunset shrugged and looked back at her friends as they enjoyed their newfound activity. "Your eyes. I didn't notice it until a few minutes ago, but they're different from when I first met you. They're more... tired than they were that day. That, and you totally have bags under them. Not sleeping well lately?"

"... Not really; no," Onyx admitted. "I've been having weird dreams and hearing strange noises at night. I think I'm spending too much time cooped up at home or in this place, as of late. Either that; or I'm literally going insane. I'm trying to be optimistic and assuming it's the former."

"Dreams and... noises?" Sunset asked, interest piqued.

Onyx sighed. "Yeah. Nightmares -- or just the one, actually -- about the same thing again and again. I always remember seeing everything before while it's happening, but the details get all fuzzy once I wake up. Stupid, right?"

"I wouldn't say that. I used to have nightmares, myself. We've all been there." Sunset glanced at a pile of cards separate from the practice Decks the girls had been issued as part of their "schooling" -- suspicions aroused anew. "What about those sounds?" she asked.

Onyx paused for a few seconds. "Sometimes it sounds like something's growling at me; like a wild, rabid dog. Sometimes it's little whispers in my ears. I think they're trying to tell me... to get on a healthier sleep schedule," he joked, smiling at Sunset despite the fact that it honestly seemed to be a problem for him.

"That's... worrying. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah; I'm sure. Sorry, you know, I didn't mean to bother you with any of that." Onyx pushed off of the wall and shrugged. "You're just very easy to talk to, I suppose. We should get back to the group and see how they're doing," he continued -- eager to change the topic of conversation as soon as possible.

Sunset looked after him with a frown as Onyx quickly strode his way over to the other girls surrounding the table with a big, cheerful grin on his face. Her eyes wandered once again to the card that had been on her mind for quite some time; now sure exactly why it had managed to impact her so.

I should tell the others about this, she decided. We can talk about what we want to do about it from there. I just hope this doesn't get too out of hand... I'd rather get to know everything I can about this before someone ends up hurt.
> INTERLUDE: "In the Dark"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashen Onyx hated "The Nightmare" with a deep, unfettered passion. He hated the nightmare in the way he hated writing long-winded, pretentious essays for English classes back in high school and thinking about paying taxes and bills. He hated those things a lot.

This "nightmare" of his had been plaguing him for some time now -- several months, at least -- but had picked up in frequency and intensity since his Duel with Buster, and even more so since he had spent his Sunday teaching those seven girls all about Duel Monsters. The dream would always repeat the same old formula with a few minor variations here and there, almost like a bad television program. How Onyx wished he could just change the channel.

There he stood in an empty, black void. Naught but cold air and dark, widespread nothingness as far as his eyes could see. He would wait in one spot -- rooted firmly to the ground -- until a figure would slowly rise up from the blackness as if it were stepping out of a pool. It was always humanoid, but featureless and blurred. It would stand motionless for a few moments and would suddenly reel back, clutching its head. A colored fog, never twice the exact hue as before, would emerge from nowhere and snake its way around the figure as it fell to its knees in pain. The fog would slowly form some kind of creature. Never the same. Never complete. The fog creature would envelop the figure in one of two ways: protectively as if they were attempting to use their own bodies as a shield, or hungrily -- as if they moved to devour their accompanying figure... and then the darkness would swiftly overcome them both; leaving only petrified statues caught in a perpetual state of terror.

The process would repeat itself in erratic numbers. Sometimes Onyx would only see two or three figures be swallowed up by the aether. Sometimes twenty. He had tried to call out to them many times before -- but this realm was a silent one. He had stopped trying long ago. Only one sound permitted itself to exist here. Onyx knew what it was. It was always the same.

After the figures and their shadowy companions were all taken they would collapse and converge into the same dark purple fog. Onyx's fog, it seemed. It would slowly slink its way toward him and an incomplete, grotesque creature would rise up and gaze upon him with its glistening, tired eyes.

Bright, piercing yellow.

His ears heard would finally open up to that one sound: that all-too-familiar low-pitched, pitiful growl; but his mind processed them as the same sad words every single time.

"Help me," it would plead -- its voice somehow both terribly harsh and incredibly soothing all at once.

But Onyx could not help it. He could never help it. He couldn't even help himself. His closed throat did not even allow for him to say as such; only to watch as the creature stretched out its one fully-formed arm toward him in a desperate attempt to take him by the hand with its claws. Onyx always reached out to it as well, but he was never able to grasp it. Always so close; yet so far. 

And then the darkness would rise up, and consume them both.
> A Clash of Egos! Full Speed Ahead! [Part 1]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash never really thought of herself as a "normal" student.

She wasn't really big on having the best grades or being the smartest girl around, but she did do well enough to keep her parents and the school faculty happy and off her case; wanting to assure she never jeopardized her position in any of the many sports teams she'd affiliated herself with over the years. In terms of athletics, she was anything but normal -- extraordinary, some would say!

Not to mention she'd passed any sense of normalcy right on by when she'd been given magical powers from a parallel universe.

She found herself questioning what "normal" really was, however, when her magical dimension-traveling high schooler friend Sunset Shimmer gathered their group of friends together at lunch time to announce that she'd accidentally mind-probed a trading card with one of the most serious expressions Dash had ever seen on her -- and she was almost tempted to believe her.

Just another Monday at Canterlot High.

"Uh; Sunset?" Applejack shifted uncomfortably in her seat next to Rainbow. "I don't mean to go and sound like I don't believe you or nothin', but are y'sure you're feelin' all right? Been gettin' enough rest? Stayin' hydrated?"

Rainbow Dash could barely suppress a rising giggle fit upon seeing the look of poorly suppressed offense on Sunset's face. "Wh -- I wasn't hallucinating, Applejack! I'm not going insane!"

"I, uh, don't reckon that I said y'were."

"You pretty heavily implied it, though!"

"Well; in Sunset's defense, Applejack," Rarity chimed in from across the cafeteria table. "It's not exactly that strange when you think about all of the things we've been through since the last Fall Formal. Yes; it's a... bizarre tale, but I see no reason to dismiss it as mere fiction or make-believe just yet."

Pinkie Pie hummed in thought. "If everything Sunset's said has been true, I'm surprised Fluttershy wasn't the one who figured it out. Considering her whole shtick was being able to talk to animals and all. I mean -- dragons are basically just big reptiles -- and reptiles are animals, right? Wouldn't it make more sense that she'd have been able to hear it than Sunset?"

A moment passed in dead silence as several sets of eyes shifted sidelong towards Fluttershy; who shrunk back a bit at her newfound place smack dab in the center of attention.

"I, uh... well, I still don't know exactly how my magic works?" responded Fluttershy, toying with the geode hanging around her neck. "There's really any number of reasons I couldn't hear it. The critters back at the camp seemed very friendly and social, so I might not be able to hear it because it doesn't want to talk to me. Or something along those lines. I'm not even sure I would want to hear it if I could. I'm already scared of dragons, and this one -- though it may just be a drawing on a card -- doesn't seem very nice at all."

"I'll say. I'm just glad it didn't have teeth, or it probably would have bitten my hand clean off."

Rarity's face scrunched up in disgust. "Thank you for putting that delightful imagery in my head right in the middle of our meal, Sunset. Very appreciated."

"My bad."

"Blah, blah, severed limbs -- whatever! Where's Onyx even come into things here? Do you think he knows about any of this going down right under his nose?" Rainbow asked.

Sunset grimaced. "He told me he's been hearing weird noises and things, and having strange dreams. If I'm right; then they're probably a result of his dragon trying to communicate with him and failing pretty miserably. He said it's all been happening for quite a while."

Rainbow rested her elbows on the table and frowned. "Let me guess: long enough to have started sometime after the Fall Formal?"

"Basically? He was super vague, but I can only assume."

"So 're we thinkin' this here card o' his managed to soak up some of the Equestrian magic released by Princess Twilight's crown all that time ago? Is that even possible?" Applejack asked, scratching the back of her head beneath her hat.

Twilight scanned through a few other pages full of notes she had previously taken during the group's many magic discussion sessions. "Is it possible that his card became some sort of magical conduit, you mean? I'm not entirely sure -- but it's certainly a possibility. At least it sounds like it could be. Sunset?"

"Unfortunately; I'm not sure either. Right now, though? That's pretty much our best guess. Which makes me feel pretty bad, because in that case this whole thing at least partially my fault," Sunset replied. "I know I was a different person back then and I can't change the past and all of that stuff, but it's frustrating that I can't do anything to try and fix this screw up. Not yet, at least."

"So... what do we do?" Fluttershy asked, again twirling a strand of pink hair around her finger -- if only to have something to do with her hand. "What if Onyx is in danger? What if we're in danger?"

Twilight sighed and dropped her notes on the table. "I don't know if there's anything that we can do. Sunset told me that she didn't get the feeling that there was anything dangerous going on with him and his card, but who knows?"

Applejack looked around the table with a frown. "Well; we could always jus' -- I dunno -- tell Onyx, right?" she suggested with a shrug.

"Tell him? About the magical living trading card-slash-guard dog he has, and how it barked at Sunset when she got too close?" Rainbow scoffed. "I'm sure he'll totally believe us."

"Silly Dashie! It's a guard dragon, not a dog. It doesn't even bark! That'd be wild, huh? A barking dragon?"

"I know what it is, Pinkie! That wasn't the important part of what I was trying to say! My point is: if we try and tell him, he'll probably think we're all nuts --  like any normal person would -- and he won't listen."

Sunset groaned and flopped over on the table. "Rainbow's right. He'll think we're crazy if we go in without some kind of plan. If I wasn't in the middle of this whole thing I'd think we're crazy." She flicked a crumb off of the table and watched it soar away toward an adjacent table. "But at the same time, I totally see where AJ is coming from. For all we know, if he knew what was going on, maybe he'd be able to do something about it himself."

"Well, while he may accuse a bunch of complete strangers of being 'nuts,' perhaps the key is to attempt to earn his trust before we do anything else?" Rarity offered. "He might listen to us if we take the time to get to know and befriend him."

"But aren't we already his friends?" Pinkie asked.

Rarity drummed her fingers on the table. "I believe we're in more of a 'friendly, but not quite friends' situation. We have only known him for two days."

"So all we have to do is hang out with him some more? Sounds easy enough. We already have a reason to. Or -- I do -- at least." Rainbow ducked under the table and retrieved her backpack, shuffling around inside of it. "I have this!" she announced, placing a Duel Disk on the table.

Sunset sat up straight, surprised by Rainbow's new device. "You bought one of those? When?!"

"This morning. I woke up early so I'd have extra time to visit the shop on the way here! Before we left on Sunday, I asked him for some pointers and suggestions and he told me to come back tomorrow -- which, I guess, was today -- so I did just that. Got myself some of my own cards and one of these disk things. It's an older model so it was cheaper than a new one would have been."

"Wow. You got way more into this game than I expected you to."

"It seems cool! Plus, I'm always into finding new things to rock at. Everything works out!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Except for the fact you've never been the most... 'receptive' student. At least not in my experience."

"History isn't cool, Twilight! There are no dragons in history class!" Rainbow shot back defensively. "It's not my fault!"

"History is just as interesting as dragons, Rainbow Dash -- if not more!"

"You take that back!"

"You're all very loud today, aren't you, Rainbooms?" a new voice asked from the table over. The group of magical teens turned to see one Trixie Lulamoon -- the self-claimed performer extraordinaire -- eyeing up their group, obviously annoyed. "Trixie can't even hear herself think over your... " She trailed off, her eyes affixing themselves to the Duel Disk and cards Rainbow had left unattended. "You play?"

Rainbow blinked, glancing back and forth between Trixie and her new equipment. "What?"

"Duel Monsters. You play?"

"Er, kind of? I just started yesterday. Picked up my stuff this morning!" Rainbow declared proudly.

Trixie -- who had seemed interested, at first -- faltered. "Oh. Trixie was hoping for a match, but it wouldn't be fair of her to crush an amateur that just picked up her first Deck. Forget Trixie said anything," she said, turning back to her own table to check her phone.

"Whoa, whoa!" Rainbow interjected. "Amateur?! You trying to pick a fight?"

Trixie turned back to Rainbow, an eyebrow quirked. "Not really. Trixie can only assume you've only played a few practice matches, if even. Trixie, on the other hand, has been playing for quite a while. It would be in bad taste to pick on a new player like yourself. Not to mention that it wouldn't be satisfying in the slightest to beat you as you are now."

"Pff! You think you're so tough? We can do this right here and now, if you think you really can beat me!"

Sunset reached over and put her hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "Relax. She's got a point. Experience is a big factor when it comes to strategy games and the like. If she really has been at this for some time, you'll be at a serious disadvantage."

Rainbow grit her teeth, but the tension building in her seemed to dissipate. "I know! She didn't have to say it all like that, though."

Trixie looked over her shoulder, then back to her phone, then back over her shoulder again. She sighed. She muttered something to herself before standing up and facing Rainbow Dash. "Fine. We'll Duel after school lets out today. Something about 'learning by doing,' or whatever. Trixie urges you to remember who challenged who when she beats you!"

Rainbow Dash perked up at this, and as the lunch bell rang, she grinned at her soon-to-be-opponent. "You're on!"





True to her word, Trixie was waiting for Rainbow Dash at the rear side of the main school building after classes had come to an end for the day. She seemed more interested in her mobile device than anything else -- much how she had been earlier in the day -- but she pocketed it upon noticing the Rainbooms approaching her.

"So; you didn't chicken out after all, Rainbow Dash. The Great and Powerful Trixie is ready to teach you everything you need to know about Duel Monsters! If you're ready for her, that is," she said, placing her hands on her hips and smirking smugly at the flustered athlete.

"I'm more than ready, Trixie! You talk a big game; but we're here to play cards, not sling words. Or would you rather call things off before you get trounced by an 'amateur'?" Rainbow retorted as she pulled her Duel Disk and Deck box from her pack.

To Rainbow's surprise, Trixie only laughed. "That's it; nice banter! Trixie's first rule of Dueling: always be ready to put on a show. A good back-and-forth is essential to an exciting match!" she said as she retrieved her own equipment. Her Duel Disk looked newer and more modern than Rainbow's own, but its physical folded blade indicated it wasn't as high-tech as Onyx's -- which produced its own blade of hard light Solid Vision.

"Treating a Duel like a performance... makes sense, given how she's incorporated acting into most of her hobbies as far as I've seen," Twilight observed. "I wonder how it will show in her style of play."

"We're about to find out." Sunset leaned her back against the building and folded her arms together. "Good luck, Dash."

"Go get her, Dashie!" Pinkie cheered, waving around the pom-poms she had nabbed from the school gym on the group's way to the meeting location.

"Show 'er what for, Dash!"

"We all believe in you, darling!"

"Um... h-have fun, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow nodded at her friends and affixed her Duel Disk to her wrist. She took her Deck full of fresh cards and carefully placed the pile of cards into their allotted slot. Once she had done so, a button on the Disk lit up. 

Upon pressing the button, the blade un-folded itself and whipped around, forming an edged, curved surface on which she would place her cards. Trixie mirrored her actions from a considerable distance away, but her Disk had seven slots on its surface -- the second and sixth slots denoted by blue markers instead of red.

"Hey, what's up with your Disk? Aren't there only five Monster Zones?"

Trixie frowned. "There were. Those are now the Main Monster Zones. The additional slots on my Disk serve as the Extra Monster Zone. The seventh slot is for the other Extra Zone available for use; but if you are to use one, Trixie will be placing a token card on the corresponding side to show that she can't use it."

"Sounds convoluted."

"It is, a bit. Your Disk is an older model and lacks any Extra Zones at all, correct?"

"Yeah; but you already knew that, right?"

Trixie smiled. "So you understand 'rhetorical questions'. Not exactly something that will assist you in a Duel, but Trixie can appreciate that. Look at your Disk's display screen."

Rainbow Dash did as Trixie said. "'Use Field Spell Zone as E-X Monster Zone?' it says. Which one's that, again?" she asked, looking at the card slots for an indication.

"The one that pops out on the far side. If you don't hit 'Yes,' we'll have some issues. Unless your Deck is reliant on a Field Spell card? It's never too late to back down from a fight you can't win, you know."

"I don't need some Field Spell to play my game! I'll be fine!" Rainbow said as she clicked the "Yes" prompt.

"Then let the game begin." Trixie tapped a button on her own display, and a mechanical voice rang out from both of the players' Duel Disks.


“DUEL DISK: ONLINE;
SINGLE GAME -- ONE ON ONE;
SOLID VISION LINK ESTABLISHED;
DUEL START.”


Rainbow Dash's Duel Disk was now prompting her to enter a "Display Name." She used the touch display to type in "Rainbow," as the character limit would not allow for her full name. A screen popped up showing both Duelists' names, flashing back and forth between the two. After a few moments, it stopped on Trixie's name and a "ding!" sound played.

"Looks like Trixie gets to pick who moves first. Normally; a Duelist will choose to play out their turn first by default if the selection process is kind enough to them, but you are allowed to choose to play second if it benefits you. Trixie will, however; choose to go first. She is second to none, after all!"

The two Duelists picked up their first five cards and Trixie held up three fingers. Getting the message, Rainbow nodded. 

As Trixie's final finger folded into her hand, the two combatants locked in their stances, and -- looking intensely into each other's eyes -- they drew their first five cards and let out a resounding call.

"Duel!"



TURN: ONE
TRIXIE -- 4000 LP
HAND: 5



"As Trixie said before, she will be taking the first move!" Trixie declared as she picked a card from her starting hand. "To start: she will be Normal Summoning her Skilled Dark Magician from her hand!"



Skilled Dark Magician
Level 4
DARK Spellcaster/Effect Monster
ATK/1900 DEF/1700
Each time a Spell Card is activated, place 1 Spell Counter on this card when that Spell resolves (max 3). You can Tribute this card with 3 Spell Counters on it, Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" from your hand, Deck, or GY.



A tall, heavily-robed man emerged in a haze of data from Trixie's projected Monster Card onto the field. He maintained a stoic demeanor about himself as he calmly held the staff in his hands in front of him -- ready to blast anything in his way, if the need arose. Rainbow Dash found herself slightly unsettled by the fact that she couldn't see the sorcerer's face properly, as his headwear shrouded the top half of his head. His ATK power stood at 1,900; rather impressive for an Effect Monster that required no prior set-up.

"Trixie doesn't want this turn to be so complex it flies right over your newbie head, so she'll keep it simple, just for you! She will now activate her Field Spell, the Secret Village of the Spellcasters!"



Secret Village of the Spellcasters
Field Spell
If you control a Spellcaster-Type monster and your opponent does not, your opponent cannot activate Spell Cards. If you control no Spellcaster-Type monsters, you cannot activate Spell Cards.



The air around the two Duelists blurred and filled with electrostatic pulses as the field around them transformed due to the Solid Vision projectors in their Duel Disks. Several tall trees sprung up around them -- curving around the school building on several points of impact to avoid clipping issues -- natural-looking homes nestled amongst the tranquil grounds and rays of sunlight. As the field settled and the Rainbooms gazed upon their new locale in awe, a crystal clear orb on Skilled Dark Magician's shoulder pad glowed a bright green.

"Whoa..." Rainbow Dash muttered, looking around her. She tried to touch a nearby tree branch, but her hand passed right through it.

"Duel Disks on their own cannot produce Solid Vision advanced enough to take on a true physical form." Trixie walked up to her magician on the field and stuck her hand right through his chest as if to prove a point. Skilled Dark Magician's only reaction was to briefly look down at his pierced chest, before returning to his former stance. "But advanced settings on more recent Duel Fields and arenas allow for full-fledged interaction between monster and Duelist. Trixie finds it quite fascinating, herself."

On the sidelines, Twilight was also sufficiently intrigued by her new surroundings. "The science employed here is incredible, no matter how many times I see it. It's so strange that advanced holographic technology is being used for such a novel purpose."

"Better than using it for anything dangerous." Sunset narrowed her eyes at Trixie's monster, but relented quickly and sighed. "No weird vibes. I was almost hoping I've been wrong this whole time and my mind was just playing tricks on me."

Rainbow Dash shook her head swiftly in an attempt to redirect her focus back to the game at hand. "Okay; I'll admit that this is pretty cool and all, but what does this Field Spell of yours actually do?"

"Trixie is glad you asked, Rainbow Dash! You see; when Trixie controls a Spellcaster-Type monster on her side of the field, and her opponent does not: her opponent cannot activate any Spell Cards! Though if she were to suddenly be deprived of Spellcaster-Type monsters, she would be the one unable to utilize Spells."

"What?! But my Deck is -- "

"Primarily Spells and Monsters?" Trixie interrupted before Rainbow could finish her sentence. "Many powerful ones are, nowadays -- with several Traps, if any at all, thrown in as mere afterthoughts. Which is precisely why Trixie uses this Field!" Trixie laughed proudly and pointed at Rainbow Dash. "Good luck getting around this strategy! Trixie will Set one card on her field and end her turn."

The back side of a Duel Monsters card appeared behind Skilled Dark Magician as Trixie slotted a card into one of the Spell and Trap Zones on her Duel Disk, and the display screens the Duelists and spectators could access marked this as something to remember before the image faded away.



TURN: TWO
RAINBOW -- 4000 LP
HAND: 5



Rainbow Dash drew a card from her Deck as her turn began, bringing her to six total. "Here I go!" she shouted, looking through the selection that lady luck had given her. Well; I can't use this Spell Card as long as she has a Spellcaster-Type monster, so I'll have to rely on my monsters' effects! It's go time! "I'll start by Special Summoning my Speedroid Terrortop from my Hand, which I'm allowed to do because I don't have any monsters on my side of the field yet!"



Speedroid Terrortop
Level 3
WIND Machine/Effect Monster
ATK/1200 DEF/600
If you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Speedroid" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Speedroid Terrortop". You can only use this effect of "Speedroid Terrortop" once per turn.



Rainbow's monster was an odd sight. It appeared to be a collection of spinning tops, the "tail" end connected through the segments to the "head" by only a strange, yellowish-orange energy. Its individual parts spun independently as it moved to and fro at its place on the field. In comparison to Trixie's monster, Terrortop had only 1,200 Attack Points -- but its low strength was made up for by a powerful effect.

"Speedroids, eh?" Trixie asked, eyeing up the new machine. "A very you choice, all things considered. Let's see if you know how to properly use them to their full potential!"

"Yeah; let's! I activate my Terrortop's effect! When it's Summoned to the field, I can add one 'Speedroid' monster other than another copy of itself from my Deck to my hand. Using its effect: I'll add Speedroid Taketomborg to my hand! And since I already control a WIND Attribute monster, I can Special Summon my 'borg straight to the field. Come on out!"



Speedroid Taketomborg
Level 3
WIND Machine/Effect Monster
ATK/600 DEF/1200
If you control a WIND monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can Tribute this card, Special Summon 1 "Speedroid" Tuner monster from your Deck, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except WIND monsters. You can only Special Summon "Speedroid Taketomborg(s)" once per turn.



The new creature called forth by Rainbow Dash could best be described -- later, in her words -- as "some kind of weird, robotic beetle thing?" Its thin body unfolded as it emerged from its card and it struck a battle-ready stance as it took its place beside Terrortop. It would have likely been more threatening had its offensive power not clocked in at a mere 600 points.

"Hoo-wee!" Applejack exclaimed, admiring Rainbow's monsters. "They ain't exactly the toughest stallions in the stables, but Rainbow managed t'pop out two o' them Speedy-whatchamacallits without even tryin'!"

"And I'm not done yet!" Rainbow called out, pumping her fist. "I'll activate Taketomborg's effect; allowing me to Tribute it to Special Summon a 'Speedroid' Tuner monster from my Deck in its place, at the cost of being unable to Summon any monsters that aren't WIND for the rest of the turn. I Summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!"



Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice
Level 1
WIND Machine/Tuner/Effect Monster
ATK/100 DEF/100
When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 "Speedroid" monster you control, except "Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice", and declare a Level from 1 to 6, it becomes that Level until the end of this turn.



While a giant, cubical die with a great big eye in place of the single dot on one of its surfaces wasn't exactly something you'd see every day, it looked substantially less strange and robotic than the other Speedroid monsters in Rainbow Dash's control. It however, was even weaker than the rest -- standing at only a minuscule 100 Attack Points.

"Er... what's a Tuner, again?" Applejack looked around at the rest of the spectators around her. "I wasn't really payin' all that much attention t'some o' the more... 'complex' lessons Onyx gave us."

Twilight was quick to respond. "From what he told us -- and what I researched online -- they are a special category of monster that can be used in conjunction with other non-Tuner monsters to Special Summon a stronger type of monster from her Extra Deck. You'll see in just a second."

"Now," Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she pointed skyward in an exaggerated motion. "Watch this! I'll first use Red-Eyed Dice's effect! When it's Summoned to the field, I can target one other Speedroid monster I control and change its level to a level I declare from one to six. I'll be raising Terrortop's level to five! And now that I've done that; I can tune my level one die to my level five Terrortop to perform a Synchro Summon!"

Red-Eyed Dice transformed into a bright ball of light and swung itself into orbit around Terrortop -- which itself lost most of its physical form, leaving behind only a wireframe skeleton. The light that was once the die transfigured into a circle which enclosed around the wireframe, and a column of energy burst forth from within. A prompt on Rainbow Dash's Disk asked her whether she wanted to call forth her Extra Deck monster in either the right or left Extra Monster Zone. She chose right, and in response, Trixie placed a blank token card from her Deck box into her own Disk's corresponding leftward Extra Zone.

Rainbow's brow scrunched up in concentration as she tried to remember the last thing Onyx had told her that morning, right after he had given her her Duel supplies. "Er... what was it? Oh, yeah! Sword that slices through your opponents with unmatched swiftness, come forth and be the weapon that seals my victory! Synchro Summon! Appear; Level Six!
Hi-Speedroid Kendama!"



Hi-Speedroid Kendama
Level 6
WIND Machine/Synchro/Effect Monster
ATK/2200 DEF/1600
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. You can only use each of the following effects of "Hi-Speedroid Kendama" once per turn.


You can banish 1 Machine-Type monster from your GY, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

If this card is in your GY and you control no cards: You can Special Summon this card. You cannot Normal Summon/Set the turn you activate this effect.




Kendama shot forward from the flash of light. It main body was small and curved, positioned to the left side of the enormous center piece that jutted forward much like a blade. It spun around in a wide arc before settling itself on Rainbow's side of the field. Unlike the Speedroid monsters that came before it, Kendama boasted considerable power: 2,200 Attack Points to be exact -- more than enough to defeat the Skilled Dark Magician.

"Haha, awesome!" Rainbow cheered. "I pulled off a Synchro Summon on the first turn of my first ever full-fledged Duel! How about that, Trixie?"

Trixie seemed unfazed. "Yes, yes; we're all very proud of you. Trixie was hoping you'd at least be competent enough to pull that much off, otherwise her strategy would not have worked. In response to your Synchro Summon, Trixie activates her face-down card! Reveal: Dark Renewal!"



Dark Renewal
Normal Trap
When your opponent Normal or Special Summons a monster(s): Target 1 of those monsters and 1 Spellcaster monster you control, send both monsters to the GY, then you can Special Summon 1 DARK Spellcaster monster from your Deck or GY.



Trixie's Set Trap appeared and flipped over on the field, depicting an ornamental coffin of some kind. "Trixie can only activate this Trap when her opponent Summons a monster. By sending the Summoned monster and one Spellcaster-Type monster she controls to the Graveyard, she can Special Summon one DARK Attribute Spellcaster from her Deck or Graveyard!"

Rainbow took a reflexive step back in surprise. "What?!"

Sunset winced on the sidelines. "All of that work just to lose her only monster before she can even use it. Trixie was ready for Rainbow Dash's strategy all along, it seems."

"By using the life energies of both Skilled Dark Magician and Hi-Speedroid Kendama, Trixie can call forth her mightiest monster!" Trixie announced as tendrils of black energy spilled forth from the coffin, pulling both of the monsters from the field into its clutches and shutting forcefully. Her Duel Disk ejected a card from about halfway through her deck, and after she grabbed it, automatically shuffled the stack. "Unmatched magician, descend now upon this Duel and make your dark power known! Though time marches on, you will never falter! Come forth!  Dark Magician!"



Dark Magician
Level 7
DARK Spellcaster/Normal Monster
ATK/2500 DEF/2100
The ultimate wizard in terms of attack and defense.



The coffin re-opened and from it gracefully stepped a tall man wrapped from head to toe in black clothes. Both the bodysuit he wore and the robes that billowed forth across his form were detailed with light blue markings, as was the staff he carried in his right hand. The Dark Magician twirled the staff in a wide circle and stabbed the head into the ground beside him, eyeing up Rainbow Dash as his 2,500 Attack Points flared up on a display off to his left side. His expression was initially stoic, but as he took in the girl -- as well as her lack of defenses -- he sighed, apparently dissatisfied by the lack of challenge presented to him.

The monster's reaction stunned Rainbow; but even more so than that, something about just how the mage had moved felt somehow out of place to her. She glanced over to the side, where Sunset Shimmer was in the middle of shooting her a practically identical look of surprise -- which didn't make Rainbow feel any better at all.

"What's the matter, Rainbow Dash? Trixie's monster so great and powerful it took the breath straight from your lungs?" Trixie teased from across the field. "Perhaps you should just end your turn so Trixie can finish this quickly."

That... was definitely weird, Rainbow thought, trying her best to tune out Trixie's words. Sunset felt whatever that was, too. Does that mean...? Her thoughts trailed as she looked back to the field. She would have to worry about that later. First; she would have to end this Duel, and fast! She glanced at her hand and could almost feel the gears spin in her head. "No way! I'm not out of this yet, Trixie!"

Trixie smirked and folded her arms. Dark Magician glanced at her from his battle position and mimicked her stance. "Then by all means, do keep playing. Your inexperience can only excuse so much lost time."

Rainbow grit her teeth and glared at Trixie and her monster, so in sync it was almost uncanny. I'm going to have to kick it into high gear if I want to beat Trixie and her Dark Magician. I won't lose this! Rainbow thought as she nabbed another card from her hand. "I think I will keep playing! Get ready, Trixie -- 'cause here I come!"


TO BE CONTINUED

> A Clash of Egos! Full Speed Ahead! [Part 2]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



TURN: TWO
RAINBOW -- 4000 LP
HAND: 5



"You may have beaten my monster and Summoned your own, Trixie -- but I still have a whole hand full of surprises in store for you! Since I haven't used my Normal Summon yet, I'll be using it on this: Speedroid Double Yoyo!"



Speedroid Double Yoyo
Level 4
WIND Machine/Effect Monster
ATK/1400 DEF/1400
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 Level 3 or lower "Speedroid" monster in your GY, Special Summon it.



The newest monster that faced Trixie was -- like the others -- some autonomous version of a child's plaything. It had a small body, but using two "strings" made of electrical energy, it swung around two massive spiked yo-yos that spun furiously in place. It's ATK value sat at 1,400: high for a Main Deck-based Speedroid monster -- but not very threatening, all the same.

Trixie clicked her tongue in annoyance. No matter how many times I break those little toys of hers, she'll always find a way to bring them back. "Trixie assumes you'll be using its effect?"

Rainbow blinked, surprised that Trixie knew Yoyo's effect triggered upon being Normal Summoned. "Yeah; that was the plan! Double Yoyo's effect allows me to Special Summon one Level Three or lower 'Speedroid' monster from my Graveyard. I'll be using it to Summon back Red-Eyed Dice!"

Allowing you to Synchro Summon again. Considering you didn't Summon anything more powerful using your Red-Eyed Dice's level modulation effect before, I doubt you have a wide variety of Synchro Monsters available to you... so I wonder what your strategy is here. "Trixie's Dark Magician isn't going to bow down to your two pathetic monsters -- or any of your subpar Synchro Monsters! You'd best be ready to show her something good, Rainbow Dash!"

As Trixie had anticipated, this challenge rattled Rainbow rather significantly. She was already frustrated that she wasn't able to get a good move in as is, and the illusionist's taunts were getting under her skin. "Oh; I'll show you something good, all right... I tune the level one Red-Eyed Dice with the level four Double Yoyo so I can Synchro Summon!" she declared. "Show yourself! Level Five:  Hi-Speedroid Chanbara!"



Hi-Speedroid Chanbara
Level 5
WIND Machine/Synchro/Effect Monster
ATK/2000 DEF/1000
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
You can only Special Summon "Hi-Speedroid Chanbara" once per turn. This card can make a second attack during each Battle Phase. At the start of the Damage Step, if this card attacks or is attacked: It gains 200 ATK. If this card is sent to the GY: You can target 1 of your banished "Speedroid" cards, add it to your hand.



Trixie couldn't help but think that the "Summoning Chant" Rainbow had come up with for Kendama was more apt for her new creature. It appeared to be a robotic humanoid riding a motorcycle, except the motorcycle resembled a massive, curved knife -- the hilt serving as the rider's seat. The monster's ATK displayed at 2,000; not enough to defeat Dark Magician without some form of modification.

Rainbow's peanut gallery cheered and chatted a bit amongst themselves, obviously excited to see what their friend was planning to do to overcome her opposition. Trixie wasn't bothered, though. She had a feeling she wouldn't have to worry about this rider for long. "So what's this big butter knife going to do to Trixie's Dark Magician, exactly?"

"This 'big butter knife' is going to cut right through your stupid magical man when I activate my -- " Rainbow stopped short, eyes wide as she looked in abject horror at the card she had just picked out of her hand. She frantically looked from the card in question to the display screen on her Disk, and finally to the field itself, as if having some sort of terrible epiphany.

"Rainbow Dash?" Sunset Shimmer called out to her from the sidelines. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Rainbow looked back to her friend and tried her best to play it off. "Y-yeah; I'm fine! I'll, uh -- I'll just Set these two cards for later and end my turn!" she finished, slotting in the card she had chosen before and another from her hand into her Duel Disk. "Y-you're up, Lulamoon!"

Trixie sighed as she drew her card at the beginning of her turn, bringing her hand size to three cards.



TURN: THREE
TRIXIE -- 4000 LP
HAND: 3
FIELD:
- Main Monster Zone [Dark Magician; Attack Position; 2500 ATK]
- Field Spell Zone [Secret Village of the Spellcasters]



"You should have listened to Sunset Shimmer's advice before, Rainbow Dash." Trixie placed her new card into her hand and picked up another -- one she had drawn back in the beginning of the Duel. "Experience plays a big part in strategy games such as this one."

Rainbow took a step back.

"You let me -- the Great and Powerful Trixie -- get into your head without even trying, and then you stopped thinking things through as soon as you were blindly certain you had the game won. Is Trixie wrong, Rainbow?"

"What is she talking about, Rainbow Dash?" Rarity questioned from within the small group.

"Trixie activates the Spell Dark Magic Attack from her Hand." Trixie placed the Spell Card into her Disk, and as the image was projected onto the field, her monster's staff coursed with magical, black energy. "This card can only be activated if Trixie controls the 'Dark Magician' on her side of the field, and it allows her to destroy each and every Spell and Trap Card on her opponent's side of the field!"



Dark Magic Attack
Normal Spell
If you control "Dark Magician": Destroy all Spells and Traps your opponent controls.



Dark Magician loosed a burst of magic from his outstretched weapon, decimating the two cards Rainbow had just Set in a flash -- her face falling as the holographic pixels faded away. "No way..."

Trixie tapped her screen a few times, bringing up a screen that displayed her opponent's Graveyard. The information presented to her confirmed precisely what she already knew. "As Trixie thought. Blustering Winds. A Spell Card that gives a targeted monster 1,000 additional Attack and Defense Points until the user's next turn. Rainbow Dash was planning to use this on Hi-Speedroid Chanbara and end this Duel right then and there."



Blustering Winds
Normal Spell
Target 1 face-up monster you control, it gains 1000 ATK and DEF until your next Standby Phase.



The rest of the Rainbooms looked -- understandably -- confused. "Wait just a tick. How the heck was she gonna go and do that?" Applejack shook her head. "Even if'er Chanba-thingy had all those extra points, she would've only done 500 damage to your Life Points, right?"

Trixie looked pointedly at her opponent and folded her arms across her chest. "Would you care to explain, or should Trixie?"

Rainbow Dash only glared at the ground beneath her feet.

"If Secret Village had not been present on the field -- a fact that seems to have slipped her mind -- Rainbow here could have used Blustering Winds to increase Chanbara's attacking power. Chanbara has two effects, both related to battle. Its first effect: when it is attacked or declares an attack of its own, it permanently gains two hundred additional Attack Points."

"That still means you would only take seven hundred damage." Twilight Sparkle noted, looking at Trixie with a mixture of interest and puzzlement. "How would she have been able to defeat you like that?"

"Chanbara's second effect -- " Trixie began, before Rainbow Dash cut her off.

"Hi-Speedroid Chanbara can attack twice during the Battle Phase," she finished; now looking right at Trixie. "It would have dealt seven hundred battle damage when attacking over her magician -- then when it attacked again, its Attack would have risen from 3,200 to 3,400 and dealt that damage directly. Would have been just barely enough to wipe out the rest of her Life Points in one more go."

The rest of her group looked on in surprise.

Trixie nodded. "While she is impressed that you gathered the pieces to score an O.T.K. in your first Duel -- Trixie is more disappointed that you failed to pay enough attention to plan out your move in accordance with the field you were faced with and successfully achieve it. Your Chanbara now stands alone, defenseless against Trixie's Dark Magician. What do you have to say to that?"

Rainbow did not respond.

"Hm. Thought so. Those winds aren't so blustering now, are they? Battle!" Trixie declared as her turn proceeded to the Battle Phase. "Trixie attacks your Hi-Speedroid Chanbara with her Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!" she shouted, pointing her finger at Rainbow's riding monster. Dark Magician shook his head slowly -- as if equally as disappointed as his master -- and blasted Chanbara with the same black energy that destroyed Rainbow Dash's other cards. Rainbow flinched as her creature was obliterated in the following explosion and her Life Points dropped down to 3,500.

"Trixie ends her turn by Setting one card from her hand. She also suggests that you concede before you embarrass yourself any further."

Rainbow clenched her fist and pulled another card from her Deck, bringing her Hand back to three cards. "Me: give up? Not gonna happen, Trixie! I still have most of my Life Points -- so this Duel's far from over!"

Trixie frowned; but she had to admit that she somewhat admired Rainbow Dash's eagerness and her will to continue fighting -- even in light of her outstanding blunder. "Have it your way, then."



TURN: FOUR
RAINBOW -- 3500 LP
HAND: 3



Rainbow glanced at her new card and checked her Extra Deck using the buttons and navigation screens on her Duel Disk's display. As she scanned the card text on her remaining Synchro Monsters as quickly as she could, she saw something there that stood out to her. This was it -- her plan of attack! All she needed to do was pull off one more Synchro Summon and she could take down the Dark Magician. "I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Ohajikid from my Hand!" she called as her new monster materialized on the board.



Speedroid Ohajikid
Level 3
WIND Machine/Effect Monster
ATK/1000 DEF/200
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 Tuner monster in either Graveyard, Special Summon that target to your side of the field, and if you do, immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon 1 WIND Synchro Monster, using that monster and this card only.



Small and robotic, Ohajikid wore a cloak that covered most of its body and a tattered asymmetrical hat. On its feet were two metallic, cartoonish renditions of classical cowboy boots -- spurs and all! It flipped a small, circular disk like a coin; shooting it at the Dark Magician -- who casually moved his body with a seemingly practiced elegance to avoid it -- as soon as it landed.

"When Ohajikid is Normal Summoned: I can Special Summon one Tuner monster from either player's Graveyard, and then immediately use it with Ohajikid to perform a Synchro Summon if I do! The Synchro Monster I Summon has to be a WIND monster, but for me that's not a problem at all! Let's go, Ohaji! Bring back our old friend, Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" Rainbow said with a flourish and a snap of her fingers. Ohajikid nodded and stuck his hand into the ground before yanking the reborn-again die monster back onto the field in Defense Position.

"Now that a Level one Tuner's been revived, I have to use both of my monsters to go into a Level four Synchro Monster. Ohajikid, Red-Eye! You know what to do!" Rainbow commanded, the two monsters combining their might in the ensuing shift into their pre-Synchro forms. "Synchro Summon! Appear; Level Four: Hi-Speedroid Puzzle!" she continued, the monster in question leaping onto the field and throwing its left arm forward -- its two claws curling into a "fist" around its blade as it glared at Dark Magician. As the dust settled, its ATK power was shown to stand at only 1,300.



Hi-Speedroid Puzzle
Level 4
WIND Machine/Synchro/Effect Monster
ATK/1300 DEF/1600
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
At the start of the Damage Step, when this card battles a Special Summoned monster: You can make this card's ATK become double its current ATK until the end of the Damage Step. Once per turn, during the End Phase, if this card is in the GY because this Synchro Summoned card was sent there from the field this turn: You can target 1 "Speedroid" monster in your GY, except "Hi-Speedroid Puzzle", add it to your hand.



As Trixie expected, Rainbow's friends seemed to be confused again by her play as they mumbled amongst themselves.

"Whatever is that supposed to do against Trixie's monster? It has an effect, sure -- but it's much weaker than the others. She didn't forget about the Secret Village again, did she?"

"Nah; there's no way Rainbow'd forget 'bout that twice in a row!"

"She thought this one through, making sure to pick those monsters and this exact Synchro Monster for a reason. I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

"I think so, too! Woo-hoo! We believe in you, Dashie!"

"Thanks, Pinkie! Just watch this: I'll head right into my Battle Phase!" Rainbow called out with a flourish of her hand. "You seem to know an awful lot about my cards, Trixie -- so this may not come as a surprise to you, but then you'll know exactly what's coming next! Hi-Speedroid Puzzle, attack Dark Magician head on!"

Trixie shook her head. Now if only you'd thought of that last turn.

"Wait, what?! What's she doing, Twilight?"

"Uh. Honestly? I have no idea. This isn't in my notes."

"When Hi-Speedroid Puzzle attacks a Special Summoned monster, its Attack Points double -- to 2,600 -- until the end of the battle in question! It'll be just enough to knock your big, bad magic man right out of the match!" Rainbow explained as her monster's points rose substantially. It pulled back a step, then rushed forward, its bladed arm outstretched, ready to rip through Trixie's monster. "Sure, it might not do a lot of damage -- but without your Spellcaster, your whole strategy falls apart! Go, Puzzle Duplication -- skewer him!"

"Oh, cool! So she's not just nuts after all! I always believed in you, Rainbow Dash!"

"Ah, um... go get her, Rainbow!"

"So very close, Rainbow -- yet so unbelievably far! Trixie activates her Set card: Magic Cylinder!" Trixie responded, just when Puzzle kicked off. "This is a bit of an oldie, but a goodie when it comes to protecting Trixie's monsters. When your monster attacks, my Cylinder negates that attack, and deals that monster's ATK as effect damage to your Life Points."



Magic Cylinder
Normal Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Target the attacking monster, negate the attack, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its ATK.



A cylinder -- similar to the one printed on the card art -- appeared right in a surprised Puzzle's way, sucking it inside before it had a chance to react. The cylinder spun around a few times, then spit the robotic skater right back out -- spinning and flailing as it passed harmlessly right through Rainbow Dash. Physically harmlessly, that is. The 2,600 points the monster had sent at Dark Magician came raging back at the athlete instead, leaving her speechless and with only a measly nine hundred Life Points remaining.

"I'll Set one card and end my turn," Rainbow said finally, her voice suddenly lacking the explosive energy that usually flowed through it. Her friends were all too quiet, all too suddenly -- still with shock, perhaps? -- as the card backing appeared on her field and the display screens indicated the turn change and subsequent shift to Trixie's Draw Phase.

Trixie pulled another card from her Deck to begin her turn. I tried to warn you, I suppose. "Guess it's Trixie's move, then!"



TURN: FIVE
TRIXIE -- 4000 LP
HAND: 2
FIELD:
- Main Monster Zone [Dark Magician; Attack Position; 2500 ATK]
- Field Spell Zone [Secret Village of the Spellcasters]



“It’s about time that Trixie finished this. Don’t you think?”

Rainbow blinked and shook her head, a burst of vigor rising back into her voice after the hard blow she had been dealt just moments prior. “How do you expect to do that? If your magician battles with Puzzle, its Attack Points will double just like before -- and you won’t be able to reflect the damage again!”

"We'll see about that, won't we? Go, Dark Magician! Attack Hi-Speedroid Puzzle with your Dark Magic Attack!" Trixie called, holding out her hand toward Rainbow's last line of defense. Dark Magician raised his staff high once more and built up a charge of powerful sorcery in the gem adorning its tip.

"Don't mock me, Trixie! Puzzle's effect activates -- raising its Attack Power to 2,600!" Rainbow exclaimed as Puzzle charged toward the robed mage, determined to finish what it had started during the previous battle.

"And when it does, Trixie will activate the effect of her Apprentice Illusion Magician from her hand!" Trixie called back, flipping one of the cards in her hand around; showing off a Monster Card depicting a dark-skinned, blonde female magician wearing some cute -- albeit impractical -- armored robes.



Apprentice Illusion Magician
Level 6
DARK Spellcaster/Effect Monster
ATK/2000 DEF/1700
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by discarding 1 card. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Dark Magician" from your Deck to your hand. During damage calculation, if your other DARK Spellcaster monster battles an opponent's monster (Quick Effect): You can send this card from your hand or face-up from your field to the GY, that monster you control gains 2000 ATK/DEF during that damage calculation only.



"Wh -- huh?! Activating a monster's effect from your hand during a battle?" Rainbow exclaimed. "What the heck's she do?"

"When a DARK Attribute Spellcaster-Type monster Trixie controls participates in a battle, she is allowed to send Apprentice Illusion Magician here from her hand to the Graveyard in order to increase the battling monster's Attack and Defense Points by 2,000 until the end of said battle! Now tell me again, Rainbow Dash: who can't reflect the damage this time?"

Rainbow's eyes went wide as the magical energy in Dark Magician's staff amplified drastically, stopping Puzzle in its tracks. The magician locked gazes with the athletic Duelist and offered an almost sympathetic shrug as the force of its blast tore through her last Speedroid monster and her remaining Life Points. She stumbled over an uneven patch of land and fell to the ground as the holographic projections of Secret Village and the other cards left on the field faded away, leaving only the familiar space behind the school in their wake.



DUEL END
WINNER: TRIXIE



"And that's the end of that," Trixie stated decisively as the last whispers of the forest around them fully dissipated in the wind. She crossed her arms and watched as Rainbow's friends rushed to her side, all talking over each other while they pulled their fallen star back to her feet.

"Aw, man..." Rainbow groaned, rubbing her now-bruised elbow. "I couldn't even touch her. Some debut, huh?"

Sunset Shimmer was the first to respond with a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Well; look at it this way: there's no shame in losing your first ever real Duel. She did say she's been at this for a while."

"I... think you did a great job, Rainbow," Fluttershy was quick to add. "You were able to do that neat Summon thing three times. You looked really cool."

"She's right!" came Twilight, excitedly flipping through a notebook. "My research told me a lot of players gave up when that Summoning mechanic was introduced a number of years back -- so the fact you grew acclimated to it so quickly is really telling of your potential skill level!"

Trixie tuned out most of the next few cheery compliment sessions, as Pinkie Pie went on and on for a while about something-or-other, but she was determined to stick around until the end. When the athletic girl regained her confident smile and laughed along with some comment Applejack had made, she walked over to the group...

... and clapped her hands bombastically a few times.

Rainbow's smile sunk into a deep, annoyed frown. "What do you want? Come over here to mock me, Trixie? Gloat about your victory -- how 'Great and Powerful' you are?" she asked, glaring at the magician.

Trixie stopped clapping and raised her hands above her head in a sign of peace. "No. Trixie is legitimately impressed, and wants to congratulate you."

Rainbow and her friends shared an odd, fleeting glance.

"Huh? But I didn't even scratch your Life Points. What's to congratulate me for?"

Trixie shrugged. "While that is true; you said you've only been playing for, what, a day?"

"Uh... yeah," Rainbow responded, looking around at her friends -- a tad suspiciously, Trixie noted. "So what?"

"As much as Trixie is loathe to admit it, she thinks your little friends are absolutely right. While you didn't manage to get past Trixie's strategies, you played astoundingly well for someone with as little experience as yourself." Trixie's small smile turned into a smirk. "Maybe in another twenty or thirty Duels, you'd even be able to bring Trixie down a point or two. She'd love to see that."

Rainbow was about to retort when Trixie stretched out her open hand. She looked at her strangely and tilted her head.

"Good game," Trixie offered with a grin.

Rainbow clicked her tongue and laughed. "If you say so," she replied, grabbing the magician's hand and giving it a firm shake.

"Now, if you'll excuse Trixie -- she really must be going. So long, Rainbooms," Trixie said, turning with a wave to walk away. She heard Sunset suddenly whisper something to Rainbow Dash, who gasped out an "Oh no! I totally forgot!" before she had made it even a few steps. She turned back to look questioningly at the group. "Hm? Is something the matter?"

"Uh; well..." Rainbow began, looking a bit sheepish. "Actually, there is something we wanted to talk with you about. Is there a good time for you to meet us at One/Two Shuffle!! -- y'know, the local card shop -- sometime this week?"

Trixie blanched, caught totally off-guard by the sudden request. "Oh. I-I'm -- or I mean, I was -- or, er; Trixie was -- heading there right now, actually. Why do you ask?"

"Cool! Me and Sunset -- "

"Sunset and I!"

"Me and Sunset noticed something a bit strange during the Duel and we wanted to ask you about it, but it'd be way more convenient to us if we could talk to you and... someone else at the same time. Do you mind?" Rainbow asked, clasping her hands together.

"Trixie... supposes it's no big deal. Let's, uh... let us go, then!" Trixie said, unsure of why this particular group would want to ask her about anything. It's not like any of them were particularly close  -- through no fault of Trixie's own, thank you very much! -- not to mention that the seven other girls were always at the epicenter of all manner of "weird" happenings at their school and in town, making Dash's comment about something being "strange" a bit... daunting to her, in a way.

She had a feeling this was going to be a weird conversation.





Trixie had never been so infuriatingly right in her life.

Next to her, Ashen Onyx -- local card shop employee extraordinaire -- was doubled over in laughter, literal tears spilling out of his eyes. The Rainbooms, of course, sat awkwardly around a circular table in the back room; waiting for him to finish. By comparison, Trixie was sure that she had paled quite a bit in the time since the group had arrived in the store.

As it were, she and Onyx had actually been friends for quite some time now. He had been the one to introduce Trixie not only to the game of Duel Monsters, but he had also inadvertently introduced her to another good friend of hers: a girl named Starlight Glimmer that was apparently acquainted with Sunset Shimmer and her friends, somehow. They often talked whenever she was in town, which wasn't particularly often, but it was always a high point when her phone would buzz and the name came up on her screen.

He had straight-up laughed at her when she came into the store with the Rainbooms, stating that he thought she didn't have any friends other than himself and "that Glitter girl!" He was Trixie's friend -- but was also a huge jerk sometimes. It was why they worked, she supposed.

Onyx finally settled down and took a few deep breaths. "Magic trading cards that can talk? What kind of gag is that? Is this some kind of grand lead in to a new trick of yours, Trixie?" he asked, wiping a tear from his eye. He turned to look at her, and his face fell a bit upon seeing her serious expression. "What, uh, what's up with that look?"

"Trixie is... rather, I'm not in on this, whatever it is." Trixie turned back to the girls around the table. "You're serious?"

"We're about ninety-percent sure," Twilight responded. "Rainbow felt something from your Dark Magician during your Duel, and from her description: it's a weaker, but similar feeling to the one Sunset got from Onyx's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. We surmised initially that it was due to the magic supplied by the geode Sunset obtained at camp, but it seems that under certain circumstances, the rest of us can feel it, too. Namely, in a Duel, pitted against the affected monster or card."

"Theoretically, anyway," Sunset pointed out. "We haven't exactly had much of a chance to test anything out so far. Side-effects, potential danger level, or well... anything, really."

Trixie slumped back against a shelf and slid down to the ground. "Magic. Real magic. I've been holding on to -- using -- real magic for who even knows how long! And I didn't even know it. Ha-ha!" she laughed, bitterly. "That's so stupid! So typical!" Trixie rocked her head back, lightly thumping it on the metallic surface behind her.

If Onyx was still in full-doubt mode, he wasn't showing it at all. "You totally believe them. You trust that they're not lying or messing around -- and this is the first you're hearing of any of this."

"What tipped you off?"

"Real magic? But magic's fake! or -- not fake, per se -- but it's illusion! Sleight of hand! That's what you do, isn't it?!"

Trixie nodded. "It's what I do, yes. Them? They do real magic. Laser beams, flying around, super speed -- you name it! They're all just oh, so special! They deal with real magic all the time!" Trixie snapped, frowning at the other girls gathered. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and sighed. She looked downright defeated. "They can do it all."

Onyx slowly turned his head again and looked at the Rainbooms expectantly. "Can you really -- ?"

He was cut off when Rarity daintily cleared her throat, held out a hand in front of her and placed the other around a shiny geode hanging  around her neck, and conjured a small diamond-shaped shield out of thin air with a simple flick of her wrist.

There was about six seconds of pure anticipatory silence before Onyx collapsed to the ground; completely unconscious.

"Yeah," Trixie added, looking solemnly at her old friend's fallen form. "Trixie saw that one coming."

Pinkie Pie nodded in return, her hair bobbing along with her head. "So did we, Trixie. So did we."
> Setting the Stage: The Calm Before the Storm...?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Onyx sat with his hands folded on his lap, staring intently at the black-bordered card propped up on a shelf on the opposite side of the back room. He frowned at it, seemingly trying to gauge some sort of reaction from the sleeved sheet of paper. Unsurprisingly; the picture on the card seemed perfectly content to stay just as it was.

Pinkie Pie leaned in close to Trixie. "How long is he going to do that?" she whispered, just loud enough for the whole gang to hear.

"Trixie doesn't know. How long would you take to process something like this?" Trixie glanced over at the table, where she had placed her own Dark Magician next to Onyx's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. She could tell -- now that she was separated from the card -- that something was different. It felt strange to intentionally distance herself from it, but it made the whole situation -- surreal as it was -- feel more like a state of reality as opposed to some nutty dream. Trixie could only assume that Onyx felt the same.

"Yeah!" Onyx exclaimed suddenly, startling the others in the room. "Yeah, okay. Head feels clearer and I don't hear any faint, mysterious whispers. It wasn't a lack of sleep or anything -- just a, uh... magical trading card all up in my head! No; that's totally... a thing. That's fine." He exhaled and leaned back in his chair to stare up at the ceiling, the front legs rising dangerously off the ground. "Mondays. Am I right?"

"I see you're taking this... well?" said Sunset, walking up beside Onyx. "I mean, aside from the one fainting fit. But, you know: that was totally understandable! Some things are just... that surprising."

Rarity let out a little noise and leaned back in her own chair, examining her nails. "A fainting couch doesn't seem like such a silly thing to own now, does it?"

Applejack seemed to think for a moment, but shook her head. "Nah; still seems kinda silly. I mean, c'mon -- it's a whole couch just for faintin'. Why not just get a regular old couch and then use it for normal stuff too?"

"It's about the principle of the thing, Applejack!"

Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "Wait. What's Celestia got to do with any of this?"

"No, Rainbow. Principle, not principal," Twilight corrected.

"Oh, right! Symptoms."

"Synonyms."

"Gesundheit."

A chime sounded from the main storefront, signaling that the card shop had a customer. The sound seemed to snap some life back into Onyx, who stood up so quick he almost knocked the chair to the ground. "Be with you in a moment!" he called as he walked toward the door leading to the area behind the counter and opened it wide before motioning for the girls to head through. "Come on, ladies. Can't have you chilling back here all alone."

"What's the matter? Don't you trust Trixie?" Trixie asked as she retrieved her card from the shelf.

"You know the boss will chew me out big time if I leave this place unsupervised. Last time was bad enough. You can all loiter in the front while I'm taking care of whoever that is. That okay?"

The group agreed and headed out the door, Onyx staying behind to lock it after everyone had left so that random customers wouldn't have free access to the place in the event he got a little too busy. The last to leave the room was Fluttershy, who as far as he could tell seemed to still be having a bit of a difficult time talking directly to Onyx. "What's the matter? Need me to head out first?"

"Um; no. That's not it," she said. "It's just that you almost forgot this." Fluttershy walked slowly toward the door and carefully held out Onyx's Dark Rebellion, cautiously looking him in the eye. "You wouldn't want it to feel trapped all alone in here, would you?"

Onyx looked down at the card and sighed. "No. No, I suppose I wouldn't. Thank you, but I think I might actually prefer it if you kept it instead for a while."

"M-me?!"

"Not you, specifically -- at least not if you don't want to. I think Twilight and Sunset will appreciate being able to look at it up close, don't you think?"

Fluttershy looked pensive for a moment, then nodded her head. "Yes; I suppose they would. I'll make sure they take good care of it while it's gone, okay?"

Onyx thanked her. "One last thing before I forget: take this, too," he said, handing Fluttershy a rolled up flier. "The others might find this interesting. Though; by 'others,' I mainly mean Rainbow Dash."

Fluttershy took the flier from his hand and made a small sound of affirmation as she shuffled away. Onyx watched as she stepped over to the others, one of his most prized cards in tow. He was glad to have some distance from the ominous presence it now held, but even just looking at it in someone else's hand from across the room felt a little strange, after all this time. Onyx shook off the weird feeling and turned to the young man waiting at the counter with an amused grin on his face.

"Wow. That was like watching one of those clown car things. Sure you didn't leave anyone behind?"

Onyx chuckled slightly at the joke. "No; I think that's all of them. I'll be with you in just one more second, okay?" he replied before turning back towards the group of eight now gathered at one of the larger rectangular tables set out for store patrons. "You good with waiting there while I... you know, actually do my job?"

"It's cool; we'll be fine! Trixie here is gonna give me a few pointers -- since she's such an expert and all, that is. Isn't that right, Trixie?" Rainbow Dash nudged Trixie's side, earning her an annoyed glare and a heavy sigh.

"Fine. Trixie wanted to take a look at your cards, anyway. With a few modifications here and there, you may even manage to put a small dent in your next opponent before you blow it. Hand them over!" Trixie held out her hands and motioned for Rainbow to hand over her Deck, to which she complied with a roll of her eyes.

Onyx only glanced at the group a moment more before turned his full attention back to the customer on the opposite side of the counter, leaving the girls to themselves.

The rest of the girls were surprised when Fluttershy returned to the table with Onyx's Xyz Dragon and handed it off to Sunset, muttering something about "leaving it in good hands" and taking a seat next to Pinkie Pie across the table. She placed the rolled paper on the center of the table, but its presence was completely forgotten due to the acquisition of Onyx's card.

Sunset held the card in her hand carefully, looking on as if afraid that the image of the beast would spring forth from its paper prison and attack her; but it quickly became apparent that no such action would be taking place. "Huh. No reaction this time. That was a little... underwhelming."

"You didn't get anything at all?" Twilight asked, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Funny. I thought since you weren't consciously using your geode's magic last time that the same thing would happen this time."

"I did, too."

Most of the other girls seemed to be enraptured, staring at Sunset and the card in utter fascination -- all but Trixie, who just sort of looked confused. She shrugged, deciding that she didn't feel like getting into this stuff, and returned her attention to the pile of cards strewn out before her. Those she could comprehend.

"Well," Sunset took a deep breath, taking a hold of her accessory and focusing her thoughts on activating her enhanced empathic abilities. "Here goes." Sunset's eyes lit up a stark white as the power radiated from them, her mental space joining with that of the trading card in her hand -- a sensation she had never thought she would experience.





Inside of Sunset's head, as the magic flowed from her geode into her being and further into the black card her real self held in her hand, she could see and feel thoughts and emotions that were most certainly not her own. Among the things she experienced was a mighty sense of loneliness. She could immediately deduce that Dark Rebellion was upset that it had been separated from its master. Onyx had taken the first opportunity presented to him to place the card in another's possession after learning the truth, after all.

Beneath the anguish, she could sense the aspects of its budding personality and how it had come to be the way it was. Images of a proud Onyx boasting to his opponents that he only needed one monster to defeat them flooded her vision. These words gave way to a bursting sense of pride and overconfidence, a sense of superiority over other inferior cards and frustration whenever it was removed from the field in any way.

Suddenly; Sunset found herself on her hands and knees staring at a vast, white floor -- removed rather forcibly from the sea of memories. She groaned and stumbled to her feet, holding her head in her hand. "Oof... well, that was defini -- " her words hitched in her throat as her eyes drifted up, taking in the sight before her in awe.

Dark Rebellion stood tall above her -- a sight so surprising that Sunset almost didn't notice that the entire "room" around the two appeared to be an endless expanse of white nothingness. Its eyes didn't carry the heat she had felt during Onyx's Duel with Buster, only a calm and curious glint.

Sunset stammered for something to say for a moment before settling on a simple greeting: "H-hi, there...?"

The dragon did not respond. It only tilted its head slightly.

"Huh. Tough crowd," she noted, tugging at her shirt's neckline awkwardly. "Usually I just see the memories and feelings and I'm back out in reality again. Don't usually have to conduct a, uh... I don't even know what this is. An interview? An interrogation? Did you not want me in here?"

The dragon shook its head, as if to respond with a firm "no."

"Why not?"

Dark Rebellion shook its head again and snorted, as if frustrated. Sunset's mind was wracked with another round of sensations, this time centralized around a specific feeling of intense fear -- and the visualization of the dragon and its master being dragged into a void of perpetual darkness.

Snapping out of it, Sunset once again found herself in the white space with the drake. "Whoa! What was that all about?! Why are you afraid of something like that? Do you know something about this that the rest of us don't?"

Its eyes rose to hers again, though this time they carried a sense of helplessness. Sunset could feel herself being pushed out of the vision, as if her carded quarry had decided it was finished with their alleged "conversation." She reached out a hand and clawed desperately at the air in an attempt to keep herself anchored in the world of white. "Wait! I want to know more about you! I have more questions!"





Sunset gasped as she found herself in the card shop once again, releasing her grip on the geode in her hand and placing the card back on the table. As per usual; she knew that while it had felt like she had spent some time in the dragon's consciousness, it had been only a moment in real time. She shook her head as her scrambled thoughts once again became accustomed to existing in a singular space.

"Does that mean you saw something?" Twilight asked, her eyes practically sparkling with excitement.

Sunset nodded rapidly, her mind still racing. She motioned for Twilight to hand her a writing utensil and a notepad. Once acquired, she began to rapidly jot down notes, describing her experience -- both the thoughts and feelings that she could now confirm that Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon did have, and her brief time in the white space in direct communication.

Realizing that they probably weren't going to get anything concrete out of Sunset and Twilight for a while, the rest of the girls took to speculating amongst themselves for a few minutes. Trixie pulled Rainbow Dash out of the conversation so that she could get back to talking about regular things that she could actually wrap her mind around, leaving Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity without much of anything to do.

Applejack looked at the other three, who seemed just as confused as to what they should be doing as she was. "So, uh, what do we do now?" she asked, absentmindedly flicking the brim of her hat.

"Ooh! I know, I know! Pick me!" Pinkie exclaimed as her hand shot up like she was in a classroom, her eyes sparkling. "We're in a card shop, right? I say we do some card shopping! Dashie already got a leg up and bought herself some cool cards, so the rest of us should do the same!"

The three other girls shared glances before smiling and standing up, eliciting a high-pitched squeal and some very excited clapping from Pinkie Pie. "Yay! Let's take a look around!"

Fluttershy raised her hand slowly. "I can do that much, but since my volunteer work for the animal shelter is, well, volunteer work, I don't really have any extra spending money. I'm more than willing to look around with the rest of you, though."

"Oh, yeah! You need money to go shopping! Phew, glad you reminded me," said Pinkie, sounding relieved as she yanked a pale blue wallet from within her hair, the incredulous stares of her friends going completely unnoticed while she counted the bills inside. "Yep! Got plenty of extra cash from working over at the Cakes' shop. AJ, Rarity, how's it looking for you two?"

"All set over here, sugar cube!"

"I have my earnings from helping run the boutique, myself."

"Perfect!" Pinkie exclaimed, pulling them close. "Who's ready for a shopping montaaaage~?" she sang out to the amusement of the others.

Onyx handed the customer at the desk his change and watched the girls' banter with a nostalgic smile. I remember back when everything about this game was so new and interesting to me. Hope they all find what they're looking for, whatever that may be, he thought as he waved the young man out.

"Onyx!"

Onyx yelped in surprise as he suddenly found himself face-to-face with Trixie. "How did you get so close without me noticing you?"

"You didn't tell Rainbow Dash about the 'Synchro Dragon' monsters? They're practically the cornerstone of the Speedroid Deck!" she said with a huff. "Trixie was wondering why she didn't try using them -- or any other more powerful Synchro Monsters -- against her Spellcasters. She thought it was just inexperience... or even a lack of funds, but certainly not because you deliberately held out on her."

Onyx's brain kicked into overdrive as he tried to catch up with what the illusionist was referring to. "I mean... technically 'Fast Dragon' is really the only one that's directly related to them, but I wanted to see how she'd do without them."

Rainbow Dash gasped loudly from back at the table. "You were holdin' out on me!"

Onyx held up his hands and knelt down under the counter. "Alright, alright; relax!" he said as he rose back up with a card binder. He flipped through a few of the pages before he found and picked three cards from their places. "Here; she can borrow mine. I haven't used Tuners and Synchro Monsters much, if at all, since I started playing my Phantom Knights Deck."

Trixie took the cards from Onyx's outstretched hand with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure? Trixie knows how much you value the cards from your own personal collection."

Onyx handed Trixie a pack of card sleeves. "Tell Rainbow to put those on her cards, and that if I see her so much as look at those three the wrong way that I'm taking them back."

Trixie laughed as she looked back at Rainbow Dash. "You catch that?"

Rainbow grimaced. "Yeah, I caught that. Now get back here and show me those cards! And they'd better be awesome after how much you've hyped them up, Trixie!"

After Trixie returned to the table, Onyx found himself with nothing to do. The girls had all found different things to occupy themselves and without any other customers he was pretty much just going to be... waiting there, for quite some time. He took a seat at the stool set up behind the counter and pulled his Deck from its box. If I'm not going to be using Dark Rebellion for a while, I should mix up my strategy and card ratios. Luckily; I have just the cards in mind to help me out...





Rainbow Dash hummed as she looked over the set of five test hands she had laid out from her newly improved Speedroid Deck. "Man; you really do know what you're doing, Trixie. With the tweaks we made to my Deck and those three new dragons, I bet I'll be able to beat you without taking a hit next time we play for real!"

"Trixie would rather not embarrass you in front of all of your little friends twice in such a short time, so perhaps you can give her at least a day before she has to go through the trouble of decimating you again?"

Rainbow pouted, but relented all the same. "Fine!" she exclaimed, scooping the freshly-sleeved cards back up and placing them into a Deck box. "How're you guys doing over there?"

A pair of muffled, yet obviously exasperated groans echoed from Sunset and Twilight -- the both of which were slumped over the table and glaring at the playing card set out before them.

"That well, huh?"

Twilight sat up straight first, adjusting her lopsided glasses and pushing them back up the bridge of her nose. "Aside from the initial response, we haven't managed to incite any kind of reaction from it. Not only that; but the magical wavelength signal that it was previously giving off has dropped dramatically in intensity since it's been over here and bottomed out at only a minuscule fraction of its original recorded strength."

Rainbow Dash looked incredulously at her friend. "Slow down, use fewer syllables."

Sunset drew herself up from the table as well, propping her elbow on the flat surface and resting her chin in her open hand. "Aside from what I saw right off the bat, we've got almost nothing," she said flatly.

"What she said."

"I figured that's what you meant, but still. So; what now?"

"If I can take it somewhere with more space -- enough to fit my personal equipment, to be precise -- then I should be able to perform some more accurate tests," Twilight mused, picking Dark Rebellion up and twirling the card in between her fingers. I wonder what exactly is going on in there? I should check Sunset's notes more thoroughly later on.

"Why not take the equipment to the school?" Trixie suggested, unfurling a sheet of paper that had been left on the table top. "Trixie would bet that the principal wouldn't mind accommodating you, considering the circumstances. Plus; Trixie believes that Shimmer did something similar once before."

Sunset nodded in approval. "That could work. If we get permission to use the Apple family's truck, then it shouldn't be too hard to move your things if even a few of us pitch in. We can all talk to Celestia tomorrow and get the permission we need."

"Shouldn't we have a backup plan in case she can't let us do that?"

Rainbow shook her head. "C'mon, Twi. Backup plan, schmackup plan -- we'll be fine!" she assured, glancing over at the paper in Trixie's hands. "What've you got there, Trixie?"

"Huh? Oh; it's this:" Trixie replied, handing the flier over to Rainbow. "It's a flier for an event the shop is holding on Saturday. Trixie is pretty sure that Fluttershy brought it back with her when she came over with Onyx's card. It's some kind of amateur hour novice tournament? Sounds like it'd be perfect for you."

Rainbow huffed and glared at Trixie, but looked over the flier all the same -- to her frustration finding that it did, in fact, sound like it would be perfect for her. According to the information on the flier: the event would be centered around a 16-man single elimination style tournament held for the newer Duel Monsters players in Canterlot to step into the scene with others of similar skill level. A few side events to cater towards any seasoned players who wanted to show up would be included as well.

"Well?"

Rainbow grinned and slapped the flier down on the table. "I'm in! This sounds like a good place to tell the whole town I'm the next big up-and-coming Duelist around!"

Trixie laughed. "Trixie thought you'd say something like that. Maybe she'll even consider going another round with you if you actually manage to take the whole thing."

"If I take the whole thing? Oh, Trixie; you'd better believe that I'm gonna do just that!"

"Do just what now?" Applejack asked as she, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy returned to the table. "What's this I'm hearin' about some kind of tournament?"

"Hey; welcome back! You find anything that catch your eye, AJ? Gotta say: I'm pumped to smack you down once you build a Deck of your own!" Rainbow greeted, accentuating her challenge with a quick shuffle of her own cards.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "I'm sure y'are, Rainbow -- but no, didn't find anythin' that really spoke to me just yet. You'll have to sit tight a li'l longer. Now about that tournament?"

"Dang. Well; according to this pamphlet flier thing and our Great and Loudmouthed friend over here..."

"Hey!"

"... it's like a newbie tournament hosted by this store. It's gonna be held this weekend. I was thinking about going, since my reputation as an awesome Duelist has to start somehow, doesn't it?"

Pinkie Pie hummed and snatched the flier from Rainbow's hand. "Hmmm. Let's see here. Refreshments, games, and... wow, sounds like there'll even be people?! Sounds an awful lot like a party to me! I'm in!" she chirped as she handed the paper back to her friend. "It's a good thing I think I know what I want to play!"

"Already?" Rainbow asked, taking the flier for herself again. "Aw, yeah! Haven't thrown down with you since our last prank war -- so this'll be a great chance for some payback!"

There was a collective groan from the rest of the group and a cheerful giggle from Pinkie. "It sure will, Dashie! Does anyone else think they'll be ready to play?"

Rarity shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I'm in the same situation as Applejack, as it were. I saw some of the most fabulous-looking cards while we were perusing the selection here, but I need to find something that's both pleasing to the eyes and practical in use -- and I don't think I've found the ones for me just yet."

"I still haven't decided if I really want to play or not," Fluttershy admitted. "But I'll definitely go to cheer you both on... if you want me to, that is."

Pinkie squealed and lifted Fluttershy off the ground in a big hug, earning herself an annoyed look from the other girl. "Of course we want you to! That would be just a-may-zing! Don'tcha think, Dashie? Don'tcha?!"

Rainbow grinned and gave Fluttershy an affirmative thumbs-up. "I sure do. You'll be able to see me make up for my last loss by taking the whole tournament!" she declared, brimming with confidence.

"We'll see about that," Trixie chimed in, smirking as she folded her arms. "Trixie, of course, isn't eligible for participation in the main event -- but she's excited to get back at Onyx for her last loss during the side event portion of the day. And also she'll be helping the employees run certain things. She's spent a lot of her spare time here, after all."

"Well; shoot. I can't just go and miss this here shindig if everyone else is goin' to be there. Count me in, too!"

"Woo-hoo! That's five for eight confirmed RSVP's! Rarity, Sunset, Twilight: how about the three of you? You wanna come watch me and Rainbow Dash kick some serious keister?!" Pinkie asked as she bounced in place, still clinging onto a now resigned Fluttershy.

Rarity smiled. "Of course I'll go, darling. Why; I may even be able to use some of the fascinating card artwork as a source of inspiration for some new designs! It would be nothing but beneficial to myself to attend."

Twilight and Sunset shared a look and laughed. Twilight was the first to speak. "I'd be more than happy to go. It's amazing how quickly you've become enamored with this Duel Monsters game, Rainbow. You remember that the only reason we ever even came up with the idea to learn it was to examine Onyx's magical card, right?"

"Y-yeah; but then it ended up being a lot of fun! There's no shame in that, right?"

"None at all," Sunset replied, standing up and stretching her arms behind her head. "Always good to find more things you can do with your friends." She looked at the time and looked visibly taken aback. "Whoa! How long have we been sitting there?" she asked, prompting the others to check their phones and watches and come to the same conclusion: they needed to head back to their own respective engagements.

After a series of goodbyes, everyone in the group aside from Twilight and Sunset departed from the store. The two remaining girls gathered up their notes and other personal items and stopped by the check-out station to say farewell to Onyx before exiting the building.

"Guess you all figured out what you needed to without my help, huh?" Onyx asked as they approached his counter with a smirk. "Heard from Rainbow and Trixie that I'm gonna be seeing you all there on Saturday, too. Should be a good time."

"We sure hope so!"

"Yeah..." Sunset looked down at her handbag, where Dark Rebellion was now being carefully stored away. "About your card -- "

Onyx held up his hand, waving away the rest of Sunset's statement. "Don't worry about it. I didn't understand a lot of the more complicated magibabble, but it sounds like you still need it to do... whatever it is you're trying to do. Just make sure it stays in good condition, alright?"

Sunset nodded firmly. "Alright. But; Onyx," she started, looking him directly in the eyes. The way they almost reminded her of the dragon's in her vision was astounding. "I can't be held responsible if it gets to attached to me instead of you, got it? That'll be all on you," she finished, topping it off with a light chuckle.

Onyx clicked his tongue. "I'll try not to be too hard on myself if that winds up being the case. Just don't spoil it."

Twilight and Sunset waved to onyx as they headed for the front of the store. They had only just let the door close behind them when Twilight turned to Sunset questioningly. "What was that about?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you were gonna ask him something about the card."

'Was I?"

Twilight frowned. "You were. I could tell." She turned on her heels and started walking in the direction of her home, and Sunset was quick to follow. "What made you decide not to say anything?"

Sunset sighed. "I didn't want to bother him with any more questions. I'm thinking maybe I can try and get some more info out of Dark Rebellion if I get it to share its space with me again." She gripped her geode tightly. "I don't think I've ever had anyone shut me out so completely like that before."

"There's a first time for everything, you know that as well as I do. Come on, let's hurry back to my place. If we want to start the second phase of our research proper and get you ready for that tournament by the end of the week, we're gonna need as much prep time as we can get."

"You could tell I wanted to compete too, huh?" Sunset asked, a little embarrassed that she had been seen through so easily. She thought she had disguised it pretty well.

Twilight only smiled in response as the two continued their journey back to her home. The two had some serious work to do over the next week or so, but the prospect only excited her. So many new things to experience, and I get to have those experiences alongside all of my friends. What could be better? she thought as she hummed a tune familiar to herself and Sunset.





Outside the card shop, a lone male figure watched as the two teenage girls departed the storefront, leaving the sole employee to tend to the remainder of his daily duties during his shift before eventually closing the store for the night. He scowled at the retreating employee, but his gaze turned to the girls once he had left the line of sight. He could feel that the presence was with the two -- not the man.

"This wasn't part of the plan." He paused briefly, as if listening to someone else speak. "There's no guarantee that would work, thou -- agh!" he exclaimed, clutching his head. "All right, all right -- fine! We'll try it your way," he relented. The pain stopped and he lowered his hand, shaking his head as he glared after the girls. "Guess we have a 'fun' Saturday ahead of us, don't we?"
> The Day of Conflict Arrives! Beware the Looming Darkness!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The week leading up to the card shop's tournament seemed to whirl by. Swamped by schoolwork and other assorted prior commitments, the girls didn't meet up at the card shop together as a full group again. Regardless; they all stopped by at one time or another when given the chance -- some to say hello to their new clerk acquaintance, who seemed more energetic as of late, or in the case of a certain few: to work on their Decks. Thus time passed, bringing Ashen Onyx to this moment: the Saturday morning of the event, which by this time was only a few hours away.

Onyx looked around the park to make sure everything was in order. There were signs that indicated that the Duel Field had been reserved by the shop for that day in a wide area surrounding it, and several booths operated by the employees had been set up in order to vend cards and refreshments to the players and any spectators that showed up -- seeing as admission was free, as long as the person in question wouldn't be Dueling in the tournament.

Onyx remembered the grumbling and complaints from Rainbow Dash when she had realized there was an admission fee, but along with Pinkie and -- as far as Onyx knew, unknown to the others aside from Twilight -- Sunset Shimmer, she paid for her entry just like the other contestants. As the scene was still developing within Canterlot, the final roster had ended up being relatively small. Even so; out of the sixteen participants, only one could be declared the winner -- and in the single elimination environment, they would be sure to play their best. At least, that was the plan.

Handing a handful of printouts displaying the bracket to one of his fellow employees, Onyx took a moment to sit down in the shade beneath one of the oak trees. Conflicting feelings raced through his mind as he tried to take some calming breaths and relax. While the weather outside seemed as though it would be fantastic and the preparations were proceeding as smoothly as possible, there was something that nagged at his thoughts -- a faint uneasiness that assured Onyx that something dark was on the horizon. 

He laid back against the bark and rested his head against his arms. Hopefully I'm just overthinking things. Maybe I'll ask how Sunset or Twilight feel when they show up. They seem like they'd be more in tune with this stuff.

"Hey, Onyx! You going to keep lazing around like that or do you feel like getting back in gear soon? We don't have all day, you know!"

Onyx groaned. "I've been sitting here for like ten seconds!" he called back as he got to his feet. Whatever, might as well try to take my mind off of things...

As Onyx and his fellow employees continued to prepare the area and the to-be vendors and other such personnel for their duties for the day, a quiet onlooker glared in the direction of the Duel Field with a sinister look in his eye. "Looks like it's almost time," he muttered. "Let's just hope they show up soon."





Rainbow Dash practically cackled as she rubbed her hands together. "This is going to be easy! I'll swoop in, beat everyone in one turn with all my awesome combos and take the first place prize! The... the, uh..." she trailed off, coming to a full stop in the middle of the sidewalk, her friends all pausing behind her as to not slam right into her back. "What exactly is the prize for winning?"

"The shop's home page said that top three contestants -- or four, actually; due to the single elimination style and number of participants -- all receive a number of card packs of their choice and a trophy, with first place getting five and it decreasing by one from there. The winner and runner up both get a custom set of card protectors and a play mat. And... it looks like the one who takes it all gets to also choose a specific 'prize card' from a small pool of choices," Twilight rattled off, having gone over every detail of the event prior to meeting up with the others in the event something like this happened to come up.

"Oh. Can't they just give out prize money or something?"

"It's a policy of the company that actually produces the game. They don't offer any direct cash prizes in their tournaments, so One/Two Shuffle!! simply decided to follow that precedent."

Applejack smirked and lightly nudged Rainbow in the side. "Might be gettin' a little ahead o' yourself there, girl. Already talking 'bout prizes and whatnot? You ain't even seen the rest of the competition yet!"

"She's got a point, Dash." Sunset fell into step beside Rainbow Dash -- who was currently swatting away Applejacks prodding elbow -- as the group walked along. "And don't forget: I'm not planning on making things easy for you."

"Me neither!" Pinkie Pie squeezed between Applejack and Rainbow, bounding along the sidewalk. "Or is it either? Whichever it is, I'm also not going to just let you win! Pinkie needs a new pair of slinkies."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I'm not sure if you're being serious or you just wanted that to rhyme. Well; whatever! We'll just have to see which of us is more skilled." Rainbow ducked back, wrapping her arm around Fluttershy's shoulder. "At least 'shy over here is gonna be in my corner, right?"

"Oh! Um; if that's what you want, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy smiled. "I'll be able to put all that cheering practice we did to good use!"

"Ooh! Ooh! If Fluttershy is going to be on Team Rainbow Dash, then I'm going to be on Team Sunset Shimmer!" Pinkie exclaimed, waving her arms frantically.

"Pinkie," Twilight laughed. "If you're going to be on any team at all, shouldn't you be on 'Team Pinkie Pie?'"

"You're only saying that because you want to be on Team Sunset all by yourself!"

"I wouldn't be by myself. I would be with Sunset."

"Oh, yeah. Then in that case: I call Applejack!" Pinkie zipped back over to the farmhand and pulled her in. "You know what they say: (possible) family comes first!"

Applejack chuckled. "I reckon somebody somewhere has gone and said that at least once. Team Pinkie sounds good to me. Who're you rootin' for, Rarity?"

"Me? Hm; I wasn't aware I was going to have to choose a side. I think I shall reserve my decision for after I've seen the cards you've all chosen to play. Provides an opportunity to weigh my options and such."

"You're gonna pick a side based on how everyone's cards look?"

"Of course! I'm on the side of fabulousity, darling -- always have been. I thought you would have picked that up at some point."

"Hey! Is that the thing over there?!"

The group turned and their gazes followed Pinkie's outstretched finger. They were greeted with the sight of a sizable crowd gathering around the central Canterlot Park's Duel Field -- some strangers, but others familiar. As they approached the "venue" for the day, they were even able to spot a multitude of students from Canterlot High: including the DJ Vinyl Scratch and exchange student Octavia Melody, Photo Finish, Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon, Bulk Biceps, and even Flash Sentry.

"Wow," whistled Sunset as she and her friends walked ever closer to the arena and all the contestants and spectators present. "Looks like we're going to be putting on quite the show today."

"Ha ha; you can say that again." Onyx waved as he walked over to the seven girls, an employee lanyard labeled "T.O/Judge" slung around his neck.

"Okay! Looks like we're -- "

"Please don't."

"Howdy, Onyx. I take it things are goin' well on your end?"

"Sure are. Well; for the most part, at least." Onyx looked pensive for a moment. "Setup has been great, everything's gone according to plan -- but the whole time I had this bizarre feeling like... I dunno how to describe it other than: something felt off."

"That's... reassuring." Sunset looked around for a bit, but didn't see anything even remotely suspicious that could have been the cause of her friend's distress. "Maybe it's just nerves. I'm sure everything's going to be fine."

Rainbow and Twilight grimaced. "Oh, great. That's the thing that only ever gets said when something is definitely not going to be fine."

Onyx shrugged. "Well; let's hope she's right. Though that's enough from me -- what about you guys? You find anything interesting to report about the, uh... the one thing?" he asked, eyes shifting over to the box clipped to Sunset's belt.

Sunset, following his gaze, removed the box from her belt and flipped it open. She pulled the one card from the box covered by a black sleeve rather than the bright orange she had chosen for her own set. "We did find out a few things, but I'm not sure we have the time to elaborate on any of them right now. I do think you should take this back, though," she said as she held the card out in front of her.

Onyx stared at the card for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah. I'll wait until the day's over. You can make it with that deck of yours, so why don't you let it stretch its legs out there?"

Sunset frowned. "But it -- "

"Hey, Onyx!" a second employee called, jogging up to the group. "We're having one last quick meeting before things get started. We need you over there, stat."

"On it." Onyx turned back towards the girls and flashed an apologetic smile. "Guess I'll see the seven of you in a bit. Head over to the stand that says 'Contestants' on it as soon as you can -- you can pick up the bracket listings and your rental Duel Disks from there. Catch you later!"

Sunset and the others watched as Onyx headed over to a gathering of other employees, chatting cheerfully with the one who had come to fetch him.

"That went about as well as I was expecting."

Twilight patted Sunset on the back. "We'll try again once things start winding down. Let's head to that stand so we can get you, Pinkie, and Rainbow ready to go once they're done over there."

"Fear not! I can get you sorted right away, competitors!"

The girls whirled around to see Trixie standing with her hands on her hips, equipped with a lanyard of her own: this one labeled "Volunteer."

"Trixie? Oh yeah, you did say you were gonna be helping them out here today. Don't you have to go to that meeting thing?" Rainbow asked, glancing toward the employees gathered around Onyx, who appeared to be going over some sort of checklist.

"I may be helping out, but I'm not an employee. The Great and Powerful Trixie! is simply here to help her old friend. And... her new ones, I guess? Come on, I can grab your brackets and the Disks you're renting." Trixie motioned for the others to follow and headed to the "Contestants" stand, rummaging around for a few moments before popping back up with the aforementioned items.

Rainbow grumbled as Sunset and Pinkie had their Disks fitted by Trixie. "Still can't believe they're handing these new models out for practically nothing at all, even if it's only for a few hours." She looked over the tournament bracket, scanning the list for her name among the sixteen total.

Trixie clicked Sunset's Disk into place on her wrist and activated the hard light blade, switching the display color to a reddish-orange. "Everything was set up randomly, no seeds or anything -- so blame the web site for the set up if you're not happy about it."

Fluttershy peeked over Rainbow's shoulder to look over the list beside her. "Oh; I hope that the three of you don't have to face each other in the first round."

Rarity leaned in from Rainbow's opposite side. "It would make my inevitable team selection that much easier, though."

Trixie moved on to Pinkie's Disk, igniting the blade and changing the display color to a soft, baby blue as per the bubbly girl's request. "Team selection? You mean you all split into groups based on who's competing?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie chirped, waving around the blade and giggling at every whoosh that followed it. "Me and AJ are on Team Me; Twilight and Sunset are on Team Sunset; and Fluttershy is with Dashie on Team Rainbow! Rarity didn't pick because she hasn't seen how pretty my cards are yet!"

Trixie stepped back to avoid getting smacked by Pinkie's Disk. "Uh-huh. If I had to pick one at all, I'd probably go with Team Rainbow. I did use my astounding level of expertise to lend a hand with her Deck construction, after all."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she fished her own Duel Disk out of her bag, laying the paper out on the table the stand was set around. "Thanks, I guess. Do you know if the matches have to be played in the order they're listed here?" she asked as she donned and activated her peripheral, nodding with satisfaction as it clicked into place.

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"I'm all the way down in the last slot. Eighth match of round one."

Applejack strode over to the other side of the stand and spun the paper around so she could check it for herself. "And you're up against... no way! You're up against Braeburn? Well; I'll be!"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at Applejack. "I thought the name sounded kind of familiar. Friend of yours?"

"Cousin, actually. I didn't even know he was in town!"

Pinkie snatched the list and smashed it into her face in an attempt to find her own name in quite possibly the least efficient manner possible. "What about me? Where are me and Sunset?!"

"Sunset and I!" Twilight objected.

Sunset gently peeled the list off of Pinkie's face and held it a few inches from her eyes. "Try now."

"Oh, that's better!" Pinkie said, scouring the names for her own. "A-ha! There I am! It looks like I'll be playing in the fourth match of the first round!"

"Seems that I'll be playing in the third match." Sunset noted with a frown, looking up at Pinkie. "That means we'll already be Dueling each other in round two if we both win our games."

To her credit, Pinkie seemed much more excited by the prospect than Sunset. "I guess that means we have to make sure we do just that. Playing against you should be a whole lot of fun!" she giggled. "But I can't let you win if I want to play with Rainbow Dash, too!"

Sunset's features softened into a smile and she chuckled. "Glad you're so excited. You're right; it should be a blast."

The sound of microphone feedback rang out across the park, coming from the direction of the Duel Field. "Competitors! Spectators!" came Onyx's voice from the field's built-in speakers. "It's about noon, which means we're just about ready to roll up the curtain and start this show proper!" he announced to the cheers and whoops from the people assembled in the park.

The eight girls left the stand, after making sure they had their bracket lists and other assorted belongings and headed toward the arena. Trixie smirked as they approached the stage. "It's not quite the presentation The Great and Powerful Trixie! is used to, but it's effective enough."

Onyx waited for the rabble to calm before he continued. "However; it seems as if a few of our contestants are running a little late -- but they've all called to assure us that they're on their way. Until then, I'm sure you'd rather we bring up some of our competitors right away so you can get a taste of what's to come, huh?"

Another round of cheers affirmed this, and it looked like the response Onyx had been hoping for. "That's good! I was hoping you'd all agree. One of our players has a bit of an issue when it comes to being patient, so since she and her opponent are already here, why don't they get their round sorted out nice and early? Come on up to the stage: Braaaebuuuurn and Raaainbooow Dash!"

Rainbow laughed and pumped her fist as the applause sounded around her. "Perfect! Looks like I was worried for nothing. I'll say 'hi' to your cousin for you, AJ!" She ran to the field and hopped up the side, waving to the crowd while flashing a confident grin.

Braeburn was the next to come up to the stage, donning a western-style hat of his own -- that enough bringing out a great deal of the family resemblance between himself and Applejack. "Howdy there," he greeted Rainbow Dash as they met in the middle of the stage. "My cousin over yonder has told me a bit about you. Like the man over there said: the name's Braeburn. Nice to meet'cha." He extended his hand for a shake, which Rainbow accepted.

"Same to you. Sorry in advance, by the way. You know; for embarrassing you in front of her and all."

Braeburn laughed. "Funny. Was about to say that myself. May the best player win."

Onyx took that as his cue to take over one last time. "All right, everybody! One last time I'd like to welcome you to One/Two Shuffle!!'s 'Burgeoning Battles' Duel Monsters tournament! After this match concludes we'll be opening the vendors's stalls and setting up the side events -- so make sure to take a look around once these two fierce competitors lay down their Disks. Without further ado: Duel start!"

The two competitors took their cues, backing up into their respective sides and raising their Duel Disks, the system blinking between the two before stopping on Rainbow Dash, naming her the first to play. Both Duelists drew their first five cards, looked into each other's eyes, and sounded off the call:

"Duel!"


“DUEL FIELD: ONLINE;
SINGLE GAME -- ONE ON ONE;
SOLID VISION SYSTEM FUNCTIONING NORMALLY;
DUEL START.”

TURN: ONE
RAINBOW -- 4000 LP
HAND: 5


Rainbow looked over the cards in her hand properly, finding that she had lucked out big time right off the bat. Awesome! she thought, a plan hatching in her head. Since I'm the one starting, there should be nothing he can do to stop this play from happening! "Get ready, Braeburn! I'm gonna start things off with a bang. Since I control no monsters: I can Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand!"

The multi-part spinning top rushed to the field to heed its master's call, wriggling its body to and fro. "When this monster hits the field, I can use its effect -- which lets me grab one of my other Speedroid monsters from my Deck." Rainbow tapped a button and a card was stuck out amidst the others, the whole stack being shuffled automatically once she took a hold of it. "Like this one: Speedroid Taketomborg -- which I'm allowed to Summon since I control a WIND Attribute monster!" she declared as the spindly robot manifested itself in a flash of light.

"This feels mighty familiar," Applejack mused as she looked at Rainbow's two creatures. "Ain't this how she started her Duel against Trixie?"

"It is," Twilight replied, consulting her notes. "It's one of her deck's more potent openings, if I understand the Speedroid archetype correctly."

Trixie nodded in agreement. "You'd probably be right in saying that. Though don't expect it to stay the same from here on out -- she's definitely picked up a few new tricks since back then."

"Really? But it's only been about a week."

Trixie frowned. "I know. I was trying to build up a little tension."

"You know, it's kind of funny," Pinkie said. "It has only been about a week, but it somehow feels like it's been closer to a year. How weird is that?"

Rainbow Dash picked her Taketomborg right back off from her Disk and moved to place it in her Graveyard. "I'll activate its effect; Tributing it so that I can Summon another Speedroid from my Deck -- though this one has to be a Tuner."

Braeburn let out a low whistle. "You're doin' a whole lot considerin' you ain't even used your Normal Summon yet. Should I be scared?"

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Maybe. Come on out: Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke!"



Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke
Level 3
WIND Machine/Tuner/Effect Monster
ATK/1000 DEF/1000
You can banish this card from your Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Speedroid" Tuner monster from your hand or Graveyard, except "Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke". You can only use this effect of "Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke" once per turn.



The good duke was decked out in what might be considered regal attire -- including a red cape that reached to its ankles, but the effect was ruined by the cartoonish nature of the card. Den-Den Daiko held its drum-topped staff aloft and did its best to look as intimidating as possible.

"A Tuner and a non-Tuner... that means you're gonna pull off one o' them Synchro Summon things, right?" Braeburn wondered aloud as he sized up Rainbow's newest card.

"Not this time!" Rainbow Dash denied. "Instead I'll go ahead and place both of my monsters in the Link Markers!"

That got a hoot out of Braeburn. "You too, huh? All righty then, let's see what you've got!"

Both of Rainbow's monsters turned into spirals of energy as a large gate-like object adorned with eight red arrows pointing in various directions appeared over the right side Extra Monster Zone of the holographic playing field. The two spirals drilled into the arrows on the bottom-left and bottom-right of the gate and the opening glowed a bright blue.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The conditions for this monster are any two WIND Attribute monsters!" Rainbow explained, holding up two fingers. "I Link Summon the Link Two Monster: Greatfly!"



Greatfly
Link Rating 2 (Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right)
WIND Insect/Link/Effect Monster
ATK/1400
2 WIND monsters
All WIND monsters on the field gain 500 ATK/DEF, also all EARTH monsters on the field lose 500 ATK/DEF. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can target 1 WIND monster in your GY; add it to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Greatfly" once per turn.



The monster that emerged from the Link Circuit gate was a sight to behold. It was an absolutely colossal six-legged insect -- the forward two legs resembling arms more than anything. Or, rather; the left foreleg resembled an arm. Its right foreleg was more of a curved scythe-like protrusion that it brandished threateningly. The monster's violet eyes, locked in a perpetual glare, stared ahead as liquid dribbled out of its mouth between its rows of razor-sharp teeth.

From the audience, Rarity recoiled in horror. "Eugh! That beast is just absolutely horrid!"

"'Horrid' or not, this monster's gonna take me places! Right, big guy?!" Rainbow called to the insectoid beast, though this elicited no response from the monster. "While it's on the field, all WIND monsters -- including itself -- gain a big five hundred Attack and Defense Points!"

Greatfly was surrounded by a green aura, and its ATK value increased from its base 1,400 to a more impressive 1,900.

"Remember that Normal Summon you were talking about earlier? Well; here it comes: let's do this thing, Double Yoyo!" Rainbow continued, placing her next card onto one of the Monster Zones on her Disk. Double Yoyo emerged from its card and took its place on the field. The monster then spun one of its disc-like appendages into a glowing chasm that opened beneath it. 

"When Yoyo here is Normal Summoned, I can use its effect to Special Summon a Speedroid from my Graveyard; and as it just so happens: I recently wound up with a couple of those. Come on back, Daiko Duke!" Rainbow commanded, waving as the monster was yanked back from the great beyond before taking its place on the field once more.

"Now I'll Synchro Summon! I'll tune the Level Four Yoyo with the Level Three Daiko Duke," Rainbow announced. The duke burst apart after sounding a beat on his drum and morphed into a series of rings. Yoyo leaped through the rings and became a pillar of bright green light. A blinding flash of white erupted from the point of contact, forcing those present to shield their eyes.

Rainbow Dash clasped her hands together and closed her eyes tightly, brows knit as if she was trying to remember something. "Blistering dragon with your translucent wings, rush headlong to my side so that we can take this guy down in no time! Appear! Level Seven: Clear Wing Fast Dragon!"



Clear Wing Fast Dragon
Level 7
WIND Dragon/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect Monster
ATK/2500 DEF/2000
◆4◆
1 Tuner and 1 or more non-Tuner WIND monsters
Pendulum Effect: You can send 1 face-up "Speedroid" Tuner and 1 face-up non-Tuner monster you control to the Graveyard, whose total Levels equal 7, Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone. You can only use this effect of "Clear Wing Fast Dragon" once per turn.
Monster Effect: During either player's turn: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, until the end of this turn, change its ATK to 0, also that face-up monster has its effects negated. You can only use this effect of "Clear Wing Fast Dragon" once per turn. If this card in the Monster Zone is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can place this card in your Pendulum Zone.



The dragon zipped out of the flash of light with a roar, spun in place and struck a fierce pose. Its angular body was mostly made of a metallic-looking silver plating, though it was interrupted in several places by segments of stark white, black, and green. Instead of legs, it simply had a long pointed tail, also segmented into black and silver sections. As its name implied: its wings appeared to be made of a teal transparent, almost glass-like material.

Braeburn  -- after lowering his arms and taking in the sight before him -- frantically looked between the new beast on the field and his Duel Disk's display, stunned by the sheer amount of information it presented him with. "W-whoa. I gotta tell you, partner: I ain't ever seen anything like that before. It sure is... mighty impressive."

"Thanks!" Rainbow replied. "I've taken a liking to it, myself. Oh -- by the way; Clear Wing here gains five hundred Attack Points thanks to Greatfly. Almost forgot about that." Rainbow looked on as Clear Wing was surrounded by the same aura that enveloped Greatfly and its strength increased from its base 2,500 to 3,000. "This move's gone on long enough, so I'll place this card face-down," she said as she slotted a card into her back row, "and end my turn!"

Braeburn adjusted his hat before drawing a card from his deck. "All that in one play. Looks like I've got quite the act t'follow, don't I?"


TURN: TWO
BRAEBURN -- 4000 LP
HAND: 6


"It's a good thing this ain't my first rodeo! Let's do this!" Braeburn said as he picked a card from his hand. "I'll start by activatin' my Field Spell: a little number called Boot Sector Launch."



Boot Sector Launch
Field Spell
All "Rokket" monsters on the field gain 300 ATK/DEF.
You can activate 1 of these effects,
• Special Summon up to 2 "Rokket" monsters with different names from your hand in Defense Position.
• If your opponent controls more monsters than you do: Special Summon "Rokket" monsters with different names from your GY in Defense Position, up to the difference.
You can only use this effect of "Boot Sector Launch" once per turn.



Rainbow frowned and looked at her own Field Spell Zone -- currently occupied by Greatfly, due to the age of her Duel Disk model -- as the arena around her transformed. "Every time."

"I'm gonna go ahead and use the first effect of my Boot Sector, lettin' me launch these two Rokket monsters outta my hand!" Braeburn continued, taking two more cards from his hand and placing them on his own Disk. "Gather 'round, y'all; welcome my Metalrokket Dragon and Autorokket Dragon to the game!"



Metalrokket Dragon
Level 4
DARK Dragon/Effect Monster
ATK/1700 DEF/1400
When a Link Monster's effect is activated that targets this face-up card on the field (Quick Effect): You can destroy this card, then destroy all cards your opponent controls in the same column as the zone this card was in. During the End Phase, if this card is in the GY because it was destroyed on the field by battle or card effect and sent there this turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Rokket" monster from your Deck, except "Metalrokket Dragon". You can only use each effect of "Metalrokket Dragon" once per turn.





Autorokket Dragon
Level 3
DARK Dragon/Effect Monster
ATK/1600 DEF/1000
When a Link Monster's effect is activated that targets this face-up card on the field (Quick Effect): You can destroy this card, then send 1 Spell/Trap on the field to the GY. During the End Phase, if this card is in the GY because it was destroyed on the field by battle or card effect and sent there this turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Rokket" monster from your Deck, except "Autorokket Dragon". You can only use each effect of "Autorokket Dragon" once per turn.



Sunset hummed, looking over the new dragons with furrowed brows -- the two Rokkets were both long, serpentine creatures coated in armor. Going along with the theme established by Boot Sector and the massive chamber that resembled the chamber of a revolver, their heads were shaped like various bullet casings. 

Applejack noticed Sunset's apparent confusion and leaned in. "What's up?"

"Oh; nothing." Sunset shrugged. "It's just that I don't really get it. His deck choice. Or; rather, I guess I wasn't expecting it. Since he's related to you, I figured he would play something more... I don't know -- apple and/or farm-related?"

"He's always been real into ol' Western movies. I just figured he was goin' off of that. Hollywood cowboys and those guns o' theirs an' all."

"I guess that makes sense."

Braeburn crossed his arms and smirked at Rainbow. "Your monsters might get a bit o' help from your big bug there, but mine'll get a three hundred point boost from my Field Spell too," he explained as Metalrokket and Autorokket both had their DEF values increase from 1,400 and 1,000 to 1,700 and 1,300, respectively.

"Big deal! Neither of them can beat Greatfly or Clear Wing. Your Spell brought both of them out in Defense Position -- and they're not going to be doing any damage to me that way."

"Lucky for me that I'm just gettin' started, then!"





"According to this here," the onlooker that had spent much of his morning in the shade of the various trees scattered around the park muttered to himself, glancing occasionally from afar at the ongoing Duel between Rainbow Dash and Braeburn. "I'm going to have to get through one of these two in order to get to the girl who's holding on to that Xyz Dragon card."

He closed his eyes, forcing his hand to stay at his side and not rush up to his head in reflex as the now expected but no less severe pain tore through his mind. "You're really going to need to shut up if you don't want us getting called out for being suspicious," he growled, his eyes darting toward the direction of the box clipped onto his own belt.

"You knew this was going to be a process. We both did. The more we know about these people, the easier it'll be for you to get exactly what you want," he continued, folding the bracket paper and stuffing it into his pocket. "Until then: we sit back, relax, and 'enjoy' the show."


TO BE CONTINUED...

> Down the Barrel: The Synchro Dragon's Defiant Roar!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


TURN: TWO
BRAEBURN -- 4000 LP
HAND: 3
FIELD:
- Main Monster Zone: [Metalrokket Dragon; Defense Position; 1700 DEF]
[Autorokket Dragon; Defense Position; 1300 DEF]
- Field Spell Zone: [Boot Sector Launch]


"These two monsters are ferocious enough as is, but how about I go ahead an' bring in another to back 'em up? Come on out, Shelrokket Dragon!" Braeburn said as he placed another Monster Card from his hand onto his Duel Disk.



Shelrokket Dragon
Level 2
DARK Dragon/Effect Monster
ATK/1100 DEF/2000
When a Link Monster's effect is activated that targets this face-up card on the field (Quick Effect): You can destroy this card, then destroy 1 monster in the column this card was in, and if you do, destroy any monsters in that card's adjacent zones. During the End Phase, if this card is in the GY because it was destroyed on the field by battle or card effect and sent there this turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Rokket" monster from your Deck, except "Shellrokket Dragon". You can only use each effect of "Shellrokket Dragon" once per turn.



Shelrokket shared many of the basic components of its design from its fellow "Rokket" brethren, having a body and head reminiscent of "shells" that would be fired from a shotgun. Regardless of its threatening appearance; even after Boot Sector's Attack Point modification effect raised its ATK value to 1,400: it was still the weakest monster on the field.

"I'm still not scared, Braeburn!" Rainbow declared, eyeing up Braeburn's newest creature. "Your monster can't do anything to Clear Wing or Greatfly with those wimpy Attack Points! And those effects," she added, bringing up the three "Rokket" cards on her Duel Disk display, "require them to be targeted by Link Monsters. Greatfly doesn't target anything, so you're fresh out of luck there!"

Braeburn smirked and fiddled with the brim of his hat. "Right. 'cause my whole strategy would revolve around hopin' you'd go and target my cards with your Link Monsters. You'd think someone usin' a Deck like yours'd get what I'm tryin' to go for here."

"A deck like mine...?" Rainbow asked. Suddenly; she remembered something Braeburn had said when she Summoned her Greatfly.

You too, huh?

"You're going for a Link Summon!"

"Got it in one, partner! I open a Link Circuit!" Braeburn called as the massive gateway opened above his field, again surrounded by eight gray arrows. "Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions for this card are two -- count 'em, two 'Rokket' monsters! I set my newly Summoned Shel and my ol' pal Auto in them there Link Markers!" 

The two aforementioned monsters cried out and transformed into shining purple streams of light that drilled into the same bottom-diagonal arrows that Rainbow's had, lighting them up a brilliant scarlet as they forcibly impacted upon the surface.

"Link Summon!" Braeburn shouted as the open center of the gate glowed with a bright white light and another new monster emerged from within. "Let's show 'em what we've got: Link Two; Booster Dragon!" he finished, taking his own blue hexagonal-patterned card out of his Extra Deck and slotting it into the Extra Monster Zone, which appeared directly opposite Greatfly on the field's spectator-friendly display.



Booster Dragon
Link Rating 2 (Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right)
DARK Dragon/Link/Effect Monster
ATK/1900
2 "Rokket" monsters
Once per turn: You can target 1 other face-up monster on the field; it gains 500 ATK/DEF. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation. If this Link Summoned card is destroyed by battle or card effect and sent to the GY: You can target 1 other Dragon monster in your GY; Special Summon it. You can only use this effect of "Booster Dragon" once per turn.



"Two Duelists using the newest -- and possibly the most controversial -- Extra Deck Summoning method in the game in our first matchup," Onyx commented, letting out a low whistle. "They seem to understand it pretty well, too! Let's see where Braeburn is going with this, folks."

Rainbow wondered that herself. On the surface level; Booster Dragon shared many of its characteristics with Braeburn's "Rokkets." Its metal-plated, draconic body evoked the mental image of a six-shot revolver, and its ATK value stood at 1,900 -- which wasn't terrible by any stretch for a Link Two monster, but it was actually the same as the Autorokket he had used in its Summon after applying Boot Sector Launch's effect.

"Oh no; I'm not just going to sit here and let you do whatever you want!" Rainbow said, wary of the card's potential effects. "I activate my Clear Wing Fast Dragon's effect!"

"Respondin' right to my Summon?" Braeburn questioned, lips still upturned in amusement. "You must be real scared, Dash."

"I ain't -- er, I'm not scared! I just know better. Do your thing, Clear Wing!" she commanded. 

Clear Wing Fast Dragon responded to Rainbow's call by roaring loudly and cloaking itself in a bright aura, which it proceeded to shine on Booster Dragon, who cried out as its strength was sapped from its body. Its ATK fell to a flat zero and red static coursed across its body, indicating that its own effect or effects had been shut off.

"So that there's a Quick Effect, eh? Drainin' any Extra Deck monster's Attack Points and makin' em lose their effects sure is dangerous; especially if you can do it on my turn," Braeburn noted, turning to Rainbow. "Thanks for blowin' such a powerful effect so early on this here guy!"

"Huh?"

"You heard me right! I was hopin' you'd do that! I'm gonna go ahead and open another Link Circuit! The Summoning conditions this time around are any monsters, except for Tokens -- as long as there's at least two of 'em. And lucky me, looks like I ain't got any o' those, so let's do this! Go, Booster Dragon! Metalrokket Dragon!"

The Link gate opened once more overhead. Booster Dragon split into two streams of light and flew into the two arrows at the top and bottom of the gate while Metalrokket affixed itself into the arrow on the mid-left side.

"Wait... huh?" Applejack questioned from the crowd, the first to speak up during the action in some time. "Three of the arrows lit up, but he only used two monsters. How's that work, again?"

"Were you paying any attention to Onyx when he was telling us how Link Summoning worked, Applejack?" Twilight asked, looking for all the world like she was preparing for a lecture of her own.

"Gimme a break, Twi', I did my best! There was a lot of info bein' dumped on us all at once back then."

Twilight huffed, but decided to let it go... for now. "A Link Monster can be used as either one monster or as many arrows as it has when it's being used to Link Summon a monster with a higher Link Rating. Since it appears that Braeburn is choosing to Summon a Link Three monster, he's using the debilitated Booster Dragon as two of the arrows needed to fill in his newest monster's Link Markers while using his other monster as the third. Does that make sense?"

"Kinda. I guess."

Regardless of whether or not it made sense to Applejack, the Summon continued unhindered in the Duel. "Appear! Link Three; Triple Burst Dragon!" Braeburn called out as his monster emerged from the bright flash that erupted out of the circuit.



Triple Burst Dragon
Link Rating 3 (Top, Left, Bottom)
DARK Dragon/Link/Effect Monster
ATK/2400
2+ monsters, except Tokens
Once per turn, during the Damage Step, when a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage. During your Main Phase, except during the turn this card was Special Summoned: You can Tribute this card, then target 1 Link-2 or lower monster in your GY; Special Summon it, then you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Dragon monster from your hand.



It was clear that Braeburn's Triple Burst Dragon had gotten its name from the trio of gun barrels that jutted out from it, one from the center of its chest and the other two that rested on its shoulders. Its single, scope-like eye zeroed in on Rainbow Dash's monsters and it spread its massive arms out wide and let loose a roar as it readied itself for battle.

Rainbow skimmed over Triple Burst's card text and smirked. "I have to admit that you've got yourself a pretty cool card there, Braeburn; but it won't be able to beat my Clear Wing with its lower Attack Points or its effect!"

Braeburn shrugged. "You got me there, partner. Guess I'll have to find another way to take it out. Before I can do that, though: I'll use the second effect of my Boot Sector!"

"'Second effect'... it had more than one?!"

"That's right, Rainbow Dash -- my Field Spell's second effect allows me to bring back any number o' 'Rokket' monsters as I want -- as long as I don't end up with more monsters than you've got workin' for you!" Braeburn explained as a pit opened underneath one of his Monster Zones, out from which Shelrokket Dragon reemerged before taking a defensive stance. "That means I only get one back since you have two monsters, but that's just fine with me!"

Rainbow clenched her jaw as she looked over Braeburn's new field. Triple Burst was still weaker than her own Clear Wing, but it was powerful enough to defeat Greatfly. And then there's that Rokket and his Field Spell. I think he's setting up some kind of combo to make sure he always has enough monsters to make stronger and stronger Link Monsters...

"Let's battle!" Braeburn declared as the Duel Disk system acknowledged the shift in Phase. "Triple Burst Dragon, wipe out that great big ugly bug o' hers! Attack Greatfly with your Triple Precision Shot!"

Rainbow couldn't do anything but dig in her heels as Triple Burst Dragon roared, a click sounding through the arena as its triplet cannons locked and loaded. Its scope eye locked onto Greatfly and it fired three simultaneous shots, obliterating the massive insect in a brilliant burst of explosive firepower and reducing Rainbow's Life Points to 3,500. 

"It may be gone, but it's going down swinging! Greatfly's effect activates when it's taken down, allowing me to bring back one WIND Attribute monster from my grave!" Rainbow explained as she placed the Link Monster into her Graveyard and nabbed Terrortop from the slot. 

As she did, however; Braeburn held up a finger. "Ah, ah, ah! The effect o' my Triple Burst will now go off, allowing me to hogtie -- er, negate one effect that would activate during this here Damage Step!"

Rainbow frowned as she brought her hand back to her side. "Since Greatfly's not there to back it up anymore, Clear Wing loses its five hundred point boost," she continued as the green aura around her dragon dissipated and its values returned to their default status.

Braeburn shrugged as he placed the last two cards in his hand into his Duel Disk, where they appeared on the holographic field face-down. "I've been goin' on long enough, so I guess it's time to call it a turn. 'fore that, though: I'll leave these two cards here as a surprise for later. You're up, Dash!"

"Right! Let's go!" Rainbow announced as she drew a fresh card from the top of her Deck.


TURN: THREE
RAINBOW -- 3500 LP
HAND: 3
FIELD:
- Extra Monster Zone: [Clear Wing Fast Dragon; Attack Position; 2500 ATK]
- Spell/Trap Zone: [1 Set Card]


Rainbow skimmed over her hand with a frown. "Wish I'd been able to get one of my other Speedroids back," she muttered as she looked from her available cards to the field. If I end up with a bunch of monsters, then he'll just be able to use his Field Spell to Summon more of his Rokkets back, and if I destroy Shelrokket he just gets another to replace it. Guess there's only one thing to do!

"Somethin' the matter, Dash?"

"Hardly! I'm going straight to the Battle Phase!" Rainbow declared. "Clear Wing Fast Dragon, attack Braeburn's Triple Burst Dragon! Whirlwind Accel Strike!" she commanded, pointing toward Braeburn's monster. Clear Wing reared back and cried out before charging swiftly at Triple Burst. Now when we get to the Damage Step, I'll use its effect to drop Burst to zero, and then I can --

"Hold it right there, partner!" Braeburn cut in, tapping a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate my Trap Card, Tactical Exchamber!"



Tactical Exchamber
Normal Trap
Target 1 face-up monster you control; destroy it, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Rokket" monster from your Deck or GY with a different original name. You can only activate 1 "Tactical Exchamber" per turn.



Oh.

"My Trap Card allows me to destroy one o' my own monsters t'Summon a "Rokket" from my Deck or my grave -- as long as it don't have the same name as the card I destroyed!" Braeburn explained. "Buh-bye, Triple Burst!" he explained as his Link Monster exploded into countless shards of light, replaced by a different monster. "Meet this li'l guy: my Anesthrokket Dragon!"



Anesthrokket Dragon
Level 1
DARK Dragon/Effect Monster
ATK/0 DEF/2200
When a Link Monster's effect is activated that targets this face-up card on the field (Quick Effect): You can destroy this card, then make 1 face-up monster on the field unable to attack, also it has its effects negated. During the End Phase, if this card is in the GY because it was destroyed on the field by battle or card effect and sent there this turn: You can Special Summon 1 "Rokket" monster from your Deck, except "Anesthrokket Dragon". You can only use each effect of "Anesthrokket Dragon" once per turn.



The new Rokket monster appeared on the field in Defense Position, arms crossed in a defensive stance, clocking in at 2,500 Defense Points after the effect of Boot Sector Launch applied to it. Braeburn smiled at Rainbow and placed his hands on his hips. "Now; uh, I guess you can go ahead and replay that there attack o' yours. But maybe you wanna take a quick minute an' check the pickle I got you in, huh?

Rainbow clenched her right hand into a fist. "I already figured it out, thanks." I can't destroy Anesth since its Defense is too high, and even if I do destroy Shel, he just gets another different Rokket from his Deck to replace it. He knew I wouldn't want to swarm my field with monsters, so he's got me stuck in a corner. "I'm calling off Clear Wing's attack," she grumbled as her dragon flew back to her side.

"So you did! Got a backup plan you wanna break out... or are you jus' gonna go ahead and toss the horseshoe back on over t'me?"

Rainbow looked at the cards in her hand one more time and shook her head. "Nah; I'm good. I end my turn."

"That's just dandy! I'll go ahead and make my move, then!" Braeburn declared as the display acknowledged his status as the turn player and he drew a new card.


TURN: FOUR
BRAEBURN -- 4000 LP
HAND: 1
FIELD:
- Main Monster Zone: [Shelrokket Dragon; Defense Position; 2300 DEF]
[Anesthrokket Dragon; Defense Position; 2500 DEF]
- Spell/Trap Zone: [1 Set Card]
- Field Zone: [Boot Sector Launch]


Braeburn looked at his new card and his grin widened. "Well, I'll be! First: I'm gonna go ahead and use my Set Quick-Play Spell, Mystical Space Typhoon, t'blow away your little face-down card!" he said as the spiraling wind whipped from his revealed card and annihilated Rainbow's own. "And now: I'm gonna bring in the big guns! From my hand, I play this: Monster Reborn!"



Monster Reborn
Normal Spell
Target 1 monster in either player's GY; Special Summon it.



"Oh; the appearance of an old classic!" Onyx commented, eyeing Braeburn's card. "I wonder how Braeburn will use this powerful card to advance his strategy?"

"This is how: I'm gonna use Reborn here to bring back an ol' pal of mine! Come on back t'me, Booster Dragon!" Braeburn chanted, raising his hand high above his head as a hole opened beneath his field and his monster returned from the great beyond, striking a fierce pose as its stats displayed once more.

"Huh?" Rainbow cocked her head and squinted at the monster before bringing up the Graveyard on her Duel Disk's display screen and scanning through the monsters available. "Why bring back your Booster Dragon instead of something like... I dunno, Triple Burst?"

Braeburn got a good laugh out of that. "My deck is all about those Link stacks, Dash. Try and keep up! I'm goin' to open up one more Link Circuit!" he continued as the circuit appeared high above himself...

... and all of his monsters flew into it.

"Arrowheads confirmed! By using my freshly revived Link Two Booster Dragon and my other two Rokket monsters, I can go ahead and whip up one heck of a final critter! I Link Summon; Link Four; Borreload Dragon!"



Borreload Dragon
Link Rating 4 (Left, Bottom-Left, Right, Bottom-Right)
DARK Dragon/Link/Effect Monster
ATK/3000
3+ Effect Monsters
Neither player can target this card with monster effects. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can target 1 face-up monster on the field, it loses 500 ATK/DEF. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this effect's activation. At the start of the Damage Step, if this card attacks an opponent's monster: You can place that opponent's monster in a zone this card points to and take control of it, but send it to the GY during the End Phase of the next turn.



Braeburn's massive draconic beast lurched forth from the Link Circuit and slammed down to the Duel Field with a heavy crash -- the vibrations almost knocking Rainbow right off her feet. The new monster looked much like an oversized Rokket in many ways and was covered in metallic armor, but it evoked the image of the barrel of a gun instead of the rounds said gun would be loaded with, giving the impression that this was the "boss" of the Rokket monsters. It stood tall, clocking in at 3,000 ATK.

"Ha! Using all your monsters to Summon from the Extra Deck?" Rainbow asked, laughing triumphantly. "Bad move! Now, I can use Clear Wing Fast Dragon to -- "

Braeburn stepped in to cut her off. "Not so fast! Your Clear Wing's effect has to target the monster you wanna drop down and, lucky for me, Borreload here can't be targeted by any monster effect!"

Rainbow's laughter stopped abruptly. "Oh. Shoot."

"'Oh shoot' is right on the mark, partner. And that's just the beginnin'. Let's battle!" Braeburn declared with a snap of his fingers. "Borreload Dragon! Attack Rainbow's Clear Wing Fast Dragon!" he commanded, pointing toward Rainbow's only remaining monster.

Rainbow clenched her jaw and braced herself for the attack's impact. Even if he destroys Fast Dragon, I'll still have Life Points left, and with my hand...

"Borreload's effect activates!"

Another one?

"When Borreload attacks another monster, I can use this effect to take control o' that monster for myself and put it in one o' Borreload's linked Zones," Braeburn explained with a smirk. "So I'll go ahead and nab that Clear Wing o' yours. Borreload: Strange Trigger!"

Borreload roared and fired a single, rainbow colored bullet of energy from its mouth that struck Clear Wing head on. The other dragon flinched and growled, but its protests were cut off when its entire body began to glitch out -- fizzling into multicolored static before vanishing from Rainbow's field, only to appear on Braeburn's a second later.

Rainbow took a step back as her dragon eyed her curiously before rearing back, prepared to strike.

"Clear Wing Fast Dragon, attack Rainbow Dash directly!" Braeburn commanded.

Clear Wing complied, pulling back further before rushing toward its former master, twirling its body in a beautiful spiral before tearing through her, the feedback knocking her to the ground as her own monster ripped away a massive chunk of her remaining Life Points, leaving her dangling at a mere 1,000.

Braeburn shrugged at Rainbow Dash, but his smirk stayed on his face. "If it helps, that'll be the end o' my turn. You played a good game, Dash; but I played jus' a l'il bit better."

Rainbow didn't budge from her spot, splayed out on the ground with her arms outstretched. I'm gonna lose, she thought to herself with a frown. Again. I'm going to lose... again... without even touching his Life Points! Argh! This is so frustrating! She turned to look at her Duel Disk and sighed. Maybe I should just --

"Don't give up, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow jumped as the voice rang out from the crowd. She turned her head the other way and saw that Fluttershy had made her way to the front of the crowd. "Shy?"

"I know you can come back from this!" Fluttershy continued, her eyes filled with a determination that Rainbow wasn't used to seeing. "You're not one to go down without a fight -- so get back up and win this thing!"

"Trixie agrees wholeheartedly!" Trixie chimed in as she slid up beside Fluttershy. "We didn't spend all that time working on your Deck and strategy just so you could lose in the first round, after all. Get back on your feet and show this bumpkin what you look like when you win!"

"Hey!" Braeburn protested. "I'm no bumpkin!"

Onyx chuckled as he watched the scene before him unfold. "Look at that, folks! After going down to an attack from her own ace monster, Rainbow's friends are here to restore her confidence. Will she get back up and make a comeback, or is this the end of her tournament run?"

It took only a moment more for Rainbow Dash to push off of the ground and rise to her full height. "Enough with all the sappy talk. There's no way I'm going down like this! If your turn's over, then I'm up! I draw!" she said as she plucked a new card from her Deck.


TURN: FIVE
RAINBOW -- 1000 LP
HAND: 4
FIELD:
- N/A


Rainbow looked through the cards left in her hand and smiled. "I'm not out of this thing yet. From my hand, I Summon this: Speedroid Horse Stilts!"



Speedroid Horse Stilts
Level 4
WIND Machine/Effect Monster
ATK/1100 DEF/1100
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Speedroid" monster from your hand. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the GY: You can banish this card from your GY, send 1 WIND monster from your Deck to the GY. You can only use this effect of "Speedroid Horse Stilts" once per turn.



"When it's Normal Summoned, I can use its effect to drop another Speedroid from my hand -- so let's do this, Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice!" she continued, placing a second card from her hand onto her Duel Disk.



Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice
Level 3
WIND Machine/Tuner/Effect Monster
ATK/300 DEF/1500
During your opponent's turn (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your GY, negate the next attack this turn from a monster your opponent controls.



Braeburn glanced at the Levels of the monsters and noted that the pyramid-shaped dice that -- as its name suggested -- had an eye on each side other than the bottom, was a Tuner. "Another Synchro Summon, eh? That won't get you out o' this, Dash!"

"We'll see about that. I tune my Level Four Horse Stilts with my Level Three Tri-Eyed Dice to perform a Synchro Summon! I didn't really have time to come up with a chant that was all that different from Fast Dragon's, but I think I'm long past being able to focus on that instead of my plays. Come on out; Level Seven; Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"



Clear Wing Synchro Dragon
Level 7
WIND Dragon/Synchro/Effect Monster
ATK/2500 DEF/2000
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
Once per turn, when another Level 5 or higher monster activates its effect on the field (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it. Once per turn, when a monster effect is activated that targets 1 Level 5 or higher monster on the field (and no other cards) (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it. If this card's effect destroys a monster, this card gains ATK equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK until the end of this turn.



Braeburn looked startled by Rainbow's new monster, which was nearly identical to the one he had just taken from her. Silvery-white and blue plating atop a long, serpentine form that ended in a black and white segmented tail with transparent teal wings. "Another one?" he asked as it snarled at him.

"Yep, another one! What are you going to do about that, huh?"

Braeburn held up a finger and skimmed through the card text on his display, mumbling something about "not taking any chances" before looking back up to the field. "I'll use another one o' my Borreload's effects! Anti-Enemy Bullet!" he commanded.

His dragon's torso rotated in place and clicked as the beast opened its mouth and shot another small bullet of energy that stuck Clear Wing Synchro head on and dropped its Attack Points from 2,500 to 2,000. "Anti-Enemy Bullet takes the bite away from your dragon, and you can't respond to the activation -- so your own effect won't go off! That wasn't so hard," he finished, his smile reappearing on his face. "Looks like that wasn't quite enough. Maybe next time?"

Rainbow only laughed. "Next time, huh? All right, let's see what you've got for 'next time'. I activate the effect of Den-Den Daiko Duke in my Graveyard!" she declared as a transparent, ghastly version of her Duke appeared on the field. "By banishing my little guy here from the game, I can Special Summon one Speedroid Tuner from either my hand or my Graveyard."

"Another Tuner?"

"That's right! Come on back, Red-Eyed Dice!" Rainbow called out as Daiko Duke's ghostly form vanished to make room for Rainbow's cubical dice monster. "Now, for one final tuning: I'll use the Level Seven Clear Wing Synchro and the Level One Red-Eyed Dice to Synchro Summon my most powerful monster!"

Clear Wing roared and shot into the sky, followed by Red-Eye, which split into a ring of light that enveloped the dragon's entire body, and out from a wonderful blast of light appeared another monster.

"Level Eight; Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" Rainbow's voice sounded out her monster's name as the light faded, revealing her new beast as it posed ferociously in the air above the two Duelists.



Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon
Level 8
WIND Dragon/Synchro/Effect Monster
ATK/3000 DEF/2500
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner Synchro Monsters
Once per turn, when another monster's effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that monster, and if you do that, this card gains ATK equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK until the end of this turn. If this card battles a Level 5 or higher monster your opponent controls, during damage calculation: This card gains ATK equal to the current ATK of the opponent's monster it is battling during that damage calculation only.



Looking like an evolved version of Rainbow's previous Synchro Dragon monster, Crystal Wing shed Clear Wing's namesake teal glasslike wings for sky blue crystalline wings. Its plating changed from shades of white, black, and blue to a toned down blueish white, cobalt blue, and a brilliant gleaming gold. Like its predecessor, Crystal Wing lacked any real legs, instead it had pointed appendages made of the same crystal as its wings.

Braeburn, in a panic, held out his hand and commanded the dragon he had taken from Rainbow without checking his display. "C-Clear Wing Fast Dragon's effect! I can cancel Crystal Wing's effects and drop its Attack and Defense Points t'zero!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Rainbow denied as Crystal Wing roared valiantly. "When you activate a monster's effect: I can activate my Crystal Wing's effect -- which allows me not only to stop you from using my Clear Wing against me, but then it's destroyed and its Attack Points are added to Crystal Wing's total!"

Clear Wing Fast glowed for only a moment, attempting to focus its energy into Crystal Wing, but the larger dragon glowed an ever brighter blue, and that light quickly consumed Fast Dragon, which could only shriek in pain as it exploded into a million shards of light and its points were added to Crystal Wing's, leaving it at 5,500 ATK. Rainbow winced as she caught the card, tossed back to her by Braeburn, and slid it face-up into her Extra Deck. "Sorry about that..."

Braeburn was stunned into silence by the power of Rainbow's new monster and shook his head. "I should've checked first!"

"You really should have. But don't worry about that too much, since I'm going to finish you off this turn anyway!"

"Y-you are? How d'you figure you're gonna do that?"

"Because now I can play this -- and it might look familiar -- the Spell Card, Monster Reborn!" Rainbow announced as she placed the same Spell that Braeburn had just used the turn prior onto her field. "Which will allow me to bring back an old friend of my own: Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

And so Clear Wing Synchro Dragon returned to Rainbow's field with a triumphant howl, returned to its former glory. It dropped into formation behind Crystal Wing, hovering off to the side. "I'm no math whiz," Rainbow said as she admired her two formidable beasts, "but I think that's about enough to take this game."

Braeburn let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah. I reckon so."

"Battle!" Rainbow shouted as she thrust out her arm. Her two dragons roared as if to reply. "First: Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, attack and destroy Braeburn's Borreload Dragon! Crystal Cataclysmic Strike!"

Crystal Wing launched itself into the air and pinged back and forth a few times before diving down and crashing into Borreload at breakneck speeds, blasting the armored dragon into bits before it could so much as react to the strike, knocking Braeburn's Life Points below half in one blow.

"Now, Clear Wing Fast Dragon: attack his Life Points directly and end this Duel! Whirlwind Spiral Strike!"

Clear Wing reared back and spun itself into its destructive pirouette and launched itself at the other Duelist. Braeburn tugged his hat down over his eyes and sighed as his Life Point counter ticked down further and further until it dropped to zero with a loud beep, and the feedback from the Duel Field's system caused him to stumble and drop to the floor.


DUEL END
WINNER: RAINBOW

"DUEL COMPLETE;
POWERING DOWN SOLID VISION SYSTEM;
DUEL FIELD: OFFLINE."


Rainbow Dash cheered and waved to the audience as they hollered and chanted her name, basking in the glory of the limelight.

Onyx joined in the round of applause before taking up his position at the center of the stage. "Well; that sure was one way to start off the first round! Let's hope these two didn't set the bar too high for you nice folks, huh?" he asked, before turning to face the competitors. "Congratulations on your win, Rainbow -- and you too, Braeburn, on your solid gameplay!" he offered before turning back to the audience. "If the rest of these newbies in the bracket are half as skilled as the two of you, then we're in for one heck of a tournament today!"

Rainbow grinned and flashed Onyx a thumbs-up before walking across the field to Braeburn, who was still seated in his corner. She extended her hand toward him, "Need a hand there, partner?"

Braeburn laughed and grabbed Rainbow's hand, hoisting himself to his feet. "You got me real good out there," he admitted. "I thought my Borreload would be enough to clinch this thing for me. Guess I was wrong."

"Yeah, well; everyone's wrong sometimes. I thought this was going to be an easy win, myself -- no offense, I'm just that awesome and all. And, hey! Even if you were wrong, you still played an awesome game!"

"Heh. Same to you."

The crowd's cheering was re-invigorated when the two Duelists shook hands one final time before heading off of the Duel Field, where Rainbow's friends awaited them.

"All right, folks!" Onyx continued speaking to the audience as the lingering excitement from the end of the opening Duel permeated the air around the field. "Like I said before things started; now that the first game is over, the vendor and refreshment stalls will open up and you can browse and mingle with the other attendees while we wait for our other competitors and set up the next match. 

"Come straight to me -- or one of our capable staff members and volunteers -- if you have any questions or concerns about the event. With that: I'll see you all at the next Duel! Have fun, everybody!" he concluded as he left the stage to another round of cheers and applause.

Braeburn smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head as he moseyed on up to Applejack. "Sorry, cousin. Meant to strut my stuff in the name of the Apple family, but I guess things didn't go my way, huh?"

"Aw, shoot, Braeburn! Don't say that," Applejack replied as she pulled her cousin into a hug. "You did good by us up there. Rainbow here just got the better of you this time 'round. I reckon she won't be so lucky next time y'all go at it."

"Hey! I'm right here, AJ!"

"I know."

Onyx approached the group with a chuckle. "Man; I should have left you two right where you were on that bracket. That would have been a way better end to a round than a beginning. Congrats again, Rainbow," he said, offering her a fist.

Rainbow grinned and bumped it with her own. "Thanks! Looks like that's a win for Team Rainbow, huh?" she asked, turning to look at Fluttershy and Trixie, who looked kind of sheepish and a little too proud, respectively.

"Of course it was," Trixie replied, clapping Fluttershy lightly on the back. "Even this one could tell who the real winner was meant to be. She even managed to build up the courage to go all 'never give up!' corny friendship speech on you mid-match. I'm very proud of both of you."

Rainbow and Fluttershy both rolled their eyes and shared a giggle.

Sunset, who had been quietly watching her friend enjoy her victory, hummed and leaned in to whisper to Rainbow. "By the way, did you get any vibes from him?"

"Vibes? Oh! Like the 'vibes' from Onyx and Trixie's cards. I got you. And, uh, no," Rainbow whispered back. "Nothing like that. Why are you asking anyway? Wouldn't you have noticed, too?"

"I'm not sure," Sunset replied with a shake of her head. "But it's good that nothing happened. With that out of the way," she continued as she took a step back. "Good job out there! You've set a pretty high bar for the rest of us to reach. Hope tht Pinkie and I can make you as proud as you've made all of us."

Pinkie bounced in and clutched Rainbow tight. "You did so great! It's going to be so fun to play with you later! It's a shame you'll have to sit out afterward, but no situation's perfect!" She paused and tilted her head. "Unless of course we could both win and also if there was a big plate of desserts waiting for us after our -- whoa!" she exclaimed as she was tugged away from Rainbow by Rarity.

"Come now, Pinkie. She's just finished her match. Give her just a little time to relax, won't you?"

"Hmm... I guess you're right! But after she's relaxed?"

"Then she's fair game."

The girls laughed, and Onyx laughed too, but his attention wasn't entirely on the conversation his friends were having. His attention was turned to a tree that stood a ways away from the Duel Field, where a young man stood with his back to the trunk. Onyx couldn't see his face, but somehow he knew that the figure was sneering at him.

His hair stood up on end and he turned away from the young man with a pensive look on his face. That was weird, he thought as he slid back into the conversation. I have a bad feeling about that guy.





"That guy" grunted as he pushed away from the tree and headed over to the Duel Field. "Let's hope my opponent is here. I'm itching to get a foot in the door," he grumbled. His eye twitched as he felt a twinge of excitement emanate from the slip of cardboard now sealed in his rental Duel Disk. And so are you. Let's get you fed, shall we?
> Fascinating and Deadly: The Threat is Revealed...?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey."

A Canterlot High student named Micro Chips wearing one of the event's "Volunteer" badges jumped from his seat as he was approached by a broody-looking boy at the competitors' booth. "C-can I help you?" he asked, caught off guard by the boy's sudden appearance and nasty tone.

"My name is Hemlock," the boy continued. "I should be on the list."

"Oh! Right." Micro Chips shuffled through some papers before finding that the name "Hemlock" was indeed on the list. "Here you are. Here's your bracket," he continued as he handed the boy his sheet. "Let the T.O. -- that guy that was on stage earlier, Onyx -- know you're here and maybe you'll be the next to Duel. You have quite a show to follow up, though!"

Hemlock snatched the sheet and grumbled a quiet "Sure do," before turning and walking away from the booth, leaving a miffed Micro Chips to mutter to himself about his "rudeness."

A strange wave of something that resembled excitement passed through Hemlock's body and he had to work to restrain himself from shivering. It wouldn't have been as strange if the excitement had been his own, but as had been the case every so often for a few months now, this feeling had come from an outside source. 

Hemlock ducked away behind a clump of lush, green bushes as to avoid running into any of the other attendees. He fished a violet-colored card from his Deck and glared at it. "Hey," he hissed. "I know you're ready to go, but you need to relax. I appreciate not trying to split my head this time, but mind-melding with me out of nowhere isn't really an acceptable alternative. We're almost there now. Hold on a bit longer. We'll both get what we're after, soon."

Hemlock rose from the bushes as naturally as he could, making the excuse that he had dropped a few of his cards when a passerby gave him a funny look. He moved with purpose across the park toward a certain person he knew he would have to face eventually: Ashen Onyx. The time was drawing ever nearer.





Onyx had split off from the girls once Rainbow Dash had been sufficiently congratulated so he could continue to do his T.O. work while the others checked out the side events and the vendors now that the event had finally gone fully underway with the first Duel under their collective belt. Imagine his surprise when the figure he saw staring at him not very long ago marched straight up to him, revealing himself to be a boy about his age -- possibly a year younger than himself, but still older than the... 

... magical high school girls he hung out with? Onyx made a mental note to try not to think about that too much, or his head would probably explode. He couldn't have that, at least not today. He had a job to do.

"How can I help you?" Onyx asked with a smile as Hemlock approached him. Hey, he thought, getting a closer look at him. This is the guy who came to the store when the girls were there to tell me all about the magic stuff. I didn't recognize him because he didn't have this weird attitude about him back then. Wonder if he was trying to scout out the competition..?

"There's no supervisor breathing down your neck. You don't have to play the perfect cashier for me this time," Hemlock scoffed. "Whatever. My name is Hemlock and according to this thing," He waved his bracket sheet around a bit before letting it fall back to his side, "I have to Duel someone named 'Rumble' to get past the first round. You don't care about the order as long as both competitors are actually here, yeah?"

"That's right," Onyx replied, the corner of his eye twitching slightly at Hemlock's clear disrespectful tone. He could tell a number of things about him, just from this conversation alone. The first being that he didn't like Onyx for some reason, and the second being that he was entirely convinced that his first round Duel -- and probably any other Duel before the finals -- was going to be a waste of time. He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind... for now, at least. "I'll check to see if Rumble is here. If you'd like to go and wait by the stage for me, that'd just be swell!"

Hemlock narrowed his eyes and grunted before leaving to do so. Onyx felt something else before he got too far away, but was unable to put his finger on what exactly he felt. A brief flash of an idea came into his mind for a moment before he dismissed it as being too ridiculous.

It only took a few minutes to find the contestant named Rumble: a kid -- or young teen, rather, who had been taught the game by his older brother Thunderlane after the younger boy had dragged the elder into the store one day on their way home from school. The two were discussing a card that Rumble had just purchased from an on-site vendor when Onyx approached the two.

"... and the fact they had it here is just too perfect! I'm gonna use this card to beat that Rainbow Dash chick's Synchro Dragons into the ground, no matter how cool they are!" Rumble said excitedly as he clutched the card tightly. "I gotta sleeve it right away!"

Thunderlane chuckled as Rumble struggled to sleeve his new purchase with a little too much excitement. "Slow your roll, bro. You're gonna rip it clean in half if you keep going like that."

Rumble's eyes went wide and he froze completely for a moment. He returned from his statue-like state slowly, as he slid the card into the sleeve as gently as he found himself able to.

"You might wanna pull back on the boasting, too," Onyx chimed in as he found his place to intrude on the brothers' conversation. "Rainbow's tough, and you might be too, but neither of you are in the finals just yet. You are Rumble, right?"

Rumble grinned and puffed out his chest. "That's me! Since you're here, does that mean my opponent is here, too?"

"Sure is. He should be waiting by the stage," Onyx replied, keeping the As long as he didn't just up and leave... to his thoughts. "You ready to go?"

"Sure am! It's time, bro! Come watch me kick this guy's butt!" Rumble called as he sprinted off toward the stage, waving back at Thunderlane as he went.

Thunderlane laughed and waved back at him. "I'll be right behind you, champ!" he called back. He sighed and smiled proudly. "Little dude just might make a good track star yet," he muttered. "Just like his brother."

Onyx leaned against the counter of the vendor booth. "He's pretty excited about this, huh?"

"He's done nothing but talk about it since we nabbed one of the flyers from the store. He was a little down since we couldn't find a copy of the card he wanted at a decent price since you guys didn't have it as a spare single at the store, but we got lucky looking at all these booths you got set up here. This is a cool little thing you got going on today, man," Thunderlane said as he looked around the park. "All this for a bunch of newbies. I think this'll be a good first experience for him."

"I hope so. As long as that guy doesn't try and ruin things for him."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, uh. The guy he's going up against has a nasty attitude. It's kind of like... like he doesn't think anyone else here is worth his time? He seems like a bit of a jerk."

Thunderlane laughed it off and started walking toward the stage with Onyx in tow. "You heard the little man, he's too excited to let that guy get to him. And as long as he pulls off the combos I know that he can with the skills he learned from yours truly and honed himself, there's no way he's gonna drop round one to some jerk!"

Onyx couldn't help but laugh too. "Gee; I wonder where he gets all that confidence from."

"Beats me," Thunderlane replied with a shrug. "Don't you have a job to do?"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it!" Onyx said as he caught up to an impatient Rumble, who stood by the stage, bouncing in place with a frown on his face.

"That took forever! What were you two talking about?"

"You can ask your brother later. For now, we've got work to do. You sure you're one hundred percent good to go, kid?"

"Yeah!"

"That's what I like to hear," Onyx held out his fist and Rumble clacked his own knuckles against it. "It's show time!"

Onyx hopped up on stage, donned his microphone and gave his cue to Vinyl, the volunteer audio tech, to let him ring out across the park. "Hello, people!" he called once he had gotten the signal. "It looks like everyone is having a good time so far, and that's just great because that means I'm not going to have to go job hunting once today is over!

"Anyway; it appears that two more contestants have arrived and are ready to throw down with each other, so why don't we all give them a big round of applause before they come up here?"

The attendees near the stage and any others who had been draw in by Onyx's amplified voice cheered and clapped for a few seconds before quieting down. Out of the corners of his eyes, Onyx could see both Rumble shaking with glee -- and probably nerves -- and Hemlock, who seemed incredibly calm, all things considered.

"Yeah! All right, folks, I hope everyone out there is ready for a rumble -- because I know for sure that our first competitor is! It's all right there in his name, isn't it? Please welcome our first Duelist of the second match of round one as well as our youngest Duelist today if memory serves: Rrruuummmble!"

Rumble popped up and practically ran up as soon as he heard his name, waving frantically to the whole crowd at first, but then very specifically to Thunderlane, who had pulled up a folding chair and plopped down right in front of the Duel Field.

"Our second Duelist in this match is named for a poisonous plant, so let's see if this young man has the venom he'll need to conquer little Rumble here and make it to the second round. Here he is: Hemmmmlooooock!"

As Hemlock walked onto the field as his name was called, Onyx noticed that he quickly adopted a different facade. It more closely resembled the face he wore when he spoke to Onyx at the store for the first time as opposed to the bitter look he had been wearing all day today.

"I won't be sticking around for this one -- even I need a break sometime -- but I'll be in the audience if anyone needs me. If you two are ready, let's get this thing going. Duel start!" Onyx concluded as both players activated their Duel Disks and the Duel Field's systems kicked online.

"I hope you're ready to lose!" Rumble taunted as he pumped his fists to hype himself up.

Hemlock raised his left arm before him and a small, but distinctly not genuine smile formed on his face. "Yeah. This'll be over quick," he said as the system gave Rumble the first turn. "Go ahead, Rumble. Looks like you're up." Hemlock drew his opening hand and waited for Rumble to do the same.

Onyx made his way away from the field to the girls and Braeburn, who he had seen from up top when Trixie and Pinkie had started waving to him halfway through his announcement. "How's it going, guys?"

"It's going great!" Pinkie replied loudly, cutting Trixie off before she even got the chance to say a single word. "We saw some really cool stuff while we were looking around. We were just coming to find you before we saw you get up there and do your thing. Ooh, ooh! Who do you think is going to win?!"

"Pinkie, dear," Rarity said. "You don't even know if he's met either of them before today. Not to mention these things tend to go back and forth for some time before they end. Just look at Rainbow's match! How could he possibly think to know who will win already?"

"Well, I do know who I want to win," Onyx replied as he turned back toward the Duel. "But... I have a bad feeling about this."

"A bad feeling?" Sunset asked, briefly sharing a glance with Twilight. "You said that earlier too. Something about, ah, having a bad feeling about something during set-up?"

"I did, didn't I?" Onyx mused as he continued to watch Rumble and Hemlock. "Let's hope it was nothing."


“DUEL FIELD: ONLINE;
SINGLE GAME -- ONE ON ONE;
SOLID VISION SYSTEM FUNCTIONING NORMALLY;
DUEL START.”



TURN: ONE
RUMBLE -- 4000 LP
HAND: 5


Rumble took a moment to gloss over his hand once his turn had fully commenced. "Haha, nice! With this hand, I'll be able to show you how it's done -- just like my brother taught me! First: the Spell Card, The Melody of Awakening Dragon!" Rumble declared as he slotted the card into his Duel Disk. "By discarding one card from my hand, I'm allowed to search my Deck for up to two Dragon-Type monsters with at least three thousand Attack Points and up to twenty-five hundred Defense Points!"



The Melody of Awakening Dragon
Normal Spell
Discard 1 card; add up to 2 Dragon monsters with 3000 or more ATK and 2500 or less DEF from your Deck to your hand.



Which narrows down the Deck you're playing to a handful of options. Hemlock mused as his opponent placed a card into his Graveyard and brought up a display screen from which to choose the dragons from his Deck. I think I can guess which it is. This should be simple enough.

"More dragons?" Applejack asked, observing the Duel from afar with the rest of the group. "Shoot; does every Deck have to have one o' them things in it for it to count?"

Onyx snickered. "Honestly; it's kind of funny just how accurate that is. Random Dragon-Type boss monsters in Decks that otherwise have none is actually a bit of a common thing in this game."

"Of course it is," Fluttershy muttered as she placed herself strategically at the rear of the pack, as far away from the imposing beasts as possible.

"The two dragons I'm adding to my hand are," Rumble paused for dramatic effect as the display screen disappeared and two cards ejected from his Deck. "The awesome Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon and the unstoppable Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!"



Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon
Level 8
LIGHT Dragon/Effect Monster
ATK/3000 DEF/2500
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by revealing "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" in your hand. You can only Special Summon "Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon" once per turn this way. This card's name becomes "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" while it is on the field or in the GY. Once per turn: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls, destroy it. This card cannot attack the turn this effect is activated.





Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon
Level 8
DARK Dragon/Ritual/Effect Monster
ATK/4000 DEF/0
You can Ritual Summon this card with "Chaos Form". Must be Ritual Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. Cannot be targeted, or destroyed by, your opponent's card effects. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict double piercing battle damage to your opponent.



"That's the way!" Thunderlane cheered from the audience, whooping and pumping his fists. "Let him have it, bro!"

Hemlock's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Oh?" he asked, feigning ignorance. "Those are some powerful monsters you've got there! What are you planning to do with them?"

"You'll see soon enough, there's no need to be hasty! But first, the effect of The White Stone of Legend that I sent to my Graveyard will activate -- letting me look into my Deck once again and bring my ace monster straight to my hand! Come to me: Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"



The White Stone of Legend
Level 1
LIGHT Dragon/Tuner/Effect Monster
ATK/300 DEF/250
If this card is sent to the GY: Add 1 "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" from your Deck to your hand.





Blue-Eyes White Dragon
Level 8
LIGHT Dragon/Normal Monster
ATK/3000 DEF/2500
This legendary dragon is a powerful engine of destruction. Virtually invincible, very few have faced this awesome creature and have lived to tell the tale.



"Now that all of my dragons are gathered together, things are about to really kick off! I activate my Alternative Dragon's effect," Rumble declared as he flipped White Dragon around to show it to Hemlock. "Which allows me to Special Summon it to the field if I reveal Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand here first."

As Rumble placed his card on the field, his new monster erupted in a glorious burst of light. As its name -- and the name of its related cards -- implied: Alternative was a massive, jagged stark white dragon with bright blue glowing eyes. Similarly; light blue lines cascaded through its body, giving it a sleek and nearly high-tech or mechanical look to it. It roared as its important stat was displayed on the Duel Field: a whopping 3,000 ATK.

Rainbow whistled as she gave Rumble's monster a quick once-over. "Wow. A monster that strong for basically free? That's intense!"

"And if he added Chaos MAX to his hand," Onyx said. "That's probably just the beginning. I should really record this Duel and give a copy to Buster -- this is how you build a Deck around a tough vanilla monster."

"Vanilla?"

"Er... it's another term for a Normal Monster. Don't worry about it."

Rumble plucked another card from his hand, Onyx and Rainbow's conversation unheard. "I activate this: the Ritual Spell Card, Chaos Form!"



Chaos Form
Ritual Spell
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Chaos" or "Black Luster Soldier" Ritual Monster. You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field, and/or banish "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" or "Dark Magician" from your GY, whose total Levels exactly equal the Level of the "Chaos" or "Black Luster Soldier" Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon.



"I can use my Chaos Form to Ritual Summon one of my most powerful monsters! All I have to do is Tribute the White Dragon in my hand to fulfill the conditions," Rumble continued as he placed the monster into his Graveyard slot. "And now that the contract is complete: I Ritual Summon the Level Eight Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!"

A massive ritual circle opened on the ground, resembling some manner of alchemical transmutation circle into which a ghostly version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon flew into, causing a burst of light to erupt from the symbol. Out of this a new dragon emerged, a brilliant white like its brethren with glowing blue eyes and covered in sharp, angular edges coated in separate and layered blue panels that span its entire wings. It lets loose a mighty howl, resonating with immense power. Its Attack Points appeared above its figure: standing at an absolutely astounding four thousand.

As the girls' --minus Trixie -- jaws hit the floor at the sight of Chaos MAX, Onyx couldn't help but grin at the memory of seeing a flash of blue and white as Rumble carefully sleeved this same card right before the Duel began. No wonder you were going to use this to beat Rainbow. Good on you, kid.

Rumble laughed as he took in the sight of his own towering monster. "Oh man, that was even cooler than I thought it was gonna be! But why stop there? I activate one final Spell from my hand: the Quick-Play Spell Card, Silver's Cry!



Silver's Cry
Quick-Play Spell
Target 1 Dragon Normal Monster in your GY; Special Summon that target. You can only activate 1 "Silver's Cry" per turn.



"This card here lets me bring back the monster that I used to Summon Chaos MAX. Come back to the land of the living, Blue-Eyes!" Rumble called as a portal to the grave opened on his field and one last draconic form emerged from the depths.

Appropriate to its name, Blue-Eyes White Dragon was just what it said on the tin: a massive and brilliant white dragon with shimmering blue eyes. Unlike the futuristic appearance and jagged lines that adorned Alternative and Chaos MAX, this monster -- on which the others were based, had a smooth and pearl-like quality to its long body. Its head, wings, and shoulders still had a jagged quality to them, its overall appearance was much more organic than the others. 

Blue-Eyes did not howl nor did it so much as roar when it appeared. The elegant and terrifying beast took up the side of Chaos Max that Alternative did not and looked down on Hemlock, much as it looked down on any other opponent. After all, what did an "engine of destruction" like itself have to fear?

"That," Rumble said with a smirk, "ends my turn. You're up!"

Hemlock chuckled as he drew a card from his Deck, not intimidated in the least by the three draconic beasts that loomed overhead.


TURN: TWO
HEMLOCK -- 4000 LP
HAND: 6


Heh heh... when I saw Blue-Eyes cards start hitting the field, I thought this would be boring. Maybe something like "Summon Blue-Eyes, end turn" or some trash. Looks like this first round was worth it after all! "Those monsters are pretty tough. It's too bad that they're actually going to help me take you down."

Rumble looked confused. "What do you mean 'help you take me down'? I have a field of powerful monsters, and one of them can prevent itself from being destroyed! How are you going to take me down?!"

"You'll see, no need to be hasty. I'll start by Normal Summoning Evil Thorn from my hand."



Evil Thorn
Level 1
DARK Plant/Effect Monster
ATK/100 DEF/300
You can Tribute this card; inflict 300 damage to your opponent, and if you do,  you can Special Summon up to 2 "Evil Thorn" from your Deck in Attack Position, but their effects cannot be activated.



Rumble stared at the new creature, a twisted stem of a plant with two appendages, one wilted pink flower and one black fruit-like pod covered in spikes, somewhat resembling a grenade. Its diminutive appearance contrasted greatly with his own mighty dragons. "What... how's that going to help you?"

"I activate Evil Thorn's effect," Hemlock continued, blatantly ignoring Rumble's question. "Inflicting three hundred damage to your Life Points and calling forth the other two copies of itself from my Deck."

The grenade-like fruit lit up a bright purple and violently exploded, destroying the monster it was attached to and showering Rumble's side of the field with the flurry of shrapnel-like spikes that were launched from its remains. He flinched as the holographic protrusions passed through his body and his Life Points dropped to 3,700. Hemlock picked up the two cards that ejected from his Deck and placed them on the field, revealing them to indeed be the other two copies of Evil Thorn.

Onyx stood among the rest of his friends, intently focused on the Duel before him. What's with this guy? He had that attitude before, but now he seems... confident. Too confident. It's not like Rainbow confident, no -- this is different. It's the kind of confidence that comes with a level of experience that I wasn't expecting to see in any of the Duelists today. I think he means to end this right here and now. Especially since he used Evil Thorn like that. I wonder if he's going to Summon what I think he's going to Summon...

Hemlock chuckled softly, plucking one card from his hand. "You know, kid -- if you had been matched up against someone else, you probably would have already had this match won. Unfortunately for you, though... you got matched up with me. It's feeding time! I activate this Spell Card from my hand: Polymerization!" he declared as he placed the card into his Disk.

As the card materialized on the Duel Field and the slot in Hemlock's Disk opened to release his Fusion Monster, the atmosphere around the arena abruptly shifted. It was as if the young man had released a veritable wave of malice into the air around him. He picked up the card and deliberately took his time in announcing its Summon. "By the effect of this card, my two Evil Thorn shall become one mightier Fusion Monster. Arise: battle-hungry beast wrapped in thorns of hatred, bare your poisonous fangs and fulfill your -- no, our desires! I Fusion Summon! Appear, Level Eight; Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"



Starving Venom Fusion Dragon
Level 8
DARK Dragon/Fusion/Effect Monster
ATK/2800 DEF/2000
2 DARK monsters on the field, except Tokens
If this card is Fusion Summoned: You can make this card gain ATK equal to 1 Special Summoned monster your opponent controls, until the end of this turn. Once per turn: You can target 1 Level 5 or higher monster your opponent controls, until the end of this turn, this card's name becomes that monster's original name, and replace this effect with that monster's original effects. If this Fusion Summoned card is destroyed: You can destroy all your opponent's Special Summoned monsters.



Onyx gasped and clutched at his head as he was suddenly aware of an acute, stinging pain coursing through his mind that brought him down to one knee. He could vaguely hear the others call out in concern, but couldn't discern what it was they were saying. He felt his eyes pulled to the field, drawn to the visage of the Duelist and his beast and it was there he met the piercing yellow gaze of Hemlock -- who was looking directly at him, lips tilted up in a silent smirk. He turned slowly back to Rumble, who was in awe at the sight of Starving Venom.

It would have been difficult not to be. Starving Venom stood -- or hovered, really -- tall, proud, and terrifying. It had a long, serpentine body in a deep hunter green studded with red bulbs and jewels, ending in a tail that hooked much as a scythe, evoking the feeling that the beast would reap the soul of any who stood in its path. Much of its body was covered in magenta and brilliant golden organic armor-like structures, and the ones on its back peeled open to reveal their own sets of jagged teeth much like the ones lining the dragon's maw. As it howled out in a fit of rage, its Attack Points appeared on the display: 2,800.

Rumble gulped, but stood his ground like the brave little soldier he was. "Y-yeah, okay -- your monster's pretty scary and all, but it can't beat mine with those stats!"

"Ha ha! Oh, man," Hemlock laughed, shaking his head. "Really? You're just going to glance at its Attack Points and assume it doesn't have anything else going for it? Sorry to burst your bubble, kid -- but the fun's just started. Starving Venom's first effect activates upon being Fusion Summoned!"

"Uh-oh."

"That's right!" Hemlock shouted, looking and acting wilder with each passing second. "Starving Venom gains the Attack Points of one Special Summoned monster you control! Go, Venom: absorb his Chaos MAX Dragon's power for yourself!" Vine-like protrusions shot out from Venom's body and latched onto Rumble's Ritual Monster and glowed a deep crimson as Chaos MAX's strength was used to fuel its own.

"B-but!" Rumble interjected, even as Starving Venom's Attack Points rose to 6,800. "Chaos MAX can't be targeted by card effects!"

"Sorry, kid." Hemlock shrugged nonchalantly. "Venom's Attack-absorption effect doesn't target. Tough break," he said, sounding amused by Rumble's vain attempt to contest the result Hemlock had been shooting for. "You did your best and all, but I think it's time I ended this. Don't you?"

"I don't... understand," Rumble said quietly as he took a step back.

"Starving Venom!" Hemlock called. "Let's battle!"

Rumble took another step back as Venom roared in response before turning on Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "I thought I... I could win."

Applejack grit her teeth. "End this? What the heck's he talkin' 'bout?!"

Twilight shook her head. "When he used Evil Thorn to gather the Fusion requirements for his dragon, he also dealt three hundred damage to Rumble's Life Points, remember?"

"Yeah I do, but -- aw, shoot!" Applejack stamped her foot on the ground. "Because he got that there power boost from swipin' Rumble's monster's power, all he has to do is swing over one o' his weaker monsters!"

Fluttershy squeaked as she gripped onto Rainbow Dash's arm. "Guys. I know this probably isn't going to surprise anyone, but I really don't think I like that dragon."

"Same here, 'shy. Same here," Rainbow replied. "Onyx! You good?"

Onyx did not reply to Rainbow Dash. Instead, he stared at Hemlock and his Starving Venom, both of whom seemed to be enjoying the look of defeat on Rumble's face as the end of the Duel -- and his tournament run -- approached far faster than he could have possibly anticipated. Sunset gasped as she felt a violent wave of rage sweep over her as two sets of emotion truly synchronized as one for the very first time.

A yellow-eyed Onyx snarled at Hemlock's beast with a voice that was not entirely his own. "You..."

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! Attack Rumble's Blue-Eyes White Dragon and end this Duel! All-Consuming Catastrophe!" Hemlock commanded, to the apparent delight of his beast.

Starving Venom's baubles glowed a bright purple as its shoulder pieces branched off and bright wings of purple light energy erupted from them and it took off into the air above the field. It opened its mouth wide and a crackle of red lightning formed within its maw -- the energy it had stolen from Chaos MAX powering is attack. After a brief charging sequence it let loose a ferocious roar as the energy spilled from its wide open mouth in a concentrated laser beam that annihilated the projection of Blue-Eyes in less than a second, the force from the attack shaking the ground as Rumble's Life Points fell to zero.

Thunderlane moved quick as lightning to catch Rumble as he tumbled off the Duel Field, having taken one too many steps back in his surprise. His words of comfort and condolences were drowned out by the sound of the Duel Field announcing the results of the match that had just concluded.


DUEL END
WINNER: HEMLOCK



"DUEL C-C-COMPLETE;
POWERINNNN-NG DOWN SOLID VISION SYS-SYSTEM;
NOTE: PLEASE CHECK FOR ERRORS IN SOLID VISION SYSTEM;
DUEL FIELD: OFFLINE."


Hemlock walked off the Duel Field as the projections faded, but if you asked any of the shocked spectators who were watching the Duel, it almost looked as if his Fusion Dragon lingered on the field just a little longer than the rest before flickering out.

A few bystanders clapped slowly, as if they weren't sure whether or not they were supposed to. A few people looked to Onyx, wondering if he was going to get back up on the field and say something. Noticing the stares of these people, he pulled himself off the ground, ignoring the concerned looks his friends gave him as he made his way back up to the field.

"A technician will look into the status of the Duel Field," he stated. "Please wait for further information," he added before stepping down and heading slowly toward one of the staff tents.

Sunset, removed Dark Rebellion from among the rest of her cards and held it gently in her hands. "You didn't like that, did you?"

"Did it -- no. Did you feel it?" Trixie asked, standing beside Sunset and giving the card a once-over. "Or..."

"I think I felt... both of them," Sunset said, looking off to where Onyx was trudging away from the rest of the event. "I'm going to talk to him."

"We are going to talk to him," Trixie corrected, "while the rest of the gang here does damage control. You can all do the detail work yourself, that's not Trixie's job, but someone should go check on the kid and someone else should keep an eye on that Hancock guy. Rest is up to you."

"It's, uh... it's Hemlock," Twilight corrected.

"Gesundheit," Trixie said before turning to follow Onyx to the staff tent.

Sunset shrugged and jogged behind Trixie as the rest of the group, including an incredibly confused Braeburn who decided to stick with Applejack, split off to make sure the event went on, even without Onyx, in spite of Hemlock's devastating rampage. Pinkie headed toward Rumble and Thunderlane, Applejack and Braeburn went to talk to the spectators with Twilight in tow so she could ensure the Duel Field technician could do their work and assist if needed, Rarity went off on her own to make sure the other staff workers were still on task, and Rainbow took a panicked Fluttershy with her to keep watch over Hemlock.

An invisible fog hung thick over the park.

The day's troubles had only just begun.
> The Show Must Go On: Sunset's Time to Shine!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Onyx?" Sunset asked as she gingerly pulled back the entrance into the small tent that served as the employee break room for the duration of the event. "Is everything all right?"

Trixie and Sunset entered the tent and let the entrance flap shut behind them, greeted only by the sight of Onyx's back as he hunched over a table, palms flat on its surface.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's a hard 'no'," Trixie whispered, leaning in toward Sunset. Raising her voice to normal levels, she continued. "You're not sure what to do next, right?"

Onyx nodded slowly and turned to face the girls, sitting down on the edge of the table. "A kid almost got hurt out there, just trying to have fun playing a game he likes. Hemlock is... he's dangerous, and -- while I'm less concerned about this at the moment -- I'm pretty sure he flat-out lied his way into this whole thing in the first place, which makes me feel like a colossal moron."

"Lied his way into the tournament?" Sunset asked, confused. "Why would he bother doing that?"

"I'm not sure why exactly, but It's almost like... it's like he's preying on people he considers weak? He already seemed like he didn't think anybody here was worth his time, and some of the stuff he said up in that arena..." Onyx trailed off, frowning at the floor. "He's definitely not a beginner."

"If I let things go on like this, someone really could get hurt. If there are stages to this 'living card' thing: he and that Fusion Dragon are way farther along than even Rebellion and I -- and judging by me raging so hard I went all yellow in the eyes, I'm pretty far gone myself," he concluded, dragging his hands down his face.

Trixie looked at Sunset and tilted her head toward Onyx, as if to say: "You're the friendship master, right? Go do something friendly!" 

"Speaking of which," Sunset piped up, walking toward Onyx and holding out his card, still clutched in her hand. "I think you should take this back. Partly because I'm not sure I want to be in the middle of you two doing... whatever that was, again -- but also because... you never know. You might need it."

Onyx glanced down at Dark Rebellion and sighed. "Fair enough," he conceded. "Welcome home," he greeted the card as he plucked it from Sunset's fingers. An odd sensation ran through his body upon contact, but when it passed he was surprised to realize that his old headache and the other symptoms that had been attributed to the card's awakening hadn't returned. "Huh."

"What's up?"

"I don't feel the stuff from before. No aches, no creepy voices -- nothing. I actually feel pretty... normal? All things considered, I mean."

Trixie shook her head. "I don't know how you classify things, but nothing about our current situation is really 'normal' at all," she joked, smiling.

The corners of Onyx's lips twitched for but a brief moment before he returned to the potential crisis at hand. "I'm still not sure what I should do. I need evidence of misconduct to properly disqualify Hemlock, but I'm afraid of what he could do while I'm trying to get it. I can't call off the tournament either, for a few reasons. One thing is that it was... kind of an investment? And without a main attraction, this event won't draw as much attention and the store will make substantially less money off of it, which could lead to a whole chain of, ah, 'Bad Things.' Actually, with that being said we couldn't even give back the registration fees because we already spent a chunk of them, and that would upset the competitors -- you included, Sunset, and the last thing we want to do is -- "

"Stop! Stop it! Jeez!" Trixie shouted, waving her hands wildly. "We get it; things aren't great right now!"

Sunset nodded in agreement. "Let's start with this: You got a computer, Onyx?"

"A laptop. Got my phone to make a hotspot I can use, too. Why?"

"Here's this for an idea: you said you think Hemlock lied his way in, right? This tournament is supposed to be for new players, so all you have to do to prove that he doesn't fit that category is prove he's been at this for a while -- you're the organizer, so how 'new' you have to be is up to you. You can probably find something online that'll show that: old logs or records, a Duel Disk purchase from some time ago, I dunno! Maybe Twilight can come in and help you with that."

"That makes sense... I think. One problem, though: who's going to emcee while I'm stuck in here playing detective?"

"Ahem!"

"Ah."

"Yes!" Trixie declared, standing on a nearby chair and flourishing her arms. "The Great and Powerful Trixie would be delighted to take the stage in your absence! I mean -- what are friends for, if not this?"

Onyx laughed and shook his head. "All right, it's up to you. You were the one that got me into those theatrics, anyhow."

Sunset quirked an eyebrow quizzically. "She did?"

"She did," Onyx confirmed. "Back when I taught her how to play I was a real bore when it came to that kind of thing. Real mechanical in how I played. All that nonsense while I'm emceeing and the dramatic dialogue while Dueling all comes from her. I'll have to tell you that story, sometime."

"I'll be waiting. So, what should we do?"

"Trixie can answer that one," Trixie said as she hopped off of the chair, almost losing her balance on hitting the ground. "You, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash should keep playing in the tournament, but whoever isn't currently active should be with the rest of the group. If Hemlock really is dangerous, those trinkets you all wear around your necks might come in handy."

"That's actually a solid plan, Trixie!"

"It sure is, Suns -- wait, why do you sound so surprised?"

"Question!" Onyx interjected before the two girls could get into a proper argument. "About those pendant things. You guys told me they were really magic and stuff, and Rarity made that cool diamond construct thing, but what exactly do the rest of them do?"

Sunset thought for a moment. "Huh. We really didn't explain them to you?"

"No. Well; actually, I think you mentioned yours. It's the best explanation we have for why you could feel Rebellion and Dark Magician, right?"

"It was, until Rainbow felt Magician, too. We're working that one out. But yeah, mine gives me the ability to read thoughts and emotions --  a simpler explanation is that it makes me an empath. Twilight's gives her the ability to use telekinesis to manipulate objects and Rainbow's gives her super speed. Pinkie's ... well; Pinkie can make sprinkles explode? We're not really sure why that's a thing, but it's kind of on brand for her. Rarity can make those diamond-shaped structures, Applejack's gives her enhanced strength, and Fluttershy can talk to most, if not all animals."

Onyx hummed in thought. "Well. Most of those made sense, I think."

"Pinkie Pie?" Sunset asked, receiving a nod in return. "Yeah; like I said: we don't really get it either. Sometimes comes in handy, though."

"Oh yes, it's very handy for destroying freshly-built docks," Trixie added with a smirk.

"Hey! That was only the one -- no, wait. Two? That sounds right. Two times!" Sunset "argued," her face settling in a frown when she realized she wasn't doing a very good job. "All right. You can have that one. We should get going so we can put our plan into motion. I'll explain things to the other girls while you take over announcements, and Onyx: you can start hunting for information. Sound good?"

Onyx and Trixie nodded in agreement. Sunset and Trixie left Onyx behind after a quick "Break!" and headed out of the tent. After sharing a determined glance, they moved with swiftness -- Trixie to check with Twilight and the field mechanic so she could keep things moving along, and Sunset to gather the rest so she could explain the plan to them. They were going to make sure to take control of this situation and keep Hemlock from hurting anyone with his wild magic.

After Sunset and Trixie left, Onyx sighed and slumped back into a nearby chair, the cool metal feeling nice against his skin. He looked up at the ceiling and examined the textures of the tent material. He closed his eyes for a moment and grunted. "I know. I really do," he said aloud. "We should try this way first. If things go south... well, then we go nuclear."

Onyx opened his eyes, and across from him a reflection of golden light glinted off of another chair. "Before any of that, though, since we're gonna be on the sidelines for now... why don't we get to know each other a little better, now that we've got the means and some time?"





A good while passed before the Duel Field's maintenance was finished and the rest of the girls were briefed on the operation currently in effect. Twilight had dutifully headed toward the tent as soon as her role had been revealed to her, but not before she wished Sunset good luck. 

Rainbow wasn't able to interject and ask why they -- mostly she -- hadn't gotten the same well-wishes, as she was interrupted by Pinkie and her update on Rumble: who had apparently been a little shaken by the experience, but was none the worse for wear. He was back to exploring the stalls with Thunderlane, who had been appreciative of the bubbly girl's efforts.

"Onyx will be happy to hear he's not too torn up about it," Sunset said. "He was worried about the kid."

Fluttershy nodded. "I wish I could have done more to help him out. I know I would have been just terrified if I had to go through anything like that."

"Oh, really? That's a surprise," Rainbow joked, receiving a quick nudge to the ribs from Applejack. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Can it, Dash."

At that moment a burst of feedback told them that Trixie had figured out the microphone and was ready to set the tournament in motion once more. "Hello one, hello all! No; that's not an angel's voice in your ears -- it is I: the Great and Powerful Trixie, here to bring you back into the heated world of Duel Monsters!" she announced, drawing all nearby eyes to herself.

"We apologize for the delay that the glitch in the Duel Field caused, but you know what they say: you can't rush perfection. What we can rush is our next two competitors up to the stage! Now, they surely won't have my overwhelming charisma or masterful machinations -- but I'm sure they'll come close to my perfection with the exciting Duel they'll provide. Will our contestants come up to the field, please?"

"Guess that's my cue," Sunset muttered. More loudly, she said to her friends, "Like we said: Keep an eye out. Make sure Hemlock doesn't get up to any trouble. I know he was interested in me while I had Onyx's Rebellion, but I don't know if that'll still be the case now that it's back where it belongs."

"Aye aye, Captain Sun-Shim!" Pinkie responded with a giggly salute.

"Good luck up there, Sunset! Be sure to give it your all!" Rarity encouraged as Sunset ran toward the Duel Field, waving back to her friends as she went.

"Here she is, everyone -- one half of our Duelist duo, and one whom Trixie has allowed into her very exclusive circle of friends: Sunseeeet Shimmer!" Trixie introduced Sunset with a flourish as the reinvigorated crowd cheered. "She's not nearly as Great or Powerful as Trixie -- Ha! Who could even hope to be?! -- but even with her limited Dueling experience, Trixie is more than ready for her to put on a great show for us, and she hopes you are too!"

Sunset stepped up to the field and offered the crowd a wave and a flashy smile. if there was one thing she knew from being an inter-dimensional traveler, former bad girl and top dog of her high school, and her gigs with the rest of her friends as part of the Rainbooms: it was how to perform. She wouldn't be giving this Duel any less than her best -- and she was going to win. She wished there wasn't the threat of Equestrian magic -- via Hemlock and his dragon -- to ruin her good time yet again, but right now she had to focus on the task in front of her.

"Our other contestant," Trixie continued, "is a bit of a surprise for Trixie; she had no idea this woman had any hobbies that didn't involve classical music and that oversized violin of hers. But nonetheless; she is here and ready to compete! Welcome, one and all, Canterlot High's most talented cellist, Octaaaaviaaaa Melody!" Trixie announced, gesturing toward the other side of the stage across from Sunset.

Octavia brushed aside her dark locks as she stepped elegantly up to the elevated Duel Field. "To be fair, I've only just recently taken up this particular game -- which should be obvious given my participation in this particular event. We also tend to lean towards our styles of performance more than anything else when we converse." She turned to acknowledge her opponent, giving Sunset a once-over. "I was surprised to see you and the other Rainbooms here, Sunset. Looks like we shall be competing on stage once again."

"First time since the Battle of the Bands, right? It'll be nice to go against you in your right mind, but..." Sunset's lips curled up into a smirk. "It didn't go so well for you last time, did it?"

"Oh! Ready to battle with your words as well as your cards, are you?" Octavia asked, idly activating her Duel Disk. "I plan for this particular bout to end differently."

"We'll see about that!" Sunset replied, activating her own Disk as well.

"Just like that, our Duelists are ready to clash in a fierce battle of wills!" Trixie said, waving out to the crowd. "Are you all ready to witness their battle? The Great and Powerful Trixie knows that she is! Go forth, Duelists! Show this wonderful crowd what you've got!"

"Duel!" Sunset and Octavia called, as the Duel Field's system roared to life.


“DUEL FIELD: ONLINE;
SINGLE GAME -- ONE ON ONE;
SOLID VISION SYSTEM FUNCTIONING NORMALLY;
DUEL START.”


Both Duelists drew their opening five cards and the system began blinking between both competitors, eventually highlighting Octavia as the one who would decide turn order.

"If it is all the same to you, I would very much like to go first!" she declared, before looking down at her hand and checking over her cards. She hummed in thought and started to go for one of the cards in hand before changing her mind and going back to thinking.


TURN: ONE
OCTAVIA -- 4000 LP
HAND: 5


Sunset let Octavia deliberate for about a minute before she coughed loudly, the tension built up through their pre-game banter all but dissipated. "Uh. You okay there, Octavia?"

"Hm?" Octavia asked, looking up from her cards. "Ah. Sorry, yes -- for my talk, I actually must admit this is my first time playing these cards outside of... er... what did you call them?" she asked, turning towards the DJ, Vinyl Scratch, seated near the Duel Field in order to monitor the speaker system. 

Vinyl tilted her head and made a few motions with her hands that Sunset didn't recognize, signing something back at Octavia, who nodded in response.

"Yes, that! I haven't played the Deck outside of 'test hands' before."

Sunset couldn't help but laugh. Talk about a lack of preparation. "Well; I guess that makes sense. This is a newbies' tournament, after all -- we've been kind of spoiled by how competent everyone seems. I've only tested mine in practice Duels against one other person myself, so I get where you're coming from," she said. "But I think there's a rule about taking too much time to play out your turn, so you might want to pick it up before you get penalized."

"Right; that would be unfortunate. I suppose I'll start with this Spell Card, then: One for One!" Octavia declared as she picked one of her five cards and slotted it into her rented Disk.



One for One
Normal Spell
Send 1 monster from your hand to the GY; Special Summon 1 Level 1 monster from your hand or Deck.



Octavia slid another card into her Graveyard before continuing. "By sending one monster to the grave, I can Summon another monster from my Deck, as long as its Level is one. Arise, from my Deck: Orcust Brass Bombard!"



Orcust Brass Bombard
Level 1
DARK Machine/Tuner/Effect Monster
ATK/500 DEF/1900
You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 "Orcust" monster from your hand, except "Orcust Brass Bombard", also you cannot Special Summon other monsters this turn, except DARK monsters. You can only use this effect of "Orcust Brass Bombard" once per turn.



Octavia's monster, an automaton with a black and gold metal body with silver limbs -- including eerie, skeletal fingerlike protrusions -- appeared in the center of her field, its Defense Points flashing at 1,900. Sunset spent a few seconds trying to place precisely which brass instrument sat where a head might traditionally be on a more humanoid form, but it didn't match up precisely with any instruments she knew well. A tuba, maybe? It was definitely some kind of horn-adjacent thing. She was less into the genre than she'd like to admit.

"Orchestral-themed cards, huh?" Sunset asked, finished scrutinizing the monster's appearance. "Guess that's fitting."

Octavia reached for a second card before responding. "Indeed. Although their mechanical nature had me quite skeptical at first, I thought they would be a good fit. I hope you like what you see, by the way, because there's plenty more where Bombard came from. Which is to say, a single instrument does not an ensemble make -- wouldn't you agree? To follow up on that, I activate Machine Duplication from my hand!"



Machine Duplication
Spell/Normal Spell
Target 1 Machine-Type monster you control with 500 or less ATK; Special Summon up to 2 monsters from your Deck with the same name as that monster.



"This card," Octavia explained, "allows me to select a monster such as my Brass Bombard and bring forth its companions from within my Deck, as well."

Two more Brass Bombards arose on the field, twitching mechanically and flexing their digits, as the automatic system ejected the cards from the Disk to allow Octavia to place them into the peripheral, filling the center three slots of her Main Monster Zones.

Octavia put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "But perhaps this particular ensemble is a tad too brassy? Perhaps I should flesh out the sound a bit, ironic though that may be."

"Ha! Because they're robots -- they don't have flesh!" Pinkie exclaimed from the crowd, helpfully.

"Um. Yes, precisely?" Octavia shook her head and picked another card from her hand. "Come forth, Orcust Harp Horror!" she called, placing another monster in the far left Main Monster Zone of her Disk, breaking her field's symmetry.



Orcust Harp Horror
Level 4
DARK Machine/Effect Monster
ATK/1700 DEF/1400
You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 "Orcust" monster from your Deck, except "Orcust Harp Horror", also you cannot Special Summon other monsters this turn, except DARK monsters. You can only use this effect of "Orcust Harp Horror" once per turn.



Octavia's second monster was a gargoyle-like creature, almost draconian in appearance, its body similar shades of black, silver, and gold as Brass Bombard's -- accented by striking red eyes. Two harp-like wings were affixed to its back. Its Attack Points appeared on the display as 1,700.

Skimming through the card's effects, Sunset did a double take and scrolled through the display on Bombard. "Wait a second," she muttered. "These effects are... the same?"

"Not quite -- but you catch on quick, Shimmer. The 'Orcust' monsters were created to be an endless army by their 'Orchestrator,' and thus each monster can call forth an Orcust other than itself from a different location by banishing itself from the grave."

"Still have to get them into the grave first, though!"

"Oh, Sunset. That's the easy part. Watch this: I open a Link Circuit!" A Link Gate opened above Octavia's field and Sunset took a step back and craned her neck to get a better look. "The Summoning conditions for this Link Monster are at least two Effect Monsters, including one of my Orcusts, so I shall use two of my three copies of Brass Bombard to perform a Link Summon!" she explained, moving her center and rightmost monsters into her Graveyard.

"Machination of the Orchestrator, rise from your slumber and descend upon this harrowed battlefield, blaring with the sound of your enemies' destruction! Arise; Link Two; Galatea, the Orcust Automaton!" Octavia chanted, placing the new Extra Deck monster in the Extra Monster Zone to her right as the two chosen materials took their place in the two corresponding arrows of the gate.



Galatea, the Orcust Automaton
Link-2 (Bottom-Left, Top-Right)
DARK Machine/Link/Effect Monster
ATK/1800
2 Effect Monsters, including an "Orcust" monster
This linked card cannot be destroyed by battle. You can target 1 of your banished Machine monsters; shuffle it into the Deck, then you can Set 1 "Orcust" Spell/Trap directly from your Deck. You can only use this effect of "Galatea, the Orcust Automaton" once per turn.



Galatea, although quite obviously of mechanical nature, appeared to be built to resemble a young human girl with pale "skin," long purple hair -- her metallic body various shades of black, white, and gold, akin to the theme of the archetype. Her porcelain-like face was set in its expression, eyes shut tight and lips locked in a gentle, soulless smile. As for its instrumental base, the pattern running up her right leg reminded Sunset of a woodwind instrument -- possibly a flute or some sort? The automaton wielded a long scythe with a massive mechanized silver blade, azure lines of power running through its steel in a strange pattern. 

Sunset didn't feel a magical presence emanating from Octavia's card, but a chill still ran down her spine as its 1,800 ATK appeared on the display. "Creepy."

Octavia laughed. "Indeed. And I'm not quite finished!"

"I'm still pretty new to this game, but that doesn't really come as a surprise. The first turn seems to be where all the action is -- and you wouldn't play all but one card in your hand just to Summon a creepy Link Monster and some fodder. What's next?"

"This: by using Brass Bombard and Harp Horror, I perform a second Link Summon!" Octavia called out as a Link Gate appeared once more and her two monsters filled in both arrows -- the ones at the top-right and bottom-left.

"Those arrows?!"

"Link Two; Galatea!" Octavia finished, omitting the Summoning chant the second time around, as she placed another identical mechanical monster into the central zone on her field.

Rainbow scratched her head, looking at the two robotic monsters with a puzzled look. "Why the same monster? Sure, that first effect of theirs means that neither of them can be destroyed in battle, but they're not really that strong -- and she can't use the other one yet."

"No... you don't actually need the other Galatea, you just needed that Harp in the Graveyard so you could use its effect!"

"Right you are, Sunset Shimmer!" Octavia pointed out, hand moving back to the grave slot of her Disk. "I activate Harp Horror's grave-based effect, banishing it in order to call forth an Orcust from the Deck: Orcust Cymbal Skeleton!"



Orcust Cymbal Skeleton
Level 3
DARK Machine/Effect Monster
ATK/1200 DEF/1500
You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 “Orcust” monster in your GY, except “Orcust Cymbal Skeleton”; Special Summon it, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except DARK monsters. You can only use this effect of “Orcust Cymbal Skeleton” once per turn.



Cymbal Skeleton's form was true to its name: a hulking, skeletal machine whose body was made up of various pieces of a drum set, including a pair of different-sized cymbals that resembled an antenna on its back. Its loose jaw hung open and its lifeless eyes stared blankly ahead.

"Using Cymbal Skeleton and the Galatea in my Extra Monster Zone, I can perform yet another Link Summon!" Octavia continued, clasping her hands as both the mentioned monsters became material for a new monster with three Link Markers. "Orchestrator of the grand ensemble, rise up and let the sound of true power bellow forth! Ring out: Link Three! Longirsu, the Orcust Orchestrator!"



Longirsu, the Orcust Orchestrator
Link-3 (Top Left, Top, Bottom-Right)
DARK Machine/Link/Effect Monster
ATK/2500
2+ Effect Monsters, including an "Orcust" monster
This linked card cannot be destroyed by card effects. You can target 2 of your banished Machine monsters; shuffle them into the Deck, then you can send 1 linked monster your opponent controls to the GY. This card cannot attack the turn you activate this effect. You can only use this effect of "Longirsu, the Orcust Orchestrator" once per turn.



Unlike the rest of the Orcust monsters, this one was not an automaton, but a long-haired man in black and gold armored attire that seemed to be the basis for the robotic monsters' appearances. On his left arm he held a shield, and in his right hand he brandished an imposing twisted spear or lance of some kind. Though the card's position was the center Zone Octavia's second Galatea had previously occupied, the monster held out his arm, extending the lance in front of the original in the Extra Monster Zone in a protective manner.

"With the field I have crafted, Longirsu cannot be destroyed by card effects and Galatea cannot be destroyed in battle due to their Passive Effects." Octavia explained, enlarging holographic displays of both cards to illustrate her point. "But; I have yet to activate either of my monsters' other effects! Galatea!" she called out to her monster, who responded by tilting her head up and to the side as she glowed a bright purple.

"Her other effect?... I can't even remember what she does, at this point." Sunset raised an arm to shield her eyes from the light. "Too many monsters to keep track of."

"Fear not, Sunset -- it's a simple effect. Once per turn: I can shuffle a banished Machine monster, such as my Harp Horror, back into my Deck. Once this is done I am allowed to Set one 'Orcust' Spell or Trap directly to my field." Octavia did as she said, shuffling her banished Orcust into her Deck, ensuring the cycle could continue. "And now: I choose this card!" Octavia declared, picking a card from her Deck and setting it into her Disk...

... right into the Field Spell Zone?

"Appear, the tower from which the endless hordes emerge! Orcustrated Babel!" Octavia called out as she flipped her newly Set card, revealing her Deck's signature Field Spell.



Orcustrated Babel
Field Spell
You can activate the effects of "Orcust" monsters in your GY, or of Link Monsters you control with "Orcust" in their original names, as Quick Effects. During your Main Phase, if this card is in your GY, except the turn that it was sent to the GY: You can send 1 card from your hand to the GY, add this card to your hand.



The Duel Field shimmered as the massive tower that served as the primary headquarters for the Orcust and their Orchestrator burst from beneath the Dueling duo, passing through them as it spiraled into the skybox of the projector until it reached the boundaries and was able to display no more of the image.

"This card has two potentially beneficial effects, but I shall save you the trouble and merely explain the one which concerns you, Sunset. While face-up on the field, Orcustrated Babel empowers my Orcust monsters, and enables me to use any of their abilities as Quick Effects -- which of course, means..."

"... that you can use them on my turn, as well as yours." Sunset frowned as she read through the first line of the card's text again before dismissing the image, taking note that it did indeed have some sort of second ability she'd have to account for later.

"Right you are! And with that, we have come to the end of my turn... as soon as I Set the remaining card in my hand, of course." Octavia placed the final card she held between her fingers face-down into one of her Disk's allotted Spell and Trap slots, laughing all the while. "That would make it your turn next, Sunset. But perhaps you should simply not bother? With this combo of mine already in place, you have no chance of defeating me!" she declared confidently.

"We'll see about that, Octavia!" Sunset replied, moving to take a card from the top of her own Deck. "Your musical machinery may be tough and all, but they have a weakness just like anything else! All I have to do is exploit it! It's my turn; so I'll draw!"